Working Around Your Allergies

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This site is meant to help people with all different types of allergies learn to better avoid their allergens and cook better food for themselves and their families. I know people who only have one allergy- consider someone who is lactose intolerant, but has no issue with wheat or gluten. I do not expect this person to purchase and use gluten free flour for use with the recipes I share here. That same person may also prefer almond milk as their non-dairy milk alternative, despite the fact many of the readers here (myself included) are allergic to nuts. With that in mind, it is completely impractical to write recipes like this:

Hamburger Steak:

6 oz Ground Pork (or another ground meat if you observe Kosher, Halal, think pork is icky, or Impossible Meat if you are vegan)
10 oz Ground Beef (or another ground meat if you observe Hinduism, Jainism, or Impossible Meat if you are vegan)
1/3 Cup breadcrumbs (or Gluten Free breadcrumbs)
1 Egg, beaten (omit, or use a ‘chia seed egg’ if you are allergic to eggs)
2 Tbsp Milk (or Rice milk/Soy milk/Almond milk/Oat milk/Hemp milk/Flax milk/Coconut milk/Macadamia milk/Cashew milk)
1 tsp Salt (omit if you have high blood pressure)
1 ¾ tsp Pepper
¾ tsp Nutmeg

See how quickly that got out of control? And that was just the ingredients list. Instead of that verbose nightmare of written word salad, I want you to make each recipe your own. What does that mean? Here is how I make that recipe for myself:

Hamburger Steak:

6 oz Ground Pork
10 oz Ground Beef
1/3 Cup Gluten Free breadcrumbs
1 Egg, beaten
2 Tbsp Rice Milk
1 tsp Salt
1 ¾ tsp Pepper
¾ tsp Nutmeg

Take notes. Make adjustments and modifications along the way. Cooking is a learned art after all, and without trial, error, and persistence, you will not master the art. When substitution differences matter, I will try to make it known ahead of time. For instance, I have used Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer blend to make egg-free baked goods for my loved ones. I seriously doubt anyone could make a Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer Omelet.

Things that are Nominally Allergy Free vs. Allergy Free Versions of Things

Steak and potatoes with mixed vegetables. This is a dinner plate that is nominally allergy free. My Top-8 allergy free pancakes are an allergy free recipe for pancakes that would normally have milk, eggs, and wheat. I recommend finding as many nominally safe meals as possible. These nominally safe meals will be your go-to options when eating out. During the early part of your allergy free cooking journey you will be going up a steeper learning curve than later on. It is easiest to plan one or two small batch allergy free adaptations per week. If you venture out into too many experimental adaptations too fast you may find yourself with a lot of terrible leftovers.

Adapting Your Own Recipes

You probably have old family recipes that you cherish. I do, see- Spatzel, Enchiladas, Schnitzel, Goulash, and Flour Tortillas just to name a few. These all require special considerations for allergies. There are ways to adapt these recipes to suit your dietary needs.

Good Substitutes

Let’s discuss good substitutes further, one ingredient at a time.

#1 Milk – Milk is in so many things. Luckily it is very easy to work around. There are many non-dairy milk alternatives, such as ones based from rice, oat, and hemp. Additionally, if your list of allergies permits, there are also non-dairy milk alternatives based in soy, coconut, almond, and cashew. These all basically work as a 1:1 substitute. They work in everything from Lattes to Spatzel to Alfredo Sauce.

#2 Eggs – Eggs. Good on their own, good as a component in cooking, a key ingredient in many baked goods. Because eggs can be utilized so many ways we need to first establish what role the egg replacer is playing. In baked goods I recommend a powdered egg replacer such as Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer. Making a replacement for egg bath when deep frying is quite different. In this case the best thing to do is make a slurry using sifted flour and water in roughly equal parts. From here you can dredge in flour, dip in the slurry, and then roll in breadcrumbs. For making omelets or anything that would have scrambled eggs there are mung bean based egg alternative products.

#3 Fish – This one is tricky. You’re basically cut off from a whole section of meats. Rejoice in the fact you still have other meat options and do your best to avoid the stuff.

