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! 

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Gluten and Dairy Free Chocolate Roll

When in doubt, call Mom. 

This applies to so many things in my life but especially things having to do with food. I asked my mom for chocolate cake recipes that didn't call for flour or dairy and just like that, she pulled up a recipe. But not just any recipe... this turned out to be the favorite of all the gluten free cakes that I tested in advance of my 4 year old's birthday party. 

The recipe was based on this one, which calls for strawberries, but my daughter is allergic to strawberries so initially I planned to substitute with blueberries. The first test of this chocolate roll proved that the blueberries, in all their succulent glory, were just too big and juicy to include so for the final cake, I eliminated them and went just with the blueberry jam. 

This cake was a huge hit. It's creamy and sweetly satisfying, easy to make and a crowd pleaser. I made two for my daughter's birthday party and they flew off the plates! 

Chocolate Roll with Blueberry Jam

1 cup of dairy free chocolate chips

3 tablespoons cold, strong coffee or orange juice

5 large eggs (I used duck eggs to accommodate a chicken egg allergy and used just 4)

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup blueberry jam

confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet (with sides) with parchment paper, leaving several inches hanging over each of the short edges. Lightly grease the portion of the paper that fits inside the pan with vegetable oil. Melt the chocolate and coffee together in the top part of a double boiler (or a bowl that fits into a saucepan) set over barely simmering water. Mix the ingredients well and remove the top part of the pan from the heat. Let cool. In the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium speed (or use a hand mixer), beat the egg yolks, sugar, salt and vanilla extract together for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture is thick and pale. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and blend it in thoroughly.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks.

Mix about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture. Fold the remaining whites into the chocolate mixture until the mixture has an even color. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it to make it even. Bake for 11 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven. Cover it with a slightly dampened paper towel or kitchen towel. Let cool. 

Spread the jam evenly over the top of the cake.

Roll the cake starting on the long side using the parchment paper to help roll it along and keep the cake intact. I rolled it like sushi. Place on a serving platter, seam side down. Dust (using a strainer) with confectioner’s sugar. Makes 8-10 servings.

Allergy-free birthday parties

When I was growing up, no one had allergies like me. Fish and nuts are common allergens nowadays but decades ago, having anaphylaxis felt as rare and weird as having a third ear. On bad days, kids at school would tease me and say I should live in a bubble -- like John Travolta in this movie. It's funny in retrospect because fish and tree nuts are relatively easy to avoid for me now, but it speaks to how unusual food allergies were in my world. My parents would send a list of the foods that I was allergic to for all of my friends' parents, to make them aware of what I could and couldn't eat when I went to their house to play. It mostly worked. 

When I got a bit older and went to sleepaway camp, I had to choose a friend to eat separately with me every time fish or nuts were served in the dining hall. The social pressure on that was enormous. Some girls fought over who got chosen and others wanted nothing at all to do with me. The other two hundred campers were instructed to wash their hands and brush their teeth after those meals to keep me safe. Over a loud speaker. Twice a week for 8 weeks. Whether or not they all complied, I can't say for sure, but as you can imagine, it was an unwanted spotlight that highlighted the ways that I was different when all I wanted to do was fit in. The world is a tiny place so it shouldn't have surprised me that during my first semester at college, I ran into someone from that camp. But it did. The first thing she said after recognizing my face was "I washed my hands and brushed my teeth for you!" That's how she remembered me. And so it goes for allergic kids, even today when the rate of allergies is so prevalent and supportive communities are everywhere. We're singled out. 

My kids have an increased risk of having food allergies but as of today, only my youngest has allergies. She can't have dairy or berries but neither of those allergies is life-threatening and I'm told she's likely to outgrow them. She's never tried nuts or fish so we're not sure about those. One of her friends, a sweet, smiley darling kid has lots of food allergies - to gluten, chicken eggs, dairy, nuts, and a whole host of other foods including certain fruits and vegetables and black beans. His mom is used to bringing food to birthday parties so that he's safe, as most allergy moms do today, but given my own childhood allergy experiences, I didn't want him to feel singled out at my daughter's birthday party. 

I spent a week testing several recipes for chocolate cake (my daughter's choice) that were free from gluten, nuts, cow dairy and chicken eggs. The first one, made from dates, butter beans, flax meal and cocoa powder was a complete fail. Also it broke my mini Cuisinart. I consulted the child's mom (she's an absolute pro!) and posted on Facebook and Instagram for recipe help. The internet is a wonderful place, and I received great feedback. Ultimately, I made four cakes with three different recipes for the party -- one that was made without flour of any kind and two that were made with gluten free flour. Two of the three were made with duck eggs (which are safe for him) instead of chicken eggs and one of them was made with goat milk in place of cow dairy. One of the cakes was free from both eggs and dairy. 

Below are links to the recipes. I hope they're useful for you. If so, drop us a line! 

Gluten Free Wacky Cake

Gluten and Dairy Free Chocolate Roll

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Vegan Nut Free Carrot Cake

Do you love carrot cake? I'm allergic to nuts, so carrot cake is on my "do not play" list. But a dozen years ago, a friend of mine from business school - a pastry chef turned MBA - made a nut free carrot cake for me and it was my first taste of a dessert that had, until that point, been completely unknown to me. The cake was moist and flavorful, the frosting was tangy with delicious cream cheese. I loved it! My husband and I ate it for days - admittedly even for breakfast. 

Not sure how I went so long without even thinking about making my own carrot cake, but well, I did. Then recently I came across this post from Pack Mom Packs, who makes a 'Happy New Year' cake for her brood on the first day of every school year. What a sweet tradition! As the first day of school approached, I planned on making a cake but honestly, I didn't give much thought to the details. When the first day of school finally rolled around, I looked in the fridge and alas! I was out of eggs. 

