Dark Chocolate May Contain Milk Says FDA

This is your Valentine's Day nightmare. You indulge yourself in a pricey bar of sumptuous dark chocolate. Dairy-free is on the label. But the palpitations you feel aren't from Cupid's arrow but from anaphylactic shock.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently ran a study on 100 dark chocolate products. Many of them contained milk, some in levels high enough to be a serious problem to many who are allergic to milk proteins.

Labeling on the chocolates was inconsistent. Some did say that they "main contain traces of milk." Others, however, said definitively that they were "dairy-free" or even "allergen-free." Many had no warning labeling of any kind.

What the FDA Study Found

“First of all, milk-allergic consumers should be aware that a high proportion of the dark chocolates we tested contained milk, even when the label failed to list milk as an ingredient,” [Binaifer Bedford, M.S., an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) fellow at FDA] says. Of greatest concern are chocolate samples that have no statement regarding milk on the label or have inconsistencies in the label. Several of the chocolates labeled “dairy free” were also found to contain milk.

Results included:

• While dark chocolates labeled “dairy free or allergen-free” were the least likely to contain milk, two out of 17 of these products were found to contain milk.
• All seven bars that declared the presence of milk on the label contained milk; however, 55 (59%) of 93 bars without any clear indication of the presence of milk also were found to contain milk.
• Six out of the eleven chocolate products labeled “traces of milk” contained milk at detectable levels high enough to potentially cause severe reactions in some individuals.

What can you as a consumer do when a manufacturer lies to or misleads you? The FDA has a few recommendations, which are far less than perfect yet may make a difference in the long run.

[C]onsumers can find out what products have been recalled recently at FDA’s website and at the Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) website.Consumers can also inform FDA about undeclared allergens by contacting the agency’s consumer complaint coordinator for your state or by reporting food-allergic reactions online.

Research, read, complain. Three little words not quite as romantic as I Love You, but they may change your life just as dramatically.

UPDATE: May 29, 2015

Good news for Jeff Bezos. Old media apparently is still powerful, driving news on the Internet. This three-month-old announcement has suddenly spawned articles on numerous sites. The only possible reason I can find is that Roberto A. Ferdman of the Washington Post's Wonkblog just put out an article about it. Always glad to see important findings reach a larger public, but this is a tiny bit scary. A consumer-friendly handout from the FDA takes three months to go the ten miles from the FDA compound to the Washington Post building? Really? Are there other things in that pipeline that Ferdman should be getting to? I'm an old-line print advocate and newspaper reader but this is an example of the superiority of a Google News feed.

GlutenfreeDairyfreeRecipes.com

A new website for Gluten & Dairy Free recipes is being launched. (I told you vegans and allergy sufferers that I'd have news for you soon.)

Linda Rickman, a mom with gluten intolerant kids, is another in the long line of moms who are kindly sharing what they've learned in the kitchen over the years. Rickman's site is http://glutenfreedairyfreerecipes.com/.

And here's the press release with the details.

Gluten Free Dairy Free Recipes, a new online business based in Colorado, today announced the launch of their website glutenfreedairyfreerecipes.com. This new site aims to provide nutritious and delicious recipes for people who live gluten and dairy free lifestyles.

Recipe creator and Gluten Free Dairy Free website author Lisa Rickman decided to adopt a gluten and dairy free diet when she discovered a gluten intolerance in her children. Around this time, Lisa had a series of private tests done on each member of her family and determined that three of her family members had the Celiac gene, and the other two had a gluten intolerance.

Celiac disease is commonly characterized by a gluten and dairy intolerance in its carriers. It is a condition that prevents the small intestines from absorbing certain parts of food, specifically gluten. Gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats and should be avoided by people with Celiac disease.

Recipes on the site range from smokin’ good chicken to gluten free pretzels, and also include gluten and dairy free desserts, low calorie shakes, and a bean bread recipe. Something for everyone!

“As a mom who wants only the best for her children and their health, that means knowing what goes into their food and ultimately their bodies,” says Rickman. “I am constantly cooking for them and with them. My hope is that they grow up knowing what is good for them and that healing can happen through food and taking care of themselves is the best way to honor their bodies. Oh yeah… and that gluten free food can taste amazing too!”

Gluten Free Dairy Free Recipes aims to accomplish the following:

• Provide recipes to the gluten and dairy free community on an ongoing basis to support this lifestyle
• Make it easy for those with dietary restrictions to eat healthy and nutritious food
• Recommend our favorite cooking products and ingredients based on experience
• Serve as a convenient, go-to website for other busy parents and individuals who strive to create the healthiest lifestyle possible for themselves and their families
• And help others enjoy their time spent in the kitchen along the way!

