FAILSAFE #33
Newsletter of the Food Intolerance Network
June - July 2002
|
FAILSAFE supports people using the low-chemical elimination diet recommended by the Australian Royal Prince Alfred Hospital - free of additives, low in salicylates, amines and flavour enhancers - for health, behaviour and learning problems. |
The FAILSAFE Newsletter is
now available free by email. Just send your email address to failsafe_newsletter-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
THIS MONTH
* Why school tuckshops
should ban artificial colours
* Worst additive
Competition ** Win a book!!
* WHO report on kids and chemicals
* Chlorpyrifos ban in US
* Use of 635 spreads
* Lactobacillus GG does it
again
* Research: Carrageenan
(vegetable gum 407)
* In brief: Early puberty,
Ritalin, Autism, Autistic symptoms and salicylates - reader story
* Readers’ stories: The
next generation , Who protects the parents? , Reaction to food colours (1), Reaction to food colours (2), My child and gluten, Bakers yeast is failsafe, Slow miracles, Our town
* Around the groups,
getting in touch, talks, brochures
* Cook’s Corner: No-cook
failsafe 2-minute meal, Cook your own kidney beans,
Candied ricecakes, Sticky rolls (using dough from a bread maker)
Hi everyone
Welcome to all the new list
members. There is increasing recognition of the adverse effects of foods and it
was lovely to meet so many failsafers among the hundreds who attended my recent
talks in
This month I am pleased to
announce our new web address. It is much easier to remember - www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info To celebrate, we are having
a Worst Additive competition, see below. Don't worry, the old web address will
be available indefinitely too.
- cheers,
Sue Dengate (sdengate@ozemail.com.au)
Why school tuckshops should ban
artificial colours
The effects of food
additives on children's behaviour need to be re-evaluated following last year's
warning from thirteen leading medical journals that industry-funded studies
tend to be biased. Although industry denies the food additive-behaviour link,
when non-industry-funded scientists from the Centre for Science in the Public
Interest (CSPI) reviewed 23 diet and behaviour studies, they found evidence in
17 of them that some children's behaviour significantly worsened after they
consumed artificial colours or certain foods.
CSPI recommendations included:
*
Schools, camps, paediatric hospitals and clinics should minimise the use of
food additives that may contribute to behavioural disorders.
*
Government, private agencies and health practitioners concerned about children
with ADHD and other behavioural problems should acknowledge the potential for
diet to affect behaviour and should advise parents to consider modifying their
child's diet as a first means of treatment.
*
Parents should consider dietary changes - along with behaviour management - as
the first course of treatment for children with behavioural problems before
turning to stimulant drugs.
*
The FDA [in
*
Fast food chains and manufacturers of foods, drugs, and vitamin supplements
popular with children should minimize the use of dyes and other unnecessary
additives in products widely consumed by children, including cupcakes, candies,
sugary breakfast cereals, vitamin pills, drugs, and toothpaste. The use of such
dyes, the report notes, has increased four-fold in the past four decades.
Further reading: Relman, A. "Trust me, I'm a
scientist". New Scientist
** Worst additive Competition
** Win a book!!
In your opinion, which
is the worst food additive and why? No word limit. Two best entries win a choice of a copy of
Fed Up or Different Kids. Winning stories will be published. Competition closes
July 31. Send your answers to confoodnet@ozemail.com.au with "Competition" in the
subject line.
WHO report on kids and chemicals
Children are more
vulnerable to chemicals than adults, experts say.
The warning comes from the
World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Environment Agency (EEA). The
two organisations have published a report, Children's Health and Environment: A
Review Of Evidence, presented in
Children have greater
exposure to chemicals because they breathe, drink and eat more than adults
relative to their body weight, and so absorb relatively more toxins. The
hand-to-mouth behaviour of very young children is an added risk.
