How to Make The Most Delicious Rice Milk

How to Make The Most Delicious Rice Milk
Milk protein allergies (MPA) are a recognized problem in young children. Studies show that MPA might affect up to 15% of children but people of any age can have the same allergy and react adversely to milk protein. This includes anaphylaxis which is a serious and potentially fatal allergic reaction.

While living with MPA means avoiding a list of foods and drinks, there are many alternatives that might prove to be even more nutritious, convenient, and practical for you and your family.

What is Rice Milk?
Rice milk is made with rice grain and is a non-dairy milk similar to almond and soy milk. It has more carbohydrate content compared to cow’s milk, does not contain lactose, and is free from cholesterol. Rice milk is sold in stores but, did you know that you can make it at home for a fraction of the cost?

No-Cook Method to Making Rice Milk

Ingredients:
1. 1 cup of your preferred rice grain (uncooked) - This can be white or brown but for more nutrition, you can choose brown rice which is a good source of magnesium, phosphorus, thiamine, vitamin B-6, niacin, iron, and zinc! If you can, go for organically grown brown rice.

2. 4 cups of water.

3. Optional for flavor: salt, honey, and/or vanilla.
Procedure:
1. Wash rice and soak in container overnight (10-14 hours).
2. Drain rice but do not wash. Pour into blender and add 4 cups of water. You can add your flavorings according to your preference.
3. Blend on high for 3 minutes.
4. Use a thin towel or cheesecloth over a bowl to strain the blended mixture. This will separate the rice grains from the milk.
Enjoy chilled and consume no later than one week!
Other uses for rice milk:

Aside from drinking rice milk to replace a dairy-based beverage, you can also use rice milk for your cereals and even for cooking! Here are some of our favorite recipes on the Avoiding Milk Protein blog, all of which use rice milk:

Kids approve these delicious donut holes that are wonderfully made with rice milk.
1. Dairy Free Carrot Bread
2. Delicious Dairy Free Donut Holes
3. Applehouse Cinnamon Doughnuts

You can also try using rice milk for adding to your morning cereals, coffee, and in making your favorite desserts. If there’s one good thing about having allergies similar to people switching to a healthy lifestyle, it’s being creative and resourceful in the kitchen!

Do you have ideas on how to use rice milk for whipping up a delicious dairy-free and allergy safe meal? Please share it with us through the comments below, we’d love to try it too!

About the author: Lace Llanora is a food allergy writer at American Medical ID. American Medical ID serves the medical community by offering quality medical IDs that can be customized for any allergy or condition the wearer may have.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Those cookies are really soft and fudgy. Although the dough needs time to chill, these little beauties are well worth the wait!

1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 tsp instant coffee granules
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup icing sugar

In the bowl of a mixer, combine oil, sugar, applesauce, coffee granules, cocoa powder and vanilla extract until well combined. In a separate medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined. Place dough in the freezer for one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a small cookie scooper, drop 1 inch balls of dough in icing sugar and roll until completely covered with sugar. Place on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are just set. Do not overbake. Cool completely on cookie sheets.

Tip: These would make an extra special treat for Valentine's Day if rolled in red sanding sugar. You could also use silver sanding sugar for a wedding anniversary. The possibilities are endless.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Yeld: 3 dozen
Ove 350 F

Reprinted with permission from www.allergymom.ca (copyright 2013)

Full disclosure Noha Elkarmalawy sent me an e-copy of her book to me. This book has a great mix of allergy friendly recipes that are dairy, egg and nut free. Her book also covers allergy basics and goes into detail about pantry items, substitutions in recipes as well as sharing her own story of her daughter's allergy.

Buy The Book
www.allergymom.ca
Allergy Mom.ca Facebook Page

Dairy Free Cooking

I've been cooking mostly dairy free for a while, for my milk allergic child, some of my early discoveries, I still use.

Dairy Free Shepard's pie, instead of cream of mushroom soup I use can cream corn, or sometimes dairy free soup.

To make a casserole look like it has cheese in it add sweat potato, or top with orange peppers.

