FAQs and Recipe Notes

Disclaimer: The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content is for general information purposes only.

Food allergy considerations

Most (not all) of the recipes featured on The Fit Cookie encompass special diet considerations. While many of our recipes are nut free, soy free, dairy free, and gluten free, others may not be, but can still be adapted to fit your special diet.

Not all of the recipes featured on The Fit Cookie are completely allergy-free. Some are free of dairy, while others are free of peanuts but may contain tree nuts. Always check the labels on ingredients you choose and pick ingredients for your recipes that fit your food allergies. 

Our recipes are listed as allergy friendly based on the ingredients we use, but I cannot determine what foods will be safe for your individual food allergy needs.

I am not your last line of defense against food allergy reactions, regardless of which brands of ingredients and which ingredients I list in my recipes, you must choose ingredients that fit your own needs.

If you are unsure about an ingredient I feature in my recipes, do not use it.

Personal responsibility is key when dealing with food allergies. If you have food allergies, always check with your physician before trying new foods. I am not the last line of defense for an allergic reaction and I am not responsible for allergic reactions you may have.

Palm oil

One of the most frequent complaints I receive on my blog is that we use palm oil. There is some debate in the food world about whether or not palm oil should be considered vegan. I’m not vegan, so I don’t split hairs on this subject. There are sustainable sources of palm oil available, I use sustainably sourced palm oil from Spectrum or Nutiva in place of shortening in recipes. 

If you’re wondering if my recipes using palm oil are really vegan or not, I consider them to be vegan since there are no animal products in those recipes labeled as such. But if you don’t like using palm oil, feel free to find a substitute. Just don’t leave comments lecturing us on the evils of our food choices, they will be deleted.

Palm oil has been used by many cultures around the world for centuries. Due to increasing commercialization, sustainability groups have emerged to help palm oil farmers (many of them family farms) to meet sustainability standards.

Coconut oil might work as a replacement for palm oil in some cases, but it will depend on the recipe. Palm oil is more stable and doesn’t have as low a melting point as coconut oil, making it easier to use it in things like frosting, pie crusts, and our sugar cookies.

Special Diet Labels

While I include recipes that are labeled vegan, raw, vegetarian, and paleo, I do not adhere to these diets but label them for quick reference by those who do follow these diets. My family has a mix of food allergies and I like to experiment with different styles of cooking, so there are recipes here for everyone. 

Because of this, you will find we have vegan recipes and meat recipes alongside each other on our blog. Or we’ll list a recipe as vegan that uses palm oil (see above).

Why do you have ads?

I have ads on The Fit Cookie to help earn money through my website. Blogging is an investment of time and money for me, and I treat my website as a business. In order to continue to offer my readers amazing free recipes, I earn money through ads and sponsored posts. 

Brown rice flour vs. whole sorghum flour

A lot of the recipes on The Fit Cookie have either brown rice flour or whole grain sorghum flour. With my recipes, these two flours are interchangeable. I’ve baked recipes with both, and they have all turned out with both.

I prefer the ultrafine flours from Authentic Foods since they are finely ground and are not gritty. It does cost a bit more, but they are a great choice for baked goods. These recipes will work fine with regular brown rice flour or regular sorghum flour if you choose not to buy the ultrafine flour. 

Tree Nuts

There are many of my recipes that feature coconut and some that have nutmeg. Neither coconut nor nutmeg is a tree nut. However, allergies to them can still exist. This is what FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network) has to say about coconut and nutmeg:

“Should coconut be avoided by someone with a tree nut allergy?
Discuss this with your doctor. Coconut, the seed of a drupaceous fruit, has typically not been restricted in the diets of people with tree nut allergy. However, in October of 2006, the FDA began identifying coconut as a tree nut. The available medical literature contains documentation of a small number of allergic reactions to coconut; most occurred in people who were not allergic to other tree nuts. Ask your doctor if you need to avoid coconut.

Is nutmeg safe?
Nutmeg is obtained from the seeds of the tropical tree species Myristica fragrans. It is generally safe for an individual with a tree nut allergy.”

I am not an allergist: if you have food allergies, always check with your physician if you have doubts or concerns about foods such as coconut or nutmeg.

2 thoughts on “FAQs and Recipe Notes”

  1. hi i am trying to bake a cake that is freen from gluten, wheat, egg and dairy. i have seen one of your recipes could I change all-purpose flour to brown rice flour to make it gluten free. or will that not work?

    Reply
    • Hi Karen! You should be able to use brown rice flour in place of all-purpose flour mostly in the same ratio. Regular flour tends to absorb more liquid than rice flour, so I would start by using the amount called for then adding more rice flour as needed. Remember: you can always add more of something to a recipe, but you can’t take it out once it’s added. If you’re not sure how to change a recipe, start by using less then adding more as needed. Also, when replacing regular flour with brown rice flour you will need a binder to replace the sticky gluten in wheat flour, so it helps to add some ground flax or ground chia (1-3 Tablespoons per batch), or a little xanthan or guar gum (about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon per cup of flour). Again, with the binders, use less to start then add more as needed since too much will make your baked goods heavy. If you let me know which recipe specifically you would like to change, I can help give you some specifics on changing it, too. Let me know how it goes!

      Reply

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