The Super Allergy Girl Gluten Free, Casein Free, Nut Free Allergy and Celiac Cookbook From A Mother Who Knows

Cooking for a child on a special diet can be challenging, overwhelming, and, at times, a loving pain-in-the-butt, especially when rotation diets (sometimes called rotary diets) are necessary. I have quite a collection of "allergy" cookbooks. I have a few reference books, as well. Sitting down to browse recipes and cross reference food families in an attempt to rotate food families every four or seven days is a job. And having a child with multiple food allergies and intolerances puts me in an unusual category. I know a lot of families who have children with autism on a GFCF diet. I don't know many who have had to eliminate even more foods and who have to consider food families when planning meals for their family. And, yes, I know a few folks who have more food issues than WE do. What are folks like that supposed to do?

In the "olden" days (eight years ago), we'd sit at the dining room table and open a few cookbooks and a reference book with food family information and we'd pour over them all, trying to make a plan.

Recent GFCF cookbooks are written by mothers of children with GFCF+++ needs, and they have become a HUGE help to moms like me.

Lisa Lundy speaks the language of the mom of a child with multiple food allergies and intolerances.

I recently received Lundy's "The Super Allergy Girl^tm Gluten Free, Casein Free, Nut Free Allergy and Celiac Cookbook From A Mother Who Knows^tm" ($28.95) in the mail (free, to review for you, here) -- it is *phenomenal*! Lundy has a three children with food allergies, including one child with multiple life-threatening food allergies, and she has written a book to walk others through the process. Yes, it's helpful for a simple GFer or GFCFer, too, but this resource is invaluable to a mom feeding a child with a long list of food no-no's. All the recipes are free of wheat, gluten, milk, casein, lactose, egg, peanut, tree nuts, and coconut.

Author Lisa Lundy provides an all-in-one-place resource that includes an incredible amount of information about rotation diets (and an interesting history, as a nation, of living on a rotation diet until recent years), with a big section that gives readers food family info. I have always had to refer to a separate book to look up food families for planning, and Lundy provides that information in her cookbook with sample pages showing how she rotates foods for her children. It's quite a nice shortcut for you if you have to watch food families at your house. The "Information" section that precedes the recipe section is 129 pages long and quite thorough.I think that rotating grains is a toughie, and Lundy provides grain-based recipes from page 163 to page 208 that cover everything from breads to muffins to pancakes to bagels to stuffing. There's another section for desserts that include grains.

The section that deal with grains are really important. If you've baked with gluten free, alternative grains for long, you know that you can't simply pick a grain and substitute equal amounts of it for flour in a recipe. Even if you have a gluten-free recipe, you can't substitute some GF flours for others and get a good result. Lundy has tested a bunch of recipes along the way and gives readers the best of her best.

She covers appetizers & snacks, soups, main dishes, side dishes, dressings, dips & sauces, non-dairy ice creams and beverages, too. She includes recipes for non-food items, too, including finger paints, play clay, homemade stickers and laundry soap.

Lundy writes in a "between you and me" style, and as I get to the recipe section, I like her no-nonsense notes, spotlighting what to do or what not to do on particular recipes.

She includes recipes that are appealing to adults, too, including one adult-only recipe for Heavenly Kahlua.

There are no photos of completed recipes in the book. (I like photos.) This 397 page book would be too big with more pages for photos.

Lundy has an extensive web site called The Super Allergy Girl. She offers visitors 11 recipes, and eight "how-to" videos on her web site, a blog, a list of articles she's written (food family charts are there), a list of resources and a link to the products (including the cookbook) that she sells. Check it out! The web site is as thorough as the cookbook.

Thanks, Lisa Lundy, for renewing my hope. I'm sick of the same old meals at my house. You've given me inspiration with your recipes!

PS: Stay tuned, and as I cook from the book, I'll post about it. We're going through some food jags at my house and I have to come up with some new recipes and dishes and this is one of the cookbooks I'll be using in coming weeks.

GFCFSF Pumpkin Bread

I have been EXPERIMENTING w/ a GF pancake and waffle mix.

Saturday, I made banana bread using Trader Joe's gf pancake and waffle mix as the flour blend-- quite an experiment--and it was FABulous. I took it to our small group dinner, Saturday night. Sometimes, GF stuff is distinctly different in texture. But this was NOT. We were all amazed by how good it was!

