It’s Christmas time and for those of you who prepare for the holidays with food allergies in mind I have a fun recipe for you to try: Holiday Honey Cake.  This recipe comes to us from “My Kid’s Allergic to Everything” Dessert Cookbook.  This cake keeps for weeks and it toasts up great!

1 cup rye flour

1 cup spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1/3 cup softened butter OR mild-tasting oil

Preheat oven to 350.  Use one 5″-9″ loaf pan, ungreased and unfloured.

Mix rye and spelt flours with the baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon; set aside.  In a microwave-safe dish or in a small saucepan, mix honey, sugar, and water; heat slowly until small bubbles begin to appear.  Remove from the microwave or stovetop; in the dish or saucepan add the butter or oil; beat until well mixed.  Pour this into the flour mixture and beat for 10 minutes.  Pour batter into loaf pan.

Bake for 40 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean and the top of the cake has begun to crack.

For the best flavor, cool completely after baking, place in a plastic bag, and refrigerate for three days before serving.

Variation: You may use samll amounts of soy, barley, or millet flours in place of some of the rye and spelt flours for a silkier cake.  You can also make this a spice cake by reducing the cinnamon to 1/2 teaspoon and adding 1/8 teaspoon each of ginger, allspice, and cloves.

May your holidays be bright, healthy and safe.  Many blessings to you from “Rainbow On Your Plate” and Indigo Rabbit.

There are few who need more evidence that food borne allergies in children are on the rise.  For those of you who enjoy seeing real data to support your suspicions, take a look at this recent piece on HealthDay.com.  

Researchers question whether the data reflects an increase in food allergy awareness or an actual increase in prevalence.  Either way, I still like seeing a growing appreciation of the issues within the scientific community.

Are you planning to do some holiday food shopping this weekend?

Make your way over to Whole Foods Hingham to get yourself some FREE Indigo Rabbit cookies.  We’ll be there handing out delectable samples this Saturday, December 5, from 11:00-2:00.

Can’t wait to see you!

Shopping, cooking, living gluten free is no easy task, especially during the holiday season.  I’m always on the look out for decent, if not outstanding, gluten free alternatives to standard fare, no matter the holiday.

Take a look at this for some fantastic ideas for making this holiday gluten free bliss: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120503651

Parenthood provides plenty of opportunities for panic.  At least in my house, I’m the panicky one while the hubby is the more “Oh, they’ll be FINE” sort of partner in our duo.  Whatever the dynamic in your house, someone’s going to be on edge on Halloween night if there’s a little lovely running around with any kind of food allergy. 

KidswithFoodAllergies.org has published a fantastic FREE “pamphlet” sharing wonderful tips for surviving this holiday while keeping that parent-of-an-allergic-child stress to a minimum.  Check it out at http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/KFA-Celebrates-Halloween.pdf.

And another tip, Smarties, Dots, and DumDum suckers are all milk, egg, soy, peanut and treenut free.

Make your way to Whole Foods Market in Fresh Pond, Cambridge from 3:00-6:00 tomorrow for free samples of your favorite Indigo Rabbit cookies.

We’ll also be at the Whole Foods Market in Bellingham on Sunday from 12:00-3:00.  See you there!

Many restaurants are becoming increasingly aware of food allergy issues and are getting better at publicizing allergen information in their facilities and on-line.  There is still more to be done.

Take a look at this piece in the Orlando Sentinel about the challenges faced by people with food allergies when they go out to eat   The piece discusses how many restaurants are now publishing information on allergens and some are even providing special menus, but eating out can still be pretty scary for those living with food allergies.

(Oops!  The link to this article seems to be broken.  We will see if we can find it in the archives).

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times highlights new research suggesting that early exposure to certain allergens could help protect kids from developing food allergies.  Click here to take a look.

A survey administered jointly by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) and the School Nutrition Association (SNA) in 2008 found that 21 % of polled schools did not have a plan to address food allergic reactions.  An additional 13% reported uncertainty in dealing with an allergic response at school.

If you have a child with a food allergy, how do you handle lunch time and other food related activities taking place during the school day?

Get those kiddos off to a terrific start for the school year!  Include delicious, healthful, allergy-safe goodies from Indigo Rabbit in their lunch boxes.  The convenient grab n’ go pouches are great for the backpacks, sports bags, even those cute little pencil cases!

Leave those preservative-laden ”100 calorie packs” on the shelves and pick up some scrumptious Indigo Rabbit cookies so your kids get the taste they want and the nutrition they need to make the most of their school day.

If you’ve got college students in your brood, send along a care package they’ll LOVE filled with their favorite varieties of Indigo Rabbit cookies!  They AND their roommates will be the hit of the dorm.

NO high fructose corn syrup

NO hydrogenated oils

NOTHING artificial

You can PRONOUNCE every item in the ingredient list

Make sure you try every delicious flavor

Heavenly Chocolate Pillows, Seriously Cinnamon Almond, Gingerlicious, Luscious Lemon Chewies, Perfectly Peanut Butter