Coeliac Disease – Page 10 – Clinical Alimentary

Pumpkin soup – gluten free, wheat free, milk free, Low Fodmap

During the 1970’s when I was growing up – (you now have some idea of my age!) a pumpkin in the UK was a rare thing! We usually used swede to make our Halloween lanterns and cooking with pumpkins was unknown around our small Lancashire town. They are now widely available and relatively cheap but I have added some swede to remind me of times past. We also had lots of fun around the 31st October but no trick or treats for us! Just dressing up in Halloween costumes and a local party with parkin, toffee apples and parched peas (a very local delicacy with lots of malt vinegar added) sometimes we would have a double celebration with Guy Fawkes bonfire night being 5 days later than Halloween. See another recipe for this time of year here:

https://clinicalalimentary.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/remember-remember-the-5th-of-november-bangers-and-roots/

Ingredients

Half a small pumpkin

Half a small Swede

Garlic infused oil

1 teaspoon of coriander Seeds

2 cm of ginger grated

1/2 teaspoon of asafoetida

1 litre of water (you can add more if needed)

1/2 teaspoon Chilli powder*

Method

Add the oil to a pan and add the spices to release the flavour of the spice.

Cut the swede and pumpkin into small pieces add to the pan with the water and cook in the water till soft.

Blend the mix to a smooth soup

*If you tolerate chilli add it – you can omit it if needed.

October 11, 2015

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Cheese Souffle low lactose, gluten and wheat free (low Fodmap)

This is my first attempt at a souffle – I have always been scared of making them due to listening to the difficulties people report in getting a rise and the consistency right. More of a challenge then to use free from ingredients to achieve the same effect? It is October – Halloween month so time to get scared and have a go! See what you think.

The photograph below was taken after some minutes out of the oven and the rise has reduced but the above photograph was taken within a few minutes of leaving the hot oven. I am not sure if the strange shaped rise was as a result of the small dish or the fact that this is a free from bake. The recipe below makes around 8 small souffles, really tasty to eat them fresh from the oven but it is also possible to double bake the majority to warm them through and although the texture was a little different the souffles were just as tasty.

Ingredients

4 eggs

250ml of lactose free milk

20g plain gluten free flour/corn flour

20g of margarine

170g of cheddar cheese (lactose free if you are very sensitive)

olive oil to coat the ramekins

pepper to taste*

Method

Oil the 8 ramekins well and pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6 – 220 deg C

Separate the yolk from the white of the egg – ensure no egg yolk is in the white or it will not whip to the correct consistency.

Melt the margarine slowly in a pan and add the flour – this will thicken. Cook for a few seconds and slowly incorporate the milk until it makes a smooth sauce. Simmer to cook the flour. Don’t be afraid to sieve the sauce if it contains lumps. Cool slightly and add the egg yolk and pepper, melt in the cheese.

In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites till they form stiff peaks. Add a 1/3 of the egg white to the sauce to slacken it. The fold in the rest of the egg white into the sauce carefully so all the whites are incorporated. Once they are incorporated STOP MIXING – you need to have as much air as possible in the mix and over mixing may mean your souffles will not rise.

Add the mix to the ramekins and cook for approximately 12 minutes – remove from the oven and serve immediately.

*I omitted the salt as the souffle has plenty of cheese to give a salty flavour in my view

Yum!

October 9, 2015

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French toast for breakfast? – gluten free, low fodmap

This is a great Sunday morning treat and is very easy to prepare and to relax and enjoy! French toast is not sweet but when combined with fresh fruit and a drizzle of maple or golden syrup the sweetness is added – you only need a drizzle and the breakfast is complete. Posted just in time for you to enjoy tomorrow morning.

Ingredients

2 eggs

70 mls lactose free milk

4 drops of vanilla essence

4 drops of orange essence

spray oil

2-3 slices of gluten-free bread (depending on the size of eggs used)

Maple syrup for drizzling

Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries – a small handful.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and mix with the milk, vanilla and orange.

Slice the bread and soak in to the egg mix until it is soaked through ( a minute or two)

Spray oil into a frying pan and fry the bread for 1 minute each side or until golden.

Serve warm with fruit and a drizzle of syrup – or you can use sweetener if you don’t want to use syrup – aspartame, stevia or sucralose is suitable.

Eat!

