All Taste, No Allergens

It’s a nut, dairy, wheat, egg, gluten and soy loving world—which is just fine for many of us, but what happens when you discover you shouldn’t be eating those foods?

The news that you or your child may be allergic to some or all of these common and much-loved foods can seem catastrophic at first. What on earth are you going to eat? Or in the case of your child, what on earth are you going to cook?

Families do adapt and find solutions, but there’s no glory in doing things the hard way. If you’re struggling with food allergies in your family, you can get a nearly instant education (or re-education) from Shirley Plant, an Ottawa author and dietary consultant who specializes in menus and recipes for people with allergies or intolerances.

Plant runs Delicious Alternatives, an Ottawa business that consults with such families to help them make the most of what they can still eat (and discover new ideas as well). A consultation can cover everything from locating nearby health food stores to understanding substitutes and alternatives to label-reading and menu planning.

Typically Plant begins by meeting with the family to review all the foods they can no longer have and—more importantly—talk about those they can. She discusses cleaning out their pantry and replacing banished foods with allowable ones. She can also customize recipes for clients, and even cooks for a few of them. For particularly troubled clients who are reacting to almost everything they eat, she can prepare a rotation diet based on a doctor’s or allergist’s suggestions.

Plant, who suffers from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue herself, has learned from her own experiences of trying to prepare meals within the confines of dietary restrictions, and now offers seminars through Ottawa’s Rainbow Natural Foods. While she isn’t a doctor or dietician, her role is to take over where the allergist or naturopath leaves off, since doctors don’t have the time to develop recipes for every individual or dietary restriction.

Her cookbook for people with food allergies and sensitivities, titled Finally…Food I Can Eat!, will be a welcome tool for families coping with food allergies.

Go ahead and stock up on rice noodles and quinoa if you must, but don’t despair—there are still plenty of tasty options out there for you, and Plant (seriously, no pun intended) can help you find them.

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