Substitutions (or Lowest Common Denominator Cooking)

When my son was first diagnosed with multiple food allergies over six years ago, I started looking for cookbooks to meet our new needs. I was just getting used to the "can't have its" of our new life, and I was looking for something that seemed like a green light. Even though there were some really good resources out there, I still felt that there was a great deal that highlighted what we couldn't have, more than showing us what we could. Because, really, is a cookbook allergy friendly if the recipe calls for nuts, and then the note says "omit the nuts if you have a nut allergy." (Even early on, I could have figured out that adaptation on my own!)

That's why when I started writing Welcoming Kitchen recipes, and I decided that I would stick with what would work for most folks. I decided on bringing cooking down to the lowest common denominator. You can enjoy these recipes as they are, or you can "substitute up" by adding or substituting ingredients that are safe for the crowd you're serving.

For example, if nuts aren't a problem for you, you can add them in to the chocolate chip cookies. If you can tolerate gluten, you can substitute all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour in the muffins. (Remember, if you're substituting oat flour or wheat flour for gluten-free all-purpose flour, you need to omit the xanthan gum.) So, please enjoy our recipes just as they are, or experiment with changing them up to suit your needs. You can also feel free to ask our help in suggesting alternate ingredients.

We hope that we can help your kitchen become a Welcoming Kitchen, too!

Happy Cooking!
Kim 

Ancient Grains: A Guide to Cooking with Power-Packed Millet, Oats, Spelt, Farro, Sorghum & Teff (Superfoods for Life), is available now! Super Seeds, is available now! You can also find tasty recipes in Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen- & Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes.