Tag: Digestive Disorders

Cinnamon and lemon thyme roast chicken

It is the first cold snap of the season today and what better to warm the cockles than a roast chicken? This is a very simple roast, sprinkled with cinnamon and thyme.

Ingredients

1/2 roast chicken

2 teaspoons cinnamon

5-6 springs of thyme

salt and pepper to taste.

Method

Do not wash the chicken before you use it.

Place the chicken in a roasting tin on a rack to drain the fat as it roasts and add the thyme and cinnamon plus seasoning.

Roast for 3/4 hour.

I added some carrots to the roasting tin to add colour to the dish.

Enjoy!

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Coriander carrots

My love of the carrot is growing – it really is a very versatile vegetable and the colour it provides to dishes adds a bit of warmth during the winter. Carrots partner very well with coriander and I have decided to use my gnocchi recipe to see if it works with carrot in place of parsnips – it appears that it does, but one word of warning – ensure you cook the carrots well and puree them before you add the flour to ensure you can roll them and they have the correct texture.

Ingredients

400g Carrots

70g of gluten free flour

2g of coriander stalks chopped finely

Coriander seeds to garnish

salt + pepper

Method

Cook the carrots till very soft and puree

add the flour, coriander stalks, salt + pepper and mix well

Roll into a 1cm width sausage on a floured board and cut even 1 cm strips.

Roll into a ball and flatten with a fork.

Boil till they float in water.

Serve

I thought I would add a picture of this little chap with his orange (red) breast – he was very friendly!

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Stuffed Aubergine

Aubergines are my favourite vegetable and suitable for a Low Fodmap diet. Aubergines have been stated to be the vegetable to use if you wish to replace meat in a dish as they have a good texture and is satisfying to eat, but they will not replace some of the nutrition when replacing like for like. A vegetarian diet is great to have and can be very healthy if some regard is taken to ensure that it is nutritionally complete and not too high in energy. But some people really struggle to follow a vegetarian Low Fodmap diet because the diet on the exclusion phase excludes sources of protein from legumes and pulses.  This recipe contains nuts and just a small amount of low fat hard cheese – sources of protein – you can change the cheese for a vegan alternative cheese but use it sparingly as it tends to be quite high in fat and is a possible source of Fodmap, so check the label. Quorn and quinoa are good sources of protein but again check the label for Fodmaps if you choose Quorn products (not suitable for vegans as Quorn contains egg). To ensure you have adequate iron in your diet include some dark green leafy vegetables (chard and spinach are reasonably good sources,) along side a small amount of citrus fruit (or small amount of juice – 100 ml maximum) to improve the absorption. You could also include some fortified breakfast cereal to add to your iron intake. Egg yolk is a source of iron too, if you do eat them. Very small amounts of canned lentils and chickpeas can be included and these do contain iron, but again the iron is more difficult for the body to absorb, so need a source of vitamin C consumed at the same time – rinse well before use. See a dietitian if you need more individual advice – in fact I would encourage any vegan considering the Low Fodmap diet to ask their GP for a referral.

Do remember the Low Fodmap diet is a learning diet and not a diet for life – most people find they can re-introduce some Fodmap foods back in, if only in smaller amounts. This is important to help your bacterial populations in your bowel and to increase the variety of your diet. If you are struggling to find a dietitian as your GP to refer you – the National Institute of Health & Care Excellence advise you should see a trained healthcare practitioner to follow the Low Fodmap diet for IBS – at the moment this is Registered Dietitians only, or you could see a freelance dietitian, check out www.freelancedietitians.org.

Ingredients

4 Aubergines

Small amount of olive oil

1 teaspoon of coriander seeds

1/2 lemon (juice only) and slices to decorate the top

1 teaspoon of peanut butter

20 g of pumpkin seeds

25g red skinned peanuts

Salt + pepper to taste

60g of gluten free couscous (based on corn)

50g of low fat hard cheese

Method

Slice the aubergine length way season and rub the surface with a little cooking oil.

Roast in an oven for 20-30 minutes.

Remove and cool.

Remove the flesh and mash with the other ingredients except the cheese. Use around 40g of aubergine per portion.

Divide the mix between each aubergine skin.

Grate the cheese and sprinkle on the top and add a slice of lemon.

Cook till the cheese has melted and the aubergine is cooked (20-30 minutes) Serve with fresh green salad.

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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.

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Low Fodmap, Gluten free, low lactose pancakes

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According to Wikipedia’s reference for Shrove Tuesday pancakes represent the sun in pagan mythology and eating them gave power, light and warmth of the sun. Pancakes were also a way of using up rich food before the fasting of lent in the Christian religion. Either way these delightful disks are a treat with sweet or savoury fillings and I like the association with the life giving sun when it has been so cold recently. Enjoy….

Ingredients

3 large eggs

50 mls Lactose free milk

100g of wheat free, gluten free flour

Pinch of salt

Spray oil

Method

Weight out the flour into a mixing bowl and add the eggs and a small pinch of salt.

Mix well and add enough milk to make a thin batter that coats the back of a spoon.

Pour the batter into a measuring jug.

Heat the frying pan and spray some oil – pour in enough batter to thinly coat the bottom of the pan and move the pan till the batter is even and pour off the excess back into the measuring jug.

Cook for 30 seconds maximum till dry and and flip over the pancake to cook the other side.

Serve warm with lemon juice and sugar (traditional way) or anything that takes your fancy!

 

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Wheat free couscous stuffed peppers and Living well with IBS

Please watch and share ‘Living well with IBS’ (irritable bowel syndrome), a film made by Vicky Grant, a researcher at the University of Sheffield, and Gemma Thorpe, a professional filmmaker. Vicky has lived with IBS for over 30 years; here she talks about her experiences and the experiences of others, as portrayed through the storytelling workshops she runs through the Knowing as Healing project.

One of the recipes developed for the video is the one below – a perfect choice for meatless Monday!

Ingredients

150g of wheat free couscous
200ml of boiling water
60g of green olives
60g of hazelnuts*
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of mild paprika
10-12 strands of fresh coriander
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
4 slices of wheat free seeded bread
4 teaspoons of garlic infused oil
Five orange peppers.
Salt to taste.

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Weigh out the maize couscous and add the boiling water and cover – leave to stand for 5 minutes.

Add the oil to a pan and add chopped hazelnuts and add cumin, cinnamon and mild paprika and toast the nuts.

Mix the nuts and spices with the couscous and add chopped olives.

Wash and cut the peppers in half fill each with the couscous.

Crumb the bread and add lemon and fresh coriander and sprinkle this mix on the top of each pepper.

Use aluminium foil to cover the peppers while they cook and cook till pepper is soft 20-10 minutes at gas mark 5 or 190°C. Remove aluminium foil for the last 5 minutes to toast the breadcrumbs. Watch out for other recipes soon!

*Hazelnuts do contain some FODMAP but are used in very small amounts in the recipe – if you wish you can omit them if problematic or if you are on the exclusion part of the diet.

Serves 10 – serve with some Low FODMAP salad as a light lunch

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