Multiple Food Allergies and Anaphylaxis (MFAA) Interchange

Southeast Asian ingredients a boon if you're looking for food substitutes!

2011-05-29T17:24:00.000-04:00

I invite you to check out my lastest article published on the online Suite101 Magazine!

http://www.suite101.com/content/southeast-asian-gems-in-the-food-allergy-treasure-chest-a373438

Food Substitutes from Southeast Asia

2011-05-27T17:16:00.000-04:00

Thought I’d share a tidbit from the new Suite101.com article I’m about to submit for publication – but first, other good news:

Visits to this blog have increased a LOT over this past month, including new visitors from Brazil, Russia, and Singapore! Welcome J

I’m happy to see that search engines and referral sites are sending more and more readers too – a big thank-you to AllergyEats.com which sent 10 referrals. I’m also seeing referrals from Facebook.com, Blogger.com, and Guru.com. Please keep the referrals coming, whether electronically or by good old-fashioned word of mouth!!

TIDBIT FROM MY UPCOMING ARTICLE: For people whose meal choices are limited by food allergies, Southeast Asia offers so many enticing possibilities of ingredients which can be used as an alternative to any number of other ingredients. Among these are unripe/brined jackfruit to replace chicken in stews (jackfruit “chips” are also sold in Oriental stores and make an interesting alternative to potato chips!) or jujube berries (also known as Chinese dates) to replace either fresh or dried cranberries.

Treasures from so many cuisines!

2011-05-11T15:31:00.000-04:00

I find myself doing what I don’t like to see other bloggers doing – feeling that I have to apologize for being away for a while without having put anything new on my blog. I know we’re all only human, so I forgive them and myself (at least a little bit) but I still wish I had had more time to contribute to my blog over the past few weeks.

That said, I’m very grateful that, despite my temporary disappearance, the number and diversity of visitors to this site continue to increase – both new and returning readers not only from across the United States and many European countries but also from Central America (Costa Rica), other parts of Europe (Norway, Russia), and even the Pacific Rim (Australia). My greatest hope is that the information found on this blog is helpful. Thank you to everyone who’s visited, and please continue share this blog with anyone you know!

Meanwhile, as mentioned in my last post, I’m writing articles for Suite101 Online Magazine, and planning that the next one will be about how Asian cuisines and food markets offer a wealth of food substitutes and alternatives for those of us dealing with multiple and less commonly seen food allergies. It’s a big topic, so the challenge will be to trim it while still giving all the info I know readers will find useful.

I’ve also got draft articles about alternatives and undiscovered “safe” foods found in the varied cuisines and markets of Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Discovering these foods, and seeing how they can enrich a diet that otherwise may be extremely limited by food allergies, has lifted my spirits and given me new resolve to share what I have learned.

In that vein, I warmly invite you, my wonderful readers, to share any such treasures which you may have found, too – foods that perhaps are not familiar to people living outside of your own location and might just provide a needed boost of nutrition, flavor, and release from menu monotony J

Adult Onset of Food Allergies: Some current theories

2011-04-19T12:52:00.000-04:00

Further to my post of earlier this month regarding Adult Onset of Food Allergies, I wanted to pass on some information I recently discovered -- definitely worth looking into if you're wondering, as I am, what may be causing adults to suddenly develop food allergies.

In the Spring 2011 issue of Allergic Living Magazine, on pages 15 & 16 within the section titled "The Food Allergy Experts", Dr. Scott Sicherer (Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York) tells a reader some of the current theories about why adults are experiencing food allergies they didn't when they were children:

1) Allergy to proteins in the air which are similar to proteins in certain foods may contribute to developing food allergy -- for example, proteins in birch pollen are similar to the proteins of foods in the same family as apples and pears (Pomoideae, a sub-family of the Rose Family).

2) Environmental exposure to a food or food protein, even if not ingested, may increase risk of allergy to that food/protein (peanuts are the example given).

3) Changes in digestion, such as taking antacids, may lead to increased risk of food allergy (the theory is that lack of stomach acid reduces digestion and allows proteins to pass intact to the immune system).

4) An imbalance in the immune system caused, for example, by a severe viral illness, may lead the body to attack proteins it formerly considered benign.

This list is by no means exhaustive nor definitive, and Dr. Sicherer emphasizes the importance of talking with a board-certified allergist about your specific case. The bottom line is that no one has yet sufficiently pinned down the cause(s) of food allergies in adults or children, but every day our knowledge is increasing -- a heartening thought for the times when our hope of relief seems to dwindle.

Indian Ingredients in the Food Allergy Treasure Chest

2011-04-19T11:41:00.001-04:00

I am pleased to have recently published my first article as a contributing writer to the Suite101.com Online Magazine.

Of course it's an article on one of my favorite subjects: finding ingredient alternatives when your "safe foods" list is limited by multiple food allergies (especially those beyond the "Top 8"). This is the first of several articles I'll be writing about how ethnic markets can be a fantastic boon for eliminating monotony from meals.

Feel free to check it out at:
http://www.suite101.com/content/indian-ingredients-in-the-food-allergy-treasure-chest-a366570

Indian vegetable market
(Credit: babasteve)

2011-04-05T13:48:00.000-04:00

Check out "AllergyEats.com" for great info on finding allergy friendly restaurants (its blog site has also kindly included my food allergy blog in its "Friends" list): http://www.allergyeats.com/blog/

The AllergyEats Blog

www.allergyeats.com

Adult Onset of Food Allergies

2011-03-23T09:32:00.000-04:00

I’m delighted to welcome recent readers from Hong Kong, Iran, and Israel, as well as a steadily increasing stream of readers from the USA, Canada, and various European countries. Please continue to visit, and bring your friends!

This will be a short post today, but I wanted to share with you what I’ve been thinking about the past few days. I’ve started receiving regular “Google Alerts” for anything that appears on the web about multiple food allergies, and one item that caught my attention was a post in the “Allergy Community” section of a website called www.medhelp.org. The post was from a woman who as an adult began experiencing food allergies to a variety of foods, though she had not had prior food allergies. Some of her food allergies are not to the currently recognized “Top 8”, and some started out as mild allergies but got more severe if she continued to eat those foods. Her further frustration is that the number of food allergies she has is increasing, and she’s afraid she’ll soon have nothing that is safe for her to eat.

This resonated with me because it’s all too true a scenario that my own family has experienced – first with my mother, then with myself. Adult onset of food allergies, and the growing number and diversity of those allergies, seem to be topics much less frequently addressed than food-allergic kids and the “Top 8” food allergies. This is not only disturbing to those of us who as adults developed food allergies but also disheartening because far too few people know (as I do from my own research and personal experience) that there are myriad alternative foods as well as extensive information that can help this large segment of the population.

Obviously this blog is one such resource, and I strive daily to add more sources of information and support to it. My magazine articles and of course my book that I hope to have published soon are also inspired by my desire to provide such information and encouragement. There are a few other sites out there that also address food allergies beyond the “Top 8” and aren’t aimed primarily at kids (see the links to the left and right of this post). Nonetheless I am wondering how to reach more people like the woman who posted on the medhelp.org website – when I investigated further I found many more posts from as far back as 2007 from adults who, like her, were experiencing adult onset of food allergies and didn’t know where to turn for help in order to still be able to eat well.

I would love to hear your comments and anything about your own experiences with adult onset food allergies – both the difficulties and the solutions you’ve found. And I promise I’ll share with you whatever I can find that will be of help, too.

Ketchup and pasta sauce with NO tomatoes or nightshades...

