Pumpkin Bread

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a recipe for Pumpkin Bread on the eighteen25 blog. (Love this blog, btw. I need to purchase a 16x20" frame so I can start taking advantage of their sweet subway art and Costco's super affordable poster printing!)

Anyway, I'm not much of a pumpkin fan so normally I'd skip this, but I'm getting desperate for tasty, filling, dairy-free finger foods, so after a quick glance at the ingredient list, I decided to give it a shot. Oh my goodness, it's SO yummy. Especially with my $7 bag of organic dairy-free chocolate chips. Yes, I said $7. For one bag. And frankly, it's worth every penny to get to taste chocolate again!!! (Rumor has it that Trader Joe's chocolate chips are dairy free...anyone know for sure??)

It occurred to me that you can almost make 2 batches of the dough with one big can of pumpkin, so that's what I did last week. This way I could use up some chocolate chips in the cupboard that I can't eat, and share a few loaves with the neighbors.  A note on the recipe: it says it makes 2 large loaves. They are REALLY large loaves. As in, incredibly tall. I decided to make 3 loaves per batch instead, and they turned out the size of a normal loaf. I've also decided that I need to get a collection of mini-loaf pans for bread gifting purposes. Because who doesn't love things that are little?! And that way I can really spread the love around.

And while we're on the subject of dairy-free dining, I decided I have to get hyper-diligent once again. The poor Bit has been back to icky green poo (which her doctor doesn't see as a problem, btw...ugh!) for the past few weeks with all of my eating away from home. So I went through our cupboards with a fine tooth comb, pulling out anything that contains dairy products. This is what I came up with:

SERIOUSLY!!! 6 bags worth of food. And this doesn't even count the refrigerator or freezer, people! You know--the places you EXPECT to find dairy products!! Our bread has dairy. Our pancake mix has dairy. Our curry sauces have dairy (not just coconut milk)!! Even half of our spaghetti sauces have dairy (and no, they're not cheese flavored)! SO FREAKING FRUSTRATING!!

The good news is, since I did the cupboard purge, her poo has been wonderfully yellow and perfectly normal! I've come to the conclusion that she's just super sensitive and one little slip is all it takes to mess with her system. And being a girl with a less than fabulous system myself, I know how uncomfortable and cranky that can make a person, so I'm willing to do whatever it takes to feed Lana only things that keep her feeling good.

Bet you're super excited about all this new poo talk on the blog, aren't you?? ;)