Table of Contents
SUSAN OBRIENS culinary skills developed from three critical factors: her long-standing interest in nutrition and natural foods; her own special dietary needs; and her desire to provide her sons with nutritional homemade meals. She is a gourmet cook, baker, cooking instructor, food management consultant, guest speaker, and the owner of two businesses, OBriens Kitchen and OBriens Consulting. Susan is also co-author of CME Consult, a bimonthly article published by Medical Meetings Magazine. She has two grown sons and lives in Gig Harbor, Washington.
This book is dedicated to my mother, Dorothy Kezich OBrien
Foreword
SEVEN AND A half years ago, after more than twenty years at a major medical center in Boston, I moved to Gig Harbor, Washington, to begin work at the Functional Medicine Research Center (FMRC). There I had the great pleasure of meeting and working closely with Sue OBrien, and also of tasting some of her wonderful recipes.
My work at the FMRC was devoted to clinical research in the emerging field of Functional Medicine, a patient-centered, science-based health-care approach that assesses and treats underlying causes of illness through individually tailored therapies. One of the missions of our research effort was to develop case histories for teaching purposes. Thus I began managing patients with complex medical conditions.
Sue volunteered to be one of my first study subjects as I began my research in the FMRC. Sues medical problems were confusing and challenging, but we patiently worked together to determine the underlying causes of her medical symptoms. Evaluation included an Elimination Diet that required her to stop eating most of her favorite foods. Using this approach we discovered that many of her symptoms disappeared, only to recur when she ate wheat, dairy, and several other foods. In short, she had been suffering from a variety of food hypersensitivities and intolerances. Treatment, unfortunately, required that Sue severely restrict her diet for several months.
Rather than face eating monotonous and depressing meals and snacks, Sue took the dietary change as a challenge. She transformed old recipes into new, and invented others, incorporating allowed ingredients and totally eliminating those that she needed to avoid.
She quickly realized that many others could benefit from her discoveries. She prepared many wheat-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free snacks for a course for health professionals on Functional Medicine that we continue to run two to three times a year.
At each session of the course, she would be repeatedly asked by medical doctors, chiropractors, naturopaths, and other health professionals: Please write a book with these recipes!
Well, Gluten-free, Sugar-free Cooking is that book, and it promises to provide a wonderful selection for those who suffer, as Sue had, with food sensitivities or food intolerances, and for those who would just like a more healthful snack or meal. Sues health is much improved thanks to these recipes, which help her avoid her problem foods.
Now, its your turn to benefit from Sues expertise. Happy reading, happy eating, and good health!
ROBERT H. LERMAN, MD, PHD
Director of Medical Education
The Institute for Functional Medicine
Gig Harbor, WA
Medical Director
Functional Medicine Research Center
Metagenics, Inc.
Gig Harbor, WA
Preface
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I became employed at the Institute for Functional Medicine, a division of the company that owned the Functional Medicine Research Center in Gig Harbor, WA. The research center was conducting a study, and I applied to participate. I have always been interested in improving my health, and had for years struggled with digestive problems, so I hoped this study might help me get to the root of the problem. The first step in determining my eligibility for the study included completing comprehensive medical questionnaires. The next step was to complete a set of lab tests. I did not qualify for that particular study, but the results of my lab work showed I had several underlying problems, and I became a patient of the clinic.
The first step once I became a patient was to participate in an Elimination Diet, a very useful tool proven to determine whether a person has food allergies. Because there are many foods that commonly cause allergic reactions, (e.g. peanuts, wheat, corn, dairy, etc.) the Elimination Diet removes the most common allergenic foods from your diet for a specific period of time. When the food is reintroduced into the body, you will either have a noticeable reaction to it or not. To determine which food you are reacting to, it is necessary to add just one food back at a time, and wait for a period of four days before adding another.
I carefully complied with the Elimination Diet, as I was very determined to get to the root of my digestive problems. I couldnt wait to begin adding foods back into my diet, and the first food I added back was wheat. I had a dinner that included wheat tortillas that first evening. Within an hour I had a terrible headache; although I didnt connect it with a food reaction. I still had the headache the following morning, along with a rash on both of my legs. I waited four days and then ate wheat again (I didnt want to believe I actually had a food allergyespecially to wheat!). The same thing happened. Slowly, I began the process of adding other foods back into my diet, watching for reactions, and keeping a journal of them, which I then discussed with my health-care practitioner.
Once I had accepted the fact that I had a sensitivity to wheat/gluten, I began the arduous process of finding foods to replace my old favorites. That is how my first book, Wheat-free, Sugar-free Gourmet Cooking, came into being. I was determined to find foods that not only were easy to make, but also tasted good. I wanted to be able to enjoy the foods I ate, and I knew that would take some work. I set about going through all my old favorite recipes and experimented with them to make them wheat/gluten and sugar free.
I was fortunate that I worked for an organization at that time that conducted medical conferences based on nutrition for health-care professionals. The practitioners who attended these conferences came from all over the world and had one thing in common. They believed nutrition was the foundation for good health. So, the meals and refreshments we served were made from my recipes of wheat/gluten-free, sugar-free dishes and desserts. The outcome? They loved them! They begged me for the recipes, for themselves and their patients. They applauded my efforts and encouraged me to write a cookbook.
It is my sincere hope that Gluten-free, Sugar-free Cooking will offer you a new way of eating and a new way of thinking about cooking without gluten and refined sugars. All it takes is a commitment to your health, creativity in the kitchen, and a good sense of humor!
This book is not limited to individuals who want to eliminate sugar or gluten from their diets because of an illness or allergy. This book is for anyone who wants to live well without refined sugars and gluten. It is amazing how good the recipes are, how easy they are to make.
I hope this cookbook inspires you to be creative and to live your best, most healthful life.