"Children are at risk
of exposure to more than 15,000 synthetic chemicals, almost all developed in
the last 50 years, " said Domingo
Jimenez-Beltran, the EEA's executive director. He said the spread of disorders
possibly linked with environmental factors, including neurodevelopmental problems,
was reaching "unacceptably high levels in many cases". More at: www.euro.who.int
Chlorpyrifos ban in US
The most commonly used
pesticide, chlorpyrifos has been banned for domestic use in the
Reader story: "I used
chlorpyrifos in a product called Chemspray when I was pregnant with my daughter
(three weeks before she was born eight weeks prematurely). We were moving and
our house was to be tenanted, we had evidence of previous termite activity and
I was concerned the house was going to get eaten. I remember covering myself
while using it and even showering after. The bottle did not indicate how
poisonous it is. I had no idea. Our environmental doctor says this is why my
daughter is the way she is. She was diagnosed at 11 months with severe Multiple
Chemical Sensitivity and severe food intolerance. We have gone as chemical free
as possible, we no longer take her shopping as the reactions are too severe and
her outings are pretty limited." - by email
Use of 635 spreads
This month there have been
more reports of reactions to flavour enhancer 635, including in commercial
rotisseried chicken. Remember that reactions can occur up to 30 hours or more later. A woman ate rotisseried chicken on Friday evening,
started itching in bed on Saturday night and got up on Sunday morning to find
she was covered in an unbearable itchy rash. Of course she blamed the food last
eaten (Saturday night's meal) and phoned to enquire about preservative in wine.
It was only when we went back through everything eaten in the last two days
that we found the culprit.
A reader
reports: "I'm 56 and another victim of 635"
Congratulations on an
excellent website, I wish I'd found it a few months ago when I was scratching
myself until I was bleeding from the worst rash I have ever had. Just in case
some people think that food additives only affect children, I'm 56 and another
victim of 635.
I believe that packet soup
was what triggered the rash, then things like BBQ chicken from Woolies, pizza
and even KFC, although I can't prove that it contains 635 (but I bet it does) …
The most amazing thing is that neither my allergist nor my dermatologist had
heard of 635. I could have saved the $1000 that I spent at the specialists. My
allergy specialist says I can now safely eat those foods again because the rash
has gone but I won't be charging into a 635 diet to see if it comes back. Nine
months of hell was long enough for me. - by email
Lactobacillus GG does it again
In Failsafe #31 I reported
how my son had recovered from his gluten intolerance with a course of Vaalia
yoghurt. Vaalia is the only Australian source of Lactobacillus GG, which is
considered to be by far the most effective probiotic ever isolated. If you
cannot tolerate dairy products, there is an alternative. A
http://www.vitallifevitamins.com/cullacggcap.html
http://www.naturalhealthconsult.com/Monographs/Culturelle.html
|
Research |
Carrageenan
(vegetable gum 407)
Although carrageenan is
failsafe - it does not cause behaviour problems, headaches or skin rashes -
there is evidence that it is a definite risk for gastro-intestinal cancer,
according to a review of 45 studies. It is also a possible risk for breast cancer.
Derived from seaweed, carrageenan is widely used as a thickener in ice cream,
yoghurt, cheese and processed puddings, as well as a fat substitute in
processed meats and can be found in condensed milk and some soy products as
well as beer and salad dressings. Dr Joanne Tobacman, a professor of clinical
medicine at the
|
In brief |
Early puberty
Some hair products contain
small amounts of hormones that could cause premature sexual development in
girls. The products are sold as shampoos or treatments to deep-condition dry,
brittle hair. The labels usually state that they contain placenta, hormones or
"estrogen". New Scientist,
Ritalin
When Matthew Smith died at
age 14, the coroner blamed his death on the Ritalin Matthew had taken for 7
years. His father writes:" If we weren't pressured by the school system,
Matt would still be here with us today. I cannot go back and change things for
us at this point. However, I hope to God my story and information will reach
the hearts and minds, of many families, so they can make an educated decision …" . More at www.ritalindeath.com
Autism
The California Department
of Developmental Services (DDS) has reported that during the first 92 days of
this year (January 3, 2002 – April 4, 2002) there were 812 new cases of level
one autism added to California's developmental services, a system that has been
diagnosing and serving persons with autism since 1971. The 812 new cases
identified during the first quarter of 2002 is an all time record for numbers
