Valentines Day Drinks

With Valentine's Day here already, my kids have been excitedly checking the mailbox every day after school in hopes of Valentines from friends and loved ones. They've been dutifully making and sending their own Valentines too, and decorating our apartment with hearts, doilies and scratch and sniff cupcake stickers. 

These Oooh LaLa Drinks are now a Valentine's Day staple in my house. They're ice cubes made with mint and raspberries and they are absolute palate pleasers. They also couldn't be easier to make. So if you're a bit of a procrastinator, fear not. These will add a special touch to any Valentines Day celebration. As the ice cubes melt, they add more raspberry-mint flavor to your water plus a wonderfully festive pink color!  Happy Valentine’s Day!

These are super fun to make together and delicious to drink. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 pint of raspberries
• A few sprigs of fresh mint
• A heart-shaped ice tray
• Fancy straws (we used paper straws that are biodegradable)

Here’s how to make Oooh LaLa Drinks:

1. Wash and smash your raspberries into a puree using the back of a spoon

2. Chop the fresh mint

3. Place the raspberry puree into some of the sections of your heart-shaped tray

4. Place the mint into the remaining sections and fill with water

5. Freeze overnight

6. Fill a glass with water

7. Add heart-shaped ice cubes and straw

Voila!

Beet & Sweet Potato Soup

Ever since my husband and I became parents (almost 11 years ago!) we've been celebrating Valentine's Day with a home cooked meal instead of going out. He's quite talented in the kitchen but he's not home in time on weekdays to cook. Valentine's Day is one of those holidays where he lets his cooking skills shine, and frankly, I love it. This year, though, we're sharing the kitchen and I'm making one of our favorites as a starter: this beautifully red, earthy and delicious Beet Sweet Potato Soup. 

Look at that color! This is Mother Nature at her best. Starting our special meal with a chock-full-of -vitamin soup is just perfect. Did you know that beets are loaded with folate (a B vitamin), potassium, fiber, magnesium and vitamin C? And sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin B, potassium, manganese and fiber? It's a powerful combination!

My husband is the son of immigrants. He ate a lot of borscht as a kid, and while this isn't a traditional borscht, it's kind of related. The best part is, it's something we both love to gulp down. I may serve this in tea cups, because it's got the consistency of a smoothie, so why not drink it?! 
The prep takes about 10 minutes and it cooks for about 40 minutes. Pureeing takes about 5 minutes so this soup is ready in under an hour.

However you choose to celebrate, I hope it's festive. ❤

Here's what you'll need:
5 beets
2 sweet potatoes (I used the Japanese white flesh variety) 
3 tablespoons avocado or neutral oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped plus extra for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: sour cream or sea salt yogurt to garnish

Here's how:
1. Peel the beets and sweet potatoes and cut into 2-3 inch chunks. I like to use gloves when I do this to prevent staining.
2. In a large soup pot, sauté the onions in the oil on medium heat.

3. After about 5 - 7 minutes, add all of the beets and sweet potatoes and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir for 2-3 minutes so that the oil and onions are evenly distributed.

4. Add the vegetable broth and water and turn the heat up to high. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer.
5. Add the fresh dill, stir, cover and cook for 40-45 minutes.

6. Purée with a stick blender. Sometimes you'll miss a spot and there will be a chunk of beet or sweet potato. That's ok. Life isn't perfect; soup doesn't have to be either. 😊
7. Taste and see whether it needs more salt or pepper.
8. Pour into bowls and garnish with dill (and sour cream, if using).

Tahini Blondies: Nut Free, Dairy Free, Gluten Free

I am stress baking these days. The state of the world has me feeling anxious and at times, hopeless. In moments like these, I do one of two things: I clean or I bake. That plus a long run usually helps me sort things out, but even that isn't working as it normally does. I've made 5 batches of tahini blondies in the last 10 days. I give them out to the kind folks who work in my building, because sharing food gives me comfort (and also because it would be dangerous to have so many batches in my house). I don't know what to do to feel better about our future, but I am staying informed because knowledge is power. 