Gluten-Free Bean Bread

Best Dairy-Free Summer Desserts

Consumer Reports is a noted buzzkill, so none of you should be surprised that they gave poor reviews to a couple of dairy-free frozen treats, as I recently reported. Those aren't the only treats for us in the world, fortunately. Starre Vartan, the self-titled Eco-Chick (and possibly self-named Starre, although who can tell these days?) reviewed Tofutti and several other brands on the Mother Nature Network. "Best Dairy-Free Summer Desserts" is her title for the article; I'm just reporting.

Coconut Bliss (and the Trader Joe’s version of it) is a slightly-coconutty flavored, richly creamy dessert. Seriously delicious, give it a try! It's gluten-free, soy-free, sugar-free and vegan, and I like to mix it with the Cashewtopia (below) for a truly decadent dairy-free experience.
Best Flavor: Chocolate (which pairs ideally with the natural coconut base)

Rice Dream makes a frozen dessert based on its popular rice-based beverage. While it doesn’t taste like rice, it definitely doesn’t have the fatty, tongue-coating richness of traditional ice cream. Like Rice Dream milk, it has a bit of a watery texture, but not in a bad way; in the summer it feels like a guilt-free and more refreshing version of a heavier dessert. I find it ideal for rich-tasting smoothies and paired with granola for an afternoon snack.
Best Flavor: Creamcicle (great for smoothies with other fruits, totally delicious on its own)

Cashewtopia Gelato, by Organic Nectars is my absolute winner in the non-dairy dessert category. Made from cashew nut milk, it has a crazy-creamy texture and a is very filling, in the way that ice cream is (if you end up eating it for a meal, don’t blame me. And since it's sweetened with agave, it won't hurt your blood sugar, it's made from all raw ingredients, so retains a ton of the natural ingredients' nutrition, and is all organic. LOVE!
Best Flavor: Chocolate Hazelnut (it's a very mild chocolate but that pairs perfectly with the abundant raw hazelnuts in each bite)

Tofutti: I don’t love plain old tofutti all by its lonesome – like the tofu upon which it’s based, it really needs to be paired with something else to really ‘pop’ – I like mine with a bunch of berries swirled in (as you can probably tell, I like fruit with my desserts), or made into an ice-cream sandwich. Or you can just buy the famous and beloved Tofutti Cuties, which are mini versions of the traditional ice cream sandwich. Truly a vegan ice cream treat.
Best Flavor: Tofutti Cuties Sandwiches

30 Dairy-Free Recipe Substitutions

Big thanks go to Kelli Kerkman of Greatist.com for sending me a link to a great page they ran.

Greatist is a health and nutrition site whose goals sound like something I would write, which is always the highest praise. They even have a manifesto:



I'm not a manifesto kind of guy. I'm an information kind of guy. So what I liked was the page that I'm passing on to you, 30 Dairy-Free Recipe Substitutions by Jordan Shakeshaft*.

The list is mostly the basic common-sense advice that I've given out before, but as Kelli said to me, it's always good to have it all in one place for easy reference and I agree. In addition, the page is studded with links to the foods and substitutes mentioned, which is great for you and makes my life much easier, a double win.

Here's a couple of unusual ideas, though, just to whet your appetite for the whole feast.

# Nutritional yeast for cheese

Instead of topping those nachos with cheddar, try a sprinkle of nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavoring with less fat. The taste and texture may be a little bit different, but the creamy texture is pretty comparable.

# Mashed bananas for butter

The creamy, thickening-power of mashed banana acts the same as avocado in terms of replacing fat in baked goods. The consistency is ideal, plus the bananas add a healthy dose of potassium and fiber.

* Although that's an obvious pseudonym for the Earl of Oxford. Obscure literary reference/pun just for me.

So, What Can I Eat Now?! Cookbook

Remember the interrobang?! A combination of a exclamation point and question mark, it was the missing piece of punctuation that all keyboards leave off. There's a whole Facebook page devoted to Bringing Back The Interrobang. And they're right. We need the interrobang and we need it now. Proof? Rhonda Peters just wrote the So, What Can I Eat Now?! cookbook and badly, sadly misses the useful interrobang.

So, What Can I Eat Now?! is subtitled Living Without Dairy, Soy, Eggs, and Wheat, which makes it just right for me to feature here.



Guess what? There's a press release.

