Sophie Safe Cooking, Broomfield

Local Mom, Emily Hendrix, wrote a cookbook “Sophie Safe Cooking” to help families dealing with allergies.  Here’s what she had to say in one of our newsletters:

“I'm sure you've heard the old adage: necessity is the mother of invention. I've always loved this saying, in part because it seems to emphasize the creative and resourceful nature of women in general, and mothers in particular. About 6 1/2 years ago, I became a participant in the experiment of necessity and invention. When my daughter, Sophie, was diagnosed with allergies to wheat, eggs, peanuts, and milk AND we were instructed to avoid tree nuts, fish and shellfish as well, my husband and I scoured the bookstores for a cookbook that would tell us what to feed our little girl. Other days, I stood for hours in the grocery store aisles reading label after label, often coming home tired enough to cry, with only a bag or two of groceries. As I struggled, I began to create a wish list of resources for people with food allergies.

At the top of my wish list were 2 things: better food allergy recipes, and a source to

research ingredient lists in the privacy of my own home. Neither was within my grasp, so I just did the best I could, coming up with recipes on my own through much trial and error. I saw a dietitian, who had only 3 recipes to offer. I had moments of despair, which gradually gave way to triumph as my creations became favorite meals and eventually people without food allergies began to ask for my recipes. Three years ago, I self-published my cookbook, Sophie-Safe Cooking--over 100 recipes, all free of the top 8 food allergens (no milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish or shellfish).

Just last year, my husband discovered that a friend of his was a mySQL programmer, and was willing to get us started on our project. Funds from Sophie-Safe Cooking have paid for data entry, and Sophie Safe LLC was recently able to announce our new product, the Sophie Safe Food Guide. SophieSafeFoodGuide.com is a database of almost 9,000 foods (with more coming everyday!) that is searchable by food allergen. After signing up for a free membership, you can create a profile by marking allergens, choosing from more than 300 items--everything from Wheat to Artificial Sweeteners, from Tree Nuts to MSG. Then you can search according to food category and the database will return only foods that are safe for your profile. You can choose items from this list to add to your Grocery List, and then print it for reference when you are shopping. Born of the necessity that I felt 6 years ago, a visit to  SophieSafeFoodGuide.com will aid you in your food allergy journey.”   --Emily