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Today I would like to welcome guest blogger Melissa.  Melissa blogs at Mom’s Plans, where she shares her freezer cooking adventures, weekly meal plans and her family’s journey to become debt free. you can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.

When I began freezer cooking five years ago, my recipes were delicious casseroles filled with cheese as well as gooey, cheesy lasagnas.  while my freezer meals were delicious, they probably weren’t that healthy, but I would have kept making them if one thing hadn’t happened—I became intolerant to dairy.

As a girl who LOVED ice cream, cheese, cottage cheese, butter, milk, just about anything made of dairy, it was quite a blow.  I am not going to lie—I mourned.  I missed the foods I grew up on and fed to my family.  what was life without my grandma’s homemade macaroni and cheese?

Then, just a few months later, we watched Nineteen Kids and Counting and heard them say that their preemie baby’s constipation issues were related to a dairy intolerance.  Our daughter had severe constipation issues, so we took her off dairy, and within a few weeks she was better.

Since two of us were then dairy free, I began cooking dairy free meals (which is a good thing because a year later my son also developed a dairy intolerance).  Shortly after, I discovered that my daughter and I also had a soy intolerance.  A nice “benefit” to my intolerances is that my cholesterol dropped over 30 points and my other numbers such as triglycerides also improved.

Where to find Dairy Free Freezer Cooking Recipes

Whether you have a dairy or soy intolerance or would just like to feed your family healthier, heart friendly food, freezer cooking can help you.  Yes, there are plenty of freezer recipes out there that are loaded with dairy, but there are plenty of other great allergy friendly recipes, too.

My favorite resource is Food.com.  I simply type in “OAMC” and start looking through the over 600 recipes available.  another great source is Skinny Mom’s Kitchen, of course.  some of her recent recipes such as Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken are perfect for dairy free cooking.  I also share recipes regularly on my site, including two of our favorites, Jamie Oliver’s Best Tomato Sauce Ever and Homemade Dairy Free Garlic Bread.  One other great resource is Holly Clegg’s Trim & Terrific Freezer Friendly Meals.

Benefits of Freezer Cooking When you Have an Allergy

If you are living with a food allergy or intolerance, you know eating away from home can be tough sometimes.  If you go on vacation, will you be able to find the food you can eat at restaurants?  If you visit family, will they prepare food you can eat?

You would be amazed how many times people have told me that they thought a dairy intolerance meant we just couldn’t have milk.  They didn’t consider butter or other dairy items, and these were people who were trying to make food we can eat, but had we eaten it, we would have become sick.  Soy is also in many items that people don’t think about such as salad dressings, canned tuna fish, processed meats and vegetable oil.

Freezer cooking when you have a food allergy or intolerance is perfect for these situations:

1. Extended stay with relatives.  Every year, we stay with my mom for a week at Christmas.  we bring our own freezer meals and share with her.  we can eat food that is safe for us to eat, and she doesn’t have to cook for the week.
2. Family vacations.  we bring a cooler filled with our freezer meals when we take vacation.  Then we don’t have to worry about what food we can eat, and we don’t spend time cooking.  we just heat up, eat, and go sight seeing.
3. Busy week nights.  A family without food issues may just hit the drive thru on a busy night.  That is usually not an option for us because so many products are made with dairy and soy.  instead, we can just grab a homemade frozen meal from the freezer for a quick meal.  (This is a much healthier, weight friendly option too!)

I love freezer cooking and would recommend it to anyone, but if you have a food intolerance, freezer cooking can help you make healthy, safe meals that you can use for busy nights or a family vacation.

BAY CITY, MI  — How quickly a year passes.

It seems it was just a few weeks ago that I got the call that Henry Blaise LaLonde had entered the world. although his birthday was Thursday, the family gathered Sunday to celebrate the milestone.

What a difference a year makes. Henry had some problems when he was born and spent some time in the NICU at Covenant HealthCare Cooper in Saginaw.

Now, one year later, he is walking and babbling and getting into everything.

To quote my son, “I put all the toys in the toy box, and he pulls them all back out.”

He is also a busy guy, on-the-go constantly and babbling on and on about anything and everything. While my son sometimes laments all the things Henry gets into, my thought is hey, paybacks are, well, you know. yes, he is his father’s son.

Being this is a food column, I’m suspecting you would like to hear about recipes.

We went with old favorites — burgers and hot dogs on the grill, with 

chips, potato salad, tuna salad, taco salad and one big Sesame Street birthday cake.

Aunt Gretchen (Kendziorski) was kind enough to share her taco salad recipe and a tip for the column.

And, before I get into recipes, I need a favor. Daisy T. Dog and I got skunked, not once but twice Friday. does anyone have any ideas on getting the smell out of the house.

To say I handled this incorrectly from start to finish is an understatement, and I am now paying the price.

The smell is in the air, but doesn’t seem to be on any actual thing. well any actual thing that is left in the house or hasn’t been in the washer.

If anyone has an idea on how to get the smell out of the house, please drop me a line at foodfarebc@gmail.com.

Now, since this is a food column here are a couple recipes. please feel free to use any ingredients you like in these salads.

Taco Salad

Hamburger, crumbled, cooked

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Cheese

Onion

Nacho chips

Catalina dressing

Fry hamburger; drain. Combine with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and onion in bowl; toss.

Gretchen says to serve the nacho chips on the side, letting each person help themselves. that way they don’t get soggy.

Top with Catalina dressing.

Tuna Salad

Tuna

Seashell pasta

Onion

Mayonnaise

Cook macaroni according to package directions; cool. Add tuna, onion and mayonnaise. Stir to combine.

