foodie allergies...what to do?

Time at home and moving has meant lots of high qual bonding time con mi MADRE. She has some not so fun dietary restrictions that have opened my eyes to the challenges that people with food allergies face every time they want to cook or eat out at a restaurant. I've been attempting to bake things that my mom can eat. My mom's food qualms: Gluten, Dairy and Soy.

One cookie success:

Power / Energy Cookies (adapted from another recipe that still had dairy in it):

1 cup applesauce (previous recipe had 1.5 cups of butter or margarine, I subbed 1C applesauce and 1/2C canola oil to be sure to stay gluten dairy AND soy free--if you don't have allergies, butter away in place of the applesauce and oil!)

1/2 cup canola oil 

1 cup brown sugar 

2/3 cups white sugar

2 eggs 

2 tsp vanilla

3 cups all-purpose wheat flour (I used gluten free flour mix)

2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp xanthum gum (only needed if you're using GF flour mix, this is what makes it stick together)

2 cups oats (if you're making these GF, make sure to get GF oats!)

1/2 cup coconut

3/4-1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup of dried fruit (I used craisins)

1 cup of chocolate chips (for gluten free/dairy free, be sure to get GFDF chocolate chips)

Start with applesauce and oil in a large mixing bowl.

Stir in sugars, add eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Add flour, then baking powder, xanthum gum and soda.

Blend until all flour is moistened.

Add oats, nuts, fruit and chocolate chips and stir.

Drop spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets and bake at 350 F for approximately for 15 minutes.

Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes and cooling rack for 20 minutes more.

YUM. Very hearty. Non allergen people liked them too! Lots of room for alterations (take out coconut, more nuts, vary what fruit to add etc). 
Hey you blog readers-do you have any recipes you think would be good to try gluten free/dairy free? Let me know--I'm thinking of even trying to make that banana cake from a few posts ago into a GFDF masterpiece. Ha. THAT could be challenging!

Another success was by the FABULOUS Chef Kevin from the Hyatt - he made a farewell dinner for us when my mom was in town to help me move. It was AMAZING. My mom has mentioned at least 5 or 6 times and told a bunch of her friends how great the meal was (so Kevin-if you opened a restaurant in Ames, Iowa, my mother alone could fill the tables with her friends!). How wonderful it was not to have to worry about her allergies since he had them taken care of. What we had was a 5 course foodie fest that was gluten, dairy and soy free. It was super. Kevin is proof that yes, it CAN be done: Gluten Free Dairy Free food can taste good AND still have normal textures. A pork taco with mango salsa; potato cake with carmelized onions, spinach, mandarin oranges and smoked salmon; chili seared scallops with watermelon arugula salad; venison with fresh lentils and some awesome kind of cherries; lastly three fresh sorbets. HOLY CRAP. 

A few envy worthy pics from the night: