Top Allergy Safe Lunch #11

Around here, breakfast for lunch is a huge hit. I like to make a double batch of pancakes and either refrigerate or freeze the extras, depending on when my kids plan to pack them for lunch. The lunchroom is a social place, and because of that, a fun lunch experience (like eating pancakes with mini maple syrup) is something I can get behind. 

This lunch is Top 8 Free, so it has no peanuts, tree nuts, egg, dairy, soy, gluten, fish or shellfish. The pancake recipe is below and though my home is not gluten free or egg free or soy free, these pancakes are the ones we make regularly. Yeah, they're that good. This lunch also features coconut milk yogurt, carrots, dried banana, kiwi, raspberries and a sweet note from me. 

Top 8 Free Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 cup oat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut milk yogurt
1/4 cup water
1 flax egg (1 tablespoon of flax meal + 2.5 tablespoons water)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons avocado oil, plus extra for frying (feel free to substitute coconut oil) 
1 teaspoon vanilla
optional: 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:
Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Add the oil to a frying pan on medium high heat. Spoon in the batter to make the pancake size you desire. When the top bubbles a little, flip them. Fry for another minute or two until done. 

 

Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #9

Rosemary chicken is a staple in my house for dinner. My kids are dark meat fans, so often I buy packs of just drumsticks or whole legs. You really can't beat the simplicity: place the pieces in an oven safe dish lined with parchment paper, sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, paprika and rosemary and roast at 375 for approximately 35-40 minutes. When I see that my kids have requested leftovers for their lunches, I buy extra and roast all at once. Chicken legs are fun to eat (no utensils required!) and yes, they're gobbled up cold. 

This lunch features a leftover chicken leg plus a strawnana kebab, leftover steamed zucchini and carrot, orange slices and dairy free chocolate chips. 

Top 8 Allergy Safe Lunch #2

Here's a colorful lunch that's filling and balanced! We have roasted sweet potato slices (slice a sweet potato, drizzle with olive oil and roast in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes), plus grapes, apple, dried coconut, sliced ham (I use Applegate ham, which is free of dairy, gluten and casein, but of course any meat will do here), and rice noodles with tomato, broccoli, olive oil and nutritional yeast. 

Nutritional yeast is kind of amazing. It adds a boost of savory flavor (kind of like cheese) but it's vegan. Be sure to read the label to make sure that your nutritional yeast is not made from whey. Here's the one I use. I cooked and drained the rice noodles, and then sauteed some chopped tomato and broccoli in olive oil. After about a minute, I added the rice noodles and stirred to make sure the ingredients were evenly distributed. I added a tablespoon of nutritional yeast, gave it a final stir and that was that - it took all of 5 minutes!