Today, I decided to use the remainder of the gf pancake and waffle mix, but I am out of bananas, soooooooooooooo I used my great aunt's banana bread recipe, and used pumpkin instead of mashed bananas. To replace the recipe's two cups of wheat flour, I used pancake and waffle mix. Trader Joe's gluten free pancake and waffle mix is 18 oz (1 lb 2 oz), costs $2.99, and the ingredients read SWEET BROWN RICE FLOUR, TAPIOCA FLOUR, ARROWROOT FLOUR, RICE MILK POWDER, CREAM OF TARTAR, XANTHAN GUM, BAKING SODA, SEA SALT, VANILLA BEAN.

Thumbs up! It is not as sweet as the banana bread, but it is tasty!

Tuesday update: Four thumbs up and one thumbs down at my house. The kidlet who is *on* the gfcfsf diet gave it a thumbs up. We're calling it a cake-bread, because it is like a cross between a cake and a bread.

The Incredible Edible Cell

This blog entry comes from a GUEST from my famiy! :) My cousin posted this on our family blog, and the idea is SO fabulous, I asked for her permission to share it here with you, and she graciously said "yes".

We may try a GFCFSF++ version of the "incredible edible cell". I thought you might want to try it, too--it's a GREAT project:

Two nights ago, H. and I spent the evening completing a project for his science class called "The Incredible Edible Cell". He had to bring in a baked good created to look like a cell (in his case, an animal cell) complete with little "flag" labels made out of toothpicks. We decided to make a big sugar cookie, and add icing, candy pieces, and sprinkles. He had to include things like mitochondria, the nucleus, ribosomes, endoplasmic recticulum, and lysosomes. Here is a photo of the finished project! (They ate their projects at lunch that day after being graded.)

Here's H. with the cell cookie before putting in the toothpick signs

H. decorating the cookie

GFCFSF Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Pamela's mix)

Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Packed full of rich, dark chocolate chunks, this Incredible Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix is so quick and easy to make that anyone can have fresh baked cookies anytime! Just two ingredients added to Pamela's Cookie Mix creates fabulous cookies and fun desserts.

Banana Bread

This is Dad's aunt's recipe from a church cookbook, modified using gluten free, casein free, soy free ingredients. I made it this morning. It is still warm. It's quite good! My gfcfsf daughter has not tried it yet. She hates bananas now, for some reason, and I hoped I could get her to try some of this bread. I used palm shortening and this flour mix. I used two eggs instead of three, and next time, I will try it with egg replacer (we rotate eggs in the diet). I omitted the nuts. I might add some GFCFSF chocolate chips next time or a half cup of GF oats.

PS: She DID try some of the bread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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12/05/09 update: Amy's version of this recipe is here:

http://settingofsilver.blogspot.com/2009/12/holiday-baking-banana-bread.html

Baking bread for special diets

My daughter and I made our second loaf of gluten free, casein free, soy free bread *together* today.
(Gluten is the protein found in wheat, barley, rye; Casein is the protein found in milk.) We have been GFCF for 7.5 years, and my daughter was a fantastic responder to the diet. The past several years, we allowed some deliberate dietary infraction while using enzymes that digest the gluten and casein, and yet, she's developed some severe eczema and rashes, and recent allergy testing revealed some moderate and severe reactions to both milk and wheat plus several other foods. So, we've gone back to strict GFCF + soy free, and are trying to find a really good bread. GFCF breads are different from wheat breads, and we have to rotate our use of eggs. Egg free GFCFSF products are sometimes more like hockey pucks than something edible. This one is from a mix by Pamela's.

We are using an intervention called Relationship Development Intervention, to remediate the core deficits of autism, and cooking and baking together is a wonderful backdrop to RDI(r) and to homeschooling. http://www.rdiconnect.com/ We are also able to to sneak in reading when we read the recipes, math with measuring ingredients, and when we decorate cakes, we work on spelling. Soon, we'll be writing about our activities and blogging about them! If you are looking for a place to ask questions about RDI(r), join us on a yahoo group called "Autism Remediation For Our Children". It's a friendly group and there are many experienced parents willing to share their stories with families looking for information and hope.

