Some delicious recipes for the food-allergic

…90 percent of food allergies is caused by eight foods

By: Pat Tanner
   Have you noticed, as I have, an alarming increase in the number of infants being born with severe food allergies? I was not certain if this was an aberration or fluke of some kind, but it turns out that, indeed, food allergies are increasing at an alarming pace. The rate of peanut allergies alone has doubled in the last five years, and about 11 million Americans now have food allergies.
   I pity any parent who has to manage these, as well as the school-age children who can feel isolated and self-conscious eating their "special" meals or sitting at the peanut-free table or attending parties where pizza, cake, and ice cream are off limits due dairy allergies.
   It has taken a mother in just that position one who has enjoyed cooking and eating all her life, who worked in restaurants but is not a trained cook to create the first cookbook I’ve come across that delivers on what it promises: 200 gourmet and home-style recipes for the food-allergic family. Since 90 percent of food allergies is caused by eight foods, none of the recipes contain milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish. (That’s "and" and not "or.")
   Moreover, Cybele Pascal, the author of "The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook" (Vital Health Publishing, $18.95), goes further. Not only do the recipes have to be delicious and easy to make, this mother of two food-allergic sons uses whole foods only: unrefined, unadulterated, unprocessed (or minimally processed), and often organic. Why? "Because processing food removes its nutrients," she writes, "and it is especially important for people with food allergies who are on restricted diets to get the most nutritive value from every bite they eat."
   The book’s essays on such things as cooking oils and refined cane sugar enlighten further.
   Two high-profile chefs, Dan Barber and Michel Nischan, attest to the deliciousness of the recipes. I tested five and each came up a winner. I found the special ingredients that Pascal specifies amaranth flour, oat milk, egg replacer, etc. were readily available in the Princeton area at Whole Foods and the Whole Earth Center. My family actually prefers the book’s chicken nuggets to the fast-food kind, and the nutrient-dense avocado dressing is rich, creamy and addictive. The banana cupcakes surpass typical "healthful" baked goods, but if you are able to use real eggs or whole-wheat flour or cane sugar, they will taste even more like "regular." The book also includes two layer-cake recipes that are ideal for birthday parties.
   All recipes are from "The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook" by Cybele Pascal.
CREAMY AVOCADO DRESSING
Note: The author uses this in place of mayo-based dressings. It has no cholesterol and can be used in sandwiches as well as salads, or over steamed vegetables or chicken.
   1 clove garlic
   2 teaspoons honey
   2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or fresh basil
   1 ripe avocado (about 1 cup)
   ¾ cup enriched rice milk
   3 tablespoons lime juice
   2 tablespoons cider vinegar
   ¼ teaspoon salt
   Pepper to taste
   In food processor, blend garlic, honey, and cilantro or basil. Add avocado and puree. Add rice milk, lime juice and vinegar. Then add salt and pepper. Thin with a little more rice milk if you want it more liquid.
   Makes about 1½ cups.
BEER-BATTERED
CHICKEN NUGGETS
Note: The author recommends using Spectrum High-Heat Safflower Oil.
   1½ pounds chicken breast
   1 12-ounce Samuel Adams Boston lager (a safe, wheat-free beer made with barley malt)
   1-1/3 cups oat flour
   2/3 cup barley flour
   1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
   2 cups safflower oil for frying
   Sea salt and pepper
   Open beer and pour into a glass. Let go flat a bit (about 1 hour). Cut chicken into 1-1/2-inch cubes. Combine beer, oat flour, barley flour and baking powder. Add chicken to batter. Heat safflower oil in a large pan (it should come up sides about 1 inch) over medium-high heat. Once oil is really hot (the oil looks like it’s separating and moving), add some of the chicken. You will have to cook in batches. Cook until crispy on bottom and flip, using tongs. Once cooked, gently lay out on a paper bag or paper towels to drain off the excess oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and a few grindings of pepper (pepper optional).
   Serves 6.
BANANA CUPCAKES
Note: The author tops these with vanilla frosting made using a quarter cup of either Spectrum Vegetable Shortening or Spectrum Organic Refined Coconut Oil, but they are excellent even unadorned. Although the book gives the yield as 12 cupcakes, my attempt yielded 16, even with the cups filled almost to the brim with batter.
   ½ cup safflower oil
   1 cup honey
   1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 4 tablespoons enriched rice or oat milk
   1 cup banana, mashed
   1 teaspoon vanilla extract
   2 cups spelt flour (if you can’t eat spelt due to a wheat allergy, use 1 cup oat flour with 1 cup barley flour, and 1 extra teaspoon baking powder)
   1/2 teaspoon baking soda
   2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
   ¼ teaspoon salt
   ½ cup enriched rice or oat milk
   Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with 16 liners. Combine safflower oil and honey in a large bowl. Beat until smooth. Add egg replacer, banana, and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, combine spelt flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Alternating, add flour mixture and rice/oat milk to the wet ingredients mixture. Beat until fully mixed. Pour into muffin pans. Bake for 25 minutes. Cupcakes are done when they’re a lovely golden color on top and they bounce back when pressed.
   Let cool before removing from pan. Loosen with a knife if necessary.
   Makes 12 to 16 cupcakes.
Pat Tanner can be heard each Saturday morning on "Dining Today with Pat Tanner" on MoneyTalk AM 1350 and over www.moneytalk1350.com from 9 to 10 a.m.