Category: Coeliac Disease

Lemon drizzle spiced bundt Christmas cakes – low fodmap

When baking with gluten free flour the recipes are improved by a ‘drizzle’- to add moisture to the cake. Plus, for this special time of year, I have used best butter! Yes – B…U…T…T…E…R you heard that right . Consumed once a year in the Thompson household but it is really worth it for Christmas as butter does make a difference to the flavour of these cakes. These are special cakes for Christmas eve supper.

Ingredients

130g caster sugar

45g brown sugar

2 heaped teaspoons powdered ginger

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice

175g of best butter

220g gluten free self raising flour

3 eggs

3 tablespoons table sugar

2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of water

Cream together the butter and sugar till the mix is pale. Add each egg and beat the mixture well in between adding the eggs. If the mix appears to separate add a tablespoon of flour. When all the ‘wet’ ingredients have been added slowly fold in the flour and spices. Using a greased bundt tin add the mixture and cook in a moderate oven for approximately 30 minutes.

Add the lemon juice, water and sugar to a pan and dissolve. Remove the cakes and whilst still warm drizzle the cake well. Serve.

Serves 6 depending on the size of baking tin. You can make a ring of the houses like a traditional bundt and fill the centre with treats, if you wish.

Finally it’s snowing heavily at the bundt village – but not too much to spoil the fun!

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Vegetable tart

This vegetable tart was made using frozen gluten free pastry bought at the Allergy & Free From Show over the weekend. It is a quick and tasty recipe for a weekday evening. Serve with some green salad.I used coloured carrots for effect but orange ones will do just fine.

Ingredients

5 carrots

spray oil

4 pieces of frozen spinach

2 eggs

60g of hard cheese sliced thinly

One pack of frozen gluten free pastry*

Method

Slice the carrots length ways so they will lie flat, spray with oil and roast.

Roll out the pastry between cling film and when shaped line a flan tin or suitable oven resistant tin. The pastry should then be pricked with a fork and baked blind for 10 minutes at gas mark six.

Defrost the spinach and squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible. This is important to avoid a soggy base to the flan.

Break the eggs and mix with a fork, then brush the pastry with the egg wash to seal it from moisture. Place back in the oven to seal the flan for 2 minutes. Remove from oven and add ingredients.

Lay the spinach on the base of the flan, add thin slices of cheese over the top and then the roasted carrot.

Pour over the rest of the egg wash and bake for twenty minutes at gas mark 5, 190 deg. C.

Serves four for lunch. It should be suitable for people with #IBS following a low fodmap diet and people with coeliac disease.

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Hot roasted vegetables

I adore roasted vegetables – I have said this before but I can’t get enough of them at the moment. These choices are low fodmap and packed with fibre, really filling and comforting. The spice mix I chose to use was a Japanese mix called Togarashi- a seven spice mix. It is really fiery so if you have IBS and are sensitive to chilli, I would probably give this recipe a miss. Although the mix is suitable for a low fodmap diet. The spices are mixed chilli powder, black & white sesame seed, orange zest, ginger, sichuan pepper and seaweed. Sichuan pepper is contained in Chinese five spice mix which Monash have stated is suitable for the low fodmap diet. Monash is based on the Australian diet and in the UK if you wish to try Chinese five spice check the ingredients – some manufacturers add onion and garlic to their mixes. The manufacturer of this mix is Taste Gourmet Spice Company some of their mixes are gluten free. The website mentions Paleo and ‘clean’, which I don’t endorse for IBS – but I will forgive them that indiscretion for the fact that some of these mixes are onion and garlic free (I have not had time to check them all so it is worth a further look.) I purchased this mix and I might be tempted to buy more to test for you. I used a flat teaspoon of the mix and it was as hot as I could take – so you could use less if you wish.

Ingredients

Half a small pumpkin

1 carrot

1 Parsnip

200g swede

1 Aubergine

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 tablespoon of pinenuts

1 tablespoon of oil

1 flat teaspoon of Togarashi

Method

Peel and chop the vegetables

Add the spice to the oil and mix then rub on to all the surfaces of the vegetables.

Roast in a hot oven for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

Roast the sesame seeds and pinenuts for a one to two minutes till golden – watch them closely as they can burn easily.

Add the vegetables to a plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds and pinenuts.

A great Halloween treat and posted just in time for you to make for meatless Monday!

