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Snack Time: Enjoy Life Decadent Bars (Review)

12 Sep
Image from Enjoy Life Foods

Image from Enjoy Life Foods

Yesterday was the first full day of school.  My daughter has lunch at 11:20 in the morning.  A little early for her, especially since school doesn’t get out until 3:05.  In addition to packing a lunch, she needs to pack a snack for the afternoon.  My daughter, has a peanut allergy and it’s hard to find easy snacks that are allergy friendly.  I have been a huge fan of Enjoy Life Products and was excited to learn more about the Decadent Bars.  The bars are the perfect size snack to add as a special treat in your child’s lunch box or for an afternoon snack.  Enjoy Life Decadent bars are gluten-free, free from the top eight allergens, verified by the Non-GMO project and available in four flavors (below).  Each bar is topped with a white or dark drizzle (depending on the flavor)-YUM.

Picture 19

Cherry Cobbler:

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Chocolate Sunbutter:

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Cinnamon Bun:

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S’Mores:

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Of the four flavors, S’Mores was the hit.  My daughter ate them all before I could snap a picture of the bar itself.  They satisfy her sweet tooth and are filling to hold her over until the end of the day!  She requested more for her school snack! Off to Whole Foods we will go for another box!  Find Enjoy LIfe Decadent Bars near you!

 

To learn more visit Enjoy Life or follow on Facebook and Twitter!

Disclaimer:  I received samples of all flavors for the purpose of this review. All opinions expressed are my own.  Any information in italics came from Enjoy Life.

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Sweet Snacking: Cinnamon and Chocolate Covered Pumpkin Seeds

16 Oct

Sweet Snacking!

I LOVE pumpkins! Once fall and pumpkin season are here I crave eating and drinking anything with pumpkin or pumpkin flavor. Last week I made a Lentil and Pumpkin Soup (I will post the recipe later this week) and decided to save the seeds from the sugar pie pumpkin so the girls could try them. When it was time to bake them, my older daughter asked if we could make them chocolate covered. I had never had chocolate covered pumpkin seeds but since she has a nut allergy and always asks for the chocolate covered nuts at the store, I thought why not give it a try because it could be a good alternative and a great activity to do together. The girls LOVED them and we had a lot of fun making them.

Directions:

Seeds:

Clean and save seeds from one sugar pie pumpkin.

Soak the seeds in water, drain and place on baking sheet.

Sprinkle sea salt over the seeds.

Bake at 300 for 30-45 minutes or until seeds are golden.

Put wax paper on top of plate and put seeds on top.

Chocolate:

Add 1/3 cup milk (or alternative for dairy allergy) and 3/4 cup chocolate chips (we used Enjoy Life) and heat on low, stirring occasionally until melted.

Mix in cinnamon when melted (to taste).

Once heated put a small amount in a bowl and let kids drizzle it on with a spoon or you can use a measuring cup to drizzle (or pour like my girls did) the chocolate onto the seeds.

**We had chocolate remaining and put it into two cupcake liners to make a home made chocolate bar for dessert later.

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Enjoy Life Foods: Plentils Lentil Chips

31 Jul

Image from Enjoy Life Foods

The new school year is just around the corner, I have been on the look out for food to go in my daughters lunch bag that would be safe to bring to school.  My family and I recently tried Enjoy Life Foods: Plentils Crunchy Lentil Chips in four DELICIOUS flavors: Dill and Sour Cream, Lightly Salted, Margherita Pizza, and Garlic and Parmesan (my favorite).  The texture of the chips reminded me a little of a pork rind.We loved every flavor.  Each crunchy, salty, and flavorful chip makes you want to go back for more.  It was no wonder why it was easy to finish the four bags.  I found my girls and my husband sneaking handfuls in the kitchen.  I eventually had to hide the bag from my 2-year-old because she would have eaten an entire bag at once.

Plentils Crunchy Lentil Chips are the perfect snack for car rides, playdates in the park and too much on while watching a movie.  They go perfectly alongside your favorite sandwich as well.  They have “40% less fat than the leading chip, are made from high protein lentils, have no artificial ingredients,are gluten-free and are free of the eight most common allergies “(Enjoy Life Foods).  Enjoy Life Foods can be found in natural food stores and grocery stores throughout the U.S. and Canada.  Click to find out where you can get a bag (or four) near you.

Snacking on the way home from the beach!

Time to Eat!

Attempting to empty the bag! Too good for just a few!

Afternoon snack!

Plentils!