#4 Shellfish – Again, there’s not a ton of ways around not having shrimp, lobster, crawfish and crab. Focus on avoiding, there’s plenty of delicious things that don’t involve shellfish.

#5 Tree Nuts – In my experience, having a tree nut allergy means skipping a lot of desserts. No baklava, no candied almonds, no amaretto, no nut butters, and probably no flavored coffee. I find the biggest issue with this class of allergens is when it is used as a substitute for another allergen, for instance- Almond flour as a gluten free alternative, and Almond milk as a non-dairy milk alternative. It is easy to cook and bake without tree nuts, as they can be omitted in many cases.

#6 Peanuts – Much like tree nuts, I have found skipping desert the biggest issue with my peanut allergy. Outside of the ever popular PB&J sandwich I find peanuts and peanut butter are usually incorporated into candies and desserts. Sunflower Seed Butter is a great alternative to peanut butter. Peanut oil is also a semi-common oil used in deep frying, always be sure to ask whoever is preparing your food.

#7 Wheat/Gluten – This one is pretty ubiquitous. Wheat and its derivatives are in an uncountable number of things. Luckily, there’s a wide variety and well developed market for gluten free items. There’s also a number of gluten free flour blends available for sale, and they can also be made at home. These blends are not always the 1:1 match that non-dairy milk alternatives usually are, but when you dial in your technique with your preferred blend you will find you can do virtually anything with the right gluten free flour and good technique. In general, I find gluten free flour blends want to absorb more liquid than traditional wheat flour. When I adapt recipes that call for flour I usually start by using half the quantity called for and slowly adding more as necessary.

#8 Soy – This one is everywhere too. Soy has many derivatives that are in many things. Soybean oil is extremely common in restaurants, condiments like mayonnaise, and commercial fried goods like potato chips. Some people are allergic to soy but can still safely eat soy sauce because the fermentation process breaks down the soy proteins, leaving too little antigen to trigger a reaction. If you fall under this category I recommend you stick to traditionally brewed soy sauce such as Kikkoman, and avoid hydrolyzed soy protein based sauces such as La Choy. For those that cannot tolerate soy sauce at all there’s coconut aminos.

Avoiding Hidden Allergens & Cross Contamination

Hidden Allergens can be dangerous. Cross contamination is dangerous too. Sometimes ingredients are where they don’t belong (Needless Additives). Sometimes someone dips a butter knife in the peanut butter jar, then in the jelly jar. Sometimes things are listed under a different name or the quantity is under a certain threshold. Sometimes humans goof up and don’t list ingredients properly. Sometimes there’s allergens in places you don’t expect, like McDonald’s French fries- What could be nominally top 8 allergy safe instead contains milk, soy, and wheat. Below are the top 8 allergens and some of the places you might find them.

#1 Milk – Potato chips, French fries, Crackers, Buns, Breads, Baked goods

#2 Eggs – Breaded/Fried foods, Imitation crab, Buns, Breads, Baked goods

#3 Fish – Worcestershire sauce, Fish sauce, Imitation crab, Caesar salad dressing

#4 Shellfish – Sushi, Crab cakes, Crab Dips

#5 Tree Nuts – Ice cream, Baked goods, Coffee, Syrups, Candy

#6 Peanuts – Fryer oil, Candy

#7 Wheat/Gluten – Breaded/Fried foods, Sauces/Condiments, Lunchmeat, Imitation crab, Buns, Breads, Baked goods, Soy sauce, Liquid gel pills, Natural flavors, certain pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics

#8 Soy – Liquid gel pills, Natural flavors, Certain pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics, Mayonnaise, Fryer oil, Many salad dressings, Candy, Many commercial sauces

Conclusion

We all have different allergies and food limitations. This article should help you start on your way to better coping with your allergies, or taking care of friends and family who have special food needs. Hopefully you learned something new, and I hope you find many recipes here that you enjoy. Remember- Allergy safe does NOT mean flavorless!