To make mashed potatoes I usually use apple sauce or rice milk.

Smoothies are really fun and easy to make dairy free, sometimes I use soy yogurt, other times a little ice, may be soy milk whatever fruit I have on hand.

I actually prefer scrambled eggs made with rice milk, I think they taste lighter.

Tropical Traditions

Tropical Traditions sent me a giant jar of virgin coconut oil. Coconut oil is sometimes used as a dairy substitute, that I have been ignoring till now. Having never experimented with Coconut oil before, I tried it in everything I could think of.

First up I tried it in stir fries, one meat stir fry, one vegetarian stir fry. I was impressed with both stirfrys. The oil did not over power the vegetables, and blended with the chicken very well.

Next up coconut oil in cookies, Oatmeal and cranberry cookies with a hint of coconut oil. We ate a sheet of cookies in ten minutes, I'll have to use coconut oil in coconut cookies at some point.

Then I made pancakes with coconut oil, this was very good and I recommend this use of coconut oil. I microwaved a couple tablespoons for a few seconds in the microwave, then mixed it into my pancake batter.

Tropical Traditions has on it's website Coconut Oil Recipes I am more of a recipe reader, then I create my own dish.

Full disclosure: blogger was fed

Dairy Free Frosting

Duncan Hines put out a dairy free frosting called Whipped Fluffy White I finally got around to trying some, on top of some dairy Free brownies. I was impressed with the texture easy to apply, but most impressive was the fact that I can get some at my local grocery store. i plan to use this on our gingerbread men this holiday season.

Glazed Ham

Glazed Ham

Ingredients:

1. 1 seven-pound smoked ham butt
2. 30 whole cloves
3. 1 cup packed light brown sugar
4. ¼ cup pineapple juice
5. 2 tablespoons stone ground mustard
6. 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar


Preparation:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place ham face down on a cutting board and score sides with both vertical and 3horizontal cuts
3. Stud cloves in ham where score marks cross and place ham face down on a baking sheet
4. Combine sugar, juice, mustard and vinegar in a small saucepan and put on stove


Cooking:

1. Put ham in oven
2. Whisk glaze over a medium flame until combined, about 1 minute
3. Turn flame off and set glaze aside for basting
4. After ham has baked 1 hour, baste with ½ of glaze and bake 20 minutes
5. Baste ham with remaining glaze and bake another 20 minutes
6. Remove ham from oven
7. Reserve glaze for dipping
8. Take cloves out of ham
9. Place ham face down on cutting board
10. Thinly slice ham and top with reserved glaze if desired
Serve and enjoy

Answering the "what's for dinner question," Allergy Free Family Favorites is a collection of recipes that are 100% free of Wheat, Dairy, Egg, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Fish, Shellfish and Sesame. Visit www.chefbrianinc.com for more sample recipes and information on the cookbook.

Jules Gluten Free

From Jules Gluten Free


Jules GLuten Free is hosting another cooking demonstration in Raleigh, NC at the Brier Creek location of Earth Fare. Last week's was such a huge hit that registration closed long before many of you had a chance to get into the class. Not to fear! Earth Fare is hosting another one on August 1st! The class will run from 11:00a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The cost will be the same as last time, $35, from which $5 will be donated to the pioneering work of the University
of Maryland Center for Celiac Research. I'll be making another range of things, including pasta, soft pretzels, pie and the always-popular bread! To reserve your space, register online at JulesGlutenFree.com today. Space is limited; reservations are on a first-come, first-served basis.

more allergy community news

milk substitute

A can of cream corn is one of my favorite cream soup substitutes. In stead of cream of mushroom soup, for meatloaves or casseroles I use a can of cream of corn. I have even made macaroni and corn, with a little pepper and spice. I always read the can of cream corn, to make sure it is milk free, but found it to be a cost effective cream substitute.

If you miss the colour of cheese on a dish add yellow and orange peppers on top. I have even added to Sheppard’s Pie small bits of sweat potato to look like cheese.

There are commercial cheese substitutes on the market, I have even tried a few, but I usually wing it. Tell us about a substitution you like to use.