A successful allergy-friendly cookbook author, motivated food allergy advocate, and inspirational mother, Cybele Pascal has appeared on The Martha Stewart Show, The Food Network, the Today Show, Good Morning America Health, PBS, and NPR.
She is a leading blogger in the field with an award-winning website, and she lectures and teaches nationally. Cybele serves as a “Celebrity Ambassador Who Cares” for FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network) and is the founder and president of Cybele’s Free-to-Eat, a line of gluten-free foods that are made without the top eight allergen
Advocacy: Cybele’s Allergy-Friendly Cookbooks and Future Product Line
In order for food manufacturers, schools, and other public venues to recognize the seriousness of food allergies and take necessary action, Cybele believes that parents need to demand change until procedures are put into place.
“You have to be your own advocate,” she said.
Cybele recognized the need for allergy-friendly recipe books back in 2001, and has done her part in contributing to a solution by writing three great cookbooks:
- • The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook: Two Hundred Gourmet & Homestyle Recipes for the Food Allergic Family
- • The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook
- • Allergy-Free and Easy Cooking: 30-Minute Meals without Gluten, Wheat, Dairy, Eggs, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Fish, Shellfish, and Sesame
Favorite Recipes from Allergy-Free and Easy Cooking
Because it’s so hard to find allergen-free Asian recipes, Cybele’s favorite dishes in this book are those which are Asian-inspired: Chicken Lettuce Cups, Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry (click here for the recipe!) and Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup are a few examples.
Lennon’s favorite dish is the Chili Mac, which is featured on the cookbook’s cover in his honor. And Monte’s favorite dish is the Shepherd’s Pie (click here for the recipe!) though he likes everything.
Cybele’s Free-to-Eat Product Line
Cybele’s Free-to-Eat product line features three soft-baked cookies in Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chunk Brownie, and Oatmeal Raisin. These cookies are gluten-free, vegan, and made without the top eight allergens! They will be available in stores starting this month at select Ralph’s, Kroger, Whole Foods, Mother’s Market, and other chain locations.
And the cherry on top: “We will be expanding to many other categories of allergy-friendly foods in the future,” she said.
Cybele’s Advice to Parents New to the Food Allergy World
Cybele believes the most important thing parents can do is reach out for support. She remembers feeling isolated in the beginning because she didn’t know anyone else with food allergies. But online resources—such as Kids with Food Allergies, Allergic Child, and FAAN—put her in touch with other parents who had been dealing with the same issues for many years, and she was able to take comfort in having a place to go whenever she needed advice.