Everyday ingredients from the pantry
When you explore this site or any of my recipe collections, you'll see the phrase "everyday ingredients" or "from the pantry" a lot.
But what do I really mean by those phrases?
Scratch recipes---those made without boxed starters or prepared ingredients---pull together fresh foods and pantry staples for busy families. Cooking like this is making a comeback, and not just because of food allergies. People are re-learning the joy of spending time in the kitchen, of knowing their ingredient sources...but we are all still short on time. My goal is to have a variety of simple, family-friendly recipes that we can make without a grocery run, take on vacation, or use when specialty products or ingredients aren't available.
As we became more comfortable avoiding allergic ingredients, I wanted to start making our own recipes again, too. Together, my kids and I started replacing eggs and dairy in all kinds of recipes, using a combination of kitchen science, existing safe recipe examples, and a collection of my grandmother's World War II recipes---egg and dairy free from necessity. Most of our new ingredients, like baking soda and lemon juice, came right out of our old pantry.
We found that it was (eventually) easy to make a wide range of meals and treats without our old essentials. In fact, most people were amazed by what wasn't in our homemade food! Now, we have food for any occasion that is heart healthy, allergy safe, and easy to make anywhere we go, anytime. |
Food Allergy Pantry Staples
Besides fresh fruits and veggies, plus protein sources like meat or pulses (beans and legumes), any cook relies on pantry staples to bring a recipe together. Here are a few of our alternatives. For other favorite examples in action by creative cooks, check out Useful Resources.
Eggs
to rise, baking soda or powder with acids like lemon juice or vinegar
to moisten, applesauce, pumpkin, or other mashed fruits
to bind a pastry together, tapioca flour, flax, cornstarch, or similar powdery thickeners (even extra flour, in a pinch)
Milk
any non-dairy safe milk safe, or water or juice, or liquid from another of your ingredients (though the recipe taste, not texture, changes)
Cream
cream of coconut, coconut milk, or another high-fat dairy replacer (soy and rice don't work here)
when coconut is not part of your pantry, consider thickening your liquid of choice with corn syrup (different from high-fructose kind!)
Butter
olive (or tasteless canola) oil in approximately equal amounts
solid margarines made from plant sterols (a healthier alternative to old-fashioned lard or hydrogenated sticks)
Eggs
to rise, baking soda or powder with acids like lemon juice or vinegar
to moisten, applesauce, pumpkin, or other mashed fruits
to bind a pastry together, tapioca flour, flax, cornstarch, or similar powdery thickeners (even extra flour, in a pinch)
Milk
any non-dairy safe milk safe, or water or juice, or liquid from another of your ingredients (though the recipe taste, not texture, changes)
Cream
cream of coconut, coconut milk, or another high-fat dairy replacer (soy and rice don't work here)
when coconut is not part of your pantry, consider thickening your liquid of choice with corn syrup (different from high-fructose kind!)
Butter
olive (or tasteless canola) oil in approximately equal amounts
solid margarines made from plant sterols (a healthier alternative to old-fashioned lard or hydrogenated sticks)