Customer Reviews

Sophie-Safe Cooking: A Collection of Family Friendly Recipes that are Free of Milk, Eggs, Wheat, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Fish and Shellfish

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The whimsical illustration on the cover of Sophie-Safe Cooking is the perfect representation of its contents. Simple, down-home recipes, created from a mother's love. There is just one thing missing...okay, there are eight things missing...milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish. Emily Hendrix authored this delightful collection from the tasty meals and treats she created for her food allergic child, Sophie.

So what's left? Admittedly, I am guessing that Emily's pantry is sparse, with large bags containing a handful of ingredients. Yet, what is in it gets some seriously creative mileage. I like that Emily uses only easy to find, everyday ingredients. Though natural foods and spices are her focus, trips to an expensive specialty grocer (i.e. Whole Foods) are completely unnecessary when following her recipes. Apple cider vinegar is about as exotic as it gets.

Sophie-Safe Cooking houses over 100 recipes very neatly laid out, one per page. Most of the recipes contain less than ten ingredients (always a top feature for me) and for the most part the directions are just a few straightforward sentences. Emily adds in helpful, but brief, notes with several of the recipes. Most of the recipes are Sophie-Safe versions of familiar family favorites, such as Granny's Meatloaf, Shepherd's Pie, and Chocolate Cupcakes (frosted of course!). While a few unique concepts caught my eye, like the Whipped Pinto Beans, Zucchini Brownies, and Taco Vinaigrette. My one and only complaint: the size is handy (6 x 9"), but it is difficult to reference while cooking without a stand to hold the book open.

It should be noted that many of the baked goods rely heavily on oat flour. For those who may have gluten concerns with oats, but would like the benefits of Emily's recipes, Gifts of Nature produces certified gluten-free oats. Purchasing oat flour is a convenience, but unnecessary. Just grind up oats in a blender, food processor, or my favorite, the spice grinder until it becomes flour.

Speaking of oats, the first recipe I trialed from Sophie-Safe Cooking was the Oatmeal Muffins. They were delicious, and gone in minutes! I like that most of Emily's baked goods are somewhat hearty, yet wonderfully sweet and tasty for kids and adults alike. At first I was unsure if the serving-size was correct, but I then realized that they are portioned for little ones. My husband and I each downed two muffins slathered with peanut butter (no peanut allergies in our house), without a pang of guilt.

There is nothing earth shattering in this cook book. The recipies are of common foods with the substitutes that are already well known in the food allergy world. But, if you are a parent who just got the news that your child has multiple allergies, this book will be a good place to start. The recipies are easy and "kid" friendly. Plus, they are close enough to the regular recipies you already know how to make, so that the transition will seem less overwhelming. I, however, found the recipies to be unenlightening, and nothing that I hadn't figured out by poking around on the internet. The HUGE issue with this book, however, is that nearly every recipie relies heavily on oat flour or oats as a substitute. This is fine if you have a child who is not oat allergic, or a true celiac. The current recommendation for celiac children is that they ALSO avoid oats. And, in fact, recent studies have reinforced that many, if not all, commercial oat products contain unsafe levels of gluten. Unfortunately, cooking without oat flour (which substitutes nicely for wheat in almost all recipies) is much much harder. You can't just replace the oat with rice or some other flour.

So, the bottom line for me is that this is a good starting point for food allergic families who do NOT have oat issues. But, for true celiac children, or for oat allergic, this book is more or less useless.

This cookbook is just wonderful. My 5 yr old son is allergic to all 8 top allergens. This is the only cookbook that I've come across that addresses all 8 and the recipes are unbelievably delicious. I found this just before my son's birthday and I made the Chocolate Cupcakes and used the Frosting recipes to decorate them with. I'm so glad that he can finally bring cupcakes and not just ice pops for his class party! I think the class liked them as they were gone rather quickly. The cupcakes are so moist and yummy. The Apple muffins are really good, too - a favorite of my 2 1/2 year-old (also with FAs). I look forward to trying more recipes from the book. I highly recommend this cookbook to families struggling with multiple food allergies. Thank you!