2011-03-11T10:32:00.000-05:00

First, I’m thrilled to welcome an ever-increasing number of visitors to this site – in the past month several new online readers have joined us from Canada, and new visitors continue to come to us from Germany, Slovenia, France, and across the

United States

Reports generated by Blogger.com, Google Analytics, and Grader.com indicate that more referral sites and search engines are finding this blog and that its rank is swiftly rising among food allergy blogs worldwide. Thank you to everyone who’s visited, and please continue share this blog with anyone you know!

My post today is on the topic of “tomato sauces” that are tomato-free AND nightshade-free. Last month I offered some suggestions on alternatives to using red or green tomatoes in recipes, but most of those unfortunately still use members of the Nightshade Family (of which tomato is one), leaving those of us with allergies to the whole Nightshade Family (Solanaceae) in a bit of a fix.

Two days ago I came across a recipe for red pasta sauce that DOESN’T involve tomatoes OR any other nightshades, and I was so excited, I started searching for similar recipes. The original recipe I found was in a fairly old “International Macrobiotic Cuisine” book called Whole World Cookbook, produced by a group of editors at East West Journal back in 1984, and used carrots, beets, and red miso as its main ingredients. My immediate thought was why didn’t I think of using carrots and beets like that?!?

Already I saw a nightshade-free sauce coming together in my mind – carrots being from the Carrot/Parsley Family (Umbelliferae or Apiaceae) and beets from the Goosefoot/Beet Family (Chenopodiaceae). Red miso is soy-derived and therefore from a sub-family called Papilionoideae or Faboideae and which belongs to the larger Legume Family (Leguminoaseae or Fabaceae). As the amount of miso required was quite small, I would probably leave it out altogether. Alternatively, I could easily imagine adding various other ingredients to replace its saltiness if needed, e.g. coconut aminos or a smidge of yeast extract (Marmite). Basically, the macrobiotic recipe I found called for pressure cooking the carrots and beets with onions and then adding the miso and various Italian-style herbs and spices to get the right flavor, plus arrowroot to thicken the sauce.

Inspired by that recipe, I did a quick websearch for other tomato-free and nightshade-free sauces, and to my surprise there were a number of similar recipes using carrots and beets, and not just for pasta sauce but also for ketchup – those of you who have to avoid ketchup because of tomatoes will no doubt be as happy as I was to finally get that item back on the table!**

Here are a few of the recipes I found (note: one uses yams instead of carrots) – I haven’t tried them yet, but am gearing up to do so. If you beat me to it, please let me know how you liked the results. I even found a company that makes such sauces commercially. The best part is that with carrots and beets, you’re already getting more varied nutrients than you would have been getting with tomatoes or their nightshade siblings anyway!

Tomato-free red pasta sauce:

http://www.tomatoesareevil.com/tomato%20free%20recipes.html

http://oko-organic-clothing.blogspot.com/2010/01/macrobiotic-gluten-free-carrot.html

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/dressings/mock_tomato.shtml

http://www.wellsphere.com/allergies-article/beet-sauce-a-k-a-tomato-free-spaghetti-pasta-sauce-gluten-free-vegan-tomato-free/841225

Tomato-free ketchup:

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Tomato-Free-Ketchup

Commercially sold tomato-free sauces:

http://www.nomato.com/products.htm

P.S. For a long time now I’ve used a sauce made primarily of red lentils (which dissolve and become orange) as a pasta sauce topping that is also nightshade-free. Doesn’t taste much like tomato sauce but is very flavorful and colorful plus a great source of additional protein. I’ll try to post that recipe in the coming weeks.

** Of course, if you are allergic to carrots, beets, or any member of their respective food families, or to any of the herbs or spices used in such sauces, you would have to adapt the recipe(s) accordingly. Fortunately there are a number of other vegetables that can be cooked to resemble carrots in texture and color but hail from different food families (such as sweet potato/USA yam or pumpkin). For beets, you’d most likely have to substitute other red-colored foods, perhaps rhubarb or red plums? Wait till my soon-to-be-published book comes out – it’s FILLED with food substitution ideas!

Why Food Families Are Important

2011-03-02T11:22:00.000-05:00

A big part of the book manuscript which I recently submitted for publication was an extensive and detailed list of food families and their members. From both research and personal experience I’ve learned that knowledge of food families, and their inter-relation, is extremely helpful in aiding food allergy sufferers to avoid harmful and potentially deadly foods.

While many “food allergy cookbooks” contain a food family list, it is not usually very extensive and sometimes not even particularly accurate. To be fair, scientists are still revising categorization of some food families or members of food families, so that could explain some of the variations from book to book – for example, until rather recently amaranth was considered a member of the Goosefoot/Beet Family (Chenopodiaceae), but now is categorized as its own family (Amaranthaceae), together with quinoa and tampala – and even at that, quinoa is in a different “sub-family” from amaranth, lessening somewhat the likelihood of allergy to one even if you’re allergic to the other. You therefore might be fine eating amaranth even if you’re allergic to beets, swiss chard, and spinach (all members of the Goosefoot/Beet Family). Or you might, as in my case, be able to eat quinoa without a problem but have to stay away from amaranth.

In my opinion, understanding food families is KEY to being able to eat safely and well, and to achieve that goal people need to know not only which foods belong to which food families but also the fact that two or more members of the same food family MAY OR MAY NOT cause the same allergic reaction. Some people can eat certain members of a food family but not other members of the same food family, while other people must avoid all members of the food family either because of allergy to all of them or simply because trying to find out which ones might or might not be allergenic is not worth the risk. Furthermore, allergy to some foods within the same food family may appear at different times, often in a progressive type of situation where first one or two members of the food family are off-limits and later on an allergy to additional members becomes apparent.

If being able to eat a variety of nutritious and varied foods while avoiding harmful allergens is at the top of your priority list, I encourage you to learn as much as you can about as many food families as possible. Start by thinking back to high school science, when we learned that all living things are scientifically categorized in a series of levels or groupings which, ultimately, are all linked at their highest level (e.g. all plants belong to the “Kingdom” of Plantae – including bacteria and fungi and sometimes separated into six smaller kingdoms – while all animals belong to the “Kingdom” of Animalia). Below the “Kingdoms” are myriad additional groupings that are more and more narrowly defined: below “Kingdom” is “Phylum”, then “Class”, then “Order”, then “Family”, then “Genus” (sometimes called “sub-family”, and sometimes followed by “Species” to specifically differentiate between differing forms of very similar plants or animals).

With regard to food and food allergies, focus is usually on the “Family” or “sub-families” (Genus) but sometimes we must look higher up the scale to “Order” or even “Phylum”. Thus we can pinpoint and if necessary avoid the entire family of, say, Nightshades (Solanaceae), which includes white potato, eggplant, tomato, bell pepper, chili peppers, tamarillo, tomatillo, cape gooseberry, and pepino. Or, we might be able to safely eat some members of one family while avoiding others – my mother, for example, can eat brussels sprouts and watercress but not broccoli, cabbage, turnip, radish, or canola – even though all seven are members of the Mustard Family (known as Cruciferae or Brassicaceae).