Ms. Peters' decision to write a cookbook which focused on low sodium, gluten free, soy free, egg free and dairy free ingredients stems from her own battle with thyroid disease and rheumatoid arthritis and her inability to consume foods with gluten, soy, dairy and eggs due to multiple food allergies. Ms. Peters' 15 year struggle with these chronic health issues and her desire to continue to enjoy the Southern style of cooking which she had enjoyed as a child propelled her to study and dissect traditional Southern and holiday recipes in search of healthy, flavorful alternatives. The result of Ms. Peters' laborious efforts is an exciting new approach to holiday cooking. So if you’re searching for the perfect holiday brunch menu or if you’re trying to prepare a full spread for your family’s holiday gathering, order your copy of So, What Can I Eat Now?!, as it is destined to become the premier holiday cookbook for people with dietary restrictions.

Instead of the links in that press release, try this one: http://rhondascooking.wordpress.com/so-what-can-i-eat-now-cookbook/.

Review of The Kosher Baker

Rabbi Rebecca Joseph is founder and owner of 12 Tribes Kosher Foods in San Francisco and creator of the Parve Baker, a dairy-free baking blog.

I got very excited when I read that, because it sounded like a great thing to share with you. I'm somewhat less excited when I saw that no new posts have been made in over a year. Still, check out what's there.

Rabbi Rebecca is still writing, though. I found her via a review of The Kosher Baker: Over 160 Dairy-free Recipes from Traditional to Trendy by Paula Shoyer. You may remember that I posted about it two months ago. Yes, I'm that far ahead of the curve.

Anyway, here's an excerpt from her review.

The real test was the whole wheat challah. I regularly make challah in several varieties, but have never found a whole wheat recipe that I wanted to use again. That is, until now. This one balances white and whole flours, honey, sugar, yeast and eggs perfectly in a bread that looks beautiful as a crown or braid, tastes good, and has a substantial, but delicate texture. The dough rises three times so this is a not project that can be rushed. When you can plan ahead, the time is worth it.

There is so much to like about “The Kosher Baker,” including the many practical tips and attention given to special diets. With her sensitivity to dietary restrictions and commitment to expansion of the parve baker’s repertoire, the only disappointment is that Shoyer does not offer much advice to people who are generally concerned about making desserts and other baked goods more nutritious or are soy-sensitive.

Shabtai Bakery Wins Again

Shabtai Gourmet is a "dedicated gluten free, dairy free, peanut free, soy free, lactose free, casein free, corn free, and kosher bakery." If that isn't amazing enough, it manages to make its desserts tasty with whatever ingredients are left. It just won the Kosherfest Best New Passover Product Competition for the fourth time, for their Gluten-Free Yidels Mini Swiss Chocolate Rolls.

I alerted you to Shabtai last year. But their new press release has even more info.

In past Years Shabtai Gourmet has won best new product with some of their other items, such as their Gluten Free Devils Food Ring Ting Cupcakes, Gluten Free Bell Ring Cakes, & their unforgettable Marzipan Sushi.

Some other delectable allergen friendly desserts baked by Shabtai are his: Gluten Free Honey Cakes, Gluten Free Rainbow Cookies, Gluten Free Flourless Chocolate Cakes, Gluten Free Jelly Rolls, Gluten Free Brownie Bites, Sponge Loaf Cakes & so much more.

Many of Shabtai's baked goods contain no-hydrogenated oils, no trans fats, no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, no preservatives, are all natural, and baked with organic ingredients.

Shabtai Gourmet Gluten-Free baked goods are available at fine health food stores and supermarkets all year round and for Passover as well. Shop for Shabtai Gluten-Free items @ www.shabtai-gourmet.com or @ www.glutenfreemall.com.

Use their store locator to find the nearest retail location to you.

Look for Shabtai products at Wegmans, Shoprite, ACME, King Kullen, DAG NYC, Price Chopper, Hy-Vee, Woodmans, Mrs. Greens, Key Food, & Best Yet Markets.

Shabtai Gluten Free Baked goods are now available at select Bloomingdale's stores on the East Coast.

In the weeks prior & during the passover holidays you can find Shabtai Gourmet baked goods at over 35 Supermarket Chains throughout the country. Look for the Kosher for passover symbols listed on their packaging.

Shabtai Gourmet supports various celiac & autism support groups all over the country. Contact them to get involved in your local gluten free event - www.shabtai-gourmet.com
(516) 374-7976.

Rice-Based Dairy-Free Protein Powder

I've said frequently and forcefully that detox and purification programs are quackery. You don't have toxic chemicals in your body that can be "detoxified" nor is stuff sitting up in your colon that doesn't come out with normal excretion.

Normally, therefore, when I see a product designed for a purification program I'd just skip right over it.

Of course, products have more than one use and some of those uses may be far more beneficial.

That's why I'm mentioning Standard Process's SP Complete Dairy Free rice protein powder.