September 26, 2015

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Purple sage & parsnip gnocchi

Today the weather has been grim again so I am stuck in the house being creative, or perhaps you should decide if I am! I adore parsnips, they are a tasty root vegetable that is not too hard on the digestive system. It is getting towards autumn now so a nice recipe using parsnips in place of potato sounds an interesting idea. Not that I have anything against potatoes or I not that I reckon parsnips are some kind of ‘super root’ – if you have been following my blog for some time you will know my views on this 😉

Ingredients

500g of parsnips

80g of gluten free flour

20g of Parmesan cheese

2g purple sage leaves (you can use ordinary sage if you wish)

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon of garlic infused olive oil

a sprinkling of asafoetida

Method

wash, peel and boil the parsnips until they are quite soft in salted water

mash them well

whilst still warm add the gluten free flour and mix well

empty the mix on to a floured surface, split into four equal amounts

roll each into a sausage shape and cut into disks evenly

roll each disk into a ball then squash flat with a fork

Boil a pan of water and add a few gnocchi at a time they will float when they are cooked

remove them from the water and drain.

using the olive oil fry the sage and asafoetida and mix with the gnocchi

add grated Parmesan to serve

the gnocchi can be served as they are if you are vegetarian or they will taste great with meat, chicken or fish too!

If you follow a vegan diet then you should use a dairy free Parmesan alternative.

I hope you like them – the recipe serves two for a main dish, it is also possible to use them as a side dish serving 4. If you are following the Low Fodmap Diet parsnips are low fodmap – have a small portion. I am seriously wishing the weather to improve a little – it is much to early for wintry weather to be a feature but of course being situated in the middle of the Pennines this is a distinct possibility. Although I don’t want to end on a negative note so enjoy the recipe and I will blog again soon from happy valley!

September 15, 2015September 15, 2015

Jules_GastroRD8 Comments

Gluten free, low lactose rosemary and olive bread

The seat in the wood has intrigued me since I stumbled across it, looks home made, old – it has certainly seen its fare share of winters, I guess. It doesn’t overlook a repose worthy view and the valley’s features are obscured by the wall when seated, but is certainly a welcome resting place from the steep climb of the valley side. A haunting melancholy spot in an old oak forest – to come home to a meal of rosemary and olive bread is certainly what’s needed to cheer up the spirit after today’s walk! Check out the recipe below.

Ingredients

450g gluten free self raising flour

1 teaspoon of xanthan gum

3 tablespoons of olive oil

15 green olives

salt

350 mls of lactose free milk

5g of rosemary leaves

Spray olive oil

2 eggs

50g of Parmesan cheese

Method

Wash your hands

Measure out the lactose free milk, add eggs and olive oil mix well, add salt to season.

Weigh out the gluten free flour and add the xanthan gum, and mix well.

Grate the Parmesan cheese and add 2/3 to the flour leaving the remainder to sprinkle on the finished bread.

Chop the rosemary finely and add to the flour.

Slice the olives and add 2/3 to the flour leaving the remainder to decorate the top of the bread mix before cooking.

Mix the Parmesan and olives into the flour, make a well in the centre of the flour mix and add the liquid ingredients.

Incorporate the liquid into the flour till everything is blended in.

The finished mix has a slightly sticky texture.

Oil a tray well and add the mix, wet your hands and smooth the surface and add a thumb print in lines down the bread as a decoration.

Spray the surface of the mix with olive oil

Add the remaining olives and cheese.

Cook for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the bread comes out clean at gas mark 6 or 220 degree centigrade.

Serves 8-10

For a low fodmap diet xanthan gum is possibly fermentable but is in the bread in very low levels (less than 0.5%) so most people should be OK to have a portion.

September 14, 2015September 14, 2015

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Prunes – natures laxative.

“I hope my tongue in prune juice smothers, If I belittle dogs and mothers”

Ogden Nash

Ogden Nash was an American poet who suffered from crohn’s disease according to Wikipedia, his unfortunate demise was after a lactobacillus infection after eating poorly prepared coleslaw as the Wikipedia site states. Interesting quote about prune juice, do you get the feeling he detested prunes? Prunes might have resulted in symptoms for him – depending on his crohn’s disease. I can only speculate, but what do these dried fruits do for us? Should we in fact include them in our diet? The following post by Compound Interest explains the chemistry behind the prune – or dried plum.

http://www.compoundchem.com/2015/09/01/plums-prunes/

Prunes do in fact improve constipation – but for some people at a cost – the reason they do is down, in part to the large amount of sorbitol and fructans they contain, these FODMAPs or fermentable sugars draw fluid into the small bowel and rapidly ferments in the large bowel. Sorbitol is also found in sugar free mints and gum – often a warning is given on these to avoid eating too much as a laxative effect may be the result. Not great if you have IBS and bloating and are intolerant to sorbitol. Prunes could also result in symptoms for people with active crohn’s disease too – perhaps that is the reason they are suggested by Nash to be a treatment to instill an avoidance of denigrating your mother! Or alternatively it might be just down to taste or personal preference. But to help constipation if you don’t suffer from IBS, bloating and excessive wind – they are worth a try – introduce them in your diet slowly so your bowel adjusts to the extra fibre they contain. These sugars can also have a pre-biotic (food for bacteria) action, so it is worth including some in your diet if you tolerate their effects!