GFCF Recipe Files

These are recipes that I use or have tried, recipes that are family friendly, many of them with "regular" items, so they don't require much specialty shopping. Some of them are naturally gfcf and some have been modified by me.

My recipe for salmon patties is HERE.

Check HERE for recipes I've blogged about.

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http://marinecorpsnomadsrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/01/gluten-free-every-day-bread.html


"Smores" -- Not all Vacation Bible School theme snacks are easy to duplicate in GFCFSF fachion, but this one was. It's a giant marshmallow dipped about halfway in chocolate icing. The half with icing becomes the bottom half, and the icing is rolled in cookie crumbs. Do that, and you've got a "smore". For the cookie crumbs, I used OrgraN Outback Animals Cookies. I used Wilton's Class Buttercream Chocolate Icing Recipe for the icing. One of our snacks at this year's Boomerang Express were these "smores", originally a giant marshmallow dipped in some sort of milk based chocolate sauce and rolled in graham cracker crumbs.

I always use the Wilton Class Buttercream Icing recipe for my icing:

Wilton Class Buttercream Icing-thick consistency

1 cup solid white vegetable shortening (I use palm oil)
1 tsp flavoring (vanilla, almond or butter)
2 tablespoons water
1 lb (approx 4 cups) pur cane confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon Wilton Meringue Powder
A pinch of salt

Cream shortening, flavoring and water. Add dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until all ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together. Blend an addditional minute or so, until creamy.

Thin with water, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach the consistency you desire.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM Add 3/4 cup cocoa or three 1 oz unsweetened chocolate squares, melted, and an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to the recipe. Mix until well blended.

*****

SALMON FILETS: I love borrowing cookbooks from the library. One of Nigella Lawson's cookbooks contains a recipe for salmon cooked on the stovetop. I don't have the exact recipe. Here's what I recall, though. She mixes sugar and dry mustard as a "rub" for a salmon filet and she cooks it in olive oil in a saute pan on the stovetop. My favorite version is to use Boar's Head honey mustard instead of the dry powdered mustard, rubbing it onto the fillet, as I saute the salmon in olive oil. I sprinkle sugar on the fish as it browns.

*****

ROASTED CHICKEN: I borrow from my fav Paula Deen for roasted chicken. I had always cooked a whole chicken at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until it was done, but Paula Deen cooks her roasted chicken at a higher temperature for part of the cooking time, and then she lowers the temperature for the remainder. I stuff my bird with whatever round fruit I have on hand. An apple sliced. A lemon. An orange. If I have a lemon, I slice it open, squeeze the juice of the lemon over the chicken and stuff the cavity w/ the lemon pieces. Sprinkle the skin with chunky sea salt, and you're good to go. (Paula Deen lifts the skin of her bird and stuffs butter and spices just underneath the skin. That's good, too.) Anyway, now I start my roasted chicken at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes and reduce the heat to 350 until done (use a cooking thermometer), usually another 30 min to an hour, depending on the size of the bird.

*****

From the cookbook

Southern Living 2006 Annual Recipes

page 131

Honey Chicken Salad

Prep time: 20 min

"The mayonnaise-honey mixture is reminiscent of poppy seed dressing. For a less sweet dressing, reduce the amount of honey."

4 cups chopped cooked chicken

3 celery ribs, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1/2 cup pecans, toasted

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1/3 cup honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Combine first 4 ingredients

2. Whisk together mayonnaise and next 3 ingredients. Add to chicken mixture, stirring gently until combined. Garnish if desired. Makes 4-6 servings.

from Tessa Mosher, Bradenton, Florida

*****

Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad

I got this one from a cooking class when I lived in California. I want to try it w/ a mock (fake) soy sauce (see tacanow.org for fake soy sauce recipes).

DRESSING:

1/2 cup oil

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon f inely chopped fresh gingerroot or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons oriental sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

In a jar w/ a tight fitting lid, combine all dressing ingredients, shake well. In a large non-metal bowl, combine dressing and chicken to coat. Cover, refrigerate one hour.

