My girls turned 1 and 3 this month, their birthdays falling 10 days apart, so we had a double birthday party for both kids and adults.
Because of my family’s multiple food sensitivities, we made all the food. While it was an exhausting endeavor, I am proud of how it all turned out. We made way too much – the party could have been twice the size, but that’s ok – lots of leftovers!
So here was our gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and nut-free menu. Almost everything could be made a day ahead.
SNACKS:
- Tortilla chips & salsa
- Potato chips
- Tings (like Cheetos without the cheese)
- Grapes and strawberries
LUNCH for the kids:
- Sandwiches with bread made with Pamela’s Wheat-Free Bread Mix (egg-free recipe) – some with turkey and Tofutti non-dairy cream cheese and some with jelly (the jelly ones were the favorite)
LUNCH for the adults:
- Quinoa salad
- Pasta salad made with Tinkyada rice pasta shells
- Grilled Aidell’s sausages (not all flavors are gluten-free, so be sure to check)
- Focaccia made with Pamela’s Wheat-Free Bread Mix (reheat in the oven before serving)
DESSERT:
- 2 butterfly-shaped birthday cakes made with Pamela’s Chocolate Cake mix (egg-free version) – double layered
- Frosting made with a frosting mix and Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, and colored with India Tree Natural Decorating Colors
- Cake decorated with Let’s Do Organic Sprinkelz, and decorating sugars and sprinkles from India Tree
OTHER GOODIES (these were NOT egg-free):
- Blondies by Namaste
- Brownies by Gluten-Free Pantry
- Pan Bars by 1-2-3 Gluten Free
- Mini Lemon Poppyseed Muffins by ‘Cause You’re Special
NOTE: these extra goodies were totally unnecessary, since the adults liked the butterfly cake as much as the kids!
Think we went overboard?? Yep. Not sure I will ever do that again, but everyone loved the food and like I said… leftovers!
P.S. Thank you to both sets of grandparents and my sister for helping me pull this off. My mom (an artist, unlike myself) decorated the cake.
Karina says
Alison – Wow – you did a beautiful job! Everything sounds yummy and fun. What a good Mom! 🙂
May I ask you – what do use as an egg sub with the Pamela’s mixes? I tried using Ener-G Egg Replacer in a Namaste brownie mix and it did NOT work. (I’m hoping you don’t say flaxseed – because I am so allergic to flax!) Karina
alison says
Hi Karina,
First of all, a big oops that I did not give due credit to all the people who helped me (I have now updated the post to include that). There is NO WAY I could have done all this by myself! (but I will still take the good mom compliment – thanks!)
I have found that the Ener-G Egg Replacer does work well with Pamela’s. That is the only one I use – I don’t think I do well with flaxseed either.
Regarding Namaste mixes – on their website they say that some people have had luck using more egg replacer than called for. I sometimes double the egg replacer. I am going to try the Namaste muffin mix with egg replacer and see how that turns out. I am by no means an egg replacer expert… yet!
Sheltie Girl says
What a wonderful party. I’m sure your girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves. With all the delicious gluten free food and butterfly cake, I’m sure it was a birthday they will cherish.
Sheltie Girl @ Gluten A Go Go
allergic girl says
what a sweet butterfly!–happy birthday to your girls!
quick question about pamela’s: as they are made in a facility that also produces nuts, http://www.pamelasproducts.com/Allergy.html, i was surprised to see that you used it for your nut-free festivities?
i have never used pamela’s myself but have heard so many wonderful things about her porducts, the goddess used to use them all the time, i was wondering have you or your allergic ones had any issues with them?
thanks!
AG
alison says
Thanks Sheltie Girl, although they probably won’t remember it anyway since they are only 3 and 1! Oh well – got some good pics. 🙂
AG,
I haven’t worried about cross-contamination with nuts in Pamela’s mixes, but I called anyway. They said that the pancake & baking mix is the one with almonds in it and yes, the other mixes are run on the same lines, but that they are thoroughly cleaned. Also, they run 1 week of one product and then 1 week of the next, and so on. They have never had a problem. Thanks for asking the question!