My favorite allergy websites

For Eosinophilic diseases' and food allergy information:

American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED)-this is the website I refer to anyone if they're interested in finding out more about what Asher is dealing with. It has good medical explanations without a lot of jargon.

Campaign Urging Research for Eosinophilic Disease (CURED)-another good website about Eosinophilic diseases.

Kids with Food Allergies-I love this website! It has the best variety of recipes for people with multiple allergies and message boards with topics on just about any question I've thought of!

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network-a great website also with a recipe section and information about how to get politically active that I find helpful.

For recipes: because I can't use dairy and soy in my cooking, I often search the web for "Asher-safe" meals. (When he was first diagnosed, I felt so limited by his restrictions. I could only think of one dinner that was safe, so he got turkey bacon, fried potatoes with onions, and a fruit for dinner every night for a week.) While I like some of the recipes on allergy websites, sometimes, they've tried to substitute too many things or they just don't sound appetizing to me. So, I prefer to stick with regular recipe websites and find stuff on my own, except for the first listing...

The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook: I cried the first time I opened Cybele's cookbook. It was the first allergy cookbook I found that had dishes that sounded good--food allergies or no. Finally, we could all eat the same thing for dinner! I've loved every lunch and dinner dish of her's that I've tried. I check her blog occasionally to see if she's got a new recipe on there or a review on a new allergy food.

Food Network: I LOVE Food Network's website. I use it weekly. My only complain is that you it doesn't have an "exclude food" option like so many recipe websites do. I often check to see what programs have been on lately, and if the recipes sound good or like they might be Asher safe, I check them out. I've had excellent luck with Giada De Laurentiis' recipes. I was thrilled when she made this artichoke pesto (I miss pesto); I substituted roasted pumpkin seeds for the walnuts she used, and left out the Parmesan cheese. It's quite delicious!

Epicurious: has recipes from Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines with the lovely feature of excluding certain ingredients. I find it helpful to read the comments people leave about changes to the recipe and of course, to find out if they think its any good.