Cooking Free : 200Flavorful Recipes for People with Food Allergies and Multiple Food Sensitivi (Paperback)

by Carol Fenster (Author)
Key Phrases: fructose powder, enough nondairy milk, using regular beaters, Flour Blend, Cooking Free, Homemade Mayonnaise (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Now you can enjoy your favorite recipes with creative alternatives to gluten, dairy, eggs, and sugar.

Does wheat sensitivity keep you from eating hearty breads? Or lactose intolerance mean the end of ice cream? Not anymore! Nutrition expert Carol Fenster has spent years developing recipes free of the food allergens that wreak havoc on your health, but full of the flavors you love.

Because so many of the 6 to 7 million Americans with food allergies have sensitivities to more than just one food, Fenster has created dishes that remove five of the most common allergens-gluten, dairy, eggs, and sugar-providing one book full of delicious recipes for you and your entire family, no matter what your individual dietary needs.

Complete with tips on cooking without traditional ingredients and conversion tables that will show you how to substitute alternative ingredients in your own recipes, this book can help keep you healthy while allowing you to indulge in delectable breads, entries, and desserts.

About the Author
Carol Fenster, Ph.D., the founder of Savory Palate, Inc., a resource for people with food allergies, celiac disease, autism, and other medical conditions that require a special diet, has written five special-diet cookbooks. She regularly appears on the Health Network's Food for Life cooking show and has been featured in Woman's World, Natural Health, and Vegetarian Times.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Avery Trade (September 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583332154
• ISBN-13: 978-1583332153
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #94,919 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #60 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Nutrition > Food Allergies
  #89 in	Books > Cooking, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Low Fat

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Allergy Cookbook yet., May 10, 2006

By	P. Smith (Montesano, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have tried many allergy cookbooks and this one is by far my favorite. Every recipe that I have tried has been very good. My diet eliminates wheat, dairy, eggs and soy. Cooking Free has many, many recipes without these ingredients. Soy is used some but you can usually substitute something else. Once you gather up the different types of ingredients used you will be set to make many very good things. I was able to find everything at either my local health store or Co-op. I would highly suggest this book to anyone with restrictions in your diet.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Failed to perform as expected, June 11, 2007

By	Agnieszka M. Lech "aml" (anchorage, ak) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book, per its cover and introduction, aims to introduce recipes which are free of such allergens as gluten, dairy, eggs, and sugar. Unable to eat gluten and diary, I purchased this book in a bona fide effort to diversify my somewhat-restricted diet. In a blatant contradiction to its claims, almost every recipe in this cookbook calls for some type of diary (milk, buttermilk, butter, margarine, and powdered milk), sugar, and/or eggs. There are only so many substitutions that can be made without altering the chemical make-up required to achieve an edible baked good. There are also only so many substitutions a consumer should be required to make when she expects to purchase a ready-to-use cookbook. (The recommended products with which to stock an allergen-free pantry also include dairy products and sugar.) I am in the process of returning this book.

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the book I was looking for, February 24, 2007

By	Heidi (Eugene, OR) - See all my reviews

I purchased 3 allergy cookbooks due my daughter's allergies to dairy, soy, eggs and nuts: "Cooking Free" by Carol Fenster, "The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook" by Cybele Pascal, and "The Ultimate Food Allergy Cookbook and Survival Guide" by Nicolette, M. Dumke. Out of the three, my favorite by far is "The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook."

"Cooking Free" lists margarine and other soy containing products for many of its recipes. I know Fenster doesn't advertise that her recipes are soy-free but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has designated soy as one of the most major allergens and her book is for people with "multiple food sensitivities." She describes how to substitute oil for margarine in her recipes, but after looking over her recipes I don't think her dishes will taste that great with oil (or with the amounts of oil called for).

Even if my daughter didn't have allergies to soy, the recipes don't seem very inspirational, exciting, diverse or particularly healthy to me. I find Pascal's book more reader friendly and better organized. Fenster's stocking the pantry section isn't as complete as Pascal's.