Knowledge is even more important with foods that are harder to pinpoint as belonging to a certain food family. Take the Mollusk Family (Mollusca), which is actually not a family but a “Phylum” that can be divided into multiple sub-classes or sub-families but usually seen lumped together for ease of reference. The Mollusk Family includes abalone, clam, mussel, oyster, scallop, cockle, snail, squid, octopus, and cuttlefish – the first six or seven sometimes “sub-categorized” separately from the others because they are found in shells…but NOT to be confused with “shellfish” (e.g. crab, lobster, shrimp) which come from the Crustacean Family (Crustacea) – itself not actually a family but rather a sub-phylum that can in turn be further divided into multiple sub-classes or sub-families. Thus ANY of the members of EITHER of these two “food families” MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT be allergens for you…At a minimum, knowledge tells you that “shellfish” is a broad category and you might not have to dump all of the above into the “unsafe” basket after all!

Another point to keep in mind with regard to food families: Sometimes you will hear the same name for foods from completely separate families. Snapper and bass both come to mind because although red snapper is a member of the Snapper Family (Lutjanidae), some fish from other food families are also referred to as snapper. Conversely, there are many fish called bass yet they can come from any of three separate families: Sea Bass Family (Serranidae) which includes its namesake sea bass, Sunfish Family (Centrarchidae) which includes black bass, and Temperate Bass Family (Moronidae) which includes yellow bass, white bass, and striped bass.

Lastly, the inter-relation of some food families can be equally important in relation to food allergies. For example, the Rose Family (Rosaceae) has three main sub-families which are often considered distinct and separate families and therefore an allergy to one may not mean an allergy to the others. These sub-families are: 1) “Pome” or Apple (Pomoideae or Maloideae) which includes apple, pear, quince, mayhaw, loquat, crabapple and rosehip; 2) “Drupe” or Stonefruit (Prunoideae or Amygdaloideae) which includes plum, peach, cherry, apricot, nectarine, and almond; and 3) “Tiny Seed Berry” (Rosoideae) which includes strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, boysenberry, loganberry, youngberry, Japanese wineberry (wine raspberry), cloudberry, and garden burnet. At the same time, one of those sub-families (the Apple Family) is also closely related to the Birch Family (Betulaceae) and therefore an allergy to members of the Apple Family may also mean an allergy to hazelnuts, wintergreen, and birch sugar (all members of the Birch Family).

Likewise, the Asparagus Family (Asparagaceae) is closely related to both the Lily Family (Liliaceae) and the Amaryllis Family (Amaryllidaceae ), increasing the likelihood of shared allergenic qualities among asparagus, aloe, sarsaparilla, and all forms of onion and garlic. Similarly, the Caper Family (Capparidaceae or Capparaceae) is closely related to the Mustard Family (Brassicaceae or Cruciferae) and within the huge Bovine Family (Bovidae) are several large and separate but still related sub-families (each called a genus) which thus inter-relate goat, sheep, cattle, yak and muskox. Nonetheless, many people can safely eat both lamb and beef or goat meat, while other people may find they are allergic to them all.

The more I learn about food families, the more sense I can make out of why certain foods cause an allergic reaction, and the more easily I am able to use that knowledge to continue to ensure healthy, tasty and nutritious meals are still on the menu at my house. I invite you to share your own experiences and learning in this regard – I am sure such knowledge will benefit us all J

Pizza, Nightshades, Book

2011-02-16T11:52:00.000-05:00

Although neither of us can eat wheat, my 6^th-grade daughter and I shared a delicious pizza last weekend, home-made and tasting like it was fresh from the local pizzeria. In fact our whole house smelled like a pizzeria, and it was wonderful! I want to share the recipe I used, as it was not only yummy but also very easy and quick to make.

The recipe (for “Pizza Margherita”) came from Alice Sherwood’s Allergy-Free Cookbook (Dorling Kindersley Ltd., 2007). Of course being the “Adapt-a-Recipe Queen”, I made a few tweaks to it, but in general I followed her suggestions for gluten-free pizza dough as well as toppings and cooking time. Here’s the recipe, per my modifications:

Gluten-free dough (also nut-free and egg-free)

1 c. rice flour

¾ c. potato starch

¼ c. tapioca starch

1 T. xanthan gum

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. powdered (confectioner’s) sugar

1½ tsp. instant yeast

1 T. olive oil plus extra 1 tsp. for pan

Scant 1 c. lukewarm water

2 T. cornstarch for dusting

Topping

6 -8 T. tomato sauce

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

½ c. sliced hard salami or pepperoni (optional)

1 T. olive oil

1 tsp. dried oregano (optional)

1) Set oven to “warm” (or 150ºF). Oil 12-in. pizza pan or baking sheet with 1 tsp. oil.

2) In a food processor fitted with “kneading” blade, combine flours, xanthan gum, salt, sugar, yeast, and oil.

3) Add water and mix to form soft dough that just begins to pull off sides of food processor bowl (2-3 mins).

4) Dust clean flat work surface with cornstarch and transfer dough to work surface, shaping dough into ball (you may need to hand-knead slightly) and making sure cornstarch covers all surfaces of the ball.

5) Roll out dough until approximately 12 inches in diameter. Transfer dough to pizza pan and pat down, spreading evenly to edges of pan.

6) Cover with aluminum foil and place in warm oven for 20 mins.

7) Remove pan from oven and re-set oven temperature to 425 ºF.

8) Spread tomato sauce on pizza dough, leaving about a ¼-in. rim of plain crust around edges. Sprinkle cheese on tomato sauce, add salami or pepperoni slices (if using), then drizzle olive oil on pizza and sprinkle with oregano (if using).

9) Bake in oven for 20 mins. Pizza will be puffed up and golden when taken out of oven, but will lose its puffiness as cools. Serves 2-4 depending on how hungry you are and what else is served with it.

One drawback of the above pizza recipe is, of course, that it contains potato starch, which belongs to the Nightshade Family and so is off-limits for many people with food allergies. I haven’t experimented with other flours in this recipe, but I do believe it can be done, perhaps with added tapioca flour or rice flour. In thinking about replacing the potato starch, I realized that the pizza also contains another nightshade: tomato. This is harder to replace, but a first step might be to make a “white pizza” using only a cheese sauce plus flavorful herbs/spices.

Unfortunately, in my quest for food substitutes to put into my (hopefully) soon-to-appear cookbook (see below), I didn’t find much for tomato. This was a disappointment because there are some dishes that just can’t be done without tomato sauce, and that’s been a thorn in my side for a while now. Though I did find some alternatives both for red and green (unripe) tomatoes, most of the alternatives are also members of the Nightshade Family (one that is not is the bilimbi fruit, also known as Indian tree cucumber, which like its sibling starfruit or carambola belongs to the Wood Sorrel Family). A possible consolation is that some people who are allergic to one or more members of a food family are not necessarily allergic to other members of that same food family. So, if you’re willing (and fairly certain you won’t have an adverse reaction), you could try these substitutes in place of tomatoes:

Substitutes for green (unripe) tomato*: tomatillo (husk tomato, ground cherry), cape gooseberry, bilimbi fruit (mimbro, kamias, Indian tree cucumber), pepino (melon pear)

Substitutes for red (ripe) tomato*: ripe tamarillo (tree tomato), roasted red (bell) pepper + lemon juice

That soon-to-appear cookbook I mentioned, by the way, is actually more of a food substitutes and adaptable recipes guide, and it’s the main reason my posts to this blog have been so sparse lately. I am planning to ship it off to my prospective publisher this weekend (it’s awaiting a final read-through by an unbiased friend at the moment – Mom and I decided we’re too close to the forest to really see the trees objectively).