of autism cases reported in a quarter. The California system currently serves
17,614 cases of autism. Level one autism has become
the number one disability in California's developmental services system. The
rapidly increasing autism epidemic shows no signs of abating, escalating from
an average of 5 new children a day just a few years ago to the current rate of
nine new children a day, seven days a week. - American Society for Autism
Autistic
symptoms and salicylates - reader story
My son aged 21 months has
been quite ill since his birth with many of the symptoms you mentioned: colic
type pains, vomiting (stopped at around 19 months when taken off a soy formula
and put onto rice milk), diarrhea, constipation,
difficult to settle and poor sleep patterns. Since his vaccination at 13 months
old he has been extremely irritable - hyperactive one minute, passive the next,
and throws many tantrums. Also his co-ordination is poor - he only started
walking at around 18.5 months, loss of speech - he had about six words at 12
months which he lost at around 13 months- and more recently he has been having
strange hand movements like spasms, less eye contact and what I would describe
as some autistic type traits. Since purchasing your books (Fed Up and The
Failsafe Cookbook) I have also read about salicylates in fruit and veg being of
concern, so we immediately reduced his fruit intake and we have noticed a big
difference. His attention span is longer, he now wants to talk again, his
co-ordination and eye contact are a little better and spasms have reduced. - by email
Diet not
working as well as you'd hoped?
One tiny mistake can make a
huge difference. For fine-tuning, see the list on the
website Checklist
of common mistakes. With new
guidelines for extra sensitive salicylate responders, thanks to Robin from the
email discussion group.
Readers tell us this list
is very useful.
|
Readers' stories |
Thank you to readers who
tell their often heart wrenching stories and give permission to display them on
the website. Nearly everyone says the same as Dani Hewton from WA, "I
would love you to include my story - anything to prevent others going through
such hell for such a long time."
The next
generation
"We are the generation
with so many chemicals running though our bloodstream that we have become human
guinea pigs for the manufacturing giants of the world. Make no mistake, this is a war where the consumers must stand up for
their rights against the corporations." - Emma Farnell,
aged 16
Who protects
the parents?
The link between child
abuse and food intolerance is starting to gain gaining recognition. Parents of
abusive children need support. How much punishment can a parent take? See Susan
Bull's dramatic story, extracted below, in full on the website.
"Our paediatrician
always listened to me but I felt that I was perceived as some kind of neurotic
woman who was speaking a strange language that no one else could understand. I
phoned her one day in tears after one of these episodes and said that I was
afraid that I might hurt him if things didn’t improve. She told me she could
arrange for respite care if I needed it. After that phone call, at every visit,
Nicholas was asked to take off all his clothes with the exception of his
underpants. He was checked thoroughly from top to toe. I know that these
children are considered "at risk of abuse" and I realise how close I
have come to hurting this child on a number of occasions, but I have to say
that this was one of the most humiliating experiences I’ve ever had to deal
with.
"At this point, I
started asking questions like "who protects the parents?" It seemed
that it was okay for Nicholas to kick, punch and head butt me, but it was not
okay if I lost my temper one day and hurt him.
"I remember sending
him to time out on one occasion and I was bending down holding one leg to
remove his shoes. He swung around with the other leg and kicked my nose. On
another occasion he threatened to break my glasses. Another time, he told me he
was going to break my arm and he kicked me so hard in the forearm that I
actually thought he did. I went to our local GP who said that it wasn’t broken
but that the deep muscle tissue was badly bruised.
"There are other
instances where he has kicked and bruised my legs, and these have been recorded
on my medical documents. These dramatic violent outbursts were always followed
by periods of remorse where Nicholas would come to me crying and feeling bad
about whatever it was that he had done. I always took full advantage of these
times and we would sit down on the couch and have a cuddle and talk about it.
These times actually reinforced to him, that we did still love him very much,
and they reinforced to us that he truly didn’t want to be the way he was."
From Nicholas: our six year journey by Susan Bull, on the website.
Reaction to
food colours (1)
My son is nearly 4 years
old and we have been doing the elimination diet for almost a year. Often he
will go somewhere as an angel and be exposed something with colours in it.
