
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 8, 1993                   TAG: 9312090002
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By ALMENA HUGHES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NO NEED TO RESTRICT TASTE

Accommodating restricted diets can be especially challenging during the holidays. But people who can't eat certain ingredients - like sugar, salt, milk, eggs or gluten - needn't face trauma and temptations at the season's bountiful potlucks and parties. And cooks needn't fret over fixing festive yet acceptable restricted-diet foods.

Almost everyone these days is conscious of calorie and fat intake. The scrumptious etouffee from Campbell Soup Co. cuts the fat in its frying process and uses Healthy Request soups to also reduce calories, cholesterol and sodium levels. The sodium won't be missed in the tasty stew from the makers of new salt-free Spike natural herbal seasoning. Or, you can make your own herbal salt replacement by combining 2 Tbsps. crushed dried basil and 1 Tbsp. each crushed dried tarragon, mint, thyme and dill weed. Store it in a spice jar, away from light.

Gluten can be especially difficult to avoid because aside from in the obvious wheat, rye and barley, it's often hidden in candy, condiments, snack foods and cold cuts, in hydrolyzed vegetable protein, modified food starch and malt flavorings. The crepes, which are the base for the lasagne from Argo and Kingsford's Corn Starch, make a wonderful wraparound for a host of fillings, an appealing accompaniment to cornstarch-thickened cream soup or the self-thickening gluten-free and low-fat chowder from Sonoma Dried Tomatoes. For a free copy of "Recipes for People with Gluten Intolerance," write to Argo & Kingsford's Corn Starch, Department GRF, Coventry, Conn. 06238.

The delectable pot roast and the '50s-inspired sponge pudding are from among more than 530 truly gourmet-caliber recipes included in "The Joslin Diabetes Gourmet Cookbook," ($24.95 Bantam Books), one of the best books around on coping with and cooking for diabetics. Orange sections may be substituted for the pomegranate in the pot roast which, like the book's other recipes, would please most palates - diabetic or not.

Finally, two milk- and egg-free cakes from Hershey Foods Corp. will appeal to the lactose-intolerant and people who are watching their cholesterol. A free brochure of eggless recipes is available from the company at P.O. Box 815, Hershey, Pa. 17033-0815.

The wheat-free cake is from the Roanoke Natural Foods Co-Op, where some customers have been toying with the idea of forming an information, recipe exchange and support group for food-allergy sufferers.

Among other resources for the diet-restricted are: "The Low-Fat Epicure" bi-monthly, eight-page newsletter by registered dietitian Sallie Twentyman. A one-year subscription is $15. (800) 484-7761, Code 1000; "But I Can't Eat That!" a cookbook for coping with multiple-allergy cooking. ($19.99, Dragon Express Press) 2604 Saybrook Road, University Heights, Ohio 44118-4722, (216) 321-6676; "The Sugar-Free Cookbook," self-published by Donna Green, a diabetic. $11.95, P.O. Box 1433, Lancaster, Ohio 43130; and the Diabetic Food Emporium, specializing in gift baskets, (800) 285-3210.

Recipes for:

CHICKEN & OYSTERS ETOUFFEE

PERSIAN POT ROAST

BLANQUETTE DE VEAU

CREPE LASAGNE

CORN STARCH CREPES

CREAM OF YOUR CHOICE SOUP

WINTER VEGETABLE CHOWDER

LEMON SPONGE PUDDING

EGGLESS, BUTTERLESS, MILKLESS CAKE

MILK- AND EGG-FREE CHOCOLATE CAKE

WHEAT-FREE LEMON POPPYSEED CAKE

by CNB