True to my nature, I’m not going to veg out now that one project is over (at least for the moment); I’m already working on a cookbook that will include lots more adaptable recipes and resources, I have several food allergy articles in the works, and I am impatiently waiting for the new local Asian market to open so that I can scour its shelves and discover some more ingredients to add either as substitutes or enhancements to my ongoing cooking experiments. I’ll be sure to let you know what I find!

Cassava (or manioc, or yuca, or tapioca, or...)

2011-02-02T13:34:00.000-05:00

Last week a visitor to this MFAA-Interchange blog asked me what to do with cassava root. I thought my answer might be helpful to other readers, especially since it is a great alternative starch both as a vegetable (e.g. in place of potato) and as a baking ingredient.

First, though, keep in mind that cassava (or cassava root) is also known/sold as manioc, manioc root, mandioca, yuca, yuca root, or even tapioca (yes, the same kind that you find in pudding). It is NOT related to the casava (or casaba) melon, and NOT the same as “yucca” (which is a type of aloe plant) even though you may see this spelling used. Cassava root is a starchy white tropical tuber that is said to be high in Vitamin C and fiber. Sometimes taro root is used interchangeably with cassava root, but be aware that these two are NOT from the same biological/food family. Similarly, “tapioca” can come from at least three different biological/food families, so you may not be able to tell from the package whether it’s really cassava or not.

Cassava is sold in several forms that can be used in numerous ways; the forms most commonly sold – and most easily found in the USA – are frozen, fresh, or canned cassava root, and sometimes cassava meal/flour. Generally the frozen and canned versions are pre-peeled; the fresh version looks a bit like a thick tree-branch and requires peeling before use.

I also use a wonderful gluten-free commercial flour mix called “Chebe” which uses manioc (cassava) as its primary ingredient; I have successfully used Chebe to make breadsticks, hamburger buns, bourekas and turnovers, and I still have more ideas to explore!

The frozen cassava root that I buy at the supermarket (Goya brand -- good brand for a lot of different Hispanic foods) I just boil in water until soft and then drain, mash, and treat like mashed potatoes (mixed with cream, butter, garlic powder), either eating "as is" or making a sort of pancake with the mash and lightly frying in oil or butter. You can also freeze the "pancakes" before frying them and then take them out to fry whenever you want some. They are a nice snack or accompaniment to a meal.

Cassava meal/flour can be found online or at ethnic markets/food stores (ranging from Mexican/South American to Caribbean/African to Indian/Asian especially Filipino) and can be used much like wheat flour to make cakes etc. I personally haven't used it yet, but I have found quite a few recipes online – have been trying to find time to make them, and will share with you as soon as I can. Below are a few links where I found some great-looking recipes...If you’ve got a good recipe using cassava, please share it with us on this blog too!

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,cassava,FF.html

http://www.ifood.tv/network/cassava/recipes

http://www.food.com/recipe/cassava-cake-28845

http://www.whats4eats.com/breads/bammie-recipe

More good news!

2011-01-19T15:22:00.000-05:00

More good news! Check out the below link to see an article of mine which was recently published in a U.S. metropolitan parenting magazine -- Bringing attention to the fact that many people are dealing with multiple food allergies that may be less common but are no less challenging.

http://www.treasurevalleyfamily.com/wellness/463-food-allergies-beyond-the-top-8-by-bethany-niazian.html

Your comments/feedback welcome!!
Bethany

Check out new listings under Info/Support Groups and Food Source Links!

2011-01-12T11:32:00.000-05:00

I'm hard at work finishing up the final draft of my allergy-free adaptable recipe cookbook to submit to the publisher, so I haven't had time to write a new post, but please do check out the new listings on this blog on the"Info/Support Groups" and "Food Source Links" pages -- I have found some great new resources to share with you!

More good news: This blog's readership is still growing -- The "audience stats" that this website provides tell me that MFAA-Interchange now has received visits from readers not only from the USA, Australia, the UK, Luxembourg and Germany but also from France and Slovenia! Thank you to those of you who have told friends about the site, and please continue to do so :-)

A Rose is a Rose...

2011-01-05T13:58:00.000-05:00

According to Shakespeare, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that a food by any other name is still that food.

Case in point: several years ago my mother was diagnosed as allergic to sweet potato but not to yam. These are, biologically, very different foods, and generally differ in taste, texture, and sometimes appearance. Yams are from the Dioscoreaceae (Yam) family and are closely related to lilies and grasses, whereas sweet potatoes are from the Convolvulaceae (Morning Glory) family. It would seem a simple thing for us to avoid having sweet potatoes in the house, but over the recent holidays it became apparent that Americans are in fact often confused about the difference between sweet potatoes and yams – or worse yet, think there is no difference.

The canned yams we buy at our local supermarket for making traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas dishes, for example, actually say BOTH on the label – “yams” in BIG letters, and “sweet potatoes” in smaller letters under that! Interestingly, this same supermarket chain sells fresh (raw) versions of these two foods but has “yams” in one place, “sweet potatoes” in another, clearly marked as different items and clearly different-looking in appearance.

Knowing that yams and sweet potatoes are not really the same thing doesn’t necessarily make choosing the “safe” one any easier when shopping. I did some research and found the reasons that Americans are so confused – and I say “Americans” because it seems that the rest of the world already has this riddle figured out.

Long story short: what we call “yams” are actually orange-fleshed versions of what is really a sweet potato. That means that the canned yams label is accurate when it says “sweet potatoes”, but it is not scientifically correct in calling that same product “yams”. A “true yam” is a bland, starchy tuber that is usually much drier and more starchy than a sweet potato and contains very little beta-carotene. What Americans think of as yams are native to the Americas and are primarily grown in the southern USA, whereas true yams are of African and Asian origin and currently come to us mostly from the Caribbean. True yams are generally harder to find in the

USA

, though that is changing. History and habit are the main reasons for our confusion and the fact that the name “yam” appears on can labels (see below), but in the manufacturers’ defense, I did discover that for a long time now the US Dept. of Agriculture has required that the label “yam” always be accompanied by “sweet potato”, indicating the true biological origin.

Historical accounts say that Americans refer to sweet potatoes as yams because the word “yam” is similar to the African words “njam”, “nyami”, and “djambi” (meaning “to eat”) and came with the first Africans brought to the New World, who thought that our sweet potatoes resembled their native yams. The true yam (starchy, less moist tuber, not our sweet-tasting delight) is still a common food in Africa and the Caribbean, as well as in Asia and Latin America. Another likely reason for the name confusion: when sweet potatoes (our “yams”) first became readily available in the US marketplace, our forefathers logically wanted to differentiate between the good old white potato and this new, sweeter, more colorful version. In terms of both taste and biology, we should call the latter sweet potatoes only, which is what the rest of the world already calls them (even when they are marked here as “garnet yam” or “jewel yam”!). Caveat: there are some sweet potatoes that have lighter-colored flesh (yellow or white) and which may be drier and less sweet than their darker cousins, but they’re still sweet potatoes, not yams.

As for yams, we Americans have simply got it backwards: the candied, marshmallow-topped dish that what we eat at Thanksgiving and Christmas should be called sweet potatoes only, never yams. And what we see in the supermarket marked as fresh “sweet potato” (when differentiated from “yam”) is actually the “true yam” (starchy, less moist tuber) and should be called a yam only. The flesh of true yams can range from ivory to yellow to purple, and their skins (rough and scaly) can be white, pink, or dark brown. I personally don’t buy or cook those (they are, after all, an allergen for my mother), but in other parts of the world they are roasted, boiled, mashed, fried, ground into flour, and made into porridge, noodles, cakes, and a variety of other dishes, none of them sweet unless a sweetener is added. Examples include Congolese fufu, Japanese ganmodoki, Chinese yam and chicken soup, Jamaican yam and goat meat appetizer, and Vietnamese creamy yam soup.