In the meantime, I'm sharing my recipe for Tahini Blondies with you. It checks a lot of boxes: it's nut free, dairy free and gluten free, it's an uncomplicated recipe and it's an absolutely delicious sweet treat. I've been making them into little hearts in anticipation of Valentine's Day, but also because we all could use a little love right now. If you don't need these to be gluten free, you can of course make these with wheat flour. And if you don't want to get coconut sugar, you can use brown sugar instead, but trust me when I tell you that the coconut sugar adds a whole new dimension of flavor to these delights. I've used dairy free chocolate chips, but if dairy free isn't necessary for you, you can use regular chips. I've also added these to our LaLa Lunchbox Food Library, so my kids can choose them for lunches. Download the app for free today, and all you have to do is snap a photo of these and add them to your LaLa Library via Settings! 

Tahini blondie ingredients

You'll need 8 things: 
1/2 cup tahini
1 cup coconut sugar
1 cup oat flour
1 large egg
8 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips
Additional oil for greasing the pan

Here's what to do: 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips. Mix until smooth and then add the chocolate chips. Line an 8x8 baking tray with parchment paper and grease with coconut oil or vegetable oil. Pour the batter in and bake for 22-24 minutes. Cut into little squares and enjoy either hot or cool. If you make these into little hearts, adjust the baking time to approximately 15 minutes. These are a perfect treat for the lunchbox too! Want more lunchbox inspiration? Head over to Instagram where we post daily! 

Do you love using LaLa Lunchbox? Let us know via email or by tagging us on Instagram or Facebook! 

DIY Pita Bar

The holidays may be over, but with football season in full swing, you may still be entertaining guests. If you're out of ideas or sick of the chips, nachos, guacamole theme, this Pita Bar might be right up your alley! Here's what we served at the Pita Bar for our New Years Eve party for six kids and six adults, and there was something for everyone:
* Pita
* Hummus
* Baba Ganoush
* Labne
* Tabbouleh
* Fattoush Salad
* Roasted artichoke hearts
* Roasted red peppers
* Feta cheese
* Guacamole
* Pickled red onions
* Fresh veggies
* Grilled chicken (boneless thighs and boneless breasts) 
* Lamb meatballs

We bought most of the ingredients already prepared, with the exception of the Fattoush salad, the guacamole, the pickled red onions, the grilled chicken and the meatballs. It made hosting a party of 12 much more feasible! The meatballs were a huge hit, and here's the recipe: 

Lamb Meatballs

Ingredients:
1 pound of ground lamb
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 small cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unseasoned panko
1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 375. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, making sure that the consistency is uniform. Roll into 2 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for approximately 20 minutes. Enjoy! 

This is What It Feels Like to Have an Anaphylactic Allergic Reaction

This post is dedicated to the parents of kids with life threatening allergies. I've managed my fish and nut allergies pretty successfully all my life, and was raised to read labels and question ingredients. But accidents happen. In this post, I've laid out some strategies that have worked for me personally, and explanations about what it feels like with the hope that it provides a bit of clarity to parents whose allergic kids may not be able to fully communicate during an allergy attack.

When I created the LaLa Lunchbox app, I made it completely customizable so that people with allergies or eating preferences of any kind can be accommodated. Allergies are serious. We get that. We have also launched various dietary-specific food bundles inside of our app to provide more safe lunch inspiration for LaLa Lunchbox users. 

The nuances of allergies can be complicated to explain to outsiders. For example, the reaction my body has to a walnut is far more severe than the reaction to a Brazil nut and yet they both cause anaphylaxis. Same with various fish. Over the years, I've unfortunately had the opportunity to gather this detailed data and have listed my top tips below for eating out of my home. During holiday season, navigating the allergy waters can be particularly challenging. Sometimes, even after four decades, I make mistakes and eat something that causes a bad allergic reaction. I have to live with the burden of guilt and regret when this happens and at the same time, I'm incredibly grateful just to live. 