Disclaimer:  I received four bags of plentils (one of each flavor) for the purpose of this review.  All opinions expressed are my own.  

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Enjoy Life: Not Nuts Seed and Fruit Mix {Review and GIVEAWAY}

23 Apr

Image from Enjoy Life Foods

I have been fortunate to try Enjoy Life foods: cookies, chocolate chips, granola and recently their line of Seed and Fruit Mixes.  When you have a child with a food allergy, your entire life and eating habits have to change.  I can no longer have anything with NUTS in the house and I spend way too much time at the grocery store reading labels.  Until I received, Enjoy Life Seed and Fruit Mixes, I forgot how much I missed snacking on Trail Mix.  I never thought about trail mix because I knew it was usually loaded with nuts and it was a NO NO in our house.  Thanks to Enjoy Life, I can have that sweet and salty mixture that I love and miss so much.  Their Seed and Fruit Mix is a great alternative to Nut Trail Mix and it has become my go-to snack for throughout the day.  I had a difficult time getting the girls to eat it because Maddie insisted that seeds were for planting and not for eating.  I eventually got them to try it by adding some goldfish to it.

                             

About Enjoy Life Seed and Fruit Mixes– Salty, sweet and crunchy, our trail mix is so good you won’t even miss the nuts. On the trail or on the go, it’s the ideal portable snack. With no peanuts or tree nuts (or any other allergens for that matter), it also makes a great school-safe treat. Made in a dedicated facility free of the 8 most common Allergens, Gluten- free, and no artificial anything.  Comes in two flavors:

Image from Enjoy Life Foods

Not Nuts! Beach Bash: A yummy medley of sunflower kernels, pumpkin seeds, dried pineapple, apricots and cranberries. My favorite of the two because it goes great in a salad or on it’s own for a fast, filling, and delicious snack.  Nutritional and Ingredient Information can be found on Enjoy Life’s website.

Not Nuts! Mountain Mambo: Made with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), fruit (raisins, apples, and cranberries) and chocolate chips.  I enjoyed this one too especially when I got a chocolate chip in my bite.  I added it to my greek yogurt and it was surprisingly a good combination.  It is also yummy on its own as a quick and easy on-the-go snack.  Be careful about where you leave your mix because the chocolate chips will melt and create clusters of seeds. Nutritional and Ingredient information could be found at Enjoy Life’s  website.

Even if you don’t have an allergy, Enjoy Life products are delicious and are safe to bring to school.  Everyone should be able to Enjoy Life and Eat Freely! 

GIVEAWAY: Enjoy Life Variety Pack

One lucky reader has the opportunity to win 1 box of Crunchy Cookies, a bag of Granola, and a bag of the Seed and Fruit Mix.  Winner will choose flavor.  To find out more about the different flavors, see my past reviews: Enjoy Life: Crunchy Cookies, Enjoy Life: Eat Freely (Granola Review) and Recipe using the Double Chocolate Crunch Granola.  You can also check out Enjoy Life Recipes for other ways to use Enjoy Life foods.

To Enter:  Comment T.C. Enjoy Life, Eat Freely Giveaway on one or more of the following:

“Like” Tastefully Childish on Facebook and comment on page (mandatory entry)

“Like” Enjoy Life Foods on Facebook

“Follow” @TastefulyChldsh on Twitter

“Follow” @ELFCeo on Twitter

All entries must be posted before Sunday, April 29 at 11:59 pm.

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Enjoy Life: Crunchy Cookies {Allergy-Friendly}

13 Mar

It is hard to find a store-bought cookie that isn’t processed in a facility containing tree nuts and peanuts.  Enjoy Life’s new line of crunchy cookies are gluten-free, dairy free and peanut/ tree nut free.  I received four boxes of Enjoy Life Crunchy Cookies: Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate, Vanilla Honey Graham, and Sugar Crisp.   They are super crunchy, and full of flavor.  The names of the flavors describe the taste. To get an idea of how crunchy they are, I could hear my husband sneaking them from the other room.  In fact, he snuck them before I could even start my review and ended up eating most of them along with my girls.  I was able to try at least one of each flavor and was surprised at how good they were since they are dairy free and gluten-free.  Right after I had Pela, I went gluten-free and didn’t find many brands that tasted good or even close to what I was used to.  Maddie and I have a sweet spot for chocolate so the Chocolate Chip and Double Chocolate Chip were our favorites.  Pela isn’t picky when it comes to dessert, so she LOVED them all.  They are a great alternative to bring to playgroups and school parties, when you are uncertain of whether there are any children with allergies.

