When people are given hardships or crosses, as I like to call them, they either rise above them knowing God is by their side, or they are crushed by the circumstances. Saving the life of my youngest child, Anne, who will soon turn six, has been the hardest thing that I have ever done in my life. And I didn't do it alone. My husband and two sons were with me every step of the way. Losing our financial footing because our health plan would not pay for her medical treatments was a blow that we were not prepared for, given that we already had a seemingly impossible task. It is by the Grace of God that Anne is on the road to wellness, and that she has been spared any brain damage or other serious health effects. The hardships we have faced over the past five years we can now see are a true blessing. What we have learned, we can share with others to help them.
We are a family dedicated to empowering people and families. Recently my oldest son, Luke (age 10), watched one of his favorite people, Stephen Covey, on TV. Stephen Covey and his adult son were suggesting that families create a mission statement for their families to live by. Without hesitation, Luke quickly said, "Oh, I know what our family mission statement should be, and here it is: 'We were made to make the world a better place!'"
And I quickly wrote it down knowing in my heart that there would be nothing better that stated who we are for the world. As the saying goes, out of the mouths of babes! So, as a family we are committed to help people be empowered in the area of special diets, food allergies, Celiac disease and the GFCF diet (gluten-free & casein-free diet) for Autism. I have created The Super Allergy Girl™ Allergy & Celiac Cookbook to help people have great foods without the problem ingredients with the help of my three adorable children, Luke, Noah and Anne.
I have learned from my mistakes, the most notable one being feeding Noah too much rice on the gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, etc. free diet such that Noah could not tolerate rice after 18 months! Trust me when I say that it is painful to be on the gluten-free diet and not be able to eat rice! When we lost rice as a food for Noah, we also lost all of the commercially available pre-packaged foods like rice cereals, rice crackers, mixes, cookies, breads, and more. Then came the arduous task of creating recipes that did not contain rice, and that also did not overuse the other gluten-free flours and still tasted great. This was significantly more challenging because amaranth, quinoa, and sorghum flours have a stronger taste and smell than rice flour. So a rotation diet came into being.
Personally, I've been anaphylactically allergic to tree nuts and coconut since childhood. As a mother, I want my children to have all of the great foods that are available to other children and that became my motivation for creating foods that have a great appearance, texture, smell, and taste. The positive feedback that I have received on the cookbook since it launched in September 2007 has been very humbling. It is accomplishing the mission of helping people with special food requirements. It is my wish that you find the recipes, tools and information to meet your needs and avoid problems as well as save time and money while on a special diet.
Many Blessings,
Lisa Lundy, Author, The Super Allergy Girl™ Allergy & Celiac Cookbook