Renee Simeon shows how people with food allergies can enjoy Yuletide goodies

'Tis the season for fruit cake, homemade bread, cookies and all the delicious goodies that come with the Yuletide season. But for people with food allergies it can mean having to be extra picky about what they eat, sometimes missing out on some of the good stuff.

Not for blogger and author Renee Simeon, though.

Some years ago Simeon discovered that she was allergic to wheat and was forced to get give up her beloved cakes, doubles, sada roti and other gluten-rich foods. But that was only until she realised gluten-free foods could be just as delicious.

Gluten comprises the proteins found in wheat, rye, barley and triticale – a cross between wheat and rye. It acts a glue that helps to hold food together.

“I always had bad allergies and had to take a lot of meds…I went to an allergist, a naturopath, and an immunologist. Eventually I was diagnosed with allergies.”

She was forced to change her entire way of eating and was inspired to get Off the Wheaten Path – the name of her blog in which she offers advice to people who, like her, have to stay away from gluten and preservatives.

“I now eat mostly organic and pesticide-free foods. I grow some of my own veggies, and I don’t use canned foods at all. For people like me, our bodies don’t know how to process these artificial foods, which sometimes turns into allergies.”

She said her diagnosis led her to do research and and share the information with people who had similar problems via her gluten-free food blog. Eventually, she said, because there were not too many gluten-free recipe options out there, she began experimenting and started sharing recipes with her readers.

“I love food but food didn’t always love me back. It was something that knew I would always have to live with, so I decided to do something about it.”

Her intention now is to change the way people look at gluten-free foods.

“It is not a fad but a way of life. For me and a lot of people out there, eating gluten can mean being sick for days. I have been burnt too many times, to the point where I once needed an epi pen; I don’t eat out at all. I cook all my own food at home.”

Using and tweaking some recipes that were passed down from generation to generation, as well her own recipes, she compiled and turned them into cook books – Homemade for the Holidays, a book of baking recipes; Trini Melee, which focuses on local recipes; and Have Your Cake and Bake it Too.

“The most daunting thing about gluten-free for people who like cake is that you don’t use flour. Some people say gluten-free cakes tastes like cardboard, but I’ve proven them wrong.”

Simeon said she comes from a “mixed up” family so there are recipes from different cultures. “Things that people think they can’t get gluten-free, I’ve put them together.”

And although she has taken the time to tweak and compile the recipes, she acknowledges they are not all original.

“Let’s face it, there are no new ideas out there. At some point we take a recipe and tweak it. I took recipes from granny’s cook books; I don’t know where she would have got the recipes from. I just tweaked them and made them my own. Yes some are my original, but I think they would have been inspired, along the way, from things I have seen and tasted throughout my life.”

At her Diego Martin home, Simeon makes her own blends of gluten-free flour for foods like doubles, fried bakes and sada roti.

“When I mix it myself I can gauge how the recipe will come out…I cook whatever it is more than once so I’m sure I have it right. The cook books include the blends and the required tools to make it as easy as possible for people to eat gluten free.”

She said her recipes are being used as far as France and England, and two years ago she collaborated with a food company in California on a recipe calendar, using some of her recipes and photos.

“I do food photography, but my main field is publishing design, working on things like novels, paperback, and cook books. But I like things done a certain way, so I decided to try a bit of photography. I don’t have formal training and I won’t say I’m a professional photographer, but I’m pleased with my work.”

Simeon said for people like her, eating gluten-free is not a preference but something they have to live with. She said she went through a period of depression when she could not eat what she wanted, but eventually found a healthy way around it. Since her change in diet, she believes she is the healthiest she has ever been.

“I used to get a cold like every two months. Now, it’s more like every two years. I’m so much healthier now, and my meals are just as delicious as the food I ate before the change.”

She encourages those who can’t tolerate gluten to follow her blog and try her recipes in her cook books, which are available on Amazon, online through www.offthewheatenpathtt.com or @offthewheatenpathtt on Instagram and Facebook.