Living With Food Allergies

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon chili powder

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 cups water

1 cup red lentils

1 medium red pepper, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

1 lemon, juiced

3 Tablespoon chopped cilantro

In a large pot, heat oil until it shimmers.  Add onion and garlic; cook over medium heat soft and golden (4-5 minutes).  Stir in tomato paste and spices; cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.  Add liquids, lentils, red pepper and celery; bring to a boil.  Stir, turn heat to medium-low and cook until lentils are soft (25-20 minutes). 

Puree soup by using either an immersion blender or a blender.   Stir in lemon juice and cilantro.  Add salt to taste.

Serves 5-6

Onions. Cabbage. Noodles. Butter. Who knew that such simple, unassuming ingredients could make a dish that's unbelievably delicious and comforting? This is my favorite go-to dinner now. So easy to make, not to mention satisfying and filling. It's really an ideal weeknight dinner, because it's ready in 20 minutes flat. If you don't think you like cabbage, this dish is for you. You'll never judge a poor, innocent cabbage again! And best yet, the dish is free of corn, soy, animal products, wheat, gluten, eggs, sugar, and yeast, so it's perfect for pretty much everyone!

Rustic Noodles & Cabbage
from NJ Munson's kitchen

1/2 lb (1/2 pkg) brown rice fettucine
(or your pasta of choice)

1-2 T olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
1/4-1/2 medium head green cabbage
2-3 T butter (optional, but recommended!)
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

1. First, get your noodles ready. Pop 'em in a pot of boiling, salted water. They'll cook for about 10-15 minutes.
2. Next, chop your onion in a medium dice and toss it in a saucepan with 1-2 T of olive oil. Stir, then let cook over medium heat while you chop your cabbage.
3. Take a head of cabbage & cut it into quarters. Remove the hard white core & trash it. Take off any loose or wilted outer leaves and trash them, too. Chop 1 or 2 quarters of cabbage into fairly small pieces, about 1/2 to 1 inch or so. Toss 'em in the saucepan with the onions and let them cook down, stirring every few minutes. Season with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder (I like a a couple grinds fresh black pepper and about 1/2 T each of salt & garlic). Keep cooking & stirring until the veggies are soft and browned in spots.
4. Once your noodles are soft enough for you, drain them in a colander and rinse with cool water.
5. Dump the noodles into the pan with the veggies and stir to combine. Add 2-3 tablespoons of butter (if using) and stir until it's melted and coating everything. Taste and add salt if necessary.
6. Devour!

Here's another wonderful recipe for you: a pizza-like flatbread that will have your guests – and your family – swooning. Like all of our recipes, this can be adapted for any food restrictions you may have. This particular incarnation is free of wheat, gluten, dairy/casein, sugar, and corn. In addition, vegans and those with Candida sensitivity can enjoy this tasty bread. Trust us, it's absolutely fantastic; it has a crisp crust, slight nuttiness, and intense flavor from the fresh rosemary and the soft, sweet onions. We loved it hot out of the oven, but it’s also great reheated at 400° for about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Rosemary Foccacia with Caramelized Onions

3 large onions, sliced into half-moons about 1/2 inch thick

1 cup garbanzo (chickpea) flour

1 cup quinoa flour

1 cup tapioca flour (tapioca starch)

1 tsp aluminum/wheat-free baking powder

1 tsp sea salt

5 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped (about 3 T)

One medium lemon, juiced

1 cup minus 2 T rice milk (or your milk of choice)

3 T olive oil (or other oil, like canola or safflower)

Maldon sea salt (optional)

Freshly ground pepper

Extra olive oil for drizzling

1.      Heat a couple tablespoons olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 35-40 minutes, or until softened and browned in spots.

While onions are cooking, preheat oven to 400°F.

2.      Mix flours, baking powder, salt, and rosemary in a medium bowl.

3.      Mix lemon juice and rice milk to make 1 cup of liquid. Heat in microwave for 20 seconds to warm (this will slightly sour the milk, making it like buttermilk). Add 3 T oil to milk and stir to combine.

