What do you serve 18 Ugandan children representing the African Children’s Choir for dessert? Why Top 8 Free Allergen Savvy Dirt Plants of course! This week, my family hosted this beautiful Choir, plus their chaperones and four Fellows from the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders for dinner. I was instructed to hold off on serving sodas (yay) and cook up whatever worked for our family. Working on limited time with a pantry boasting Enjoy Life Foods (ELF) goodies, Surf Sweets gummy worms and an intriguing recipe for #SpringFreely Dirt Cups on hand, I had no choice but to make dirt cups with a slight variation. I omitted the non-dairy topping layer and incorporating the Vanilla Honey Graham Crunchy Cookies while adding large fresh mint springs from our garden to make the dessert look like a plant. Can we say, BIG HIT?
Steps for making the TOP 8 Free Allergen Enjoy Life Foods #SpringFreely Dirt Cups (well, dirt plants this time)
Note: follow the #springfreely Dirt Cups recipe with these slight variations or, even better, follow their recipe for that gorgeous layered effect!
- Make pudding recipe from ELF’s Dirt Cup Recipe-this included the ELF Brownie Mix and Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips. I adjusted the recipe to accommodate the large group.
- Place the Double Chocolate Crunchy Cookies in a ziplock bag and crush with the side of a can (make sure the bag is sealed to avoid crumbs all over your kitchen).
- Cut gummy worms in half so each plant has two sticking out.
- Carefully spoon pudding into 4 oz mason jars.
- Spoon crushed cookies over the top to cover the pudding while simulating the look of dirt.
- Press two worm halves into the “dirt”.
- Thoroughly wash a 4 to 5-inch piece of fresh mint and place it in the center of the jar/
- Create big happy smiles serving up a fun dessert that just so happens to be hard-core allergen friendly.
My husband’s 89-year-old mother, who is from Iran, helped assemble the treats while I showered. It was that easy to make! I have taught her how to cruise around facebook, so now I am thinking of introducing her to Pinterest, but fear I might create a crafty beast! She thought I was crazy but then loved watching the kid’s reactions. Not only was I thrilled to host this fun group, but once again, allergy savvy food wins–good food is just good food.
The secret bonus of the evening was watching the bus driver’s face light up when he learned the desserts were peanut safe. Yes, grownups like to be included too.
Thanks Enjoy Life Foods for making me look sooooo good to the kids! I am sure they will return to Uganda talking about the crazy foods we eat here in America.
disclaimer: Enjoy Life Foods provided a few lovely samples, including some of the gummy worms and a recipe for me to play with but did not ask me write good, bad or so-so things, but to just share the fun.-which I am thrilled to do. I also was not paid to share the fun, have fun and create fun. Dirt plants were a natural part of our fun evening.
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
Caroline, this is awesome and you are a super woman!
Love this so much!! Fun and Inspiring!