About 24 hours later he becomes argumentative, vague, aggressive, violent,
restless, with no concentration, and will often have to be restrained in his
room for the sanity and safety of others.
About 5-7 days after he has
ingested colour, he becomes extremely lethargic, and gets a fever. This lasts
for about 4-6 hours, and is quite scary. (I took him to the doctor once when
this happened and they diagnosed him with flu. Got him home
and had a cool bath, he threw up and was playing and eating in 10 minutes).
Once this has occurred, he loses the aggressive and violent stage and continues
with the restless, irritable behavior for another 1-2 weeks. Other than keeping
him away from society, I don't know what else I can do. It must not be much fun
for him either, as he complains that he feels sick "all over"
throughout this time.
Examples of colour exposure
include: *Fruit loops used at kindy for threading *neighbour giving him red
jelly (she said that it was OK because it was the low-cal kind) *blue food
colouring added to water troughs at kindy to make water play fun *coloured,
uncooked plain rice used to make collages at kindy *chocolate milk (Breaka)
given, because he tolerates amines (Didn't check the label for ingredients.)
Does anyone else have
experience of reactions like this? - Feedback from readers is welcome!
Reaction to
food colours (2)
Recently my daughter was
given a Fizz Bomb Cup made by Home Ice-cream by my sister as a treat for her.
Unfortunately it became a bad treat. She immediately became uncontrollable and
very "high" hitting me and shouting etc. That night she slept in our
bed as this was the only way we could get her sleep.
The next day was all
sulkiness and tears as nothing I did would be okay even grandma was on the
outer. She slept in her bed for the night but fell out several times and walked
the house as well.
Saturday night she had a
headache and was in tears for most of the night and only wanted me to cuddle
her. She has finally calmed down after four very long days and nights!
We were stunned to find out
exactly how many colours are in a Fizz Bomb Cup [Vanilla Flavoured Ice Cream
with Blue Heaven Syrup and Fizz Powder - eight doses of artificial colours,
includes three doses of 133 (Brilliant Blue, Blue #1 in the US)].
We have been following the
diet closely but this is the first time she has had a bad reaction like this to
any thing apart from pineapples. She will definitely not be having any more
food colours after this reaction. - Moya Connell
My child and
gluten
Three years ago I stood in
the bookshop with 'Fed Up' in my hand debating whether to part with $20. Your
book has repaid itself a thousandfold. I send my heartfelt thanks. My youngest
son's problems are a long saga. Eliminating additives and low amines as suggested
by your book provided the answer for some time.
Then at nearly nine, out of
the blue, he had some sort of breakdown. The teacher suggested Asperger's but
he soon became worse - quite autistic, wild and extremely violent. He was off
school for three months. The doctors I approached turned their backs on me. I
couldn't believe it. I can only think they thought that as he already had a
disability (Central Auditory Processing Disorder) it was part of the condition
and didn't realise how extreme his behaviour was. I insisted that he be
screened for a variety of degenerative diseases, but they came back negative.
Finally realising that no
one else "gave a stuff", I turned back to
your book. If it was diet before, then maybe, it's
diet again, I thought. I tried eliminating salicylates, he got worse; I tried
wheat, no change; I tried dairy no change. Eventually I tried eliminating both
dairy and wheat and he improved.
He spent two years on a wheat free, dairy free, no additive, careful about amine
diet and he could manage if he had a small dose of Ritalin 5mg breakfast, 5mg
at lunch as well. Our lives were back on track, he was progressing at school,
having a go at different sports, and excelling in his favourite sport. But it
was all because of the Ritalin - and diet. Without the medication it was still
like living with a drunk - he could be fun sometimes, but more often silly and
tiresome, and aggressive too often. I always felt that the child that he had
been was still there deep down, intact and undamaged, although why I believed
it, I don't know. When he turned 11, I contemplated the thought that maybe he
did have irreversible minor brain damage, but I couldn't accept the notion.
Then a few months later, by chance ("Mum, I don't want Rye bread this morning,
I want Rice cereal") we realised it was the GLUTEN.