Further irony on this topic: you will sometimes see the phrase “true sweet potato” – don’t be fooled, because in America this means what we now know should be called a yam (“true yam”); nonetheless, unless you’re sure it’s a biologist speaking, be wary! Most Americans don’t know the difference, and any foreign products made to sell in the

USA

could easily be trying to follow the common lingo by saying one when in their own country it might be the exact opposite J. Thus when I saw “yam noodles” at the Japanese store near me the other day, I thought twice and didn’t buy them, realizing that in Japan a yam would really be a biological sweet potato and therefore off-limits in my house. I’m still never sure which it is when I see “sweet potato flour” sold online, so I don’t take the chance even though I know that in other countries that seems to be what we call yam and therefore would be safe; in fact this type of flour tends to be the non-sweet type or “true yam”, in which case it is actually NOT safe for my family.

I am certain that this dichotomy is not unique to yams/sweet potatoes nor does it only confuse us Americans. For example, I’ve mentioned in past postings that what is often commercially referred to as arrowroot can in fact derive from any number of biologically different plants found in diverse parts of the world; furthermore, this is a name sometimes applied to other foods which can also be variously known as tapioca, cassava, yucca, manioc, or mandioca. Package labeling can only go so far in clarifying the origin and true name of food, so my advice is to err on the side of caution. I suppose that Shakespeare is right about the rose and I would love to smell it even if it was called a tumbleweed; we food allergy sufferers just can’t afford to take that risk when it comes to foods of a different name.

Better than chocolate?!?

2010-12-29T08:52:00.000-05:00

Below is a magazine article I recently drafted and which I thought I’d share, since this time of year is resplendent with chocolate in so many forms J.

Ironically, very recently I discovered another possible substitute for chocolate, which comes from the Brazilian cupuaçu tree; I will investigate further and share what I learn!!

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What’s better than chocolate? I have food allergies to cocoa and sugar but really don’t want to give up that yummy confection. Fortunately, I’ve found something at least as good to take chocolate’s place – and it’s healthier, too!

Like me, you may have thought that carob isn’t as sweet or doesn’t taste as good as chocolate. However, I’ve recently been experimenting with carob in various forms and have been happily surprised at how wonderful it tastes and how easy it is to use. Best of all, carob has more fiber and fewer calories than chocolate, no caffeine, is low in fat, and is high in potassium, calcium, and niacin as well as having antioxidant properties.

Carob comes from the dried pod of a Mediterranean evergreen tree and sometimes is known as St. John’s Bread because rumor has it that John the Baptist subsisted on them in the desert – some versions of the Bible refer to his eating “locusts”, and this makes sense because carob is where we get that “locust bean gum” so often seen in the ingredients list of innumerable packaged foods. Carob is in fact a member of the legume (pea/bean) family, Fabaceae. Though most carob trees grown for commercial use are found in the Middle East, carob thrives in temperate or subtropical areas and so is also grown in Australia and Southern Europe.

Most amazing to me was the discovery that carob is available not only in powder form but also as chips (like chocolate chips), molasses or syrup, and even flour for baking. Carob powder and carob flour (coarser than the powder) are made from grinding the dried carob pod after the beans have been removed, whereas carob molasses is carob powder that has been boiled in water until it becomes thick like honey.

My introduction to carob was via the powder form – looking much like cocoa powder – which, when mixed into a cup of hot milk sweetened with a little agave, made a satisfying version of “hot chocolate”. More recently, though, I discovered carob molasses (sometimes called carob syrup, and usually found in Middle Eastern grocery stores, though there are several brands available online too); a generous teaspoonful of carob molasses stirred into hot milk (no sweetener needed) has actually made me forget how much I’d been missing my morning cup of “real” cocoa.

Carob powder can be used in place of cocoa powder in just about any recipe, with a rich taste that, quite honestly, now tastes just like chocolate to me (though maybe that’s because I haven’t eaten real chocolate in so long?). For more fiber, less fat, and a sweeter taste than if you used cocoa powder, substitute ¼ c. carob flour for other types of flour per cup in baked goods.

Carob molasses can replace sugar cane/blackstrap molasses and doesn’t have that bitter aftertaste; I’ve used it in Boston Baked Beans and in cakes with no complaints from the diners gobbling them down. Another delicious use for carob molasses is to mix it with tahini (ground sesame seeds) to make a substitute for peanut butter – I came up with this idea on my own, and later discovered that people in the Middle East and Mediterranean have been eating it like that for centuries, calling it “Dibs Kharoub u Tahineh”. They also use carob to make cold drinks, liqueurs, and various types of candies.

My favorite form of carob, however, is chips (preferably unsweetened, though they are also available sweetened with barley malt). I use them just like chocolate chips in all sorts of cooking, and I melt them in the microwave with a bit of water and then stir in a tiny bit of cream to make a smooth and delectable “chocolate” sauce – great to dip fresh fruit or poured over ice cream.

Lastly, if saying goodbye to chocolate bars is too painful, there are carob bars and candies sold commercially that will gratify your sweet tooth without the negative effects of cocoa and sugar. You can also combine carob powder with nut butters and other ingredients to make your own candy bar or even fudge. I’ve made a kind of cross between the two which I swear tastes just like Hershey’s chocolate bar with almonds – and I love that I can eat it guilt-free.

With all the diverse and tasty ways to use carob, it’s no wonder that in ancient times the Greeks weighed gold and gemstones against the seed of the Middle Eastern carob tree, giving us the standard measure “carat” still used today to weigh diamonds. I know that carob shines in my kitchen, and I’m sure it will in yours too – give it a try!

Some Recipes Using Carob:

1) Carob Almond “Hershey” Bars – No-bake, easy-to-make dessert or anytime treat!

1 c. almond butter

¼ c. light agave syrup, or honey

¼ c. carob powder, unsweetened

¼ c. ground nuts (same type as nut butter used)

¼ c. chopped nuts (same type as nut butter used)

2 Tb. toasted sesame seeds (optional)

2 Tb. raisins (optional)

Combine nut butter and agave or honey in a bowl till well blended. Stir in carob powder, ground nuts, chopped nuts, and sesame seeds (if using). Mixture will be thick and pliable. Using a metal spoon, press into 8” x 8” in. glass baking pan; make sure no “thin spots” are visible. Press raisins, if using, onto top. Chill for 2 hours, then cut into 1” squares. Can be eaten as is, but to approximate “Hershey bar”, freeze larger squares for several hours and eat straight from the freezer.

Variation: Substitute peanuts throughout, including “butter”, and leave out sesame seeds (raisins optional).

Prep time: 15 mins Chill time: 2 hrs Yield: Approximately 20 one-inch squares

2) Carob Zucchini Muffins – Moist, not overly sweet, these look and taste like chocolate, but are better for you!

½ c. milk (any type)

¼ tsp. white vinegar

½ c. room-temperature butter

½ c. vegetable oil

1¾ c. granulated sugar (cane OR beet; if using date sugar, increase to 2 c.)