SP Complete Dairy Free is a nutritious whole food supplement powder that mixes with water, or with fruits and vegetables to make healthy shakes. It provides vital nutrients, and contains the same whole food ingredients as SP Complete, but with rice protein instead of whey.

There are many whey-based and soy-based protein powders on the market. Unfortunately, a large number of people are allergic to whey or soy or both. An alternative and less-allergenic protein source is valuable to know about.

UK Dairy Free Chocolate

Neandra Etienne taste-tested a variety of dairy-free chocolates available in stores or on line in the UK for The Collective Review.

I'm not going to give you the whole reviews, because that would be copying too much. However, here are the chocolates cited and their websites. For Etienne's opinions, visit the page linked above.

Dairy Free
www.dairy-free.co.uk


Rococo Chocolates
www.rococochocolates.com


Seed Stacked Flapjack
www.seedstacked.com



Chocolala
www.chocolala.co.uk







Freefrom
www.sainsburys.co.uk/freefrom

Scream Sorbet

Sorbet is slowly becoming more popular. A few good restaurants would offer a selection of sorbets after a meal, yielding an intensely fruity treat that needed only a few bites to satisfy. Sorbets are big tastes, a sipper's delight rather than a gulper's. Brandies are less popular than beer, too.

With dairy-free desserts inching their way into the general market, sorbets are due. And new food processing technologies are making possible sorbets that go beyond fruit tastes into the weirder world that high end ice creams are also pursuing.

The New York Times Magazine - which did an article a few weeks ago on a man who made hibiscus beet, bourbon and cornflake, prosciutto, and chocolate smoked sea salt ice creams - has followed it up with one on a man who figured out a way to make nut-based sorbets.

Making frozen treats is as much about composition as it is equipment. "In some ways," [Nathan] Kurz says, "the other reason I started this business was that I’d been reading about El Bulli and how they were using Pacojets. Some people lust after cars, I lusted after kitchen machinery." Basically, he let a $4,000 gadget determine his fate. (He advises everyone to read about the process to understand this seemingly rash decision.) "Normally, you make ice cream in a batch freezer," he explains. "You freeze the outside and scrape along the outside as it [the ice cream] freezes. It's the same as the hand-churned thing you use at home, and it works great, if what you’re starting with is already smooth."

The Pacojet is simpler: "It doesn't include refrigeration, and part of its process is to make things silky smooth." It's true. You can add whole nuts and fruits to this machine and "still end up with a silky smooth texture." As he explains the process, "you freeze your sorbet chunky first in a one-quart container. Then the blade spins around; it goes from the top of the round cylinder down to the bottom at a rate of several thousand R.P.M. It takes four minutes to process."

He discovered that using a Pacojet meant he could add less sugar to his sorbet and yield more intensity from his main ingredient. His approach goes against everything that McGee and others who rely on the traditional methods counsel. They encourage adding water (to achieve the required puree that Kurz's equipment renders unnecessary), then lemon juice (to draw out the diluted product's weakened flavor) and finally more sugar (to compensate for all that extra volume). "We don’t add anything unless it tastes good," he says; that means they also won’t add anything that tastes like nothing, such as a stabilizer. The Scream stuff is thicker than other sorbets and made from fewer ingredients. With higher fruit content and no additives, it has the texture of gelato but is more concentrated in flavor.

His pistachio sorbet contains pistachios, water, sugar, and sea salt. Nothing else.

You won't find it everywhere, but a variety of farmers' markets in northern California carry it and he will soon open a storefront in Oakland, CA.

More importantly, he ships anywhere Federal Express offers overnight service.

Caribbean Vegan

Caribbean Vegan: Meat-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free Authentic Island Cuisine for Every Occasion, by Taymer Mason is brand-new, it's publication date being today, presumably the day when everybody in the north starts longing for that Caribbean vacation.

Product Description
Here is your passport to a world of distinctive, unforgettable food—125 delicious, authentic vegan recipes that showcase flavors and ingredients from across the Caribbean islands

If “Caribbean cuisine” makes you think of pineapples and coconuts, you’re missing out. The Caribbean islands are home to a rich cooking tradition that combines African, French, Spanish, British, Asian, and Indian influences, adds an unmistakable local flair . . . and tastes like paradise. A real secret is in the herbs and spices—with the right uncooked sauce, cooked sauce, or “wet seasoning” blend, you can transform everyday ingredients into Caribbean delights.