I have a 2 year old who is allergic to dairy, eggs, soy, wheat, shellfish and nuts so I feel that this book was written especially for us. I have a pile of cookbooks for her but this is the only one that stays on my counter in my cookbook holder. The best part of this cookbook is that it uses everyday ingredients that I have at home. This enables me to make her something on the fly. Yesterday was the Cinammon Applesauce cake. I had every ingredient and it was so easy. My daughter also loves the meatloaf (I added garlic and gluten free bread crumbs to the recipe and removed the red pepper), chicken tenders (which I make with either corn flake crumbs or gluten free bread crumbs instead of potato chips). My next item to try is the chocolate cake. Oh, and let me tell you how amazing the fudge brownies are!!! Those get 5 stars alone. Even my 4 1/2 year old who is the pickiest eater with no allergies eats everything I cook from here. The main substitutions that the author has made are oat flour instead of wheat flour (and I send her my compliments for informing the readers how to make oat flour at home to save the cost of buying it - huge hit), rice milk over cow's milk and cocoa powder instead of chocolate. The one thing that is in some recipes is butter or margarine but I use an equal amount of palm oil shortening.

For anyone with a food allergy (adult or child) this book will be your bible since it covers all the big allergens out there. I cannot recommend this book highly enough as I feel it has opened up so many windows for my daughter for foods that were previously banned from her diet (like brownies and cake that was not the weight of a brick).

I ordered this book when I first found out my infant son was allergic to dairy & egg. I ordered another book too but I have found this book to be so easy to use. The recipes are delicious. Our two favorites are Chicken Enchiladas and Sausage Scramble. Even my toddler who is not allergic, loves the recipes. The dessert are delicious too! I would strongly recommend this cookbook for anyone who struggles with food allergies in their family. It has allowed me to cook ONE meal for all of us without anyone missing out!

THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVER!!! I have been looking for something just like this and was so pleased with my purchase. Now I never have to worry about allergies for any reason and all of the recipes I have tried are delicious. I personally love the fudge chocolate cookies and zippy guacamole. I recommend this book to ANYONE, you can never been too careful when entertaining and if you do have family members with allergies this book is full of wonderful great recipes that will make your life easier. I know it made mine!!! GREAT BOOK!!!

Being a mother of 4 kids, all with mutiple food allergies, I can't say how much this book has been used and appreciated! The recipes are so easy to follow and the ingredients are always very easy to find. This is just a great collection of wonderful recipes. My family always enjoys the meals and especially the desserts!!! I would highly recommend this book for any parent struggling to find ideas on what to feed a child(or family) with food allergies...I just can't say enough about this book! Thank You!!!

This cookbook is wonderful! I have a son who is allergic to nuts, eggs, wheat, and milk. In the past, I purchased several other cookbooks that were supposed to be kid-friendly and allergen-free only to find that almost every recipe called for a major allergen. I would then have to spend the time flipping back and forth in the book looking for replacements and/or purchasing really expensive ingredients. It was so frustrating and time consuming and the food never tasted very good.

This cookbook is wonderful! I don't have to worry about finding a substitute since every recipe already has removed the allergens. Last night, he had his first cupcake! What a joy to be able to have real cakes and treats to celebrate.

This book is wonderful! I am breastfeeding and I must avoid the allergens of my 11mth old son (milk, beef, soy, peanuts, treenuts and eggs) while feeding his 11mth old twin (peanut allergy), 3yr old brother and my husband good food. I have made the oatmeal muffins and chicken strips thus far and they were both wonderful. We're having porcupine meatballs tonight w/ ground turkey instead. I really appreciated the introduction and Emily's "You can do this page." Also she has a website where she can answers questions about recipes.

As a single mom of a toddler, I need recipes that are fast, inexpensive, delicious...and definitely kid-friendly for my food-allergic daughter! this little book fits the bill quite nicely. Most of the recipes I've tried are quite good (can't tell you how excited I was to see the cranberry bread actually rising in the oven and then it was light in texture, almost just like wheat!). Some of them need a little tweaking, usually just a little more sugar added to be as sweet as I like, but what the hey - they are still pretty good the way they are and I would much rather be getting creative in my cooking to meet my specific tastes than experimenting with ingredient substitutes just to make a recipe work at all! For a family dealing with multiple food allergies, this should be a staple!