author of Feeding Eden

Sophie-Safe Cooking: A Reveiw

Sophie-Safe Cooking is a most welcome addition to resources for Food Allergy families. It has an online and a print component.

The Sophie-Safe Food Guide is an online resource providing a database where users register and then create up to four allergy profiles choosing from over 300 allergens. Users can also create “Include” profiles with ingredients that you want in your food. That done, you can then search for new foods to buy and create grocery lists. Users will even receive a FAAN alert if there is a food on your list being recalled.

Sophie-Safe Cooking, by Emily Hendrix (the book) - Once you have a handle on safe foods and ingredients you can use the cookbook supplement, a collection of recipes that are “Free of Milk, Eggs, Wheat, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, and Shellfish.”

I’ve been reading and experimenting with allergen-free recipes since Eden’s diagnosis in 2003. I was surprised by the appeal and the results of the recipes in this book. The dishes and baked goods are simple – bordering on Mark Bitman minimalist in style, yet quite flavorful. Emily uses one or two key seasoning notes, a child-friendly approach that can be adjusted, and she keeps her cooking times and techniques manageable for already over-challenged parents. Her dishes are family-friendly (potato corn chowder, stuffed green peppers) but Emily doesn’t overdo the child "friendly" aspects. In other words, vegetables aren’t disguised and baked goods (like Oatmeal Muffins) provide a delicious home baked taste plus nutrition. I made plan to make them a weekly staple. Emily doesn't waste time with recipes involving melted chocolate and marshmallows that parents can generally concoct on their own.

Years into this life of managing food allergies, I highly recommend Sophie Safe Cooking to families cooking for Food Allergies as well as other restricted diets.


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