Double Chocolate Crunchy Cookies and Chocolate Chip Crunchy Cookies

About each of the flavors (information from Enjoy Life):

Each box contains 14 cookies.

Chocolate Chip: Loaded with our Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Chips, these chocolate chip cookies will satisfy anyone’s cookie craving.

Ingredients: Flour Mix (White Rice Flour, Buckwheat Flour, Millet Flour), Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Chocolate Liquor (Non-Alcoholic), Non- Dairy Cocoa Butter), Palm Oil, Evaporated Cane Juice, Brown Pure Cane Sugar, Natural Flavor, Salt, Vanilla, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Xanthan Gum, Rosemary Extract

Double Chocolate: All the rich chocolate of our chocolate chip cookie times two!

Ingredients: Flour Mix (White Rice Flour, Buckwheat Flour, Millet Flour), Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Chocolate Liquor (Non-Alcoholic), Non-Dairy Cocoa Butter), Palm Oil, Brown Pure Cane Sugar, Evaporated Cane Juice, Natural Process Cocoa Powder, Natural Flavors, Vanilla, Salt, Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Xanthan Gum, Rosemary Extract

Vanilla Honey Graham (left) and Sugar Crisp (right)

Sugar Crisp: Rich, buttery flavor with that added touch of sugar on top!

Ingredients:Flour Mix (White Rice Flour, Millet Flour, Buckwheat Flour), Evaporated Cane Juice, Palm Oil, Brown Pure Cane Sugar, Natural Flavor, Salt, Vanilla, Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Xanthan Gum, Rosemary Extract

Vanilla Honey Graham: Satisfy that craving for a graham cracker with this cookie!

Ingredients:
Flour Mix (Brown & White Rice Flour, Buckwheat Flour, Millet Flour), Palm Oil, Brown Pure Cane Sugar, Evaporated Cane Juice, Honey, Natural Flavors, Vanilla, Salt, Baking Soda, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Rosemary Extract

Allergen Information for all flavors: NO TRANS FAT, NO ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS, VEGAN, KOSHER PAREVE, GLUTEN-FREE, CASEIN-FREE

To find out more about ingredients check out Enjoy Life’s Ingredient Glossary.

How we ate our Enjoy Life Crunchy Cookies:

  • As an on the go snack
  • Perfect for dunking in milk (soy or rice milk too depending on your allergy needs)
  • Maddie got creative and made a strawberry marshmallow treat with the Double Chocolate Chip Crunchy Cookie.

A special treat Maddie made for daddy!

  • Make an ice cream sandwich for dessert.  We used the recipe from Downtown Bookworks : The Do It MySelf Kids’ Cookbook.
I am a big fan of Enjoy Life products.  See some of my past reviews/ posts: Enjoy Life: Eat Freely, Raspberry Chocolate Chip Pancakes, and Allergy-Free Cooking at Kids Food Festival NYC
Enjoy Life on Twitter (@ELFCeo), Facebook, and their Website.
Keep checking back for a Enjoy Life Crunchy Cookie Giveaway!

Disclaimer:  I received 4 boxes of Enjoy Life’s Crunchy Cookies for the purpose of this review.  The boxes did not impact my opinions.  All opinions expressed are my own!

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Banana Double Chocolate Crunch Granola Bar “Cake” Recipe {Allergy- Friendly}

29 Feb

Last week I posted about Enjoy Life Allergy-Friendly Double Chocolate Crunch Granola (see post) and promised to share the recipe this week.  I don’t like having too many sweet things lying around because I tend to eat it all myself so I made a smaller portion using our new oogaa bowl.  The following recipe serves about 4-6 depending on how much you would like.  It was so delicious, I definitely will make it again.  It would be a perfect dessert or snack for a small play group.  It is best to eat that day because the bananas will go bad.  Try adding dried fruit too to the granola/ marshmallow mixture.

*Used Kellogg’s Rice Krispe Treat Recipe as a base for this recipe.

** Keep checking back for an oogaa mealtime set GIVEAWAY!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups or 1 oogaa bowl of Enjoy Life Double Chocolate Chip Granola
  • 2 cups mini marshmallows (we used Elyon Natural Vanilla Mini Marshmallows: fat-free, gluten-free, and kosher)
  • 1 1/2 TBSP butter
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1/2 cup Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks
  • Milk* as needed (*can sub with soy milk or rice milk depending on needs)

Directions:

  1.  In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. (Step from Kellogg’s)
  2. Mix in Enjoy Life Double Chocolate Chip Granola until coated well.
  3. Put mixture in one oogaa bowl.  Cool in refrigerator  for about 10 20 minutes or until ready to serve.
  4. Once cool, press granola treat out of oogaa bowl and on to a plate to serve.  The bowl is flexible, so pushing it out is easy to do.
  5. Slice bananas on top of granola “cake”
  6. A few minutes before serving add Mega Chunks to a microwave safe dish, or you can use your microwave safe oogaa bowl. Keep adding milk as needed until you get a semi-thick sauce to drizzle (with spoon) over “cake”.
  7. Cut and serve.

