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Cookbook proves gluten-free can still be tasty

When one thinks of gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free and nut-free food, one also thinks of taste-free.
Friends and co-authors Erin Paulson (left) and Dana Meroniuk led a cooking class in Black Diamond last Wednesday teaching locals how to cook allergy-free foods. Their book
Friends and co-authors Erin Paulson (left) and Dana Meroniuk led a cooking class in Black Diamond last Wednesday teaching locals how to cook allergy-free foods. Their book “people friendly food” has dozens of recipes all free of gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg.

When one thinks of gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free and nut-free food, one also thinks of taste-free.

Co-authors Dana Meroniuk and Erin Paulson, from Calgary, set out to dispel that stereotype with their “ people friendly food” cookbook — recipes that are all safe for consumption by people with allergies, yet are still delicious.

The duo led a well-received cooking class at Stirr! Adventures in Food in Black Diamond on Feb. 16.

The goal of the two authors was to figure out how to make allergy friends recipes but not sacrifice taste, Paulson said.

“ I wanted to make something that my husband and my kids, who have no allergies, would eat,” she explained.

While there are many other allergy-free cookbooks on bookstore shelves, Meroniuk said most just didn't cut it for her.

“ We tried a lot of them, but so many have recipes that are just really bad substitutes,” she said. “ So we thought we could try to do better.”

Meroniuk and Paulson met five years ago during a pre-natal class. Although the two are now close friends who “ basically live together,” as Meroniuk described, it wasn't always that way.

“ First of all, I'm 14 years older than her, so there's the age gap,” explained Meroniuk. “ And when I met Erin, she was 20-years-old and pregnant… I didn't know if we would connect.”

Paulson countered, “ I thought she was the older lady who was set in stone and wasn't alternative enough for me, which turned out to be completely wrong.”

The two clicked when they realized they shared a lot of the same food allergies and sensitivities.

From early childhood, Paulson said she was allergic to eggs and nuts, and later on developed sensitivities to wheat and dairy.

Meroniuk became aware of her food sensitivities when she visited a naturopath while pregnant. Her sensitivities include wheat, dairy, egg, beans and blueberries.

Food allergies are different from sensitivities in that consuming food one is allergic to results in a histamine reaction, which can be treated with antihistamine medication, Meroniuk said. Sensitivities, however, are more difficult to diagnose and mostly cause digestive issues, said Paulson.

The unlikely friendship turned out to be the perfect recipe in producing a cookbook.

Soon the two took turns cooking supper at each other's house. The initially harmless exercise developed into a friendly competition to see who could cook the better meal.

At the request of their naturopath, Dr. Christine Perkins, the duo decided to compile their plethora of recipes into a cookbook.

“ Our naturopath found she was spending a lot of time explaining to her patients how to cook, instead of other (medical) things that she should have been explaining,” Paulson said. “ So she was hoping for a book that would help her out.”

After two and half years of gathering recipes and six months of writing, the two self-published their cookbook “ people friendly food” in June 2010.

Developing the recipes was a matter of trial and error, Meroniuk said.

“ Some of them were based on old recipes that we really liked, so we modified them to suit these requirements,” she explained, adding others were recipes from other cookbooks they modified until they were satisfied with the result.

“ And then some were total creations of our own, ideas that we thought, ‘ Something like this could be really good,'” she said.

It was challenging, however, as not every recipe can be easily converted to become allergy-free, Paulson said.

“ Cinnamon buns and croissants,” she said. “ Anything that is layered with butter or has a lot of eggs (is difficult to duplicate).”

“ There's just magic with egg and butter that you just can't do without it,” Meroniuk added.

A general rule that applies to baking allergy-free treats is to experiment with using different types of non-wheat flours, said Paulson.

“ Every recipe needs a different texture and a different flavour, and wheat flour is fine and tends to mould to all those,” she explained. “ But when you're using gluten-free flour, you need to start using different kinds of flours, like millets and sorghums, to get depth of flavour and texture.”

For both Paulson and Meroniuk, eliminating allergens from their diets has been life changing for themselves and their families.

Paulson said her mother once had debilitating arthritis, so she decided to try eliminating wheat from her diet. One week later, she could walk without a problem, she said.

The book has the potential to help a lot of people, Meroniuk said.

“ There's also a lot of people who have ADHD, autism, or MS who are recommended to go on a gluten-free and dairy-free diets,” she explained. “ So this book can be helpful to them.”

The feedback the two have received so far has been phenomenal, they said.

“ We get people stopping us who recognize us from the book, and just rave about how good it is,” Paulson said. “ They tell us that they can finally cook for the whole family, and that everyone is really enjoying it.

“ They feel really freed and empowered.”

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