Serves 2-3

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Pumpkin chicken and pesto pasta

It is my favourite time of year and I do love roasted vegetables. Here is a dish that provides some comfort on cold nights and left overs can be warmed up the next day for lunch.

Ingredients

75g of garlic infused olive oil

1 inch slice of parmesan

15g of fresh basil

2 tablespoons of pine nuts

Salt to taste

1/2 small pumpkin

2 large chicken thighs

Basil leaves and toasted pine nuts to decorate.

150g gluten free pasta.

Method

Slice the pumpkin in half and then slice into eight even slices

Remove seeds

Add basil, oil, pine nuts, parmesan and salt to a blender and blend till smooth to make the pesto.

Place the slices into a roasting tin and place the chicken on the top (this will allow the fat to drain into the bottom of the tray – if you have a roasting tin drainer use this too.)

Spoon the pesto sauce on to the chicken and pumpkin.

Roast for 30 minutes (the chicken is ready when juices run clear.)

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water (use directions on the packet and don’t overcook it some makes of pasta will disintegrate if cooked for too long.)

Chop the pumpkin and chicken and mix with the cooked pasta, if desired use a small amount of the drained juices to flavour the pasta – but not too much as it will be high in fat.

Serves two

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Can you cook a cucumber? British cucumber week

The humble cucumber – stalwart of the afternoon tea finger sandwich has it’s own week, dedicated its summer fresh light green crispness. I find the cucumber a great salad vegetable and obviously it has been used in sandwiches for afternoon tea – a meal that has had a revival recently, but can you use it any other way?

Soup is a good start but what about roasting cucumbers or fried cucumber pasta? I think I might give it a try as the cucumber is a low fodmap vegetable – let’s see what happens!

Ingredients

2 inches of cucumber sliced thinly

1 roasted pepper (sliced)

10 olives

matchbox piece of Parmesan grated

150-200g dried gluten free pasta

1 teaspoon of garlic infused olive oil

Method

Boil the pasta as directed by the packet instructions

Using the oil fry the cucumber, pepper and olives till warmed through

Drain the pasta and combine with the vegetables

Sprinkle with grated Parmesan

Serves 2 – this was very tasty – despite first appearances!

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Pecan, lime and blueberry bircher low fodmap

What a glorious way to start the day with a yoghurt and oat based creamy breakfast – this recipe contains ground flaxseed to add lots of soluble fibre to your breakfast, a real treat for sluggish bowels! Skyr yoghurt contains lactose – if you are lactose intolerant and are concerned about yoghurt add lactase liquid to the yoghurt. The dose recommended is 5 drops per pint – 4 drops to convert a large pot of yoghurt (450g) for the Biocare liquid lactase product,  it does contain glycerol, which is a polyol, but lactase enzymes should be included after the re-introduction phase of the fodmap diet and you will be aware of whether you need to exclude polyols, although lactase drops are used in very small amounts, usually. Another product available appears to be Colief but this is marketed as infant colic drops at a slightly higher price for 15ml with very similar ingredients. These were the only two brands available when I searched for UK products, do let me know if you use others. It is probably better to treat milk/yoghurt with lactase prior to drinking or using it in recipes, as this forgoes the complex vagaries of digestion – I would suggest digestion is certainly more complex with IBS – the effects other food components in the digestive tract or in recipes may reduce the effectiveness of the lactase. This prepared yogurt needs to be left for twenty four hours in the fridge for the lactase to take effect. However some people with lactose intolerance can manage yoghurt, as the manufacture means a lower level of lactose in yoghurt – go with what you tolerate, once you have completed your fodmap re-introductions you should know how much you can have without symptoms. The yoghurt can then be used to make up the bircher, this is usually left overnight.

Ingredients

200g of low fat low sugar Skyr or thick textured yoghurt

50 mls fluid

1 heaped tablespoon of ground flaxseed

1 teaspoon of lime curd (check labels for any fructose based syrups and avoid)

20g of pecan nuts

1 heaped tablespoon of oats

13g of dried blueberries or 80g of fresh.

Method

Add the flaxseed to 50ml of water, mix well.

Then add the yoghurt, oats, blueberries and lime curd to the mix.

Prepare this recipe the night before and it will be ready for you to eat the next day! Add the chopped pecans just prior to serving to retain the texture. Yum!

Drink a glass of fluid or cup of tea with this for additional fluid to help the flaxseed move through your bowel.

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All ingredients for this dish were purchased.

 

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