I never suspected it,
because I'd known a baby who nearly died of coeliac disease and the symptoms
were quite different from my son's. I followed up your footnote in Fed Up
[p344] and read Professor Duggan's article in Aust. Med. Journal. The blood
test was positive and the doctor diagnosed Coeliac
disease. My son has been doing well on his diet for a month now.
As you can see I am much
indebted to you. It was only fine reading of your book that has helped me tease
out my son's difficulties. I shudder to think where he'd be now (at a special
school, I'm sure) if it hadn't been for your persistence in acquiring all this
knowledge and for passing it on. - Anne, by email
Bakers yeast
is failsafe
Three years ago, my son had
such terrible candida you could smell the yeast on his breath and his skin. We
learned to avoid yeast, almost as a reflex. It's a habit that's hard to
unlearn, but unlearn it we must, because yeast free breads are dangerous if you
react to amines. My son reacts to amines. I knew anything fermented was bad,
and that foods cooked for long times are bad. But I didn't know that the
"alternative breads" fit this category. The label says: wheat, water,
salt. It doesn't say how long the bread is baked (slow-rising), it doesn't say
there are amines, and the bread doesn't smell or taste different. It's just
bread, and yet it's not! Alternative breads, made without yeast, are invariably
long-rising, via a fermentation process. They are high in amines and should be
avoided. I always thought wheat was bad, precisely because of these alternative
breads.
And now, probably because
he is failsafe, yeast doesn't bother my son at all. No sign of candida. So we
are back on yeast. My son is happy to be back on wheat and dairy again, as you
might imagine. There's even a commercial pizza he can have, Hungry Howies (may
not be available in
Slow miracles
A $225 per hour child
psychiatrist that I saw once suggested I give a sleeping sedative as well as
more Ritalin. When I mentioned diet he said there was nothing conclusive within
science!! He rang me almost exactly a year to the day of that appointment
"to see how we were getting along?" Well, I told him again about diet
control and elimination of certain foods and he said that an English study had
just been done confirming a link ! - miracles do
happen - but slowly." - by email
Our town
Thank you for coming to our
town to spread the word. There has been some very positive feedback, and a
number of families are currently on elimination diets. One Mum is so excited.
She, her family and the teacher noticed definite behavioural changes in her 6
yo son after just one week … One of our local bakeries is very happily baking
failsafe bread. He has a son who had some intolerances
to some foods, so he is very supportive and obliging … A parent on the school
tuckshop committee (they currently sell chips, lollies and softdrinks) has done
a survey where a majority of the replies supported some changes to a
'healthier' tuckshop. So they plan to slowly remove and replace the most
offending foods … Also we have a butcher who is very happily making failsafe
sausages for us … We seem to be having some great things happening in our town
now, and it is to you we send our thanks. - parent
from a small town which recently hosted a failsafe talk
MORE READERS' STORIES at new website name http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info
Product
updates
***Warning*** Home Icecream dairyfree product NO
MOO lists the ingredient "vegetable shortening". The company tells us
the vegetable shortening is supplied by Meadowlea. It contains mostly palm oil
with some canola and sunflower oil and antioxidant propyl gallate (310) - not
declared under the 10% labelling loophole and NOT FAILSAFE. (thanks to Sue Black)
Failsafe
butcher:
Dairy free
lactobacillus GG
See story in Failsafe #31
for the benefits of Lactobacillus GG. If you have a problem with diary foods,
you can buy dairy free capsules from the
|
Your questions: |
Check out the Questions
and Answers
section in the website with detailed answers to your questions:
Q. Are there any
failsafe moisturisers?
A. Look for products without perfume.
Sorbolene is the product best tolerated by very sensitive people. See also the
Q.V. range by Ego Pharmaceuticals, and the Dermaveen range by Dermatech.
Q. Isn't canola oil
dangerous?
A. This is an urban legend running
wild on the internet. See
http://www.urbanlegends.com/ulz/canola.html
Q. What is your personal
opinion of medication for ADHD?