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2½ c. all-purpose wheat flour OR 2¼ c. oat or sorghum flour

4 Tb. carob powder, unsweetened

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. cinnamon (optional)

½ tsp. salt

2 c. finely grated zucchini

1 c. carob chips (sweetened, if preferred)

¼ c. chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven 325ºF. Line large muffin pan with paper or foil muffin cups. In small bowl, mix milk and vinegar and set aside. In large bowl, mix together butter, oil, and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, and milk/vinegar mixture; blend well. In separate bowl, mix flour, carob powder, baking soda, cinnamon (if using), and salt. Add to the butter mixture and stir by hand to combine. Add grated zucchini and ¾ of the carob chips; stir well. Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups till ⅔ full. Sprinkle remaining carob chips and nuts (if using) on top. Bake wheat flour muffins for 20 minutes, oat or sorghum muffins for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Prep time: 15 mins Bake time: 20-35 mins Yield: 12 large muffins

Surprises abound

2010-12-19T15:57:00.000-05:00

If you are anything like me, spending a lot of time learning to live well despite multiple food allergies in the family, you’ve discovered that many surprises await us, some of them quite unpleasant but some of them causing a kind of “wow” moment when a welcome piece of new information gives us hope for the future.

Yesterday I had a couple of the “unpleasant” food-allergy surprises, but I also had some of the wonderful “wow” ones too; maybe the latter will give you the lift you’ve been needing, as they did for me:

I had finally made it over to the food co-op and Whole Foods Market that are closest to my house (translation: they’re on the other side of town and I just can’t get there as often as I would like). I always want to stay a long enough time to take full advantage once I’m there. Aside from needing to replenish some of my pantry items, I also was interested in looking at items that I have been writing about in the “substitutions” section of my soon-to-be-finished food allergy cookbook, both to compare costs and to investigate ingredients.

Among the unpleasant surprises were how so many products are still so expensive, despite the increasing availability of choices for multiple food allergy sufferers. Another was the discovery that “Ener-G Egg Replacer”, so often touted in food allergy cookbooks as a replacement for eggs, has potato starch listed as its first ingredient. I knew that most commercially sold “gluten-free” flour and baking mixes contain potato starch – a big allergen in our family – but I didn’t suspect egg replacer would have it, and I was immediately thankful that I know of many other alternatives to replace eggs.

On the brighter, “wow” side of surprises, though, I found a bunch of newly-available products in Whole Foods, all made by a company called Coconut Secret, offering excellent alternative sweeteners, salty-flavored but saltless seasonings, and even vinegar. Their “coconut nectar” first caught my eye, as a great low-glycemic option similar to agave nectar/syrup. Then I noticed that unlike Bragg’s “Liquid Aminos”, which is made from soy, and unlike soy sauce which often contains wheat as well, Coconut Secret’s “Coconut Aminos” serve the same salty-tasting seasoning sauce purpose but is both soy-free and gluten-free. I also saw that Coconut Secret also produces crystallized coconut sugar and a bottled coconut cream that doesn’t need to be refrigerated and can give you that creamy texture and taste you want without having to use up a whole can of coconut milk at one time.

I went online today to look up this exciting company and found a few more surprises – like the fact that when they started production they had been relying on agave syrup as a sweetener and then learned that their supposedly “reputable” raw, organic agave producer was actually selling them agave syrup which was not only NOT raw nor organic but also was watered down with corn syrup! As that’s one of my worst food allergens, I’m now going to be extra careful to check out any agave items I buy.

Coconut Secret also produces coconut sugar (made from the raw sap of coconut tree blossoms) and is the only other source I’ve found for that, aside from my current favorite which is produced by a company headquartered here in my home town of Pittsburgh: Love Street Living Foods. Lastly, while I know that a food allergy to coconut is relatively rare (though unfortunately it’s one of the many that my mother has) and that coconut sugar is low on the glycemic index, I was not aware that coconut also offers a variety of health benefits including heart-healthy short- and medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), insoluble dietary fiber which therefore has no calories, support for the body’s absorption of nutrients, and healing properties that can aid functioning of both the immune system and thyroid.

I’m not one to take claims at face value, of course, so I will continue to investigate this company and its products, but it was definitely one of yesterday’s hope-inspiring surprises. I’d love to hear your thoughts and to learn of any discoveries you’ve made in your own ongoing quest for food allergy substitutes – please don’t hesitate to use the comment box below!!

Is adaptability too much to ask?

2010-12-08T12:31:00.000-05:00

I’m thrilled to see from the “stats” register on this blog that I’ve had 15 pageviews from Europe, in addition to those from the US and Australia! Thank you, everyone, and please don’t forget to leave comments or ask questions about anything food allergy-related J

Also, please be sure to use the link to become a “follower” on the blog, so you can keep up on new posts!

Today’s short post (I’m aiming for short, anyway) is really more of a question: I’ve recently been looking at the websites and blogs of some of the most well-known and respected food allergy authors of current times; is it just me, or do they really seem to skirt (or ignore altogether) the topic of food allergies BEYOND the “Top 8”?

Gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free etc. are great, and needed, but what about people who not only have to avoid those “common” food allergies but also must steer clear of some less commonly-known ones like potato, quinoa, sorghum, green peas, tomato, citrus, peppers, beef, turkey? Granted, the majority of those particular ingredients aren’t found in baked goods, so the authors specializing in gluten-free recipes might be somewhat let off the hook, but my point is that if a person is allergic to ANY food/ingredient other than the “Top 8”, can’t they be offered alternatives in recipes such that the recipe can still be used, simply “adapted” to accommodate diverse food allergies?

For example, yesterday I made some delicious and very quick chocolate chip cookies for my kids to have when they got home from school – I got the recipe from Nicolette Dumke’s book Allergy Cooking With Ease – and though the recipe calls for rye flour and maple syrup, I know that if I wanted to make these for my mom, both ingredients would have to be replaced. There are at least four flours I can think of to replace the rye (spelt or oat, which she can eat, and barley or sorghum, which she can’t but which would still be OK for my wheat-allergic daughter and me). The maple syrup could be replaced with date sugar or date molasses, corn syrup, or brown rice syrup, which though lacking in maple flavor would still make the cookies yummy and the right consistency. By the way, the recipe called for carob chips, which I did use, but obviously chocolate chips would be OK too. My daughter liked the cookies so much she said she’d eat them even without chips LOL.

I’d love to hear your comments on the dearth of “adaptable” recipes currently available for food allergy sufferers – or am I the only one who is bothered by it?!?

A fall-flavored treat

2010-12-02T11:48:00.000-05:00

I can't believe Thanksgiving has already come and gone -- it was a busy one here, but recovering from a houseful of people staying over for a few days was easy compared to recovering from the colds several of us acquired or shared during that same time. The family that blows its nose together stays together?!?

Not much was new on our table this Thanksgiving, except for a yummy frosted squash cake that my kids helped me make -- see the recipe on the "Adaptable recipes" page. It doesn't have to be frosted, and doesn't have to be made with squash (yams will do nicely) though my favorite version is pumpkin with cream cheese frosting. Let me know how you like it!!

Commercial flour mix with no potato starch!

2010-11-19T12:17:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note -- I was at the supermarket this morning and checked out some commercially available gluten-free multipurpose flour mixes that I hadn't seen before...My post of a few days ago about nothing being available without potato starch in it now needs to be updated, as I did in fact find two mixes that were potato-free (see below)!

Unfortunately for my mom, even without the allergenic potato starch in it, these two are still not safe for her, as one contains both sorghum and millet (to which she is very allergic) and the other contains tapioca and gelatin -- she's not necessarily allergic to those, but it all depends on their source...Tapioca may also refer to manioc, yuca, cassava, or even arrowroot, and the commercially available forms can come from several different plants from several different parts of the world. For my mother, the only tapioca she's found she can tolerate is Reese brand; she had bad experiences with several other brands. Not knowing which plant/geographical area the tapioca in the flour mix is from, she can't risk using that flour.

