Food Allergy Substitutions

Butter - Cow's milk

• 
  Spectrum Organic Liquid Oils
  
  


• 
  Spectrum Coconut Oil or Vegetable Shortening - for baking, cakes, biscuits, etc.
  


• 
  Olive Oil
  


• 
  Ghee
  

Dairy Cream/Evaporated Milk

• 
  Goat's milk yogurt
• Cow's milk yogurt (some people allergic to dairy can still have yogurt, where all the lactose has been "digested" by bacteria)
  


• 
  Tofutti Sour Cream (soy)
  


• 
  For creamy vegetable soups try mixing a little more oat flour, or other allowed flour, with rice or allowed "milk"
  


• 
  Whipped Cream - try Tofutti Cream Cheese (soy) or Whipped Coconut Cream http://www.cookingcache.com/dessert/profiteroleswithwhippedcoconutcreamandcaramelizedbananas.shtml
  
• Coconut Cream (an unshaken can of coconut will have cream on the top)
  

Milk - Cow's

• 
  Rice Milk
  


• 
  Nut or Grain Milk - oat, almond, hazelnut
  


• 
  Soy Milk
• Coconut Milk
• For some muffins, breads, or pancakes, you can just use any kind of fruit juice you like or water for the liquid
  

Buttermilk

• 1 T lemon juice or vinegar plus enough allowed milk to make 1 cup.  Let stand 5 minutes before using.
  

All-Purpose Flour

• 
  Arrowhead Mills Flours - Barley, Oat, Rye, Spelt, Rice, Buckwheat, Millet, Corn etc.
  


• 
  Yellow-Corn Masa Flour for tortillas
  


• 
  Bob's Red Mill Flours - Tapioca, Potato, Garbanzo Bean, etc.
• Cornstarch, arrowroot powder, kudzu root starch - all good thickeners, but you can use 2 T. allowed flour to substitute 1 T. of cornstarch
  

Meat/Broths

• 
  Chicken <=> Pork <=> Turkey <=> Duck
  


• 
  Beef <=> Ground Buffalo/Bison <=> Lamb <=> Venison <=> Bean Burgers
  
  


• 
  Fish <=> Chicken
  


• 
  Chicken Broth <=> Beef Broth <=> Vegetable Broth <=> Seafood Broth
  

Bread/Breadcrumbs

• 
  Crushed Cereal flakes - oat, kamut, barley, amaranth, buckwheat, corn, etc.
  


• 
  Any of the above substitutes for all-purpose flour, cornmeal (for coating meat before frying)
  


• 
  Make your own yeast-free quickbread bread using any of the above flours
  
  


• 
  Sourdough bread using wheat-free flour (if you can tolerate it)
• Crushed crackers - Ryvita (if you're allergic to wheat), rice crackers, or your own homemade crackers from any flour
  

Eggs - for baking

• 
  Ener-G-Egg Replacer
  


• 
  1 T. baking powder + 2 T. liquid (note: egg free baking powder can be made with 1 part baking soda, 2 parts cream of tartar, 1 part cornstarch)
  
  


• 
  2 T. flour + 1/2 T. baking powder + 2 T. liquid.
  


• 
  for recipes that call for 2 t. baking powder or 1 1/2 t. baking soda, replace egg with 1 T. vinegar
  

Eggs - For coating breaded meat or fish/meatballs, etc.

• 
  1/2 c water and 3-4 t. brown flaxseeds - boil in a small saucepan and simmer 5-7 min until a gel begins to form.  Strain and discard seeds.
  