Disclaimer:  I did not receive compensation for this post.  I received the Enjoy Life Products for the purpose of my review.  I also received oogaa mealtime sets for the girls for posting about their product. I came up with this recipe because the girls would not eat granola on its own and  I thought why not make something like a rice krispie treat. Always check labels when using ingredients because I cannot say for certain which allergens this recipe is completely free of.

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Enjoy Life: Eat Freely

24 Feb

Image from enjoylifefoods.com

I learned about Enjoy Life at the Kids Food Festival New York (see post).   Enjoy Life “foods are specially made to be gluten-free and free of the 8 most common allergens. This way, whether you are Celiac, lactose-intolerant, allergic to soy, sensitive to egg, or almost anything else, our products are sure to satisfy every need.” (enjoylife.com) When I first learned about Enjoy Life, I thought they only had chocolate chips but recently learned they have a variety of products which include soft baked cookies, crunchy cookies, chewy bars, boom choco boom bars, chocolate for baking, cereal, granola, seed and fruit mixes, and plentils (a lentil chip).  I received a sample of their newest products: Double Chocolate Crunch Granola and Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks for review and they were DELICIOUS!

Maddie and Pela were hesitant to try the Granola on its own.  I think because of the texture and they have never had granola from a bag before.  I tried putting it in yogurt but they had their mind made up when it came straight from the bag.  I enjoyed eating it with yogurt and snacking on it, and would buy it for the house but it wasn’t for them.  After a few tries, I decided to make a granola bar or “cake” as the girls called it,using both the granola and the mega chunks ( I will post my recipe next week).  After, they tried their “cake” they had a new take on granola – they LOVED it!

   

Both of my girls have a sweet tooth, so they LOVED the mega chunks.  They are perfect for cookies, to add to yogurt, mix in with ice cream, or just to snack on.  They are thick, small, rectangular chunks. Melt them into a sauce by adding milk (if dairy allergy use soy or rice milk) to dip fruit or pretzels.  Sweet and savory with every piece.

 

I am overly impressed with the companies dedication to making safe, allergy friendly products. All of the products I have tried have been well labeled.  The company  was proactive with the brown rice syrup and arsenic investigations and issued a press release on Facebook not long after taking steps to make sure their products are safe for consumers.  For more information about their products or the brown rice syrup investigation visit Enjoy Life’s homepage.  You can also find Enjoy Life on Facebook and Twitter.

See my Allergy- Friendly Raspberry Chocolate Chip Pancakes post using Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Additional Information about Enjoy Life(received from Enjoy Life):

  • All products are gluten-free and allergy-friendly.
  • All products are free of the top 8 allergens (wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish, and shellfish).
  • Most products are also free of potatoes, sesame, sulfites, and casein.
  • Products made in a dedicated nut and gluten-free facility.
  • Available supermarkets and natural food stores across the U.S. and Canada, as well as over 20 online retailers.

Disclaimer:  I was not compensated for this post.  I received samples of the Double Chocolate Crunch Granola and the Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks for the purpose of this review. All images unless stated are from Tastefully Childish.  All opinions expressed are my own.  

Made with Love: Allergy-Friendly Raspberry Chocolate Chip Pancakes

2 Feb

{Warning: Spoiler for Daddy}

I keep skipping over the super bowl and keep thinking about cooking activities the girls and I can do for Valentine’s Day.  In the past I have never been a huge fan of Valentine’s Day but since having kids I find myself enjoying it more and more.

We were running late to take Maddie to school.  I had to get Pela dressed quickly and didn’t have a chance to feed her breakfast.  I bought Cherrybrook Kitchen Pancake mix a while ago and wanted to make them for the girls.  Since Pela and I had some time while Maddie was at school, I thought it would be fun to cook breakfast together as a trial for our Valentine’s Day breakfast for Daddy.  Although Pela is still a little young, she had a great time preparing.  She needed a lot of assistance and direction, often sneaking bites of the ingredients.  Regardless of the mess and some missing ingredients, which I easily replaced, she made a great pancake mix and will be a perfect activity for the girls to do together on Valentine’s Day morning for Daddy.

