Food Allergy Cookbook Review: Allergy-Proof Recipes for Kids

Recipes for "Oh Whee Ohs" and gluten-free, dairy-free Honey Graham Crackers are sure to appeal to kids with food allergies. The book is true to its title and all recipes are free of wheat, gluten, nuts, eggs, and dairy. Parents will appreciate the easy-to-read layout with cooking tips in the margins and color photos of many recipes.

Are your kids clamoring for spaghetti and meatballs, pizza and chicken nuggets? Allergy-Proof Recipes for Kids, by Leslie Hammond and Lynne Marie Rominger, has recipes for these kid favorites and more.

The cookbook contains “more than 150 recipes” that are free of wheat, gluten, dairy, nuts, peanuts, and eggs. Some recipes are also corn-free, such as bean tortillas and “stick dogs.” Unfortunately for those with soy allergies, many recipes do contain soy ingredients, though it is possible to modify most recipes by substituting ingredients.

The recipes in this book appear to be well-tested. Instructions are clear and the recipes I tried worked well and tasted good. Recipes clearly referred to substitute ingredients with terms such as “alternative milk beverage,” allowing for readers to use their own favorites.

Recipes range from breakfast favorite such as muffins, pancakes, and breakfast sausage, to dinner entrees such as hot dog and bean casserole, cheese-free mac-n-cheese, and sloppy joes. The last chapter contains recipes for gluten-free modeling dough.

Many, but not all, of the recipes are accompanied by color photographs. The book also has a well-organized glossary. It is easy to find recipes that use a certain ingredient, and equally fun to flip through the book looking for new menu ideas.

These lemon poppy seed muffins are a new addition to the favorite foods list at my house.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

For Muffins:

• 11/2 cups lemonade (I used 1 cup water, juice of 1 lemon, and 1 T sugar)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups white rice flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Grated rind of 1 lemon (I grated the rind before juicing the lemon I used above)
• 1/4 cup poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling (optional)

For Lemon Syrup:

• ¼ cup powdered sugar (contains corn starch – book includes recipe for corn-free powdered sugar)
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make muffins: In a mixer, combine the first seven ingredients and mix until smooth. Add in the lemon zest and poppy seeds and stir until well incorporated.
3. Spoon into desired baking dishes and sprinkle with additional poppy seeds, if desired. Bake until firm: mini muffins: 10 minutes; Regular muffins: 15 minutes; 8-inch cake pan or Bundt pan: 45 minutes
4. To make lemon syrup: Add powdered sugar and lemon juice to a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil over low heat and then remove from heat. As soon as the muffins come out of the oven, spoon or brush the lemon syrup over the tops. For a Bundt cake, when cake has cooled, invert cake out of cake pan and pour syrup over the top.

I made these muffins without the glaze, to avoid the added sugar. They were sweet and delicious. With the glaze, the muffins convert into an excellent cake.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.