Suzanna Paxton

With 1 in 20 Australian children now diagnosed with a food allergy, it is more important than ever that parents know how to prepare safe, simple food not just for their own kids but for sleepovers and parties as well. Last week, Babble caught up with Suzanna Paxton, a busy mum and author of new book Allergy-Safe Family Food to find out more about allergies, awareness and yummy meals the whole family can eat – Amber Robinson.

Suzanna’s first child, Samuel was three months old when she noticed he had severe eczema, found to be linked to a dairy allergy. It was soon found he was also anaphylactic to egg.

Her daughter Emily, has allergies to soy, peanut, tree nuts and sesame seed.

Finding it a struggle to prepare meals that the whole family could eat, she slowly started to build a recipe bank.

Once Samuel started kinder, things became harder.

Many children with anaphalactic allergies don’t get invited to friends houses as parents are worried about providing a safe environment. “I didn’t want my son to be a burden”, said Suzanna. On the flipside, the parents of allergic children may find it equally hard to not be there to police everything their child eats.

Luckily, the other mums at kinder were supportive, asking lots of questions about Samuels’s allergies and advice for safe meals. Soon the idea was born for an allergy-friendly party food cookbook as a kinder fundraiser.

Suzanna put together a little party food book which went on to sell 100 copies and make $1200 for the Kinder fund. The copies spread far and wide, until one day she received a call from a book publisher.

And so Allergy-Safe Family Food was born. The book contains over 100 recipes, most of which avoid all eight foods which cause 90% of allergy problems: nuts, eggs, milk, soy, sesame seeds, wheat, fish and shellfish.

It’s broken down into starters, main meals and sweet treats and includes information Suzanna found it impossible to find herself, such as an allergy-safe shopping guide.

“You practically need a science degree to read food labels” she says, noting that there are 28 alternatives to ‘egg’ that manufacturers may list on an ingredients panel.

For Suzanna, a former registered nurse and midwife, the book is just one part of her mission to educate the community about food allergies. Food allergy rates in children are up to 1 in 20 and rising and 86% of allergies are food related.

“I look forward to my children, and all children with allergies, being able to enjoy the simple pleasures of childhood, such as sleepovers, play dates and parties, without worry or fear.”

The fear is understandable. Anaphylaxis is a fatal condition, with several deaths a year Australia-wide. Alarmingly, only one state in Australia currently makes allergy and anaphylaxis training mandatory for all schools and childcare centres.

Most deaths occur in the 13-21 age group, as teenagers spend more time away from their families and need to make their own food choices. Nevertheless, Suzanna believes that “deaths are avoidable”.

Now a full-time mother, Suzanna also acts as an Anaphylaxis Awareness Trainer, providing workplaces and organisations with training and awareness of allergies and anaphylaxis, including the administration of an EpiPen, which delivers life-saving adrenaline to a person undergoing an anaphylaxis attack.

But at the heart of the book is simply a desire to create recipes that lead to inclusion for all family members and friends – after all, food is at the centre of most Australian celebrations.

“When members of our extended family visit, we find ourselves catering for egg, peanut, tree nut, soy, dairy, sesame seed and gluten allergies. That is seven of the nine main food allergens! We all enjoy good food and many laughs together.”

Allergy-Safe Family Food is available from Harper Collins for $19.99.