Cherrybrook Kitchen has a variety of  allergy friendly mixes, cookies, and icing.  Their products are peanut, egg, tree nut, and dairy* free.  They also have wheat and gluten-free mixes.  Maddie has a lot of friends with various allergies.  I plan on using Cherrybrook Kitchen to make raspberry and chocolate chip cupcakes for her Valentine’s Day party. You can find their products in the baking section at Whole Foods or check their website for a store near you.  Try Cherrybrook Kitchen, the pancakes were delicious.  We can’t wait to try their other products.

Allergy-Friendly Raspberry Chocolate Chip Pancakes Recipe

What you need:

  • Mixing bowl
  • whisk
  • 1 cup Cherrybrook Kitchen Pancake Mix (followed directions on box to make 7 pancakes)
  • 3/4 cup plus 1 tsp Milk, rice milk, or another dairy alternative depending on your needs (we used low-fat milk)
  • 2 1/2 TBS Enjoy Life Semi- Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 1/4 cup raspberries
  • 4 Strawberries cut into a heart shape
  • non-stick pan
  • cooking spray, vegetable oil or butter (we used Pam Original Cooking Spray.

Made with Love

Directions:

  • Prior to doing with your child, especially with a younger child, have everything measured out so all the child needs to do is pour it out.
  • Cut strawberries into heart shapes, I found the link after I had already made them. Put them to the side until ready to cook pancakes.
  • Make Pancake batter with your child by stirring together  Pancake
  • Next, add chocolate chips and mix into batter.
  • Add raspberries, as stirring mash a little.
  • For cooking instructions, see back of box. Directions can be found at their site too.
  • I added a strawberry heart to center of pancake as they cooked.  They didn’t turn out as pretty as I had hoped so I left some of the hearts and placed them on top after the pancake was cooked.
  • After they cooled I used pink Wilton Sparkle Gel to decorate.  Your child could decorate too.

If the heart in the center doesn't turn out as planned use a cookie cutter for a heart pancake.

Ready to eat! On pancake #2

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Allergy- Free Cooking at the Kids Food Festival NYC

22 Jan

My mom, Maddie and I braved the snow yesterday and headed to the Kids Food Festival NYC at Citi Pond at Bryant Park.  I signed Maddie up for the Allergy- Free cooking event with Kristin O’Connor.  Maddie was able to help pour, mix, and crush ingredients to create chocolate truffles.  She rolled the chocolate into balls and covered them with cinnamon, crushed dried pineapple, and crushed dried apple.  While she was learning to make the truffles, she tasted the different ingredients she was using.  Her favorite ingredient by far was Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips.  I have been looking for allergy friendly chocolate chips to use for pancakes, cookies and frozen yogurt for sometime now and have finally found some that are soy, dairy, and nut free.  Kristin was kind enough to send the remaining bag home with Maddie and she has been eating them as a snack.  I tried them and you would never know that they were different then your regular chocolate chips.  They tasted the same if not better.  Maddie had a wonderful time cooking with Krisitn.   She was so excited to bring her truffles home to Daddy and Pela. The truffles were amazing, the entire family enjoyed them.  The recipe will be featured in her book, Personalized Living..Using the Blood Type Diets, which will be in stores on February 14, 2012 and will include other recipes for eating right for your Blood Type.

At the Kids Food Festival Maddie also participated in the USDA Choose My Plate Scavenger hunt.  She went to different booths which included Plum Organics, Horizon Organic Dairy, Wild Planet and Little Duck Organics to collect stamps for each of the food groups on her plate.  She had a great time despite the cold and snow.  Kids Food Festival will be traveling to Washington, D.C., so I think we will have to make a trip so she can go with her cousins who live down there.  Keep checking the Kids Food Festival website to see when it will be held.

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Kids Food Festival

20 Jan

I am very excited to take Maddie to the Kids Food Fest tomorrow morning.  She will be doing the Allergy- Free cooking class with Kristin O’Connor at 10:00 am.  I checked out Kristen’s new blog, Personalized Living: Using the Blood Type Diet,  and came across this Sweet Potato Pancake recipe that I want to make for the girls.  It looks so delicious, I can’t wait to see what she does with the kids tomorrow.

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, check out the Festival.  There are a lot of fun events to sign up for and a portion of the proceeds will go to charities to help battle childhood obessity.  It’s not too late to get tickets!

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