Forman - Cooking for an Allergy-free Lifestyle

Published in 2010 by Struik Lifestyle (an imprint of Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd)

Company Reg. No. 1966/003153/07

Wembley Square, First Floor, Solan Street, Cape Town 8001

PO Box 1144, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa

Copyright in published edition: Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd 2010

Copyright in text: Tammi Forman 2010

Copyright in photographs: Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd 2010

www.randomstruik.co.za

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and the copyright holders.

Publisher: Linda de Villiers

Managing editor: Cecilia Barfield

Editor and indexer: Bronwen Leak

Designer: Helen Henn

Photographer: Matthys van Lill

Food stylist: Brita du Plessis

Stylists assistant: Yvette Pascoe

Proofreader: Gill Gordon

ISBN 978-1-77007-899-4 (Print)

ISBN 978-1-43170-211-4 (PDF)

ISBN 978-1-43170-210-7 (Epub)

A word of thanks With grateful thanks to G-d for the strength to write this book. To my husband, partner, best friend and love Larry, who truly stands by me through thick and thin and is always available to taste test honestly! To all the people who have contributed ideas and recipes for me to tweak into allergy-friendly versions. To my mom and dad for all their encouragement. To my sister, Jacqui, for all her help with ingredients, encouragement and training. To Patricia for helping me with all the prep with a smile on her face! And most importantly, to my Inspirations Joey, Lennie and Sam my three precious gifts for whom this book was written. The idea to publish it came a long time after I began compiling the recipes for YOU. Boys, your gratitude for my efforts and enthusiasm for my inventions keeps me inspired to keep at it.

There is no discounting the importance of adequate or ideally optimal nutrition for every person. It is crucial for the growth and development of children as well as for disease prevention, vitality and longevity in both kids and adults. Frequently though, these principles get set aside when a family faces the risks associated with allergies in a family member. It can be overwhelming and it is most definitely frightening. An allergic person cannot take a chance of being mistakenly exposed to an offending food, often even in the most minute quantities. Although almost any food can trigger an allergic reaction or intolerance, the most common offenders are peanuts and tree nuts, eggs, fish and seafood, milk protein, wheat, soy and strawberries, as well as food additives and colourings. Exposure to food allergens can cause a range of symptoms from headaches, fatigue and discomfort to rashes, hives and anaphalactic shock. The reaction is usually swift and requires medical attention, often urgently.

Each year more and more people are diagnosed with allergies as well as intolerances to food. This amounts to millions of adults and children. It is, therefore, no surprise that you either have an allergy yourself or have a family member or friend who does.

Imagine life without ever having bread, breakfast cereal, cakes and biscuits or any other treats. Sounds dull and isolating doesnt it? Well, this finely researched and fabulous book will guide you through restoring a healthy balance into your life and will return the fun of eating and socialising to those allergic kids and adults, their families and friends. The recipes are quick and easy, and use common and easy to acquire ingredients. There are often variations to the recipes, allowing you to tailor-make the item according to your specific requirements.

No longer is bread and cake never allowed. As long as the required substitutions which are clearly marked in the book are followed, you can enjoy a party or a healthy home-cooked meal, as well as a snack. The tips spread throughout the book for normalising occasions despite the allergy are fantastic. This piece of work is invaluable. It is what we have all been waiting for. I trust it will be as useful and enjoyable to you as it is for me.

NICKI URISON

Registered Dietician (South Africa)

True food allergy should not be confused with the many other causes of reactions to food.

A true food allergy always involves the immune system and is measurable when it involves the Immunoglobulin E [IgE] part of the immune system. This is an overreaction of the immune system rather than a lack. This IgE is measurable by a RAST blood test (radioallergosorbent test). True food allergy can range from a mild condition to that of a life-threatening episode. Non-IgE food allergy is possible and an example of this is gluten sensitivity. Other causes of reactions to food include food intolerance (no known immune mechanism), enzyme deficiencies, toxins, food additives and chemicals.

When possible, avoiding the offending food is advisable. Sometimes avoidance can be difficult, either because the food is very common or because too many foods are involved. When multiple foods are involved, complete avoidance can sometimes leave the child worse off as a consequence of an unbalanced diet. It is important to correctly identify offending foods and this should be done with the help of scientifically centered medical personnel. Importantly, children placed on elimination diets should always have the uninvolved foods reintroduced to the daily diet so that they do not inadvertently starve.

With this background, please use the recipes before you with as much joy and pleasure as I know the author has done.

DR ALLAN S PUTERMAN

MBChB (UCT)

Fellow of the College of Paediatricians of South Africa

Fellow of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology

I dont skate to where the puck is, I skate to where the puck will be.

WAYNE GRETSKEY [ICE HOCKEY CHAMPION]

This is a recipe book with a difference. It is written by a person with allergies, for people with allergies, but the recipes it contains are as delicious as any dairy-laden, wheat-ridden or egg-loaded dishes. Most importantly, this book is for easy cooking. It is not an exercise in paint-by-numbers: it offers guidelines for you to add and take away, and mix and match to create your own original. My aim is that you dont spend hours in the kitchen cooking, yet still produce allergy-friendly, delicious foods.

My name is Tammi. Im 40, married (to Larry) and have three great sons: Joey, aged eleven, Lennie, aged ten, and Sam, aged seven. My career journey began as an artist and fashion designer. Marriage, and then children, shifted my focus and I was no longer drawn to fashion design. I decided to take some time off to be a mom. During this period, we immigrated to Seattle, USA and emigrated back to Cape Town, South Africa. I taught preschool, ran summer camps and, in-between, encountered some major allergy issues.

I have a sensitivity to wheat and sugar. Then along came my first-born, Joey, who was breastfed but still managed to suffer from wheat and dairy issues (with some mould and dust-mite sensitivities thrown in too). Lennie, who came second, had to avoid wheat and dairy okay, now add (actually take away) orange, pineapple, kiwi, strawberry, white potato (no chips!), tomato, peppers, aubergine and anything including these items. A few years on came Sam egg, soya, dairy, wheat, nuts, peanuts (dont worry, were doing better he can now have wheat and soy) and all of these with the threat of anaphylactic shock hanging over our heads. Heavens, you say, what did they eat? Good question, because with all the processed food around, they still manage to eat a ton of wonderful food.