Caribbean Vegan will spice up your vegan diet like no other cookbook. Popular blogger Taymer Mason serves up 125 completely vegan recipes—for breakfast dishes, appetizers, entrées, sides, soups, desserts, and drinks that are anything but bland. Sample the local flavors of Barbados, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Grenada, and the French West Indies with:

Saint Lucian Bakes
Eggplant and Seaweed Accras
Bajan Soup with Dumplings
Rummy Rum and Raisin Ice Cream . . . and much more!

Enticing color photos and Island Tips explain the key ingredients, equipment, and techniques of Caribbean cuisine—so whatever your previous familiarity with Caribbean food, you’ll be cooking like an islander in no time.

About the Author
Taymer Mason grew up in a family of cooks who taught her to make—and love!—traditional Caribbean cuisine. She went vegan in 2006 while an undergraduate at the University of the West Indies and discovered that, far from being limiting, it was an exciting new way to cook her old favorites. Now she writes the popular cooking blog Vegan in the Sun. She lives with her husband and their cat in the French West Indies, but she appreciates the unique culture and cuisine of all the islands—and especially of her birthplace, Barbados.

Honestly, I originally read that as "Taymer Mason grew up in a family of cooks who taught her to make love! using traditional Caribbean customs." I'm a very bad person.

The Experiment trade paperback
256 pages
List price: $18.95

Living Without Magazine Catches National Buzz

I've done a couple of mentions of Living Without magazine. It bills itself as the "magazine for people allergies and food sensitivities," which I assume is most of you reading this. Check out that link to their website for lots of recipes and other information.

The Washington Post has finally caught up to our world. A recent Health Scan column was about food allergies. A recent - but not the most recent - issue of Living Without got featured.

"Living Without," August/September issue

"Living Without," a magazine with a sad name, is for people with food allergies and sensitivities. The current issue features an interview with celebrity chef Ming Tsai, who owns the Boston-area restaurant Blue Ginger and serves as a national spokesman for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. When Tsai's 10-year-old son, David, was an infant, he tested positive for dairy, wheat, soy, egg, shellfish, nut and peanut allergies. "When your child has life-threatening food allergies, it's your number-one concern," Tsai says. "It affects everything." David's diagnosis made allergy awareness Tsai's calling, he says; Blue Ginger provides diners with detailed ingredient lists of every dish.

I don't understand why a national newspaper is so far behind the times. The new October/November issue is already out. If you want to take a look at its content, visit that page on their website. Some of the articles are only available to subscribers, but others, like the Spooky Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Treats recipe are free to all.

Food Channel's Top 10 Snack Trends of 2010

At the same moment in a food world that features larger and larger meals - I heard something about a pizza-sized hamburger that I'm trying my best to ignore - the trend toward "healthier" foods - or least foods that can be marketed as healthier - runs on a loud parallel track.

Will real people in the real world actually switch over to snack foods that are healthy? Oh, a few will, and always have, but the majority? Not if history is a guide.

But that's the trend of the year, or so says the Food Channel. The website of the National Association of Convenience Stores naturally has a huge vested interest in the subject. And that's where I found this report.

The Food Channel has posted its Top 10 Snack Trends of 2010, based on research conducted by channel in conjunction with CultureWaves, the International Food Futurists and Mintel International. Here are the trends shaping how Americans snack.


1. Chip and Dip. The desire for change has morphed into a new array of artisanal chip-and-dip choices, such as hummus and falafel chips.

2. Small and Sensational. “Grazing is the new snacking,” the Food Channel said.

3. The Drink Shift. This trend encompasses the bevy of beverages made with fruit or antioxidants. Drinks have shifted away from colas and energy drinks to teas, lemonades, fruity organic waters and carbonated fruit drinks.

4. Goin’ Nuts. Nuts have been paired with granola and fruits, as well as appearing solo as smoked and salted. With more emphasis on how good nuts are for you, more people are grabbing a handful for snacking.

5. Fruits: The Low Hanging Snack. Fruit is noshed on fresh, dried and freeze-dried. New types of fruits have become trendy, such as the Amazon açai fruit. Fresh fruit is now the number one snack among kids aged 2 to 17.

6. Cruising the Bars. Granola bars have come out in a wide variety, such as dairy-free, gluten-free, non-GMO, organic, soy-free, cholesterol-free, trans-fat-free, and casein-free.

7. Sweet and Salty. Recently, snacks have embraced the sweet and salty all in one bite.

8. Yogurt, Redefined. International flavors, such as Greek yogurt, and the added value of probiotics has made yogurt new and exciting as a snack.

9. Bodaciously Bold. The spicier, the better for some snacks. Bland is out and bold is definitely in.

10. Nostalgia’s New Again. Old standbys like Snack Cakes, Hostess Twinkie, Ding Dongs, TastyKake, and Little Debbies have found new life these days.

