Allergy-Free Cookbook

Various members of my family have different allergies. Some are allergic to eggs, others gluten, still others nuts. What's nice about this cookbook is that I can adjust my recipes to fit whoever is coming to dinner without having to buy three different cookbooks. While I agree that most of the recipes can only eliminate a few allergens at a time, it's still a money saver for someone in my position (not allergic to anything myself, but catering to my visitors' needs). I recommend this for anyone who wants to host dinner parties for people with special dietary needs.

Lately I've been on a fairly peculiar diet in order to treat several digestive problems (gastroparesis, acid reflux, and a few food intolerances). These dietary restrictions force me to cook at home more than I used to, which in turn has sent me in search of cookbooks tailored to my needs. Most of the books I've looked at have fallen into one of three categories: gluten-free, vegan, or allergen-free. Unfortunately, none of these categories is ideal for me, as gluten-free cookbooks tend to call for cow's milk products and ignore spelt flour (an unusually substitution-friendly exception being The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and Healthy: Wheat-Free and Gluten-Free with Less Fuss and Less Fat), vegan cookbooks omit eggs and typically call for wheat, and allergen-free cookbooks omit eggs and soy, both of which are staples of my diet. Thankfully, Alice Sherwood's Allergy-Free Cookbook has a flexible recipe format that puts it in a category all its own. Other reviewers have complained that Sherwood's cookbook is not what it claims to be. Those complaints are not entirely unwarranted, since Sherwood's recipes do call for some of the most common allergens, unlike (for example) Enjoy Life's Cookies for Everyone!: 150 Delicious Gluten-Free Treats that are Safe for Most Anyone with Food Allergies, Intolerances, and Sensitivities. On the other hand, the Allergy-Free Cookbook is a godsend for someone like me, who needs to omit only a couple of the most common allergens (cow's milk and wheat) and actively desires to include others (eggs and soy). I imagine the format of this book would also be extremely helpful for households in which one person is allergic to nuts and dairy and another to nuts alone, for example, because it makes it relatively easy to prepare two versions of the same tasty dish simultaneously. In short, if you are considering buying The Allergy-Free Cookbook, have a look at the sample pages first (the book is beautifully printed and laid out, as is typical of Dorling-Kindersley!) and figure out whether the flexible recipe format will meet your needs or not. As far as I know, this format is unique, and while it won't work for everyone, I think a certain subset of people on special diets will be absolutely delighted with it.

With a gluten-free,dairy-free person in the house, and a gluten-free one that CAN eat dairy, these recipes are so great! You can customize to everyone's needs. Thanks!

This is the best book I came across on this subject. I have a child on the spectrum and he is on the Gluten,Casein and Dairy Free Diet.Recipes for this type of diet can be extremely hard to master and the end result is tasteless. Not anymore, Alice Sherwood has given us a book with recipes that work and the end result looks and taste delicious like any other type of foods.The blueberry muffins is one example. The recipes are easy to follow.The book is filled with beautiful pictures and has tons of information from shopping to traveling and dining out.A must have for anyone who has food allergy.

I gave this book to a friend for Christmas. He has severe allergies to many things, and he's looking forward to using this book and was impressed with all the recipes for him to try!