A. I agree with the CSPI report (see www.cspinet.org): parents should be warned of the
adverse effects of medication, offered the option of diet, and use medication
as a last resort rather than the first and often only option.
Q. I've been doing the
failsafe diet with my son for two weeks. Already he seems to be less angry and
has more self control. Two days ago he had king prawns for tea and today he
seems more uptight again. What is it in prawns that that causes this reaction?
A. Prawns - and most seafood - are high
in amines. The only exceptions are very fresh white fleshed fish (not tuna or
salmon) and white fleshed seafood, eg fresh crab, lobster, calamari, scallops
and oysters. Caviar is very high in amines.
Q. Is sake failsafe?
A. Sake is low in salicylates but
contains amines.
Q. What's the colour
that makes some egg yolks much darker than others? My son seems to react to
them.
A. I am waiting for a reply from the
Australian egg industry. In
Q. My son refuses to
have any vegetables.
A. Have you tried vegetable soup? I
started with just potato, cabbage and salt blended well so you couldn't tell
what was in it, no lumps. My kids only had to lick the tiniest amount off one
teaspoon (just touch it with their tongue) the first night to get a reward - a
small toy. The next night they had to have more (lick a small amount off the
teaspoon) to get another small toy. The next night it was twice as much and so
on. By the end of two weeks they would eat a mug of vegetable soup. Then we cut
out the rewards and established the most important rule of the house - no
dinner until soup is eaten. Since then they have eaten vegetable soup nearly
every night of their lives. My 19 yo daughter has been living away from home
for a year now. She cooks failsafe vegetable soup once a week, freezes it in
one serve portions and has a cup every night. My 16 yo eats a huge serving of
soup every day. I can put any failsafe vegetable in the soup including Brussels
sprouts, lentils and dried beans and he will eat it without complaint.
Q. Which book of yours
should I buy?
A. My books are all different and they
are all worth reading. Failsafers tell me that The Failsafe Cookbook is the
best one to start on because it is so clear and easy to follow.
Q. We live in
A. I haven't seen Tate and Lyle golden
syrup for years, but Rebecca used to react to it. It must contain salicylates.
It tastes better than CSR, and the rule is "if you like it, you can't have
it". Stick with CSR golden syrup or see the FS Cookbook page 161, for mock
maple syrup. You can use that instead but omit the vanilla if your child hasn't
turned into an angel yet.
Q. We'd like to break
the diet occasionally but not too much. Can you recommend some not-too-bad
treats?
A. Everyone is different. It depends
what affects you the worst. You have to work it out for yourself. We always
avoid additives. Dairy foods are the least of my problems but amines (and
salicylates) are bad so a treat for me is a chocolate covered icecream like an eskimo pie. I can manage the occasional slice of rockmelon
or watermelon but a whole serve of commercial fruit salad isn't worth the
consequences. My daughter can manage some dairy foods, has to be even more
careful of salicylates but can manage amines. She sticks to her diet strictly
for weeks before important occasions (like exams and performances) then will
have a treat like a Sara Lee chocolate pudding, caramel top n fill on icecream,
or Paul's custard (with 169a). She also likes to have a few Dick Smith's
shortbread cream biscuits every so often, but she doesn't eat sweets like
Werther's original butter candy, Fantales or Pascall's Chocolate Eclairs
because they set up a craving. However, my son and I can eat these as
occasional treats.
Q. Is white chocolate
failsafe?
A. White chocolate does not contain
any cocoa product, so it won't contain amines to the same extent as brown
chocolate. RPA cautiously restrict the amount allowed as they're not sure and
the milk itself (because it's 'aged') will probably contain amines.
"Flavours" in both white and brown chocolate can be a problem.
|
Around the groups: getting in touch |
Can you help?
I'd like to hear from
anyone living in the
Support
contacts
There are now over 40 support
contacts in
Talks
Sue Dengate will be giving
talks as follows:
June 17,
July 25 NAPCAN online chat with Sue
Dengate, more details TBA - see talks on website
Brochures
Printable trifold brochures on food intolerance and
oppositional defiance are now available.