Notice that dairy-free granola bars and lower-lactose Greek yogurt are on the list. That's about all the support we get. Well, that and fruits. Fruit is dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, and have all sorts of natural nutrients that as yet can't be found in pill form.

Fruit. The original snack food.

New UK Dairy-Free Chocolates

Just yesterday I posted about the Barry Callebaut chocolate site and today I have an announcement about a new dairy-free chocolate that the firm is making. Coincidence? I think not.

The press release can be found at the Food Ingredients First site.

Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products, says it brought the world’s first 100% dairy free alternative to milk chocolate to the market to add to the increasingly popular “Freefrom” food category. Due to the increased awareness of allergies and food intolerances on the one hand and continuous improvements in taste and quality of “Free-from” products on the other, the market grew strongly over the recent years. In 2010, the world market will grow 8.1%, according to Euromonitor. And the growth is expected to continue: from +9.4% (2011) up to +21.5% (2014).

The newly formulated guaranteed 100% dairy free alternative developed by Barry Callebaut offers the same color and smooth taste of milk chocolate, yet without any milk ingredients. This is extremely important for adults and children suffering from milk allergy. In addition, this innovation is a valuable alternative for those being lactose intolerant as well as for the increasing number of people excluding dairy or dairy ingredients like lactose from their diet out of personal belief or because of following specific lifestyle choices such as vegans or vegetarians.

With Celtic Chocolates, one of Ireland’s leading chocolatiers and long-term provider of gourmet chocolate for people with allergies and food intolerances, Barry Callebaut found an ideal partner to further develop and bring the 100% dairy free alternative to milk chocolate into the market.

Check out Celtic Chocolates for more information.

Celtic Chocolates Limited
Summerhill
Co Meath
Tel: +353 (0) 4695 57077
Fax: + 353 (0) 4695 57591
E mail: info@celticchocolates.eu

Free eCookbook from Alisa Fleming

Alisa Fleming, of the massive site GoDairyFree.org, also runs the One Frugal Foodie blog.

Back in 2008 she put out Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance, and Casein-Free Living so it's obviously time for a new cookbook to emerge.

And so it has. Every better, this one's free.

Smart School Time Recipes: The Breakfast, Snack, and Lunchbox Cookbook for Healthy Kids and Adults is being offered as a free ebook download.



Wait, two years? Somehow she did it in two weeks. I need to find a new business.

It’s hard to believe that just two weeks ago I set out on this mission, and here I am with a completed 173-page eCookbook with 125 recipes and over 100 photos from dozens of incredible health bloggers and cookbook authors (thank you to every single one of you!). We also had a special time donation from a wonderful graphic designer; Emily of The Blog Fairy designed the cover image (she also designed this blog!) …

The chapters include:

•Morning Muffin Mania
•Sensational Smoothies
•Easy Freezin’ Waffles, Pancakes, and French Toast
•More Smart Starts
•Dips, Fillings, and Spreads
•Soups and Stews
•Salad-Style
•More Lunchbox Love
•Sweet Snackin’
•Craving Cookies
•Essential Extras

Living Dairy-Free For Dummies

Being published today is Living Dairy-Free For Dummies, by Suzanne Havala Hobbs.

Suzanne Havala Hobbs, DrPH, MS, RD, is a renowned writer on food, nutrition, and dietary guidance policy. A vegetarian for more than 35 years, she has been largely dairy-free for 25 years. She is based at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she directs the Doctoral Program in Health Leadership.

Ah, credentials. I like credentials.

Product Description
Whatever the reason for not eating dairy, Living Dairy-Free For Dummies provides readers with the most up-to-date information on a dairy-free diet and lifestyle and will empower them to thrive without dairy while still getting the calcium, vitamin D and nutritional benefits commonly associated with dairy products.
Living Dairy-Free For Dummies:

▪ Is a lifestyle manual, going beyond just recipes to present a full nutritional evaluation of what dairy-free life is like
▪ Contains more than 50 dairy-free recipes, along with how to set up a dairy-free kitchen and tips for eating out and remaining dairy-free
▪ Presents alternatives to dairy so readers can continue getting the nutritional value and tastes of dairy, without the side effects

From the Back Cover
The easy way to live and thrive with a dairy-free lifestyle
Are you looking to eliminate dairy from your diet due to lactose intolerance, health reasons, diet restrictions, or personal choice? Whatever your reason, this hands-on, friendly guide gives you the most up-to-date information on how a dairy-free diet and lifestyle can empower you to thrive while still getting the calcium, vitamin D, and nutrients you need.

