cover image The Ultimate Allergy-Free Cookbook: Over 150 Easy-to-Make Recipes that Contain No Milk, Eggs, Wheat, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Soy, Fish or Shellfish

The Ultimate Allergy-Free Cookbook: Over 150 Easy-to-Make Recipes that Contain No Milk, Eggs, Wheat, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Soy, Fish or Shellfish

Judi and Shari Zucker. SquareOne, $16.95 trade paper (176p) ISBN 978-0-7570-0397-4

The Zuckers, twin sisters and coauthors of Double Your Energy with Half the Effort, return with a collection of recipes for allergy sufferers and their families. Adopting a vegan/vegetarian menu with no nuts, the Zuckers offer 150 recipes that are, for the most part, relatively easy to source and prepare. Dishes lean heavily in favor of the familiar: smoothies, salsa, butternut squash soup, black bean burgers, gluten-free pizza crust, and carob brownies, dominate the offerings. What sets the book apart from it vegan competitors is its opening chapters concerning allergies and their triggers, which could prove to be a useful resource for the recently diagnosed and/or parents of children with allergies. The Zuckers supply a guide to synonyms for common ingredients on food labels in addition to potentially life-saving tips about them, such as the fact that soy is often used as an emulsifier and binding agent for “natural flavors.” They even list common allergy triggers for animals. Longtime sufferers probably won’t find much new here in terms of allergy information, but the book will serve as a quick resource for allergy-friendly recipes. Parents, caregivers, and the recently-diagnosed will likely get the most out of this well-meaning resource. (Aug.)