SALAD:

3 cups coursely shredded cooked chicken

1 cup shredded carrots

4 oz (1 cup) pea pods, cut in half diagonally, blanched

1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes

1/4 cup green onions

2 cups shredded Chinese cabbage

peanuts or cashews (optional)

4 egg roll salad bowls or fried wonton skins (for gluten free, omit these)

Add carrots, pea pods, green onions, and radishes to chicken-dressing mixture, toss gently. Line salad bowls with cabbage leaves. Place 1/2 cup shredded chicken mixture. Sprinkle with peanuts or cashews.

To toast sesame seed, spread in skillet, stir over med high heat for 1 - 2 minutes until golden brown.

To blanch pea pods, plunge pea pods into boiling water for 10-15 seconds, then into ice water.

*****

This one is so old, I can't remember where I got it. Probably Bon Appetit magazine in the early '90's. Here is the recipe, exactly as it is written (I would not use the marinade to baste twice during grilling.) We have used different spices -- rosemary is good, too.

GRILLED CHICKEN

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon dried whole oregano

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 bay leaf, crushed

4 chicken breast halves, skinned and boned

Combine first 7 ingredients in a zip-top heavy duty plastic bag. Add chicken, and marinate for 20 minutes; remove chicken from marinade, reserving marinade. Grill chicken, covered, over medium coals 8-10 minutes on each side, basting twice w/ marinade. Yield: 4 servings

PS from Penny: Baste w/ that marinade at your own risk, particulary toward the end of the grilling time.

*****

This recipe comes from a gal I worked with in Tennessee many years ago. The recipe is quite forgiving, and I have cut the sugar in half, omitted the eggs completely, and I promise that it is delicious with coconut milk to replace the cow's milk.

I'll type the original for you -- just know that modifying it to become gluten and casein free is quite easy and very delish. The topping is optional. (PS: I omit the pecans. My mother makes the topping w/ oats instead of pecans.)

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

3-4 cups of cooked, mashed sweet potatoes

1 stick butter or margarine

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs beaten slightly

2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup milk

Mix the above ingredients with a hand mixer until smooth.

Top with this mixture:

1/2 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 stick butter or margarine

1 cup pecan halves (optional)

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

*****

Pot Roast

I make roast in the crock pot using diluted (organic!) coffee for broth. I salt the chuck roast w/ sea salt and put maybe 2 cups coffee, 2 cups of water, and then I add more water to cover if needed. A tablespoon or two of tomato paste is optional (it's good either way). I cook it on high for a couple of hours and on low for the rest of the day, and I try to start it early, between 7 and 8 am so we can eat it around 6 pm.

You may add pototoes and carrots to the recipe if you like.

Some people add an envelope of Lipton onion soup mix. (I do not like onions.)

If I have a gluten free bouillion cube or broth base, I add that, too. Trader Joes recently had a new broth base.

I sometimes make pot roast in the oven, too, starting it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour (longer if the roast is big) and then lowering the temp to 225 degrees F until it is fork tender.

NO, it does NOT taste like coffee. The first time I used coffee as a broth base for a pot roast with my mother visiting, she turned up her nose at it as I was putting it together and turning on the crock pot. At the end of the day when we were eating it, she could not believe I began with coffee.

*****

SPAGHETTI SAUCE

in the crock pot
If you have browned meat in the freezer, this one is really quick.

1 pound of browned ground meat (beef or turkey)
1 jar of squash baby food
1 jar of carrots baby food
4 small cans of tomato paste
1 large can of corn-free tomato sauce
distilled water to thin to desired consistency
1 tablespoon McCormick's Italian Seasoning
a couple of tablespoons of olive oil
a couple of dashes of balsamic vinegar
a teaspoon of garlic from the jar in the refrigerator
sugar to taste maybe a quarter cup, maybe a little less
dash or two of Frank's Louisiana hot sauce OR

a pinch or two of red pepper flakes

dump everything in, stir it up, and heat. you have to watch it if
it's on high, or the edges will blacken/burn.

*****

Dickie Chong's Teriyaki Chicken Recipe

(tacanow has a recipe for mock soy sauce that is soy free)

1 cup wheat free soy sauce or tamari sauce
1/2 cup water (distilled)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp sherry (optional)
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/4 tsp ginger
dash of hot sauce or pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Mix ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil then simmer 1/2
hour. Cool and use.

