Easy. homemade.

When we first found out about Anna's garlic allergy I was pretty horrified. I knew that I would have to start making a lot of basic foods from scratch. From sauces to condiments to spice mixes to broths, very few convenience foods or shortcuts are garlic-free.

I hate to cook.

I became accustomed to creating many foods from scratch out of necessity. Italian seasoning, spaghetti sauce, chicken broth, salad dressing, and hummus. Convenience foods like frozen fish sticks and chicken nuggets. Even foods you wouldn't usually think of having garlic in them, like refried beans, I had to make from the bottom up. Other foods I had to work without because there wasn't a good homemade option that would work for us (ketchup, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, to name a few).

Now that she is a little older, Anna has been able to handle small amounts of garlic in her diet as her winter clothing protects her skin from breaking out and turning into sores. I thought I would be really excited to go out and buy all these foods I've been missing out on, and I was ... but then I wasn't. I found that many of the alternatives were quite unhealthy and bland. I decided it was just as easy to continue to make some of them from scratch. Here are some of the yummy ones I keep going back to. These are the foods whose alternative store-bought versions are often loaded with extra sugar and hydrogenated oil and are significantly more expensive. These are super easy and quick even for someone to hates to cook.

Here are some of my favorites:

Salad Dressing: I can't believe I've spent so much time buying unhealthy bottles full of junk when the simple, homemade stuff is so much better. I discovered from a friend that half and half oil and balsamic vinegar was as good (and a whole lot healthier) than the salad dressings I was using. I purchased a handy salad dressing pourer that has measurements on the outside and allows you to shake and pour it (see product here. You can get a small version at Bed Bath and Beyond for $7 with a coupon).

Spaghetti sauce: Make your own without sugar and a whole lot cheaper. I make a huge batch and freeze them in individual containers. I use 3 28oz cans of plain crushed tomatoes. Mix in some olive oil and lots of spices: 2T each of oregano, basil, parsley, and some thyme and salt and pepper. Try mixing in shredded carrots, grated zucchini, or the crumbled tips of broccoli to give it an extra nutritional oomph.

Chicken broth: Cooking a whole chicken in the crockpot and simmering, saving, and freezing the broth is a much healthier, sodium-conscious alternative to cans of (expensive) chicken broth. Oh, and it tastes soo much better. You can especially notice a difference in soups.

Hummus: this is so easy to make. You only need four ingredients: chickpeas (1 can), tahini paste (1.5 T), lemon juice (3T) and olive oil (2T). The trick is to run all the ingredients except the chickpeas through the food processor until smooth, and then process in the chickpeas. No garlic, additives, and no spending $4 on a container of hummus. You can add anything you want to it- roasted red peppers, garlic (if that floats your boat), spices, etc.

Refried beans: We eat a lot of beans but the only kind Anna isn't allergic to are pinto and kidney beans. Refried beans always contain garlic in them, so we had to make our own. We puree a can of pinto beans with a little bit of water until smooth. Easy and yummy. Great texture. Once I saw how unhealthy true refried beans at the store were, I was willing to take that extra step to make my own. They are great for making nachos, quesadillas, or burritos. We usually opt for beans over beef for our protein in Mexican food.


Chicken nuggets and fish sticks: It's a bit more work than the above foods, but you cut into strips or chunks your tilapia or chicken, roll them in mayonnaise with a little bit of lemon juice, and then roll them in breadcrumbs. Cook in the oven at 400 until crispy, let cool, and divide into freezer bags. I put one kids size meal in one sandwich bag and then load those all up into big freezer bags. I take out one serving size and pop them into the toaster oven for 10 minutes to warm up.