Valentine’s Dinner: An Allergy-Friendly Menu

One of my favorite holidays (after Christmas) is Valentine’s Day! I remember how I used to make a romantic dinner at home for my husband when we did not have kids, because I have never been a big fan of going out to restaurants on this day because every place is packed.

Once we became parents we decided to keep our at-home Valentine’s dinner tradition. We have taught the kids that it’s a nice day to take time to express your affection for that special someone even more, but it is not about presents or flowers. Instead, we encourage them to make some nice cards for each of us.

Because of my daughter’s food allergies, we try to find new recipes for every celebration that my son (who is not allergic to anything) will also enjoy.

This year we will be making, dairy-free creamy zucchini soup, dairy-free lasagna, and vegan pink strawberry cupcakes for our annual Valentine’s dinner.

Dairy-Free Creamy Zucchini Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of olive oil or vegan butter
2 garlic cloves minced
2 pounds zucchinis, cut into squares (1.5 in)
3 cups vegetable broth
2 white potatoes
½ cup unsweetened coconut milk
Salt

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 min, then add the zucchinis and broth and cook for about 10-15min longer.
2. Peel and cut the potatoes and boil them with about 2 cups of water until they are soft (15-20min).
3. Use a blender to mix the zucchinis, broth, and potatoes until smooth.
4. Add the coconut milk and salt to taste.
5. Serve in bowls, and add some Daiya cheese on top.

Dairy-Free Lasagna

It might seem like a lot of work, but I promise, this is easy to make and it tastes amazing! It is totally worth making for your own Valentine’s dinner!!!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 can of tomato sauce (15 oz)
1 cup of water
4-5 mushrooms
1 cup of spinach
½ cup of carrots
2 cloves of garlic
1 box of oven-ready lasagna sheets
2 pounds of ground beef (you can skip this if you’re vegan or vegetarian)
1 cup of unsweetened coconut cream
2 cups of Daiya cheese (mozzarella style)
Salt
Basil

Instructions

Step 1: Set the oven to 350F. Prepare your sauce – for this, put the tomato sauce, water, spinach, mushrooms, carrots, and garlic in a blender and mix until all are combined. Set aside.

Step 2: Sauté your meat until it is cooked; add salt, basil, and the tomato sauce from step 1.

Step 3: In a 13in x 9in baking dish, layer your ingredients the following way: spread about 3 tablespoons of pasta sauce on the bottom. Add your first three lasagna sheets. Layer the lasagna sheets with ½ cup of coconut cream, meat sauce, and cheese. Then add your next layer of lasagna sheets and repeat. Add the final layer and top with the remaining meat sauce and cheese.

Step 4: Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the foil and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes uncovered. Let cool for a few minutes.

Enjoy!!!

Pink Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (you can also use gluten-free flour but you will need to add xanthan gum)
1 cup white sugar (You can use raw coconut sugar as a substitute, but the cupcakes will look a little bit brownish)
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 cup strawberry purée (mix the strawberries in a blender, do not add water)
1/3 cup canola oil (olive oil would work too)
1 tablespoon of white or apple cider vinegar  
1 vegan egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed plus 3 tablespoons hot water; make it in before anything else)

For Frosting

1½ cups powdered sugar (if you do not have powdered sugar, you can make some by putting regular sugar in a blender)
1/3 cup vegan butter
¼ cup strawberry purée

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Prepare the flax egg: mix the ground flaxseed meal with hot water, and let it sit for around 10min.
3. Mix the dry ingredients into a bowl (flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder).
4. Add the wet ingredients (strawberry purée, oil, vinegar, and vegan egg) to the dry ingredients and mix them with a mixer. Be careful not to over mix, it needs to look like a thick batter.
5. Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners and pour the batter into them.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
7. Allow them to cool before decorating.

Strawberry Frosting

1. With an electric mixer, combine the powdered sugar, vegan butter, and strawberry purée until the frosting is smooth.
2. Put the frosting onto the cupcakes and add a slice of strawberry to decorate.

I hope you all enjoy a safe and lovely Valentine’s Day! We will be watching a movie after our Valentine’s dinner. Any recommendations?