Twix Bars - Dairy, gluten and refined sugar FREE!

A new follow for me on Instagram is Stacy_simmons made these gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar twix bars. I had to try them! They looked really good. One thing about being home so much is I have been baking more. Baking is not my thing. I would rather cook a full meal over baking. Maybe I will become a baker now. lol

The boys love to bake with me. It's usually easier to let them bake then to have them help cook a meal. As soon as I pull the mixer out Cash comes running and pushing a chair over to the counter. 

Cookie Bottom:

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup almond flour

1/3 cup coconut oil

3 tablespoons honey warmed

Put in a small pan lined with parchment paper. You will need to pack this down tightly onto the parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. 

Completely cook before you add the next layer.

When I pulled it out of the oven I was afraid I forgot an egg or something because it seemed crumbly. Once it cooled it wasn't crumbly at all. 

Middle Caramel Layer:

1/2 cup almond butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

sprinkle salt

Stir in a sauce pan over low heat until it all liquefies. Let it cool before you add it to the cookie layer. Spread it evenly over the cookie layer and put it in the freezer for 2-3 hours. 

Chocolate Layer:

I used 1/2 cup of Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips

1 tablespoon melted coconut oil

Melt in a sauce pan over low heat. After the chocolate has melted pour over the top of the cookie and caramel layer. Sprinkle the top with kosher salt. 

I put these back in the freezer for about 10 minutes before I cut them into squares. After I cut them into squares I put them into a zip lock bag and keep them in the freezer. If you take them out for a couple minutes you are able to eat them. These bars melt quickly, so you don't want to leave them out. 

My final verdict is they don't really taste like a twix, but they are sure yummy! Let me know if you make these and what you think!! 

Toddler Meals & Foods

I am always looking for things to feed G. I like to see what other moms feed their kids on social media or I ask other moms what is on their kids menu. I am always concerned he is eating enough veggies. Up until he was about 2.5 he would eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! Whatever I put on his plate he would eat. Now....oh boy....he tells me things are yucky, spits them out, or just refuses to even try them. 

Dinner time I put on his plate what we are having. Even if I know he won't eat it I still put it on there. I am hoping one day he will try it. At least different things will become familiar to him.  He doesn't eat a lot for dinner these days. He will eat a little then he is all done. 

This boy wakes up hungry for breakfast. There are some days he wakes up and tells me momma breakfast! He usually likes eggs, pancakes, yogurt or some fruit. He eats very good at breakfast. It's rare that he won't eat. 

Lunch I have been bringing him food to school. When he gets out he is so hungry and tired. Usually he falls asleep on the way home. He had been asking for butter and jelly sandwiches almost every single day. All of a sudden he has decided he doesn't like the crust of the bread too. No idea where that came from or why. He eats all around the crust then hands me the leftovers. 

I have been trying to come up with some new ideas for lunch time. I don't just want him eating a sandwich every day. He needs some veggies in his meal too. I decided to make these little bento style boxes for his lunch. I have a sandwich container that rarely gets used. I put 4 cupcakes liners in the sandwich container. I put cashews, tomatoes, meatball and some mini Larabars. He loved this!!! 

These are the best pictures, but I was trying to snap some before the food was all gone. You can get the concept of what I did. It's a great way to give him a variety of foods. He LOVES nuts! He is only allergic to peanuts, so he can eat almonds and cashews. The nuts were the first thing that disappeared. He also loves cherry tomatoes. I slice them in halfs or thirds, so he doesn't choke on them. 

I bought some ground meat from Sprout's recently to make a bunch of meatballs. We need some quick things to grab that are healthy. I make up a pound of little meatballs that I keep in a Pyrex container in the fridge. I can pop them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds and they are ready to eat. I actually made these really quickly while I was cooking dinner one evening. As my dinner was cooking I formed the meatballs and fried them in a pan. 

Kids are so crazy with their appetites and foods they decide they like. One day they will love bananas and the next day they hate them. I try to keep offering things to G that I feel are healthy. He won't eat spinach, but if I put it in a smoothie he drinks it right down. He also likes raw veggies with the Whole 30 Ranch Dressing I make. He likes to be able to dip things. 

I honestly don't make G a bunch of "toddler friendly foods". I make him what we eat. I was giving him the almond butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch because I eat the same thing almost every day for lunch. I have a kale and chicken salad. He will take a few bites of a salad. I will give him chicken, but he needs something else. I just don't feel a 2 year old is going to sit and eat a full salad right now. Maybe when he is a little bigger. I am a creature of habit and eat pretty much the same things for breakfast and lunch each day. 

What do you like to feed your kids? 

What are your easy to go to meals for kids? 

Peanut Allergy

Back in August George broke out in hives after eating some peanut butter. I emailed his pedi pictures and questions. She said they would do additional testing at this 1 year appointment in about 2 weeks, but to avoid peanut butter until then.

We did some blood work and found out he had a peanut allergy. We then met with the allergist for additional testing. Poor buddy is very allergic to peanuts. We have to carry epi pens with us at all time. They do not take chances these days with peanut allergies. The allergist told us if we even think he ate it use the epi pen.

We can't eat peanuts around him, touch him after we have ate him and we need to brush our teeth if we eat them. So far it has been ok. I have replaced peanut butter with almond butter.

Recently we flew. I just asked the man beside us if he could not eat the peanuts. My concern was that George would try to grab the peanut wrapper or grab one. Thankfully the guy was super nice about it. He had an allergy to bee stings and carried an epi pen.

About 2 weeks after we had him tested he broke out in the rash on the right. It was scary! We rushed him to the ER. We weren't sure if he had another severe allergy or what was going on. It looked like a huge puff hive all around his mouth. On the way to the ER I was on the phone with them asking if we should use the epi pen. They said if we knew for sure he didn't eat any peanuts not to use it and just come right in. Just our luck the freeway was PACKED on a Saturday. It took us about 20 minutes. By the time we got there the rash was pretty much gone.

We did more testing on soy, strawberries and tomatoes. He is not allergic to anything. I hate having to do allergy testing on him. He cries so hard after the poke him. He is not a fan of the doctor anymore. The minute they come in the room with the stethoscope he starts screaming.

The picture on the left was after he had peanut butter. The hives are smaller. It was so weird he was allergic to the peanut butter. He had been eating Horizon peanut butter crackers for about a month before he broke out. He also had drank some of my smoothies with peanut butter in them. It took about a month for the allergy to show itself.

We will have him testing in a couple years to see if he outgrows it. In the mean time I am the crazy person reading all the packages in the store before I buy anything. It is crazy to me how many things are made with peanuts or in a peanut facility. We don't even take a chance with peanut facility items.