Steve Carper, Planet Lactose ~ Parents go to great lengths to monitor their allergic children's foods to ensure that nothing harmful is contained therein. Stefania Paciocco's son Gabriele was known to be allergic to milk, tree nuts, peanuts and eggs. She made his cookies from scratch. So when Gabriele started to scratch his throat after cookies made with special dairy-free chocolate chips, Stefania assumed the chips were the problem. They were. But not in the way you might think ...

Last week, Hannah, our resident hummus addict, branched out from her standard brand to trial a relatively new brand, Summer Fresh.  To her surprise, her beloved Tribe hummus now has some serious competition.  The Original "...was anything but tasteless; a myriad of spices gives it an unexpected complexity." The Roasted Red Pepper "... boasted a bright, fresh peppery essence, with a detectable note of char, as if the peppers had just come off the fire." And the Garlic "... was topped with unadulterated chunks of roasted garlic, olive oil, and herbs, making for an impressive presentation straight out of the container." Enought with the quotes though, you can read her full review of the hummus, or even jump over to her review of Summer Fresh's new line of Pestoz (a few varieties are dairy-free and vegan!).

Today is my birthday ... okay, I may be a wee bit older than the age at left, but this is cyberspace, so I can be whatever age I choose, right? Regardless, I felt the need to treat myself to a sweet delight, but I'm not really a cake fan.  Really, birthday cake is a tradition I would be quite happy to forgo every year  However, one of my favorite desserts is apple crisp.  Since I have been testing many recipes AND eating out a lot, I decided to go the "healthy" route with this treat, and make a crisp with just enough nutritional merit that it could technically be enjoyed in the morning hours. So last night, with a half a dozen organic apples and a bag of oats in hand, I threw together the lightly sweet apple crisp below ... and now I am enjoying it for breakfast ...

It wasn't long ago that I wrote about hemp protein powder as a soy-free protein powder option for dairy-free consumers.  Yet it seems that raw foodists are on a continued pursuit for plant based proteins. A new protein powder called Sproutein™ combines the nutrition of sprouts, hemp, fruit & vegetable superfoods. Though sprouts are most certainly the first ingredient (see the ingredient list below), this product does contain hemp protein powder, which I am certain offers a big boost to the overall protein.  As for the taste, I haven't tried it myself as of yet, but according to Milke Adams at Natural News ... it is a bit gritty, and thus best for blending into a smoothie rather than simply stirring it into water. He said the taste will be liked best by those who are into "hard-core raw foods nutrition," but for others it may be a bit too "green-tasting" and intense.  However, he comments that as a superfood supplement, it delivers ...

By Loretta Jay, Foods Matter, September 2008 ~ Jack didn’t sleep more than ten minutes at a time during his first eight months of life. He cried constantly until he was two and his screams led his grandmother to refer to him as the ‘baby from hell’. Horrible eczema covered his arms, neck and face; his face oozed puss. Michele Friedman, Jack’s mother, was a practicing psychotherapist. A new mother, but seasoned in life, her gut told her that there was something terribly wrong – that his screams were provoked by pain. Jack’s doctors didn’t support this theory, maintaining that he was simply colicky. Even her suggestion that Jack’s diet could be the cause was rebuffed. It wasn’t until his second anaphylactic reaction, at two years of age, that Jack tested positive for the top eight food allergens, as well as apples and melons. Jack was hurting, and food allergies were responsible.