A quick google search on recipes for eggless cakes led me to this one for vegan carrot cake. It looked easy enough and I had all of the ingredients! I've picked a ton of carrots lately, so I figured this was a practical move, in addition to a delicious one. Still though, I decided to play it safe and make half of a recipe for a one layer cake. Mistake! I wish this cake had both layers. I modified it slightly by removing some of the sugar and altering the amounts of spices. (Recipe below) From what I understand, cream cheese frosting is the perfect companion to carrot cake. That wasn't going to work here. My youngest is dairy free and this cake had to be universally enjoyed. I decided not to make frosting at all, and instead use plain Anita's coconut yogurt, which is just coconut milk, coconut water and live cultures. It is tangy, rich and absolutely delicious. It's not the classic, but it was tasty nonetheless. When everything was ready, I sprinkled the top with a bit of cinnamon and my brood kicked off the new year with a delicious celebration! 

This cake is a victory for us: it's nut free, it's dairy free, it's simple and it's yummy. Best of all, it has started a new tradition for us -- carrot cake for the start of a new school year! 

Vegan, Nut Free Carrot Cake (this recipe makes a single layer cake)

Ingredients
1.5 cups of grated carrots
1/4 cup sugar minus one tablespoon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/8 cup soy milk or other nondairy milk
1/3 cup grapeseed oil or coconut oil
1 1/8 cup cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, plus extra for dusting the top
1/2 teaspoon allspice
2/3 cup plain coconut yogurt

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350. 
2. Grease a 9 inch cake pan.
3. In a large bowl, mix the carrots, sugars, vanilla, soy milk and oil until thoroughly combined. 
4. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice. 
5. Gently fold in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. 
6. Pour the batter into the cake pan.
7. Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes.
8. Once cool, spread the coconut yogurt on top evenly and dust with cinnamon. 


 

Huge App Update and New Food Bundles to Fit Every Lifestyle

Sneak peak from our new Nut Free bundle

When we first launched LaLa Lunchbox back in 2012, our goal was to make school lunches easier for families. Our mission was to get kids engaged in the meal planning process in a long term effort to help raise the next generation of healthy eaters. We sought to make the "what's for lunch" chore easier for parents, to help them save time and money by packing lunch items that they had already shopped for, and that their kids would actually enjoy eating. 

Sneak peak from our new Dairy Free bundle

We've been overwhelmed by the response in the last four years! To the LaLa Lunchbox users who email us with comments and praise, we thank you tremendously. We could not have come this far without you! To the publications who have posted about us, we are forever grateful. You have helped hundreds of thousands of people find relief in the daily slog of lunch packing. 

Sneak peak from our new Gluten Free bundle

While we are satisfied with how far we've come, the lunch-packing struggle is far from over. Here's the big news: to celebrate the back to school season, we've made the LaLa Lunchbox app FREE to download (what are you waiting for?)

Sneak peak from our new Vegetarian bundle

And the even bigger news: in response to the ever-changing landscape around families and food, we have added five dietary-specific food bundles for users to download -- nut free, dairy free, gluten free, vegetarian and kosher. Four of them have been curated by well-known, phenomenal dietitian and blogger Holley Grainger and the kosher bundle has been curated by the ever-amazing kosher blogger and cookbook author Ronnie Fein. Each bundle contains about 25 new ideas to provide lunch packing inspiration for a variety of lifestyles and eating habits. In addition to these dietary-specific bundles, we've also added three new bundles filled with lunch inspiration from drool-worthy creative food geniuses: Aviva Wittenberg, Sylina Lunches and Gina Kirk.

Sneak peak from our new Kosher bundle

Sneak peak from the Aviva Wittenberg bundle

We hope that this new content inspires you and your family to pack interesting, delicious lunches for your kids this year! As always, we welcome your feedback. Please just drop us a line to let us know how it's going. If you'd like, follow along on Instagram, where we post daily pics of school lunches - we're there in the trenches with you! Be sure to tag us (@lalalunchbox) to show off your lunch creations.

Sneak peak from the Sylina Lunches bundle

You'll be able to browse the new food bundles on the app and decide whether the content is for you before downloading. We think you'll be pretty excited when you see the wealth of healthy, delicious, kid friendly options. Of course, these new bundles won't replace the food library you already have -- they're designed to add even more amazing content to our already robust selection of foods. If your child attends a nut-free school, if someone in your family has allergies or sensitivities, if you have dietary preferences for any reason whatsoever or if you just want a fresh injection of new lunch inspiration, we've got you covered. Please note: these bundles are available for a separate, one time fee of $2.99, and with about 25 new lunch ideas in each bundle, that amounts to approximately 11 cents per idea. 

Sneak peak from the Gina Kirk bundle

So listen, back to school can be an overwhelming time for families. And getting back into the school lunch routine can be downright intimidating. We get that, and we're here to ease the pain. After you download LaLa Lunchbox, go ahead and hand over your iPhone or iPad to the kiddos and let them pick out the foods for their lunches. Their choices will become and easy-to-use grocery list for you so you'll stay on top of your lunch game. As Holley says, "inviting children to lend a voice in the food they eat helps to cultivate a healthy relationship with food, fosters a sense of pride and makes kids more likely to eat more food, resulting in less waste and more money saved." We bet that after using LaLa Lunchbox regularly, you'll never open up a smelly, uneaten wasted lunch at the end of the day again, and you'll never sweat over the "what's for lunch" question again. Win-win. 

Please feel free to email us with comments, questions or feedback - our customers are our number one priority! Best of luck with back to school!  - Gillian 

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