The book, created by the AISMME association, contains some fructose-free recipes
Verona – It is possible to order the fourth volume of the cookbook series “What will he eat when he grows up?”, which contains fructose-free recipes, suitable for the diet for fructosemia and fructose intolerance. The book is part of the series “What will he eat when he grows up? Recipes for special metabolic diets”, created by AISMME – Italian Association for the Support of Hereditary Metabolic Diseases APS (which is part of the Rare Disease Alliance), and is a tool designed to help tackle diet therapy lightly.
“Many metabolic diseases can only be treated with diet therapy“, explains Cristina Vallotto, President of AISMME. “These are very restrictive diets that must be scrupulously observed throughout life and which prevent the elements that the metabolism cannot tolerate from irreparably damaging the organs and the brain. Thanks to these diets it is possible to have an almost normal and satisfying life, unfortunately, however, the elimination of some foods can have serious consequences on the quality of life, sometimes making eating a frustrating experience which affects the family and social sphere and which does not satisfies the palate.”
“So here’s the idea of creating recipe booksa response to the desire to enjoy good dishes, thanks to tasty and easy-to-make preparations, but above all compatible with the dietary needs of various pathologies”, he points out Manuela Vaccarotto, Vice President of AISMME. “The various volumes provide food education materials useful in dealing with the difficulties represented by diet therapies, improving the knowledge of raw materials and culinary preparation techniques. The vast range of dietary products used to prepare the dishes, the simplicity and ease of production, as well as the wealth of preparation advice, make it a unique editorial product, which did not exist in Italy”.
The fourth volume, just published, joins the other three in the series: “Low-protein or low-protein recipes”, “Low-fat or low-lipid recipes” and “Lactose- and galactose-free recipes”, published between 2022 and the current year. The fifth and final volume, “Recipes for ketogenic diets”, will be available by 2024..
“The initiative was greatly appreciated,” concludes Vaccarotto. “We have sent over 1,200 copies of the first three volumes to families, adult patients and treatment centers throughout Italy and we continue to receive requests and reservations. Furthermore, in recent months we have organized two contests with photos and videos which involved the use of recipes, to underline the importance of sharing the joy of preparing dishes with the family”.
All volumes, distributed free of charge, can be requested through the AISMME website or by writing to This email address is protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Last year, the project “What will he eat when he grows up? Recipes for special metabolic diets” was awarded the OMaR Award for Communication on Rare Diseases and Tumors in the “Non-professional communication campaign” category, coming first place among the candidate works. It was chosen unanimously by both the organizers and the Quality Jury, composed for the first time this year not only of the historic jurors but also of new expert subjects, belonging to the world of communication, institutions and the scientific/clinical world . “The award goes to the AISMME association for having created a series of 5 recipe books intended for those who, due to a metabolic pathology, need a dedicated diet”, this is the motivation. “A tool suited to the needs of children and adults, which allows them to approach life-saving diets in a positive way, making food a pleasure to share with family and friends. The recipes, designed with the support of dieticians, clinicians and chefs, are easy to make, beautiful to look at and above all good to taste: a valid tool for improving the relationship with food”.
The project was also selected for the “Participatory Science for improving the quality of life for people with Rare Diseases” competition, coordinated by the National Center for Rare Diseases of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità with the support of the Ministry of Health. Furthermore, the series enjoys the patronage of SIMMESN (Italian Society of Hereditary Metabolic Diseases and Neonatal Screening) and MetabERN (the European Network of MME Centers) and the non-conditional support of Alexion Astrazeneca Rare Diseases.