Marinate chicken in sauce for several hours. Cover and bake at 350
degrees F for 1 hour

or put the chicken in a crock pot and pour sauce on top. Cook on
high for a couple of hours and on low the remainder of the day (6
hours or so)

*****

Ribs

This came from a Sunday magazine that accompanies the sunday paper, and I altered it a tad to make it totally GFCF:

Main ingredient: RIBS

Put the ribs in the dish you're going to bake them in.

First, salt and pepper the ribs. You may sprinkle them with GFCF spices (McCormicks) of your choosing. The original recipe calls for paprika and garlic salt. I like ground red pepper or sprinkling them with Frank's Louisiana hot sauce, but you have to be careful or you can overdo the hot sauce.

Then squirt a THICK (THICK!) layer of Frenches yellow mustard over the ribs. Take the back of a spoon and spread the mustard evenly over the ribs.

Pack brown sugar into the mustard.

Bake for an hour to an hour and a half at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then turn heat down to around 225 for another 2 to 4 hours, until the ribs fall apart, or are "fork tender".

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I spotted this one in the Detroit Free Press food section. Once I added the maple dijon sauce ingredients INTO the burger, and yes, it was tasty! We serve these bunless with the sauce on the side for dipping. The sauce makes an excellent salad dressing, too. I have never grilled these -- I've always cooked them in a little bit of oil on the stovetop in a saute pan.

*****

Apple turkey burgers with maple-dijon sauce

May 31, 2006

Serves: 4 / Preparation time: 15 minutes / Total time: 30 minutes

Oil for the grill grate

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons real maple syrup

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 1/4 pounds ground turkey breast

1/2 cup chunky applesauce

1/4 cup real bacon bits

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 hamburger buns, toasted

4 lettuce leaves

4 tomato slices

Preheat the grill for direct heat. Oil the grill grate just before
cooking.

To make the sauce, in a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, maple syrup and Dijon mustard; set the sauce aside.

To make the burgers, in a medium bowl mix together the turkey, applesauce, bacon bits, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.

Form the mixture into 4 even patties slightly larger than the buns.

Place the burgers on the hot, oiled grill and cook for 5 to 6 minutes per side or they are cooked through.

Serve hot on toasted buns topped with the maple-Dijon sauce, lettuce and tomato.

From "Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Grilling", by Sandra Lee (Meredith, $19.95). Tested by Susan Selasky for the Free Press Test Kitchen. 516 calories (45% from fat), 26 grams fat (5 grams sat. fat), 38x grams carbohydrates, 32 grams protein, 906 mg sodium, 117 mg cholesterol, 108 mg calcium, 2 grams fiber.

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Home Style Country Sausage
Collector's Issue, "Light and Tasty" magazine, page 7

1 medium tart apple, peeled and shredded
½ cup cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons grated onion (we omit this)
2 garlic cloves, minced (i go light on the garlic)
1½ teaspoons rubbed sage
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 pound lean ground turkey

In a bowl, combine the first 10 ingredients; mix well. Crumble turkey over mixture and mix well. Shape into eight ½ inch thick patties. In a large nonstick skillet coated w/ nonstick cooking
spray, cook patties for 4-6 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.

PENNY'S NOTE: I DO NOT USE A NON-STICK SKILLET, AND I USE CANOLA OR A MIX OF CANOLA AND COCONUT OIL FOR BROWNING/FRYING.

One patty equals 111 calories, 5 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 45 mg cholesterol, 348 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 10 g protein.
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Meat Loaf

½ cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon McCormick's powdered mustard

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1½ teaspoons onion powder (I omit this)
¼ teaspoon McCormick's garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 egg
1½ cups Rice Crunch Ems or Corn Crunch Ems Cereal, CRUSHED
1½ pounds ground beef

In a bowl, combine ketchup, brown sugar and ground mustard. Set aside 4 tablespoons to top meat loaf.

To remaining mixture, add balsamic vinegar, salt onion powder, garlic powder and cereal. Let stand at least 5 minutes. Add ground beef and mix well. Bake in 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for an hour. Spread reserved ketchup mixture over top of meat loaf. Bake 15 minutes longer.

I adapted this from "Tangy Meat Loaf," page 78, "a 'best of the
best' recipes from the Wheat Chex cereal permanent file of all-time
favorites". The name of the cook book is "Best Recipes from the
backs of Boxes, Bottles, Cans, and Jars," by Ceil Dyer.