I’m glad you are here.  Let me tell a bit about myself.  I love to study food, nutrition and love to cook.  It was in 2010 when it was discovered that I had a severe milk and egg allergy, and a mild reaction to almonds and walnuts.  Due to feeling poorly, I was determined to “quit” cold turkey.  I was trying new products and new recipes all the time.  Just when I got the hang of cooking dairy and egg free, almost a year later in 2011, other family members found out about allergies to gluten, sesame, dairy, peanuts, yeast, fish and whole lot of “weird” ones.   So my testing of new products and recipes started all over again.  Soon I was cooking completely (well almost—no one is allergic to soy, but for the purpose of this blog, I try to avoid soy) allergy free to accommodate all of us.  After a lot of thought, I have decided to share my knowledge and recipes with you.  It can be daunting to hear that you or your child has a food allergy and navigating all that information is sometimes confusing.  It is my desire to help you navigate the food allergy world and give you a sense of not all is lost.  You can still eat very good foods, all of which are just as good as or even better than before.  I have never eaten more variety or healthier than I do now.  Once you learn about food allergies, get your kitchen stocked, and with a little practice and time, you will find that it really isn’t that bad.  So from me (and all my product and recipe testing) to you, the “Allergy Free Test Kitchen” is born.

***As of 2014,  it turns out I have developed food intolerances to gluten and corn.  I also follow a modified anti-candida diet with limited non-refined sugars and limited grains.  However, it appears that my tree nut allergy as resolved itself.

If you have a question or comment about the recipe or post for the day, please leave it in the comments section and I will respond there.

Now here is the disclaimer.  I’m not a doctor, a nutritionist, or registered dietician.  You must check with your doctor, pediatrician, allergist, nutritionist, dietician etc. with any questions regarding ingredients or products.  You must always read labels on all food products.  I take no responsibility or liability with your food and health.  Please see the official disclaimer at the bottom of the website.

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21 thoughts on “About the Author

  1. Thank you so much for posting tips and recipes. I too love to cook and bake, but now struggling with what to eat and bake. I find myself eating the same thing over and over again. I am looking forward to eating at Thanksgiving , instead of dreading it.

    1. You are welcome! And thanks for coming by and commenting. I hope you will come back often and see all the new stuff I have lined up.

  2. I am glad to find your blog. I am in the process of launching my own blog that will be a combo of dialogue, and articles, and recipes. I am not food allergic but my husband, daughter and son are. The hardest ones to avoid are gluten and seeds and wheat. The nuts are tough during the holidays. I wish I had lots of time to cook all day but I don’t. I love to refer to good recipes and feel we eat healthier than ever! Looking forward to being in touch with other bloggers!

  3. Just found your blog, courtesy of a MyLifeWithFoodAllergies.com e-mail. I was diagnosed with allergy to ‘Night Shades’ a number of years ago. I was as shocked as if the doctor said I had cancer. My response to him was “what am I supposed to eat?” All the foods I loved, and all the foods that are typically in the Western world diet, were on that list. I struggled with eating after that. Most of the time I just went around feeling bad and being broken out because I ate the stuff anyway. When I finally decided to try to adhere to an allergy restricted diet, I struggled because I didn’t cook much. (My husband loved to cook and I loved to let him.) I have recently been diagnosed with many more food allergies, and have learned that I really enjoy cooking. Now for the daunting task of coming up with recipes. Looking forward to perusing your recipes and trying some/many/all! Thank you for sharing.

    1. I’m sorry to hear you have to change your diet. It’s no fun at first, but when you start feeling better it becomes worth it. I hope you take your time to look around and dig into the archives. You’ll find a lot of recipes on here that work and taste great. Thanks for coming by.

  4. I just found your site recently. It appears you are avoiding all the same foods as am I. I have not found that in any blog before. I have been trying to modify recipes to suit my needs but am really looking forward to being able to find some recipes here that I can just use as they are. What a relief! Thank you in advance.

    1. Well I’m glad you found me! Make sure to spend a lot of time looking around…I have two years worth of recipes on here. Keep in mind the older ones do contain white sugar, but the newer ones don’t. Thanks for coming by.

