Any Moms with Good Recipe Options Dealing with Wheat and Other Allergies?

Hi M., There's an association out there you can become a member of. www.kidswithfoodallergies.org
They have a recipe database that can definitely help! It's $25 a year and a non-profit but might be worth it.

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/ is a website I have used because of great recipes even though I'm not allergic to wheat. Maybe you can find something there.

Hi M.,

I do not have any recipes per say, but I have substitutes that I use that can work with any regular recipe. In place of milk, we used rice milk or almond milk, or even better cocunut milk freshly made, in place of cheese we used almond or rice cheese, in place of honey we use maple syrup-which is better for our bodies anyways, instead of regular bread we use spelt bread found at Whole Foods,& we also subtite corn & rice pasta as you mentioned above. If you want a good cookbook, there is a book called "Skinny Bi***, In the Kitch" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. They do not use any dairy I know for sure, and I believe they do not cook with wheat either. It is worth checking out. I hope this helps you some.

Hi M., I too have food allergies, and have found different items at whole foods. Even at Tom Thumb I have found a few things. Amy's makes a yummy pizza. and I have had brownies made from rice flour. I couldn't tell the difference. I have alot of corn in my diet, which I prob. shouldn't due to the sugar in corn. Diabetes runs high in my family. Is the allergy gluten and wheat or just wheat?
I do know there are brownie recipes and cookie recipies oh and cake. I've seen the cake and cookies at target, i think it is cherrybrook farms? It is in a box along with the cake mixes. I am not sure what else is in them though. Check a website called alltherecipies.com and see what they have to help. Take care and God Bless K.

I had the same problem. I did not know how to change recipes, so I changed ingritd. the stores have subs. for a gluton free diet. Ikea is great for all kinds of things. Iknow for sure Albertsons has a good selection.

Have you tried the Gluten-free Gourmet books? I also like the Glutenfreegirl blog. Lots of recipes on her index.

If you find a brand you like, you can substitute GF flour for wheat flour. Try Bob's Red Mill or Authentic Foods. Sometimes you add a little xanthan gum for better texture. Good luck!

Is he allergic to gluten or wheat? If it's not gluten, then you should be able to use oats. I actually have a lot of oat flour, rice flour, tapioca flour recipes. (My sisters and I are putting together a cookbook, but it prob won't be available until close the end of the year.)

To make oat flour, simply blend instant oatmeal in your blender until it is fine.

If you can't have gluten, invest in some Xanthum gum, which simulates gluten. It may be expensive, but you only use a tsp or so per recipe.

I buy rice and tapioca flours as well as rice noodles at our local Asian market because it's SO much cheaper than getting it at a health food store ($ .45 - $.79 a bag compared to $2.99).

Since you can't have dairy or soy, butter and margarines are out. For cooking, you can use canola, safflower, sunflower, olive, coconut oils. Cold-pressed coconut oil can be used to replace any butter, margarine, or Crisco.

For the following recipe, you will need to substitute coconut oil for the margarine.

Blueberry muffins

These muffins actually taste like the real thing! Most people can't tell that these are wheat-free! These also freeze well.

½ c margarine (coconut oil)
2 eggs
1 c sugar
1 c rice flour
½ c oat flour
½ c tapioca flour
½ tsp xanthum gum
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
½ c rice, almond or soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
½ c crushed blueberries
½ fresh blueberries

Preheat oven at 375 F
Cream together margarine (coconut oil), sugar and eggs.
Blend in flours, salt, baking powder, and gum along with soy milk and vanilla.
Blend in crushed berries. Fold in remaining berries.
Spoon into muffin tins. Fill each tin about ¾ of the way.
Sprinkle tops with sugar.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Banana Bread

Mom used to make banana bread using her grandma's recipe. I had to come up with an altered version. This bread is like a slice of my childhood!

Wet:
3 mashed ripe bananas
2/3 c rice or soy milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
1 c sugar
½ c margarine (or coconut oil)
1 egg

Dry:
1 c oat flour
½ c rice flour
½ c tapioca flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

½ c walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven at 350 F
Mix vinegar or lemon juice to milk and set aside for 2-3 minutes.
Cream all other wet ingredients together.
Add dry ingredients and mix, slowly adding milk mixture.
If desired, fold in walnuts.
Pour into greased and floured 4x8 loaf pan.
Bake 50 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Hello M.,

have you ever tried quinoa? (it's in the amaranth family) I cook it just like rice in my rice cooker (a bit of salt, and oil). My favorite recipe for it is a turkish rice recipe that I've adapted. just add some raisins and a 1/4 tsp cinnamon.

Have you been to the Flower Mound Food Specialty Store (FM Pharmacy on Cross Timbers).
I make an almost weekly trip to Whole Foods -- I love their burger bread and their blueberry muffins --.

check out the Vietnamese supermarket SE corner of Josey Ln & Frankford

and SE Corner of Josey Ln & Beltline.

- plantain chips
-cassava chips
- cassava couscous (cassava and tapioca are the same thing)
PM me if you want more ideas/questions.
~C.~

Since you live in Flower Mound, I have a Yahoo group setup where I cache my favorite recipes, if you'd like to join:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/FM-Celiac-GI-FA/
There are files out there with recipes, list of favorite cookbooks, lunch box ideas, general GF/allergy free cooking ideas, etc. The only reason the group is closed is to prevent spam on the mailing list, which has little traffic. I have similar allergies (other than the honey), so can answer any questions you might have. My sons both must avoid, the gluten, dairy and soy.
I'm assuming you know about FM Specialty Foods in the Atrium. M. there is a good resource.

Also, just a caution about oats. The reason they are typically a problem on a gluten-free diet is due to cross contamination with wheat either in the fields (they often rotate crops), in transport or in milling. So, unless you buy the gluten-free oats, then you should also avoid oats if you're allergic to wheat. With allergies, there's often a threshold issue (like a bucket), so it's difficult to tell what level might cause a reaction.

M. B.

M.,

My daughter is allergic to much of the same things your son is allergic to and like your son, she LOVES bread! Fortunately for me, I am Vietnamese and we don't have too much wheat in the things we eat. So, I cook a lot of ethnic foods and serve with rice which she really loves. If you like Asian foods, you might want to get a simple Asian cookbook - Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, etc. We do a lot of rice noodle dishes and stuff you can serve with rice. And then I also got some recipes online for some foods using rice flour.