Customer Reviews

Special Foods for Special kids: Practical Solutions and Great Recipes for children

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If your child has a food allergy, this is not a cookbook I would recommend. It seems to me the authors went through some other cookbook, picking out recipes that sounded like foods kids would like. All they did to call it a book for kids with allergies is list in what you could substitute when a dairy product, eggs, or wheat is listed which is not particularly user-friendly. There is also a danger in that whenever cheese is listed as an ingredient, they simply tell you to substitute "non-dairy cheese." While it does exist, it is not always easy to find and you have to be really careful because most of the so called lactose or dairy free cheeses contain "casein" which is a milk protein-dangerous dangerous dangerous for a milk-allergic child! (I know from experience as my 16 month old has a severe dairy and egg allergy.) You would be much better off with the book by Coss or the one put out by the Food Allergy Network.

I have found the book to be an excellent resource and cookbook for adults with food allergies as well as for children. While the recipes selected were targeted at the types of food that children like and the types of food that children want to eat to be like other childen, I have found recipes in this book that work well for adults with various food problems. My grown daughter has delevoped an allergy to gluten products recently, (she's in her early 40's) and she has found the book to be very helpful.

Several friends have recently been diagnosed with Type II diabetes and using the book have been able to manage their diets, eat some of their favorite foods and still not increase their sugar intake. All in all, although it says for SPECIAL KIDS, it is for everyone who needs to monitor their intake of certain kids of foods. It is, in the parlance of today's technology, user friedly.

If you are trying to avoid wheat or gluten, this book is not the best choice. The recipes appear to be designed using wheat flour, with gluten-free substitutions listed below each. If you have any experience with gluten-free baking, you know that simply substituting a different kind of flour is often not enough. So far, the recipes I have tried have not turned out very well, and I have had more luck adapting old recipes that are not intended for people with food allergies. This book might be helpful if you are just starting out trying to provide foods for a child with food allergies, and are having trouble coming up with ideas. Otherwise, your money would be better spent on a book by Bette Hagman or Carol Fenster.

This book provided my family with everything we needed. It has versions of great recipes without the egg or without the sugar or without the gluten or without the lactose. Many of us are lactose-intolerant and find the guidelines in this book extremely helpful. There are also diabetics in our family (and friends) and so the sugar-free recipes are very helpful. All of the recipes that we have tried have turned out better than we expected. This book is not just for kids.

My son was recently diagnosed as both dairy and soy allergic. I was fine with 'normal' meals, but struggling to find treats for him. This book provides great recipes for both standard fare and special treats. The format is clear, and the allergy substitutions easy to follow. I thoroughly recommend it.

I found nothing special about this book, to say the least. I am the mother of two children with multiple food allergies. My theory on cookbooks is that if I can get one good recipe or idea from it, then it was worth the money. I buy a lot of cookbooks, and this was the only cookbook I have ever returned.

This book is wonderful. It has helped me with ideas that are creative and appealing to my child, who has two of the allergies this book addresses, i.e. eggs and milk. Another family member can not tolerate gluten. The receipes are tasty, easy to make, and takes the ordinary and helps you get creative with meals and snacks that not only appeal to children, but to adults as well. It's great reference to have.

I was expecting more recipes and was hoping for more quick and easy recipes for my peanut, milk and egg allergic 3 year old. Some of the recipes are too time consuming or require specialty items. Since my child is very picky, I have wasted so much food in the past so I am hesitant to spend time and money on some of these recipes. I was looking for more simple ideas for 3 meals utilizing simpler and faster ingrediants.

My son is allergic to dairy, peanuts, eggs, wheat and gluten - I love this cookbook because it recognizes that different kids have different allergies. If the recipe calls for eggs and you need to use egg replacer, it tells you what you need to do to make the recipe work with the egg replacer (like mixing it with rice or soy milk for one recipe, adding some club soda in another). I have enjoyed making typical kid foods, like mac-n-cheese, that are safe for my son and taste good.

This is an extraordinarily helpful and inspiring cookbook! As a professional in the field of special education for many years, I have worked with countless children who have food allergies. This remarkably comprehensive cookbook provides parents and caregivers with tremendous options. The recipes are both parent and child friendly. My hat's off to the authors for this "must have" cookbook. It is first-rate!