  5. I looooove this recipe! It tastes so good! I am throwing a Halloween backyard costume party for my seven year old ninja son and about 20 of his little friends tomorrow…and I found this today on your website as I try to look for allergy friendly recipes so all kids can enjoy together…and this one is perfect. After an afternoon of scavenger hunting, mask making, puppet shows and zipline rides…we are going to end by making our own “taffy apples” with your very wonderful recipe .. and happy trails home!
    Thank you so very much!

    1. I’m not sure what recipe you are referring to since you commented on the author page, not under the recipe. But whatever it is you found, I’m glad you like it. Best wishes for a successful party!

  6. Look into dr. Natasha’s GAPS research. It is a real eye opener. I used to get psoriasis almost as bad as the singing detective, as well as so many allergies (it was easier to list what I could eat, rather than what I couldn’t) that malnutrition (not to mention the looming risk of gut cancer from constant inflammation) was becoming a problem (and, ironically, I was allergic to the vitamin/mineral tablets) despite being surrounded by food.

    It started with one allergy (coeliacs, at 13), and then when I discovered what was making me sick and avoided it, my immune system simply found more things to become allergic to until it became the above scenario (at age 17). Reading here that you’re developing more allergies makes me concerned (considering that was what I started with), so please look into the GAPS diet.

    I am on it now (at least the introduction diet, designed to heal the gut and re-populate it with good guys) and for the first time in years my psoriasis is going away, and I’ve been re-introducing foods (as directed slowly, the intro diet being a healing elimination diet) that used to cause horrific reactions, only with no reactions whatsoever now. It cannot be put into words what this means to me or to my future.

    While I normally refrain from posting comments, I think if it helps some of the people here it is worth it. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, knowing what I know now, to see others go through what I’ve had to live through in silence.

    Best of luck,
    R

    1. I’m aware of the GAPS diet…it’s not for me. My gut is healing and it’s probably time for me to update this page. Best of luck to you.

  7. I have recently been tested that I’m allergic to wheat, eggs, dairy and peanuts as well as highly allergic to maple tree’s, I have lots questions but my main one is I can’t find a bread that I can eat. Do You know? plus I’m so new to all of the allergy stuff so any information I can get from others would be helpful. My day to day regimen is I eat vegies for breakfast in a corn tortilla, lunch I usually eat a salad with meat on top either turkey or chicken and for dressing Marzetti light roasted tomato dressing, My dinner is tricky cause I’m at work most of the time so it’s either chili , a baked potato or Quinoa with veggies. I would love to have more recommendations to add to my diet.

    1. I know it’s daunting at first. But over time you will find you have a much more varied and probably healthier diet. I can’t recommend a specific gluten free bread because I just don’t eat breads or sandwiches anymore. But I do know a lot are on the market. Of course, reading labels is a must. You can find many gluten free bread recipes and make your own, but it sounds like you may not have a lot of free time for that. One thing that helps me a lot is 100% pea protein. I used it to make shakes with coconut milk. It really fills me up for hours and is fast to put together. There are years of recipes on here, so take some time to look around, and don’t forget to sign up to get an email every time I post a new recipe.

  8. I’m glad I have found your blog! It’s amazing I haven’t discovered you sooner! About 3 years ago we discovered our daughter was allergic to dairy, eggs and nuts. Since I was still nursing her, I had to avoid those foods too for a while until I weaned her. It was hard! I basically had to eat the way I did before I got married. (Yes, my diet changed A LOT after I got married.) I didn’t mind not having milk. I grew up basically dairy free. What was hard for me was not having eggs or peanuts. I try out lots of recipes for my daughter and I’m sure someday she’ll appreciate me haha 🙂

    Now it’s still a bit hard especially being so busy with 2 other kids with vastly different tastes that it seems like she just lives off frozen, packaged foods and sweets. I would love to cook more often if I didn’t have to chase two other kids. Well, one that’s under 1.

    Anywho, it wasn’t supposed to be this long but I do appreciate what you’re doing for those with allergies. It is hard. Thank you so much!

    1. Glad you found me. Keep coming back as I have some news to share in the next few months that I think you will be interested in!

  9. Hello, I was doing research for gluten free gravy and came across your website.
    Please take a look at http://www.inlandempirefoods.com and check out the bean and legume flours that we offer. They naturally provide a high source of protein, low glycemic index, high source of fiber, are non GMO, Kosher, Allergen Free can be used as base in many dishes.
    If you find a product that interest you please let me know and I can get a sample out to you for a table top testing.

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