• 
  1/3 c water + 1 T. arrowroot powder + 2 t. guar gum
  


• 
  2 oz tofu
  

Eggs - used as a liquid

• 
  1/3 cup apple juice
  


• 
  4 T. pureed apricot or applesauce
  


• 
  1 T. vinegar
  

Sugar

• Honey
  


• 
  Molasses
  


• 
  Date Sugar
  


• 
  Maple Syrup or Maple Sugar
  


• 
  Brown Rice Syrup
• Corn Syrup can be replaced with Brown Rice Syrup
• Fruit Juice thickened with arrowroot powder or cornstarch
• Maple Syrup on pancakes can be replaced with Brown Rice Syrup mixed with some frozen fruit (blueberries, black or red raspberries, strawberries or peaches) and heated on the stove for a few minutes to make a fruit syrup
  

Soy Sauce

• 
  Salt
  


• 
  Vinaigrette salad dressing - like mustard/white wine/olive oil, or anything else
  


• 
  Thai fish sauce
  

Tomatoes - Sauce

• 
  can of pumpkin puree with garlic - can add spices like paprika, sumac, chili powder for color
  
  


• 
  canned, frozen, or fresh baked winter squash pureed with lemon juice and red pepper
  


• 
  sweet potato puree
  


• 
  turnip puree or add some beets for color
  
  

Tomatoes - Fresh

• 
  red peppers, with or without lemon juice

Baking Powder

• 1 t. baking powder = 1/2 t. cream of tartar + 1/4 t. baking soda

Vinegar & Condiments containing Vinegar

• mustard (vinegar) with mustard powder mixed with water or wasabi mixed with water (only use a pinch)
• pesto
• lemon/lime juice
• 1/4 t. unbuffered vitamin C powder mixed with about 2 T. water
• pineapple or orange juice

Gluten (Wheat)

• Vegan and Gluten-Free Rice Protein Powder
• Xanthan Gum (about 1/2 t. in each recipe made with G-F flours

Pasta (Wheat)

• quinoa, brown rice pasta
• buckwheat soba noodles (like fettucini)
  

Vegan Carrot Cake

Food is so social. We've been having lots of birthday parties lately, and of course, everyone HAS to have CAKE! It's difficult when you have multiple food allergies in social situations - like the donut breakfast at work, friend's birthday party, a wedding dinner, ordering in restaurants, etc., etc. How do you explain to your co-workers/host that you can't eat what they offer to you? I tell my husband to just say that he's vegan (he can't eat eggs, dairy or most "normal" animal products like beef, turkey or chicken). I mean no offense to all the vegans out there - you have made such great strides as a movement that being vegan is no longer viewed as strange. Being vegan/vegetarian just seems much more accepted and it's something people can generally understand. When my husband tells people he can't have this or that because he's allergic, you see the wonder in their eyes and their brains working to try to explain it. Couldn't you just have a little bit? Who ever heard of someone who couldn't eat tomatoes?

Anyway, I was lucky enough to receive "Vegan with a Vengeance" for Christmas - thank you Gail! The first recipe I tried was awesome - it was the Ginger - Macadamia - Coconut - Carrot Cake. I left out the macadamia nuts and spices on half for my kids. The only criticism I have is that it uses refined sugar (3/4 cup) and powdered sugar in the frosting. I guess you sometimes have to give in somewhere. Next time I would like to try to substitute a finely ground date sugar or maple sugar.

New Pizza Crust Idea

It's been 6 months since I made pizza. For some strange reason, my kids will never eat it - even with tomatoes and cheese (which they can have). Anyway, my husband and I had a pizza craving...maybe because we'd been snowed in for so long. So we indulged.

I published a pizza post last July, so the recipe didn't change much. But the big revolution was in the crust. I tried GARBANZO BEAN FLOUR! It made a great crust combined with quinoa flour, and hopefully made the pizza even more nutritious. Toppings this round were: pesto, ham, black olives, green peppers, artichoke hearts, and onions.

Chili - No Beef, Tomatoes, Cheese

I was inspired to come up with a chili recipe one night when I looked on the menu and saw the same old rotation diet list: buffalo and turnips. I was tired, and remembered how easy it was to make chili - brown ground beef, combine it with some canned tomatoes and kidney beans, then enjoy. So here's my version of chili (we can't have tomatoes, ground beef, pinto or kidney beans, or cheese).

