Easy Allergy Substitutions

I'm working on getting more allergy friendly recipes on here, but before I do I wanted to share some easy substitutions that work for most recipes. 

It is so funny to me that Sweetheart is only four, and yet she knows exactly what flax is. When I'm cooking she likes to be the one to get it from the freezer for me. We probably go through a pound of flax a month, because it is such a wonderful egg substitute. You have to treat flax right to make it work right, though. The general rule is one heaping tablespoon of flax and three tablespoons of hot water equals one egg, but you can't just go dumping it in with the other ingredients and have it work like it should. Instead, you mix the flax and hot water in a separate bowl, and give it at least five minutes to sit. It will get a little gluey, and that's exactly what you want.

I've found that the recipes that call for more than one egg just don't seem to work as well this way, so I'm still tinkering with brownies. 

Eggs have different jobs depending on what you are cooking. The technique above is great for baking; cookies, brownies, breads, etc. It also works well in meatloaf or meatballs. If you are battering meat to fry, though, flax does not work at all in place of the egg wash. Instead I will either use plain yogurt or buttermilk, and just let the meat soak in it in the fridge for a few hours. 

Because mayo (and Miracle Whip, and a lot of salad dressings) have eggs in them, when I make Sweetheart a sandwich I will spread butter or mustard on the bread instead. BBQ sauce and ketchup are usually safe condiments, too, but always check labels. For chicken salad I will either use sour cream or plain yogurt or a mix instead of the mayo.  

Most nuts can be substituted with sunflower seeds. I am so very glad that there are sunflower seeds on this planet! Salads just need something crunchy and I love almonds/cashews/etc. on my salad, but sunflower seeds are a perfect solution for when Sweetheart is around. I have also made trail mix with chocolate chips, sunflower seeds and dried fruit, so yummy, and nut free!

But my all time favorite thing ever, the thing I'm sure you are so sick of hearing me talk about, is sunflower seed butter. More specifically, I love SunButter. 

I just barely got two of these gigantic tubs (you can order it here), that's 10 pounds of SunButter, and I'm so excited! I can't wait to break them out and start baking. I haven't done much baking with SunButter yet because when you just have a small jar, it's hard to justify scooping out a whole cup. I have so many recipes I'm excited to try, and I'll share them with you as I try them, the good and the bad! In the meantime I'm just glad I can quickly slap together a SunButter and jelly sandwich for my girls when I need a quick meal or snack. And I love that SunButter is made in a factory that is completely nut free. I have found other sunflower seed butters that were made on the same equipment that made the peanut butter. With this, my Sweetheart is safe, and she loves it! 

(For the record, SunButter didn't ask me to say this and hasn't given me anything, I just love them and so will blab about them to anyone and everyone!)

I hope that helps give you an idea of some alternatives that can be used. If you need substitute ideas for something not listed here, let me know! I'd love to help.