Collect from the Yahoo
website if you are a member (which is free). Access http://groups.yahoo.com/group/failsafe_newsletter then click on "File" on
the left. Select blueleafletfinal.pdf or oddleaflet.pdf and doubleclick. Your
Acrobat Reader should open it in a form you can save and/or print.
Or, you can email confoodnet@ozemail.com.au requesting the brochure and we'll email you a pdf file
that you can print in colour or black and white and which you are free to copy.
Or, you can email confoodnet@ozemail.com.au for mailed copies of our new glossy paper, two
colour versions. We'll send you one of each for free (and you are welcome to
photocopy them), or $5.00 for 15 or $10 for 35 including postage. This is only
to cover costs. Cheques payable to Darwin ADD Support Group.
We loved this comment from
one satisfied failsafer:
"Ah,
the answer to my prayers. I had no idea the brochure even existed, but thanks so much
for directing me to it. I am not very Internet savvy,
however I found it easy enough. Regarding possible opposition to failsafing
within the child care setting ... now all I have to do is hand over a copy of
this and let them ask questions! Thanks again. I highly recommend everyone
print this out if you don't already have a copy, it sure cuts out the "but
WHY can't your kid have (insert food here)?" questions. Great
for grandparents too."
|
Cooks' corner |
No-cook
failsafe 2-minute meal
This is a nutritious meal
you can prepare in a motel room with no cooking facilities, or when you don't
feel like cooking.
1 cup cous-cous (contains
gluten)
1 cup boiling water
2 tsp butter (optional)
1 tin kidney beans, drained
1 tin green beans or peas and
corn, (moderate)
4 tbsp natural Vaalia
yoghurt (contains dairy)
Measure
cous-cous into a bowl. Pour over boiling water, add butter for flavour if desired, and stir
through with a fork. Let stand for two minutes. Serve topped with kidney beans,
other vegetables and yoghurt. Serves two. Variations:
use frozen failsafe mince or lamb stew topping, frozen
veg.
Cook your own
kidney beans
Did you know? Kidney beans
are the least windy of any bean.
1 cup dried kidney beans
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp light brown sugar
Rinse beans and discard any
broken bits. Cover well with water and soak in fridge at least overnight and up
to three days. The longer the soaking time, the shorter the
cooking time. Drain, cover well with fresh water, add salt and sugar,
bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender - up to one hour.
Leftovers freeze well.
Candied
ricecakes
1-2 pkt of thick ricecakes
crushed = approximately 4 cups, but lesser amount will do (the more evenly they
are crushed up the more like popcorn they will look)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Put sugar and water in
saucepan, stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil; boil
uncovered, until small amount of toffee "cracks" when tested in cold
water. Remove from heat. Add rice cakes. Stir constantly until toffee
crystallises and coats ricecakes. Turn onto a large plate to cool. Store in an
air tight container as soon as cool as mixture will go stale quickly. -
Caroline Garner
Sticky rolls
(using dough from a bread maker)
1 quantity of sweet dough
made in a bread maker
3 tbsp butter
4 tbsp brown sugar
Vanilla glaze
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
essence (optional)
2 teaspoons milk
Roll dough out to a 40cm X
38cm square. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter. Brush half over dough. Sprinkle 4
tablespoons brown sugar over rolled out dough. Drizzle remaining melted butter
over sugar mixture. Roll up widthwise and cut into 2 cm thick slices. Place on
a greased baking tray, 5 cm apart. Cover with lightly greased plastic food wrap
and stand in a warm area for 20 minutes or until doubled in size. Bake in a
preheated oven at 180 C for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Combine all
ingredients for vanilla glaze until thin enough and drizzle over rolls. -
Linda Gaebel
The FAILSAFE Discussion Groups : On-going
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We recommend that you have
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Fed Up, the Failsafe Cookbook, or Friendly Food before joining the group.
Groups are closed when they
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FAILSAFE2 Discussion Group by sending an email with subscribe in the subject
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(Frontpage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/failsafe2). Some experienced failsafers are
there to help.
The FAILSAFE BASIC Discussion Group is currently closed. Frontpage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/failsafebasic
The third group is now
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© Sue Dengate (text)