Likewise with the gelatin, as there is no indication whether it is animal-based or vegetable-based, so she could be allergic to it if she's allergic to its source; not knowing the source means not buying the product because the risk isn't worthwhile. A side note on that: my daughter, Abby, has a Hindu friend who often asks what things are made of when she comes to our house, including jello and marshmallows, as gelatin that is beef-based would be off-limits to her. Obviously not a food allergy there, but emphasizes the point that accurate and sufficient labeling is important to more than one group of consumers.

The two multipurpose gluten-free mixes not containing potato starch were Hodgson Mills and Tom Sawyer. My question, of course, is that if these two can do without the potato starch, why can't other commercially available brands do it too?

Is there always an alternative?

2010-11-18T13:40:00.000-05:00

I just finished the rough draft of my list of substitutions for my upcoming cookbook -- 14 pages of substitutions! I don't know if there is always a substitution for every allergenic ingredient, but I have certainly found a lot so far (check out the Substitutions tab to see my newest update).

As our family has such a large number of food allergies, many of which are not currently considered "common" food allergies, I've looked pretty far afield to come up with safe alternative ingredients. Some of the ingredients for which I've had to find substitutes are cane sugar, vinegar, turmeric and gelatin.

Do you have an allergenic ingredient for which you are trying to find a substitute? Please let me know -- it just might be on my list (if not, I'll keep looking, but also maybe someone else in the group will have an alternative).

Food substitutions unlimited

2010-11-13T11:58:00.000-05:00

OK, the bagels didn’t turn out so well. Maybe because I didn’t stick to my plan to use only water and one other ingredient…

I made rice flour bagels, but the recipe I tweaked said I needed yeast, which I didn’t want to use; it also included xanthan gum and I know you can substitute xanthan gum for yeast in some baked goods, so I tried just adding extra xanthan gum. I also started to wonder how flat or crumbly the bagels would come out if I didn’t use the egg in the recipe, or the oil, so in the end I used both. The resulting bagels weren’t terrible, in fact they looked nice and golden and were the right shape, but their puffiness in the oven quickly fled (like a deflated soufflé!) once they cooled, and the consistency was more chewy than desired.

A learning experience, definitely, but a setback, no – I’m going to try again but sticking to just water and one flour (I’m thinking water chestnut, corn, or chestnut). Oh, and despite my concerns about boiling bagels, what I’ve read and then found in practice is that boiling them ever so briefly (30 seconds per side) seems to help them set right when baking. A little compromise will be well worth it if the bagels come out well – and I’m glad to say, for the first time in a long time my daughter did get excited about eating breakfast, when she knew there were new (gluten-free) bagels to try.

It so happens that this experiment coincided with the work I’ve been doing on my “substitutions mini-cookbook” (which is where the idea to add xanthan gum came from), and I wanted to share with you a few surprising but very helpful substitutions that I’ve come across – please also check my “Substitutions” page on this blog, where I will be adding to the list regularly.

Among the helpful substitutions that I have found for allergenic foods:

Baking powder 1 tsp. = ½ tsp. tsp. cream of tartar + ½ tsp. arrowroot

Butter ½ c. = ½ c. coconut oil (always keep at room temperature)

= ⅓ c. rice bran oil or canola oil

(Interesting fact: lard, though less commonly used in cooking these days, is actually healthier than many butters or oils, as it contains no hydrogenated fat)

Cornstarch 1 Tbsp. = 1 Tbsp. arrowroot or 2 Tbsp. wheat flour

Egg white 1 egg white = 1 Tbsp. agar powder dissolved into 1 Tbsp. water, beaten, chilled for 15 minutes, then beaten again

Maple syrup 1 c. = 1 c. fruit syrup (made by boiling pure, unsweetened fruit juice such as pear or apple until about ⅓ to ¼ original volume)

Nut topping Substitute toasted rolled oats or toasted rice cereal, toasted shredded coconut, toasted seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame), or grated dried mochi (rice cake)

Sour cream 1 c. = 1 c. yogurt (and I’ve discovered that there are a variety of yogurts available made from things other than cow’s milk, including: sheep’s milk, goat’s milk, buffalo milk, coconut milk, soy, arrowroot, potato, rice, hemp, and various nut milks!)

There really is an unlimited number of options for safe substitutes to allergenic foods, and I'm discovering more each day. If there is a food substitute that you have been looking for, let me know – I might have what you need. And if you have any to offer, that would be great too!!

Truly friendly bagels?

2010-11-10T08:55:00.000-05:00

I’m about to go try to make some bagels. This is actually a big deal in my family.

Because of the severe food allergy limitations that my mother, my daughter and I have, breakfast can often be a very frustrating time, especially for my daughter who is not a “breakfast person” (neither am I), hates cereal, AND is a very slow eater. A quickly toasted bagel with her favorite topping would pique her interest and might even get her to the bus stop on time.

However, we’ve found very few commercially available bagels that can measure up to the taste and texture of the “real” (i.e. WHEAT!) bagels we used to love. My daughter and I do like Glutino’s sesame bagels (Premium Sesame Bagels | Gluten-Free Bakery Products | Glutino & Gluten-Free Pantry). Another brand, Udi’s, was praised in a posting last year by “GlutenFreeSteve” (glutenfreesteve.wordpress.com/.../a-gluten-free-bagel-that-tastes-like-well-a-bagel/) but we haven’t tried it yet.

None of the brands currently out there are safe for my mother, who after all has a total of only 30 foods (ingredients) on her “safe-to-eat” list. The main reason that commercial brands are not safe for her is that even when gluten-free, they contain one or more ingredients that are allergens for her, e.g. soy, potato starch, and/or cow’s milk. Ideally what she needs is bagels that only contain one ingredient, which seems to be a tall order for manufacturers.

Up until about a year ago Mom was fortunate to have found a company in Dallas, TX (near the allergy clinic she sometimes attends) which actually made satisfactory bagels with just pure water and one other ingredient – such as chestnut, arrowroot, yam, rice, and water chestnut. She relied on those bagels for sandwiches and snacks as well as breakfast. Unfortunately that company went out of business and now her frozen cache of bulk-ordered bagels is depleted. This is a travesty not only for her but also for many people we know who now cannot obtain what had been a significant food item in their limited diet.

Since we haven’t been able to find ANY one-ingredient bagels sold commercially, my plan this morning is to try to make them myself, using just water and one “safe” ingredient. I’m eying a few recipes gleaned from various sources but am figuring I’ll still have to tweak and experiment (“Adapt-a-Recipe Queen” in action) because none call for just water and one other ingredient. I’m also aiming to bake the bagels because frying will add an extra and unhealthy ingredient and boiling will leach nutrients.

I don’t know how this is going to turn out (prayers welcome!), but I know that the company in Dallas did it, so it’s not impossible! I’ll keep you updated, and meanwhile if you know of any “friendly bagel” recipes or brands that fit the bill for very limited food allergens, please share!

GLUTEN FREE ISN'T ALWAYS SAFE

2010-11-08T11:35:00.000-05:00

I’m thrilled and very appreciative of the positive responses I’ve received so far about this blog. Thank you and please keep the comments, questions, and ideas coming!

