Children (especially young ones) often develop allergies and even though they outgrow it most of the time, too often parents diagnose without knowledge or ignore when they should have gone to the doctor. When it comes to small children never play doctor because you may just be gambling with your precious child’s life – equally, never ascribe an allergy to a child because you think the child has developed it. For the parents that really have children with egg allergies we included a really delicious recipe for muffins today because even though there are zillions of websites and recipes for brownies that specialize in catering for

people with egg allergies are few and far between. Whilst lactose and wheat intolerance are relatively easily catered for, egg allergies seem either to be unheard of simply ignored. We found this interesting recipe and tested it and are happy to say that it’s not only delicious, it really works well and for those of you that would like to know a little more about this kind of allergy, we include a little information. When a person is allergic to eggs, the body’s immune system overreacts to the proteins in the egg whenever something made with eggs enters the digestive system of a person. The body of the allergic person thinks that the proteins are harmful invaders and it responds by  creating antibodies to that particular food – these antibodies( immunoglobulin E) fight off the invader and trigger the release of certain chemicals into the body – of which one is histamine. So when a person with an egg allergy eats a food that contains eggs, the immune system unleashes a huge army of chemicals to protect the body but these chemicals can affect the respiratory system, the gastrointestinal tract, the skin and the cardiovascular system — causing a range of allergic symptoms like coughing, stomach ache, nausea and itchiness. Interestingly, most sufferers react to the proteins in the egg whites whilst  a smaller percentage cannot tolerate the yolks.  Egg allergies  usually first appears when children  are very young but they usually outgrow by the time they’re about five.

Egg allergies usually occur within minutes (sometimes hours) after eating eggs and most reactions last less than a day, effecting the body in the following way:

• The skin  develops red, bumpy hives or rashes, eczema or redness and swellings around the mouth
• The gastrointestinal tract is affected and the sufferer develops cramps, diarhoea , nausea and vomiting – it’s a very young child, expect violent screaming.
• The respiratory tract develops symptoms like a runny nose, itchy and watery eyes and asthmatic symptoms (like sneezing , coughing and wheezing).
• The worst reaction developing in a few people is called anaphylaxis (swelling of the mouth, the throat and the lungs) and this can lead to extreme breathing difficulties, extremely low blood pressure and shock. In this case, call a doctor or ambulance immediately and do not try to self diagnose.

For people who are severely allergic even egg fumes or getting egg on the skin can cause an anaphylactic reaction and eggs much be kept out of the home.

Ingredients.

• 125 ml walnuts, cut or broken in half
• 375 ml plain flour
• 125 ml cocoa powder
• 250 ml milk
• 1 ½ tsp white vinegar
• 2 tbsp coffee powder
• 250 ml caster sugar
• 125 ml refined walnut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (never use vanilla essence for children because there may be preservatives that  affect them, so make sure first
• 1 small tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp  butter

Method

• Pre-heat oven to 210 C.
• Add the vinegar to the milk (which must be at room temperature), mix well and set aside.
• In another bowl, combine the flour, the sugar, the cocoa powder, the sugar and the coffee and add the baking soda to this and mix it well.
• Pour the oil into a hole in the centre of the mixture and pour oil in it and combine well, after which you add the curdled milk (vinegar and milk mixture) a few teaspoons at a time, mixing continuously to combine everything well.
• Add the walnuts and the vanilla extract to this and combine well again.
• Butter a square baking dish with the butter and pour the brownie mixture into it.
• Bake for 40 minutes and serve with egg free vanilla ice cream.