Cooking without GLUTEN, DAIRY PRODUCTS or CHOLESTEROL

A company started from personal experiences……

I remember the day my father came home from the hospital after his first heart attack. The hospital gave my mother a list of foods we couldn’t eat. As with most households, what the father can or can’t eat becomes the diet of the rest of the family and consequently, we became vegetarian overnight. I remember the struggles my mother had during that time. My father was afraid to eat anything, and ate everything she cooked with suspicion and trepidation. My mother was at a loss for what to cook since nearly everything she was accustomed to making was on the forbidden list. We ate “texturized soy protein” which came in a milk carton, synthetic eggs, plain tofu and lots of peanut butter. All of the baked items we were accustomed to eating were “on the list” and we couldn’t have them anymore. Nobody was happy, or satiated with the new diet. It was a miserable time, and one that made a big impact on how I viewed food.

The hospital and doctors didn’t offer any advice or help on how to cook in a healthier manner, but over the years, with a lot of experimentation and trial and error (lots of errors!) my mother and I produced some very satisfying recipes. I think we were successful because my father lived 30 years after his first heart attack. More recently, my husband’s cholesterol went from 210 to 150 in six months after eating my cooking!

Meanwhile, when I was in my 20’s, I realized that a lot of my digestive maladies were caused from eating dairy products and problems diminished when I quit eating dairy. Gluten has had a bigger impact because it is insidious and not as easy to identify as a culprit. It took longer to reveal itself, and its affects were more profound. After being dairy-free and gluten-free, I feel better, see better and have significantly less digestive issues. I have learned to cook and eat in a healthy, satisfying manner with plenty of protein, fiber, fruits, vegetables, grains, beans and nuts. I have incorporated may alternative ingredients such as tapioca flour, sorghum flour, amaranth flour, hazelnut and almond flour, xantham gum, guar gum, agar agar, potato starch, arrowroot, rice milk, almond milk, tahini, tempeh, miso, ume vinegar, umeboshi plums, mirin, rice syrup, rice noodles, nutritional yeast, and, yes, tofu – into my cooking repertoire. Knowing how to cook it makes a big difference! These foods have opened new flavors and exciting new dimensions in cooking.

The key to successful alternative cooking is to view a food for what it is rather than to try to make something that looks like something else -- but that doesn’t quite hold a candle to the original version. Using this approach to food has made all the difference. Rather than eating a healthy diet with resentment and uncertainty, I have embraced the essence of each nutritious food – learned many cooking techniques to bring out their flavors and enhance them and celebrate the food. I augmented my skills by earning certification in an accredited professional cooking school and with many years of trials and errors, I have developed recipes that taste great. I can help you.

Nearly every processed food contains gluten. Gluten can cause a multitude of problems ranging from flatulence, chronic fatigue, headaches, indigestion, muscle and joint pains, asthma, allergies, irritability, constipation or diarrhea, general feeling of malaise, severe itchy rashes, infertility and the development of antibodies in the blood. A gluten-free diet has been associated with improving conditions associated with Autism, arthritis, diabetes, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s Disease, Celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, gluten-sensitive enteropathy, developmental disorders, Addison’s disease, ADD, IBD, GFDF, atherosclerosis, Lupus, malabsorption, infertility and bursitis.

Dairy intolerance from lactose and casein is equally as grave. Symptoms include bloating, gas, nausea, diarrhea, mucus formation, malabsorption, gastro-intestinal problems, respiratory issues and the development of antibodies in the blood. Extreme reactions can include anaphylactic shock. A dairy-free diet has been associated with improving conditions associated with asthma, endometriosis, infertility, acne, ear infections, osteoporosis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s Disease, calcium deposits, kidney disease, ovarian cysts and tumors, vaginal infections, menstrual cramps and allergies.

Dairy-Free, Gluten-free diets have been associated with improving conditions associated with Autism, colic (if a breast-feeding mother eats a GFDF diet, the baby’s colic is diminished), atherosclerosis, gastro-intestinal distress, cancer, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, migraines and cardiovascular disease.

Needless to say, what you eat can have a profound impact on your body.

I started Alternative Cook, LLC to help people who suddenly find themselves with someone to cook for that cannot tolerate or digest mainstream foods. It doesn’t have to be as devastating as it was for my mother and me! I provide cooking instruction to help you develop dishes and menus that are pleasing to your taste buds, pretty to look at, without gluten, dairy products and with low or no cholesterol. Believe it or not, you can eat a healthy diet and be satisfied.

Jean Duane

Remember, there's always an alternative.