Cookbooks for food allergies

I’ve started to collect a whole new range of cookbooks since Alden’s anaphylaxis diagnosis. (Yes, I’m calling it anaphylaxis instead of ‘food allergies’ because that is really what he has.  It’s not sniffles or red eyes.  He carries and Epipen, he gets hives, his face balloons, there is screaming and there is projectile vomit. And if he could form sentences, he’d probably have a lot more to say about what else is going on when he has a reaction.) So, that’s my rant.  (I’m having one of those “ooooh I’m angry!” weeks.  Bear with me.)

Back to the topic at hand: cookbooks! With the increasing number of food allergic kids, there are more and more allergen-friendly cookbooks hitting the shelves. Some are great, some are not. And well, frankly, there’s more than enough baking-related ones. For me, the real hidden market is for, you know… REAL MEALS. And finding wholesome lunch and dinner recipes that are friendly for young gourmands is even rarer.

Here’s some of the things that I look for in a good “allergy cookbook”:

• Easy to find ingredients.   If the cookbook features a product that is only available in the US, then it’s not useful.  And save the unusual flours for those who have Celiac.
• A higher number of main course recipes than snacky/dessert recipes.
• Toddler friendly – is my two year old really going to eat a green salad with a mustard vinaigrette?  REALLY?
• If possible: some freezable recipes.  We already cook way more than the average household, so having a few things in the freezer to have some nights off is AMAZING.

So far, our allergy cookbook library consists of the following:

• Peut contenir des traces de bonheur – This book is lovely, all in French, written by a Montreal couple and has deliciously glossy food photography.  You’d never know you were reading an “allergy cookbook”.  We loved the general tao chicken, but our toddler thought otherwise.  It’s just so pretty to look at and read.
• The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook – This one is a staple for our household.  Lots of good advice and variety of recipes.  Their meatball recipe is the basis of our veggie-packed version.
• What’s to Eat?: The Milk-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free Food Allergy Cookbook – Looking at the cover, this book isn’t going to win any awards for graphic design.  I have a feeling it was one of the first nut/egg/dairy free cookbooks out on the market.  I haven’t made anything from it yet.. but I’m glad to have it in my collection.
• Allergy Proof Recipes for Kids – This one has lots of good ideas for snacks, baking and main courses.  Of course, I wish the main courses section was larger.  My one beef is the heavy use of vegetable shortening throughout the book.  I’ve found you can easily replace the shortening with better oils or Earth Balance to avoid the transfats nasties.
• The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook, Updated and Revised – This one isn’t really marketed as an ‘allergy’ cookbook, but it is written in a super allergen friendly way.  All of the recipes are dairy and gluten free and most are nut free as well.  Each recipe is labelled with a graphic if it contains soy, nuts, eggs, fish etc which makes it super easy to scan.  Also it’s written for the younger set, and provides alternatives if your little cherub doesn’t like certain textures or flavours.  Handy.

Not specifically allergen-free, but many allergen-friendly recipes.  (Note: we have a fair number of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, but they often rely on nuts/cheese etc. so I’ve only only included the cookbooks that contain a good number of allergen friendly recipes.)  It’s really hit and miss with vegan cookbooks, some recipes rely a lot of sauces: soy, fish, tamari, sesame etc. that are difficult to reproduce with allergy-free alternatives.  How I WISH there was a safe soy or tamari sauce.

• Vegan Scoop – An indispensable ice cream and sorbet recipe book.  I’ve had super success with the vanilla recipe, but less luck with the fruit based ice creams.  There’s also a whole section on no-soy fruit sorbets that I haven’t even explored yet.
• Vegan Lunch Box – I really liked reading this, but I haven’t cooked anything from it.
• Vive le Vegan! – We’ve been able to get some good staple recipes out of this cookbook.  It contains far fewer nut-containing recipes than her other books.
• Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World – My staple cupcake recipes come from this book.  I couldn’t live without it.
• Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar – Again, another staple in my cookbook library.  The graham cracker cookies are one of our favourites.
• The Everyday Vegan – Another good Dreena Burton book.  I’ve clipped a few staple recipes from this book.
• Veganomicon – Our staple pancake recipe comes from Veganomicon.  Worth the price of the book.