▪ Make the switch — find out the many benefits of restricting dairy from your diet, get a grip on nutritional issues, and discover how to smoothly make the transition
▪ Set up shop — get practical tips on setting up a dairy-free kitchen and discover the nondairy staples and equipment you need to get started
▪ Get cooking — start making more than 60 easy and delicious dairy-free dishes for every meal of the day (including dips, dressings, and tasty munchies)
▪ Live, love, eat — discover how to enjoy a dairy-free lifestyle while away from home and during pregnancy, infancy, through adulthood, and to your senior years

Open the book and find:

▪ Top ten reasons to ditch dairy
▪ Hidden sources of dairy (and how to find them on food labels)
▪ The best-tasting nondairy alternatives
▪ Dairy-free recipes the whole family will enjoy
▪ Dairy-free ingredients and cooking tips and techniques
▪ Helpful advice for eating at restaurants and on the go
▪ Tips for dealing with picky eaters
▪ How to eat for bone health at every age

Learn to:

▪ Manage lactose intolerance by safely eliminating dairy from your diet
▪ Thrive without dairy while still getting the calcium, vitamin D, and nutrients you need
▪ Prepare more than 60 delicious dairy-free recipes
▪ Discover dairy-free substitutions

For Dummies trade paperback
360 pages
List price: $19.99

The Kosher Baker Cookbook

The Kosher Baker: Over 160 Dairy-free Recipes from Traditional to Trendy, Paula Shoyer, has been getting lots of press attention. Stacy Finz wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle that:

Shoyer, the owner of Paula's Parisian Pastries Cooking School in the Washington D.C., area, spends more than 300 pages modernizing Jewish classics such as babka, honey cake and hamentaschen and creating kosher versions of today's trendiest desserts - favorites like red velvet cupcakes. She even gives instruction on how to make French pastries sans the butter.

Product Description
Producing flavorful and appealing kosher desserts has been a challenge in Jewish households throughout the ages. Without access to butter, cream, milk, cheese, yogurt, or other dairy products, creating a tasty and memorable dessert for family and friends requires more than simple substitutions and compromises. Now pastry chef and teacher Paula Shoyer provides the inspiration and innovation to turn the age-old challenges of parve baking into delectable delights in her one-of-a-kind kosher cookbook.

The Kosher Baker is your indispensable kitchen companion to a wide range of dairy-free desserts, from family favorites and time-honored holiday classics to stylish and delicious surprises of Shoyer's own careful creation. It even includes desserts not usually found on a kosher table, such as creamy key lime pie, luscious flan, and rich tiramisu. You'll find everything from cookies, biscotti, breads and muffins to pastries, tarts, fancy cakes, and mousses. Shoyer guides you through more than 160 mouth-watering recipes and expands every non-dairy baker's repertoire with simple, clear instructions and a friendly yet authoritative voice.

The Kosher Baker is organized as a tutorial into three primary sections--Quick and Elegant Desserts, Two Step Desserts, and Multiple Step Desserts--allowing the busy home baker to choose a dessert based on both taste and time constraints. The first section presents the fundamentals of simple kosher baking in the form of everyday treats like Amaretto Cookies, Orange Tea Cake, and Apple Pastry. The next two sections teach increasingly more challenging desserts, from a Challah Beer Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce to Chocolate Babka. A special fourth section includes chapters on baking Challah, Passover desserts, and no-sugar-added desserts.

The Kosher Baker has something for everyone in the Jewish household for any occasion or holiday. It spills over with detailed information, including tips on storage, freezing, and thawing; tools; must-have ingredients; and tips and techniques. Anyone baking for those with special dietary needs such as food allergies or diabetic concerns will also find recipes to love in this comprehensive collection. It even includes recipes for nut- and gluten-free desserts, and vegan desserts.

No Jewish home should be without this essential cookbook!

List price: $35.00
348 pages
Brandeis University Press/University Press of New England, 2010

Wait, what? A cookbook published by a university press? That's weird... No wonder it's getting more press attention than usual.

You can also watch Shoyer sharing her recipe for quick, kosher fruit tarts on a video from a Washington local news program.

Cooking for Isaiah: Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free

Cooking for Isaiah: Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Recipes for Easy Delicious Meals,
by Silvana Nardone.

Silvana Nardone is the founding Editor in Chief of Every Day with Rachael Ray, where she has been honored with the magazine industry's top awards since its launch in 2005. She is the magazine's "No-Recipe Zone" and "Sweet Spot" columnist. A writer, editor, cooking instructor, and food consultant, she is the coauthor of Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian. She was profiled by Big Apple Parent and About.com for her focus on gluten-free and dairy- free cooking. Silvana owned an Italian bakery, Fanciulla, when Rachael Ray hired her to launch her magazine. Visit her blog at DishTowelDiaries.com.

