Superfoods for your Defence

Allergies are so common with millions of adults suffering from at least one allergy, with numbers still rising. Allergy UK estimates that each year an increase of 5% occurs in the number of allergy sufferers, half being children. Here at Kijani we care about our customers and know how important allergies are, here we will discuss what an allergy is and products you can use to substitute eggs in baking.

What is an allergy?

Our immune system is a complex defence mechanism which naturally helps us fight off infections, it does this by identifying foreign invaders and mobilising the body’s white blood cells to fight these infections.  An allergy is a response of the body’s immune system to harmless substances such as foods, pollens and house dust mite. These substances do not pose a problem to most people but in individuals with allergens their immune system identifies them as a ‘threat’ and produces an immune defence reaction.

As its allergy awareness week and eggs are one of the most common allergy causing foods for children, symptoms usually occur a few minutes to a few hours after eating eggs or foods containing eggs. This makes it extremely difficult for suffers to consume daily foods, luckily there are possible replacements which you could use in your daily dietary intake. Why not use Nutiva chia seeds which are high in plant based omega-3 fatty acids and aid digestive health. 

Chia Egg

* 1 Tbsp. Nutiva Chia Seeds
* 3 Tbsp. Water

Method

* Using a food processor, grind the chia seeds into a meal
* Mix the water and grounded chia seed meal in a small bowl, allow it to sit for up to 5 minutes, or until a raw egg texture has formed
* Use in your favourite baked goods

Barlean’s Forti-flax can also be used to replace eggs in a recipe, follow the recipe below and you decide which alternative mixture you use in your baking!

Flax egg

* 1 Tbsp Barleans Forti-Flax
* 2 ½ Tbsp water

Method

* Add flaxseed and water to a dish and stir. Leave to rest for 5 minutes to thicken
* Add to recipes in place of 1 egg

Although Flax egg is not a direct 1:1 substitution in every recipe we have found that it works well in pancakes, brownies, muffins, cookies and quick breads. So why not have a try next time you decide to bake.