4.      Make a well in center of dry ingredients and add wet ingredients, stirring to incorporate. Batter should resemble heavy batter bread (it will be sticky, but slightly stiff, not runny). If necessary, add more flour to thicken.

5.      Grease an 11x14-inch cookie sheet or round pizza pan (we like Spectrum shortening for this).

6.      Spread batter onto cookie sheet using an oiled spatula. Sprinkle Maldon sea salt and fresh ground pepper over top, then add caramelized onions. Drizzle with 1-2 T olive oil.  

7.      Bake at 400° for 20 minutes, or until edges are browned.

Try to wait until this has cooled a bit before devouring – not an easy task, let me assure you! This recipe is extremely versatile, so feel free to experiment! Add some whole garlic cloves to get a sweet, mellow garlic flavor. Roasted red peppers would also be wonderful. A good sheep’s or goat’s milk cheese (like feta, or chevre) would be perfect for sprinkling over the top when this comes out of the oven. Scatter some more fresh herbs over the top. Play around with the flavors – use basil instead of rosemary, or thyme. Sun-dried tomatoes would be great on top of this, too. Let us know if you have other ideas – we welcome any and all feedback!

This site is called “Living with Food Allergies.” Not “dealing with,” or “coping with,” or “adapting to” life after a food allergy diagnosis. Just because our bodies react negatively to certain foods doesn't mean that we, too, must respond negatively, or feel deprived or lost. Life with food allergies gives us new opportunities – to learn, to develop new tastes, and to enjoy health, energy, and vitality. For many, it opens doors to lives they'd only imagined living, lives of happiness, creativity, and an openness to the world and all its possibilities. Life with food allergies is just that – life. And it's whatever you want it to be.

This site is for everyone who's ever struggled with a food allergy or intolerance. It's designed to be helpful to those of you just starting on your journey to health and those who are already living a healthy, allergy-free lifestyle. We have links to communities and organizations supporting people with food intolerances of all kinds, delicious allergy-friendly recipes, stories both personal and anecdotal, and a wealth of information and resources on food allergies and treatments. Whether you avoid one food or several, whether you have a diagnosed allergy or just want to avoid certain foods, we want to provide you with exactly what you need.

Watch out for new content weekly, and let us know if you have any suggestions for additions to the site, or if you have questions or comments. We're here to help!

I made a fantastic batch of homemade (from scratch) bread this evening.  Being restricted from eating wheat, gluten, eggs, and dairy for the past 3 years hasn't kept me from experimenting to continue to create great food!  I encourage you to try this new bread recipe and give me your feedback.  I've made many good loaves of bread; this recipe is definitely my best to date!  I designed it for those with allergies/intolerances to wheat, gluten, eggs and dairy but it will most certainly be enjoyed by everyone who eats it!

"Simply Scrumptious Sorghum-Quinoa Bread"

2-1/2 cups sorghum flour

1 cup quinoa flour

½ cup potato starch flour (not potato flour)

2 cups tapioca flour

3-1/2 teaspoons dry yeast granules

4 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 Tablespoon xanthan gum

4 teaspoons egg replacer

1/3 cup flax

2/3 cup cool water

7 Tablespoons canola oil

2-1/2 cups warm water

2 teaspoons molasses

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.  Grease 2 – 9x5 inch loaf pans with Spectrum palm kernel shortening.  Place 8 ingredients together in large mixing bowl and mix well.  Mix remaining 7 ingredients together and pour into mixing bowl.  Mix on high speed for 3 minutes.  (Dough should appear like a heavy cake batter.)  Turn heat off and place bread pans into the oven.  Let the loaves rise for 40 minutes or until dough almost reaches the top of the pans.  Leave pans in the oven and turn oven to 400 degrees.  Bake loaves for 45 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped with fingers.  Let bread sit in pans for 5 minutes before turning on to cooling racks.  Cut when bread cools.  Enjoy!

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