Product Description
"The cornbread was flavorful, moist and light with a deliciously tender crumb. My only hope with this recipe was that Isaiah would love it... And then Isaiah took a bite. The look on his face was pure heaven."

Cooking for Isaiah is a love story of Silvana Nardone's journey to develop great-tasting meals for her son, Isaiah, after he was diagnosed with food intolerances to gluten and dairy. The results of her efforts are found in the pages of this book, through 135 recipes that are not only easy to make, but taste and look delicious.

From "S'mores Pancakes with Marshmallow Sauce" to "Double-Decker Toasted Cornbread and Spicy Greens Stack," and "Chicken and Waffles with Maple Bacon Gravy" to "Chocolate Birthday Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting," all of the recipes in Cooking for Isaiah are entirely free of gluten and dairy. Crafted with a variety of cooks in mind, an ingredient substitution chart shows you what to swap if, for example, you need to cook without gluten, but dairy is okay. You'll also find Silvana's tried-and-tested all-purpose flour and pancake mix recipes, sure to make gluten-free cooking and baking accessible to all. Written by Silvana Nardone, Editor in Chief of Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine, this charming, personal cookbook belongs on every cook's shelf.

Readers Digest hardcover
224 pages
List price: $24.95

Tofutti to Announce Three Innovative Products

Tofutti sent out a bit of a downbeat press release, revealing that they lost gross and net revenue since last year at this time.

The good news is that they are expanding their product line into firsts, not just for them, but for the industry.

As announced at our annual meeting in June, we have developed three new dairy-free food products. We will soon release the first commercially available nondairy and gluten-free ricotta cheese product, which is expected to reach grocers' shelves in the fourth quarter of this year. We also intend to release what we believe will be the first dairy-free, sugar-free, frozen dessert than incorporates Stevia as the sweetening agent and a newly re-formulated frozen pizza with a dairy-free, trans fat-free cheese topping. We expect that the latter two products will be commercially available around the new year."

Go to Tofutti.com for more information on all their current products.

Dairy-Free Chocolate Protein Pudding

I'm a copyright fanatic. Most people don't understand copyright and think that either everything can be freely reprinted or that nothing can be. It's really somewhere in the middle because of a concept called "fair use." Fair use is not defined precisely anywhere in the copyright law, which is why it causes so many problems.

The way I interpret it is that short excepts of articles can be reprinted to make a point, images that were intended to be advertisements of themselves - like book covers or food packages - can be freely used, material put under a Creative Commons license - like anything at Wikipedia - can be reused in its entirety if attribution is given, and press releases are inherently designed to be spread widely.

That's why I don't normally reprint recipes. You can't copyright a list of ingredients or basic instructions but you certainly can copyright expression. Therefore you can rewrite a recipe in your own words but you can't simply copy somebody else's words.

Unless it's been put out in a press release for everyone to use.

And I found one that seems useful for you.

Here's the press release:

Even when you're watching what you eat, you don't have to give up chocolate or dessert! Columbus-based fitness and nutrition trainer Jason Yun offers up a healthy and easy recipe for a delicious protein-filled dessert. You can fix it in your blender or food processor in a matter of minutes to enjoy an indulgent snack you don't have to feel guilty about.

Dairy-Free Chocolate Protein Pudding

Ingredients:
1 avocado
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)
A dash of cinnamon
A pinch of Sea salt
3-4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 banana
2 tbsp almond or coconut milk
1 scoop whey protein


Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit and the peel. Place it in the blender or food processor along with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. Makes 2-3 servings.

To watch Jason Yun make this dessert, visit Yun Training's YouTube channel. The video can be found at this link.

Enjoy a delicious, healthy dessert, and remember to let your nutrition work for you!

Jason Yun is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Sports Nutritionist. He owns Yun Strength and Fitness Systems, LLC, and runs Yun Fitness Boot Camps in Columbus, Ohio.

I am the owner of Yun Strength and Fitness Systems, LLC. I Instruct Fitness Boot Camps for teens and adults in the Greater Columbus, Ohio area. I also teach the 12-week Metabolism Makeover Course. I am a body transformation expert who has helped many people reach their body and health goals. To learn more about me and to pick up a copy of your FREE Fat Loss Starter Kit, please visit the websites:
http://www.Yunbootcamps.com
http://www.YunNutrition.com/home.html

If you're wondering that I'm mentioning a recipe with whey protein, remember that many whey protein powders (and drink) are lactose-free. If you still have qualms then substitute soy protein powder.