The amount depends on how many people you are serving. I use 2 8-ounce cans of tuna and a couple cups of sea shells to make enough for 4 people, plus leftovers.

Potato Salad

Potatoes

Eggs

Onion

Mayonnaise

Mustard

Cook potatoes until fork tender; cool and peel. Use half as many eggs as potatoes. In other words, if you used 10 potatoes, use 5 eggs. Add onion; toss.

Mix mayonnaise with a bit of milk to thin. Add a couple squirts of mustard. Stir into potato mixture.

Again, amounts depend on how many people you are feeding. about 6 potatoes and 3 eggs will make enough for four.

At that time, I had to make all the recipes and measure everything as I never measured anything. It was all in my head. My family kept calling me wanting to know how I made this or that so I decided to measure the ingredients and document them.
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Brenda Langton's latest cookbook, "Spoonriver," weaves new recipes in with old favorites from her previous "Cafe Brenda Cookbook." Brenda Langton may have been the first chef to show the Twin Cities that "organic" can be elegant.
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Recipe lists are surprisingly common within the web and even in mobile … it also includes some mobile web apps and native user interfaces for recipe lists.
www.designtickle.com/…/interface-design-restaurants-recipes/

There are many ways to enjoy Georgia-grown Vidalia® onions! try these recipes from fellow state employees. Classic Casserole Submitted by Aaron L. Hendrix, Screven County Division of Family & Children Services, Sylvania, GA. 5 Vidalia® …
Team Georgia

Eating healthy can be hard–especially when there’s so much conflicting information on the Internet, both from scientists and laypeople. new studies say that milk is terrible! Paleo dieters say it’s amazing! Eat fruit, says a nutrition coach! But not too much, says a fitness instructor! But by far one of the biggest sources of misleading quotations, unhealthy “tricks,” and services or products that promise silver bullet results (without diet or exercise) is Facebook, where people share anything and everything–including not-good weight loss advice, tips, recipes, and “facts.”

From recipes that are in no way healthy, to out-of-context quotations that are sure to puzzle more than they educate, Facebook is rampant with product pages, personal trainers, “health gurus,” diet book authors, and people just trying to make a quick buck off someone else’s confusion about what’s actually good for their body.

Yes, people can differ on what they believe to be part of a healthy diet (like meat-eaters vs. vegetarians), but to truly get a picture of what’s best for you, personally, it’s best to seek out a qualified nutrition…not the lady the next cubicle over who’s always trying to tell you about her new miracle pill.

Here are just a handful of the rumors, myths, and just plain wrong ideas about what it takes to be healthy and lose weight which circulate on Facebook. Remember: don’t believe everything you read.

Image: Tubol Evgeniya via Shutterstock

What could possibly be better than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? How about one made with your own homemade peanut butter. You might be surprised at how simple it is to make your own tasty spread.Getting startedRecipes vary, but in general, you need two things to make your own natural peanut butter: shelled peanuts and a food processor. some recipes call for the addition of honey or agave nectar to thicken and sweeten the peanut butter; you can opt to add some kind of oil as well if you find that your mixture needs it. SimplyScratch.com suggests using grapeseed oil, while others call for peanut or canola oil. once you see how easy it is to make peanut butter, you may be inspired to experiment with different flavors and add coconut oil, chocolate or even other types of nuts.Roasting or selecting the peanutsThe first step in making your own peanut butter is to decide what kind of peanuts you are going to use. You can choose the pre-roasted kind or roast them yourself. Alton Brown’s Food Network recipe suggests using Spanish peanuts, which have a higher oil content than other kinds, when roasting to make peanut butter.

To roast your own peanuts, preheat the oven at 350 degrees. Rinse 2 pounds of shelled peanuts in cool water and then pat them dry. Toss with 2 tablespoons of peanut oil and 1 to 2 tablespoons of salt. Spread in a half sheet pan, making sure they are in one layer, and roast for 30 to 35 minutes. Rotate the pan after about 15 to 17 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and let the peanuts cool slightly. Then you can take the peanuts out of their shells, remove the skin and start the peanut butter process.

If you decide to start with store-bought peanuts, you can select either the salted or lightly salted variety. if you are following an exact recipe that calls for salt, make sure to modify the amount of additional salt you add accordingly.DirectionsPlace the peanuts in the food processor. if you do not have one, you can try to use a blender, but it may take longer and be more difficult to work with. After you make sure you have secured the lid, turn on the food processor. let it run until the nuts form a paste. Stop the food processor to scrape off the sides. Turn the food processor back on until the peanuts become smooth. if the paste looks gritty, slowly add the oil while the peanuts continue to blend. Alton Brown’s recipe calls for 1 and a 1/2 tablespoons of peanut oil for 15 ounces of peanuts. if you want, add agave syrup or honey while the food processor is running as well. Blend until creamy. if you prefer the chunky variation, stop blending after the peanuts reach the desired consistency, or add more peanuts than your recipe calls for.StorageKeep your peanut butter in an airtight container or jar. You can store it in the refrigerator for about two weeks unless the recipe specifies otherwise.

Best of the best: In a world saturated with flashy cookbooks by superstar chefs, Audrey Kelley keeps one of her best recipes on a tattered slip of paper. She received the prized praline recipe nearly 30 years ago, when she was a health, education and …
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Stryjewski shared recipes from his feast, including the Polish ham, and the babka, the special yeasty cake that is shaped like a grandmother's, or babka's, skirts. Stryjewski's own grandmother was a prolific Polish cook.
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