Allergy-Free French Toast Sticks!

Make Stuff Monday…

This week’s Make Stuff Monday is for “kid-friendly” allergy free French Toast Sticks! When we began our elimination diet 2 years ago for E, we were so clueless as to what to feed the poor boy. It was so so hard to find things that were  allergy -free AND tasted good. I felt very alone and did not know where to even turn or begin and I had to learn a lot about ingredients, substitutions and cooking methods that I never needed to know before. So I pretty much had to tweek food ingredients through trial and error. Well- more like…

trial error, error, error… “Dis tastes ucky mama”

trial, error, error, error… “I not wike dis mama”

till he was old enough to say either…”This is gross mom” or “mmmm, gimme more”.

Sooooo….we have learned a lot on this allergy-free journey and still learning everyday! I recently found a recipe for french toast http://mrbreakfast.com/superdisplay.asp?recipeid=1367 that I wanted to try with him because he drinks LOVES syrup so much and he eats it on homemade pancakes (I will post this recipe later). Variety is key! Not sure if it’s him getting bored with some of the same ol same ol’s or if it’s me and my ADD tendencies wanting to have this variety? (not confessing to anything of course).

So I am going to give you the scoop here on the french toast sticks. Let me just say that the goal for me is to find things that the whole family can enjoy, but oftentimes, I will attempt a recipe that no body in their right mind the family can even swallow and yet little E has snarffed down a whole plate and already asking for seconds before the rest of us have even had a chance to spit it out. So the inside scoop with this is that I did not think it was “spit-worthy” and liked it alright. It was certainly not the french toast I grew up on, but it was not bad in my opinion. It was a little squishy inside….BUT BUT BUT….both of our kids enjoyed it! (so maybe it’s just me). They dipped it to no end and finished the entire thing in two days. I think it is important to realize that anything dipped in syrup tastes great children with food allergies typically do not know the difference or have anything to compare it to…so there’s a good chance that they will enjoy it regardless!

The french toast turned out like a fairy-tale for E.

Boy meets french toast.

French toast is super hot.

Boy likes french toast and wants more of it.

French toast plays hard to get by falling off griddle onto stove.

Boy saves french toast….yada, yada, yada….

He loved it! He did. Hearing wedding bells.

How to create your very own love story?

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You will need:

1 Cup Soymilk

2 TBSP cornstarch

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 tsp. dairy-free butter or margarine

1 pinch of salt

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1. Preheat a griddle or fry pan to just above medium heat

2. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except bread and butter.

2. Mix until the cornstach is dissolved.

3. Dip both sides of each bread slice into the mixture

4. Melt butter on the griddle or skillet and place bread on heated surface

5. Cook each side to a light golden brown.

6. Focus intently. (This is a critical step for successful french toast making)

7. Using a pizza cutter, slice each piece of cooked french toast into sticks

8. Enjoy dipping into some yummy pure maple syrup from your local farmer’s market!

…..and they lived happily ever after!

P.S. The sticks actually had a thicker texture on day two, after sitting in the fridge and then being warmed up in the microwave. Just thought I’d pass this along.