1 lb ground buffalo
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 can white beans
about 1 quart bag cooked frozen turnips in cubes (or fresh, cooked if you have them)
about 3 cups vegetable broth
chili powder, to taste
sweet paprika, to taste
salt & pepper, to taste

Brown the ground buffalo, onion, and garlic. Combine the turnips and vegetable broth in a pot, cook until tender. Gently mash turnips with a potato masher, add water to bring to a "soupy" consistency if needed, then add beans, meat, and spices. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve with grated carrot sprinkled on top.

Shepherd's Pie (no beef, tomatoes, wheat)

For some strange reason, I'll always remember the time my Aunt Patty made Shepherd's Pie and brought it over to our house. It was creamy, with green beans, and mashed potatoes. This had to have been at least 15 years ago, but I still remember how great it was. There is a Shepherd's Pie recipe in Cybele Pascal's Allergy Cookbook, but it has evolved into my own recipe, tailored to my family's needs. Here's my new Shepherd's Pie recipe:

7-8 all-purpose baking potatoes
1 package frozen green beans
1/2 package frozen corn
1 lb. ground buffalo
1 chopped onion
1 chopped carrot
2 cups vegetable broth
2 T. oat flour
2 T. olive oil
1 cup rice milk
1 t. chili powder
2 T. fresh chopped parsley
1 T. fresh thyme leaves
1/2 t. cumin
pepper
salt

For the mashed potatoes: wash, peel, and cut potatoes into small cubes. Place in boiling water for about 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and mash with a little rice milk and olive oil.

Brown the ground buffalo, then add the onion and carrot. Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until carrots are soft and buffalo is no longer pink.

In a small saucepan, combine the 2 T. olive oil and 2 T. oat flour over medium heat. Add the vegetable broth and rice milk, stir constantly, and cook until thickened. Stir in spices.

Spread green beans in a single layer in a glass baking dish. Add corn and ground buffalo mixture. Pour sauce/gravy over everything and top with mashed potatoes.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, until hot and bubbly and potatoes are slightly browned.

I actually divided up the ingredients between two glass casserole dishes: one for my kids (no spices, no corn), and one for us.

Easy Pasta dish - no wheat or tomatoes (cheese & nuts optional)

I came up with an easy pasta dish:

1 package of brown rice pasta (or you can use wheat or quinoa)
Frozen vegetables such as peas, broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, summer squash
Some pesto (see below)
Olives
Pine Nuts (optional)
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, steam the frozen vegetables (I do this in the micro) until tender-crisp. Toss everything together and you have a pasta-pesto dish.

Pesto: Combine 1 clove garlic, some fresh basil leaves, olive oil, and pine nuts (optional) or parmesan cheese (optional) in the food processor. Process until it forms a thick paste.

This is a great easy dish for a family with multiple different food allergies, because you can reserve a little pesto without nuts (for the kids) and add cheese later for those who can have it. For those who can eat cooked chicken pieces, you can toss that in too. Otherwise, my husband just ate his with fish.

Freezing Vegetable Broth

Last blog, I wrote I would stop using the glass Ball/Mason Jars for freezing soups/broth and revert back to plastic or pyrex. Some advice from a recent Martha Stewart Living magazine came in handy...freeze broth in one-cup muffin tins (like ice cubes). Then you can pop them out and store them in a ziplock freezer bag until you're ready to use them. Just take out as many "ice cubes" as cups of broth called for in the recipe and you're done. It worked wonderfully. I just had to be very careful putting the filled muffin tins in the freezer, and I used my thumb to firmly press on the back of the muffin tin in the middle of the cup to remove the "ice cubes" of broth. They gently popped out and it worked very well. A little more work up front, but it was very easy to just pop two "cups" of vegetable broth out of the freezer to boil my cabbage.