My strategies for eating out 
1. Avoid. There are many foods that I avoid completely and only eat if I've made myself because I've been burned in the past. This includes foods like pesto (walnuts), banana bread (walnuts), barbecue sauce (anchovy) and marshmallows (fish gelatin). If I'm at all doubtful that a food is safe, I don't eat it. There are plenty of other options in the world.
2. Clean Hands and Utensils for All. When I'm at the grocery store, the bakery or anywhere else that I may be purchasing food where there are known allergens and potential cross contamination, I ask whomever is helping me to put on a fresh pair of gloves. I request newly washed ice cream scoopers, newly washed tongs, you name it. These days, many people are accommodating to the request. If it's an issue, however, you should question whether you want to spend a penny at that establishment. At restaurants, I always let my waitperson know about my allergies with a no-nonsense, frank chat. This hasn't always been successful; unfortunately there are still people who just don't understand that "no nuts" means "not one teeny tiny bit of a nut anywhere."
3. Bring Extra Tissues. For holiday parties, restaurants, pot luck dinners and the like, I use a spare tissue to open doors and turn on faucets. I have gotten hives on occasion just by touching something that has been touched by someone who has eaten nuts or fish. Better safe than sorry, and tissues really take up no room. 
4. No Kisses. Hello and goodbye kisses are out of the question. For sensitive allergies like mine, it's just not worth risking the hives on my cheek from someone who has eaten something I'm allergic to. Folks who don't know me, likely won't be kissing me, and folks who do, understand that I'm not being cold, I'm being safe. 

Note: these are things that have worked for me, but always listen to the advice of your allergist. This is not clinical advice by any means. 

photo courtesy of WebMD

The fear of an anaphylactic reaction
The fear is one of the most difficult parts of an allergic reaction for me. Allergic reactions are painful, sure. But it's terrifying to feel something going wrong inside of your body and not be able to see any of it. 

The physical reaction
Beyond the panic, the first few moments of an allergic reaction make my mouth burn. My tongue feels prickly and I get hot throbbing hives on my lips and on my face. After about five minutes, I start to feel an ache in my esophagus as the hives move down my throat. I try not to panic, but it's hard not to. My legs feel weak and I want to cry. My hands start shaking. 

If I have accidentally swallowed something I'm allergic to, I get what feels like a golf ball stuck inside of my esophagus, my throat feels scratchy and it's painful to swallow. I worry about the hives. I worry about my blood pressure plummeting and going into shock. I try to contain the worry in my own head, but it's almost impossible. I'm afraid to alarm the people around me because I need them to stay calm on my behalf, just in case. My stomach aches with both a sharp and dull pain that makes me want to close my eyes and sleep so that it will stop aching. Benadryl is my first line of attack, followed immediately by two sprays of my ventolin inhaler and the epi pen. Once the Benadryl kicks in, everything seems to be moving in slow motion. After about ten minutes, the hives on my lip go down, my tongue doesn't feel as swollen, numb and prickly but my stomach still aches. I am overwhelmed with feelings of regret and guilt. I want to crawl out of my own skin from the knot in my stomach. I tell myself over and over that I can get through this and I'm grateful for supportive people around me. 

The safest plan if you have an anaphylactic reaction is always to go straight to the emergency room to be checked out by a doctor, even after you've administered the epi pen. 

photo courtesy of surefoodsliving.com

The After Effects 
The epi pen makes my body jittery and uncomfortable. After the Benadryl and the inhaler, I feel drugged and uncomfortable in my own skin. Within two minutes of getting the epi pen injection, I feel jittery and woozy all at once, but incredibly relieved that help is on the way. Everything feels like a monumental effort and yet I feel so speedy, like there's a highway full of race cars inside of me. 

It took me years to come to terms with the fact that I had to visit the ER with every anaphylactic reaction. The ER can be an overwhelming place, but it's part of the life-saving protocol for an allergic person. It goes without saying that if you ever have an anaphylactic reaction and do not have your epi pen, call 911 or go immediately to the ER. 

The day after
After an anaphylactic reaction, I feel bloated and out of it the next day. I need extra sleep. I try and put it behind me and thank my lucky stars that I got through it. I've never discussed the details about having a reaction with anyone so I don't know if this is standard. I haven't met many people of my generation who have allergies like this, and when I have in the past, we've mostly compared notes on what we're allergic to and what medications we rely on. Do you have life threatening allergies? Is this generally how you feel during an attack? 

For nut-allergic families, I've compiled a Guide to Safe, Nut-Free Lunches. If your family or a family that you know has a child with life threatening allergies and you think they may benefit from speaking to an adult who has been through it, please email me. I'm not a physician, but am always happy to provide emotional support.