Because the blog, like the cookbook I’m developing, focuses on dealing with multiple food allergies that go BEYOND the “Top 8”, I thought I’d address one of the most frustrating issues encountered all too regularly by those of us who may have a gluten or other common food allergy but also have allergies to less commonly suspected foods:

In my family, 3 out of 4 can’t eat wheat, though we are lucky that oats and spelt don’t seem to bother us (most people allergic to wheat or gluten are advised to avoid those, as well as kamut, because they are either related to wheat or may have been grown in conjunction with wheat). It would seem that with the burgeoning availability of gluten-free baking mixes in supermarkets and online, we would still have plenty of options for quickly making baked goods using a store-bought mix.

However, I have yet to find a single pre-packaged flour or baking mix that doesn’t include potato starch, and it so happens that one member of my family is so allergic to white potatoes that if she even peels one or smells one cooking, she has an anaphylactic reaction. Like the mixes, almost all of the packaged products touted as “gluten-free” that I’ve seen, whether they’re cookies, cakes, brownies, filled pasta, pizza or pie crust, also contain the villain potato starch, which means that although I don’t stop searching, I generally make my own version of those items at home from scratch. A notable exception is the pie/quiche crust made by Gillian’s Foods, which not only contains no potato starch but also is quite tasty and a snap to use for both sweet and savory pies.

I understand why manufacturers use potato starch in so many gluten-free products – it behaves a lot like wheat flour when cooked in baked goods though it isn’t related to wheat, and it doesn’t have a strong flavor on its own. Yet I can’t help but wonder how many other people with food allergies run into this same frustration of not being able to eat what should be a safe food because just one ingredient in the product is an allergen for them. Based on my research, numerous interviews, and personal experience, I can confidently say that many people who have a gluten allergy are also allergic or intolerant to other, less common foods – even if it’s just preservatives or cane sugar – and therefore are basically an un-served portion of the gluten-free market. What a big miss for manufacturers, especially since this portion of the market is a growing one!

I guess that some of the reasons come down to awareness and focus, because the media and medical research tend to focus on what’s “hot” at the time, and celiac disease/gluten allergy is definitely enjoying a high profile right now. Even allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, soy, and egg don’t seem to garner quite the number of new products or the amount of media coverage that gluten-free currently has – take a look at the most recent issue of Living Without magazine which, while a wonderful magazine in its own right, has what seems to me an inordinately large number of gluten-free articles, recipes, and advertisements versus those that cover other, less common food allergies.

A case in point, especially with regard to manufacturers but also to food allergy support organizations, is the experience that my family had at the recent FAAN Walk for Food Allergy Cure here in our hometown. The FAAN Walks have been happening all over the country and are a fantastic way to show support for food allergy research and understanding. But at our local Walk there were probably 12 or so tables and booths set up by various manufacturers and groups that were in some way related to food allergies; many kindly provided samples of their products, but of those, only ONE had a product that was safe for my family. I would expect this at the supermarket or a restaurant, but not at what was basically a food allergy rally!

The one food that was safe for my daughter was a bag of loose granola which, surprisingly, didn’t contain sunflower seeds or oil like many granola products do. Of the remaining products, all had either sunflower oil, potato starch, cane sugar, or sometimes several of those and other ingredients not safe for my family – and there was even one booth selling cookies that had wheat flour in them, which I couldn’t believe was allowed by the FAAN Walk organizers!

I suspect that it’s all part of the learning curve in our society, as more understanding and knowledge slowly come to the forefront and are demonstrated by increased action, vigilance, and success in overcoming food allergies. FAAN, and other organizations, do a good job of advancing that cause. My concern, nonetheless, is how long will those of us who have what are currently considered “less common” food allergies have to wait until the media, manufacturers, medical establishment, and support organizations recognize that for many people, it’s still a dangerous food world out there – and potato starch is just the tip of the iceberg.

Just like living with Multiple Food Allergies!

2010-11-05T12:13:00.000-04:00

This is my first post on my first personal blog, and I'm finding that writing about Multiple Food Allergies is a lot like living with them -- so many different things to think about and directions to go in, it's sometimes hard to decide which to do first.

Obviously today I am choosing the task of setting up my blog, so I'm putting on the back burner the many articles I have either written or plan to write and submit to various magazines, and the allergy-free cookbook I'm developing is also in a holding pattern. Ditto the food allergy substitutions book I've got started. The many recipes I have in various piles in my kitchen, family room, and even my bedroom are unendingly waiting for me to find time to either make them for the first time, tweak them, or send them out as part of an article or to friends who have volunteered to test them.

Then there's the friend of my mom's who asked me to recommend some bread and pizza dough recipes for her daughter who's allergic to gluten, yeast, egg whites, green peppers, salmon, vanilla, and a few other foods. I'm glad to do it, but with all the recipes and information I've been collecting in the past seven years because of my own family's multiple food allergies, I know it's going to take a bit of time to sort through and find the most appropriate recipes for her.

Oh, and by the way, I have to finish this blog set-up and first posting (and maybe get on to other tasks LOL) before my kids get home from school at 3:30 pm today and then my son's Youth Group shows up at 4:30 pm for a 2-hour meeting. I suppose I'd also better think about what to make for dinner and plan the preparation time in, too. Whoever invented the phrase TGIF was probably a working single mom.

But writing about Multiple Food Allergies and Anaphylaxis (MFAA), specifically on this blog, is my main focus today, and even there I'm torn because there are so many important topics to cover. I think my first choice should be the reason that I'm adding my blog to the many food allergy-related blogs already in existence, which is really because, despite all the great information and support out there, my exhaustive and ongoing search is still finding very little in the media and markets about dealing with MFAA when the allergies go BEYOND the "Top 8" most common food allergies currently recognized in the USA (wheat/gluten, peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, eggs, soy, fish and shellfish). Canada adds a ninth, sesame, and is considering adding mustard as well, and other countries include a few others, notably corn, potato and rice.

In my family it's more a matter of which foods are NOT allergens for one or more of us, rather than which foods to avoid. That's because my daughter is allergic to wheat and sunflower oil, I'm allergic to wheat, cocoa, cane sugar, citrus, and several other foods, and my mother, who lives with us, had a "safe to eat" list of only 26 foods up until a few weeks ago when, after testing at a specialized clinic in Dallas, she was able to add 4 more. With so many foods off-limits for one or more of my family members, I've become very adept in creating or adapting recipes to accommodate food allergies. And in Grandma's case, it doesn't stop with just not eating food allergens -- she is anaphylactic to nightshades (peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, etc.) and most spices, so she has to be very careful not to be anywhere near those, even just near the smell of them. The majority of those foods are simply banned from our house altogether.

Rather than feeling constricted by these limitations, however, I take it as an exciting challenge, not only to find new ways to prepare meals with limited ingredients, but also to find new forms of ingredients and to learn as much as possible about alternative ingredients. A perfect example is last Sunday when my kids and I went to the oriental markets in Pittsburgh's "Strip District" and I found -- among other amazing items not generally seen in local supermarkets -- green bean flour, something I didn't know existed. Not only are green beans one of the few vegetables that my mom can eat, but the possibilities leaping to my mind about how to use this new flour have me practically jumping out of my seat to go start experimenting! I'm thinking noodles, but would it work in bread? Quiche crust?

I welcome your thoughts/comments/questions about that and anything else on this site or on your mind -- I named this blog "Multiple Food Allergies and Anaphylaxis (MFAA) Interchange" because it seems to me that the most important thing we can do to make living with MFAA easier is to foster interaction between people and exchange of information and encouragement. I've found many like-minded people and am hoping more will join us through this online connection.

Looking forward to hearing from you!