I have learned a few things over the years about dealing with allergies---not that I'm an expert, especially about really severe allergies, or about non "top 7" allergies. Also, I haven't dealt with soy or wheat allergies lately, although I remember a few things. I may add to this as I remember more.
Don't try to make food do what it is not good at. Making a chewy bread without gluten is foolish. However, making a flaky pie crust or biscuit makes sense.
If you can do gluten but not wheat, then oat flour is really the most delicious flour I've found.
We loved Tinkyada brown rice pasta
Do rice cakes (or even better, corn cakes) instead of bread for sandwiches.
I LOVE Tofutti better than cream cheese---but it is made from soy.
We use egg replacer from Ener-G for vegan baking. Others have used apple sauce, flax eggs, and other substitutes.
As far as I can tell, there are no soy-free substitutes for soy sauce. Tamari sauce is good for avoiding gluten. Amanda enjoys nutritional yeast sprinkled on things.
Enjoy Life makes chocolate bars and chocolate chips that are very good.
Daiya cheese shreds are ok, and seem to be soy free as well as dairy free. We use it on pizza.
A few restaurants are good: Red Robin and P. F. Changs are pretty good at dealing with allergies. If you've never been to a place before, don't go when they are busy. P. F. Changs used to make Amanda her own veggie and chicken stir fry---but they can't when they are busy.
In general, choose places that are HUGE chains or mom-and-pop places. Either they have a company wide policy for dealing with allergies, or they know every ingredient because they make things from scratch. Medium chains sometimes get their food from headquarters and don't know what is in there.
Any place that has a hamburger on the menu can make one on a clean grill for Amanda. Sometimes she can have the chicken, sometimes not because it has been marinated. French fries are sometimes ok. The most annoying restaurants are the ones which won't let you look at the ingredients, but most are pretty willing to oblige.
For birthday parties you just have to bring your own cake and meal. Sometimes they will have fruit, but it's not a given and that isn't enough to eat anyway.
General Principles
The general principle with allergies is to cook things from traditions which don't involve your allergy. So to avoid dairy, cook Mexican food (cheese as a topping) or Asian food, or Greek food, not Italian or French food.Don't try to make food do what it is not good at. Making a chewy bread without gluten is foolish. However, making a flaky pie crust or biscuit makes sense.
Substitutes
My favorite substitute is Earth Balance buttery sticks. They do make soy free versions which I assume are also good. Almond milk is delicious, although some people (Amanda) can't have it because of the nuts. There are a lot of other milk substitutes out there that weren't around when I was starting to cook.If you can do gluten but not wheat, then oat flour is really the most delicious flour I've found.
We loved Tinkyada brown rice pasta
Do rice cakes (or even better, corn cakes) instead of bread for sandwiches.
I LOVE Tofutti better than cream cheese---but it is made from soy.
We use egg replacer from Ener-G for vegan baking. Others have used apple sauce, flax eggs, and other substitutes.
As far as I can tell, there are no soy-free substitutes for soy sauce. Tamari sauce is good for avoiding gluten. Amanda enjoys nutritional yeast sprinkled on things.
Enjoy Life makes chocolate bars and chocolate chips that are very good.
Daiya cheese shreds are ok, and seem to be soy free as well as dairy free. We use it on pizza.
Main dishes
- Beef Stew
- Chili (chicken and red)
- Spaghetti and meatballs
- Tacos and beans
- Pancakes and bacon (Arrowhead Mills has a mix that we liked very much).
- Roast pork and quinoa or rice
- Sausage, beans, tomatoes and rice
- Chicken curry with coconut milk
Restaurants/eating out
I always assume that there will be nothing for Amanda to eat if we haven't been to a place before. I used to bring sunflower seeds and raisins everywhere we went, so that she wouldn't starve. These days I travel with a chocolate bar, so that Amanda won't feel left out if there are doughnuts or other treats.A few restaurants are good: Red Robin and P. F. Changs are pretty good at dealing with allergies. If you've never been to a place before, don't go when they are busy. P. F. Changs used to make Amanda her own veggie and chicken stir fry---but they can't when they are busy.
In general, choose places that are HUGE chains or mom-and-pop places. Either they have a company wide policy for dealing with allergies, or they know every ingredient because they make things from scratch. Medium chains sometimes get their food from headquarters and don't know what is in there.
Any place that has a hamburger on the menu can make one on a clean grill for Amanda. Sometimes she can have the chicken, sometimes not because it has been marinated. French fries are sometimes ok. The most annoying restaurants are the ones which won't let you look at the ingredients, but most are pretty willing to oblige.
For birthday parties you just have to bring your own cake and meal. Sometimes they will have fruit, but it's not a given and that isn't enough to eat anyway.
Lunches
For school lunches, here are some things we've done:- sunflower seeds cooked with butter and cinnamon
- pasta with olive oil and salt
- hummus and carrots
- grilled ham sandwiches (if you have a good tasting bread)
- We did soy yogurt---I don't know if you feel like the coconut yogurt has enough nutrition to substitute for a main dish.
Comments