Tag: IBS

How does the free from toad get in the hole?

It’s March and it is snowing today! I have been out and I did get soaked to the skin – urgh! It is not nice snow – more the sloppy sort that doesn’t stick around long enough to freeze properly. If you are thinking of cooking a really warming comforting meal you need go no further than the recipe for toad in the hole. But there is a catch if you are lactose and gluten or wheat free. How does the toad get in the free from hole? Make the following recipe and find out!

Ingredients

400 mls of lactose free milk

6 gluten free sausages

200g of gluten free self-raising flour

1 teaspoon of gluten free mustard powder

salt & pepper

3 eggs

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Method

weigh the flour into a bowl and add the mustard powder and mix well

break the three eggs into the bowl and add the lactose free milk

add salt & pepper and mix well

add the oil to a dish and heat in the oven

prick the sausages and add to the pan

pour around the batter and place in the top of an oven at gas mark 7 or 220 degrees C till the surface is nice and brown.

Serves four for a meal – if you have a problem with higher fat foods and your IBS then you might need to be cautious with your portion size. Also don’t forget this is a high fat meal so it is for occasional consumption only – when you really need a lift midwinter after going for a long walk in the snow perhaps! 😉

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Spaghetti Bolognese – Low Fodmap

This is a family favourite, a classic dish that is the stalwart of many family meals so we should look at modifying it to make it suitable for ALL the family – even those with IBS. Whilst I would not advocate everyone following a low fodmap diet if they don’t need too, the occasional meal where everyone can participate without faffing around cooking some items separately is a bonus. This will make the meal slightly more expensive using gluten free pasta but is maybe worth it occasionally. It is not likely to be harmful for others to eat gluten free pasta occasionally as long as people do not go fully gluten free or low fodmap without good reason (a diagnosis of coeliac disease or a diagnosis of IBS when coeliac disease has been tested negative on a gluten containing diet.)

Passata

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1 jar of roasted peppers (or roast 3-4 of your own, then skin them)

4 tomatoes

a handful of basil

1-2 teaspoons of dried thyme and basil

Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Blend this with a hand blender till smooth – add some water if this is too thick.

Bolognese Sauce

1 dessert spoon of garlic infused oil

600g of lean minced beef*

Passata (above)

2 teaspoons of gluten free flour + water

method

Add the oil to the pan and fry the meat with 3 dessert spoons of the passata.

Add the remaining passata to a pan

Add two teaspoons of gluten free or corn flour and water mixed till smooth

Cook this till thickened and add to the meat.

Cook till tender.

Spaghetti

You do need to watch gluten free spaghetti and keep it moving when cooking to prevent it from sticking. Use the method advised on the packet and add to a large pan of boiling water. Keep testing it – it should be ready at the point it is still relatively firm but soft enough to eat, take care not to overcook it.

Add the spaghetti and bolognese to the dish to serve and top with a little grated Parmesan cheese.

Serves 6

*If you find that red meat causes symptoms of IBS choose lean and a small portion – or you could also use 1/2 beef and 1/2 turkey to reduce the amount of red meat contained in the dish.

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Baba Ganoush – Low Fodmap

This is a dip recipe that is suitable for the low fodmap diet, many people really struggle to find dips, particularly when many are made with onion or garlic as ingredients. Baba Ganoush is a middle eastern dish made from aubergine which often contains onion but it is so easy to make and tastes really delicious without onion so give it a try today!

Ingredients

1 Aubergine

1 tablespoon of light mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin powder

(you can add your own spices here to change the flavour)

A few toasted pine nuts

Lactose free yoghurt to serve.

Method

Roast the aubergine in an oven till soft and allow it to cool.

Remove the skin and add the flesh to a bowl with the mayonnaise and spices and a little salt to taste. Blend till smooth top with lactose free yoghurt and serve.

Simple!

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Why does asparagus make your wee smell? – Book Review

My husband has received this book as a Christmas present and I am afraid he has not had much chance to read it yet! I am a bibliophile and I also have a passion for graphic design and chemistry (I gained a degree in polymer science and technology before I studied dietetics.) This book covers all my passions and as such I’m afraid I pinched it on the very day he received it and have not put it down yet. Of course he can have it back 🙂 – but he doesn’t usually settle down to read a book present immediately he has opened it (unlikely a bibliophile then!) and he does know I have it, so I am not being that mean!

Now back to the book, it is written in a very clear and understandable way, very important for a book covering the chemistry of popular food science and the info-graphics are a great way of showing the compounds involved. I wish info-graphics were available when I learned about chemistry, as my method of learning is very much visually I would have found this process a little easier. The author Andy Brunning is a chemistry teacher in Cambridge who is also the author of the website http://www.compoundchem.com/ which has similar blog posts, the website is really worth a visit if you have an interest in chemistry. I cannot find any negative aspects to this book, even the price is affordable for a hardback.

Some of the questions that particularly attracted my attention were:

Why do some people hate Brussels sprouts? – this might not be the reason you are thinking of!

Why do beans give you flatulence? Yes, this is the very reason you are thinking – I have also written about this very problem here, they are a fodmap!

Why are some people allergic to nuts?

Does MSG cause Chinese restaurant syndrome?

Of course, other posts might be more interest to you. The book has references at the back for all you scientists out there to do some further reading – although I guarantee this will be a little less stimulating.

 

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Kale and herb frittata with a cheese and pine nut topping – low fodmap

Wondering what to have for lunch? A frittata is a great option because not only can you eat it warm, it slices very well and can be eaten cold with a fresh green salad or even used as a sandwich filling. Very versatile and tasty for a lunch option and what’s more it is low fodmap.

Ingredients

4 eggs

handful of Kale

2-3 sprigs of thyme and a few rosemary leaves (you can also use dried)

1 oz of grated Parmesan

1 tablespoon of pine nuts

Salt & pepper to taste

Spray oil

Method

Boil the kale till a little soft and leave to cool then chop well.

Chop the herbs, grate the Parmesan.

Crack the eggs in a bowl and mix, season and split into two.

Add the kale and herbs to one bowl mix well.

Spay a little oil into a frying pan and add the egg and kale mix, flatten with w fork and cook for 1-2 minutes

Add the second half of eggs to the pan. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Place the pan under a grill to continue cooking and when the eggs are risen and fluffy sprinkle on the cheese and pine nuts.

Grill until the cheese is melted and the pine nuts are toasted.

Serve – serves 2-3 people.

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Chapati and low fodmap curry – yum!

Chapati

150 g of gluten free plain flour

1 teaspoon of garlic infused oil

1/2 teaspoon of Xanthan gum

20 g of well chopped coriander

Salt to taste

Water to form a dough

Method

Weigh out the flour in a bowl and add the xanthan gum and mix well.

Add the oil, salt and coriander and water.

Add water slowly and bring the flour together to form a dough – the more you work this dough the better the results will be!

Roll the dough into a sausage shape and divide to make approximately 8 small disks

Roll these into a ball then roll out evenly as thin as possible.

Cook on a flat griddle till the flour turns a little opaque then hold the chapatti in a flame to finish the cooking add some spray oil to the pan if needed.

Serve immediately – they don’t keep well and are best eaten fresh.

Curry

2 aubergines

200g spinach

200g of potato

1 red chili chopped small

1 inch of ginger chopped

1 teaspoon of coriander seeds

1 teaspoon of cumin

3 cardamon pods, split

1 red pepper chopped

1 tablespoon of garlic infused oil

1/2 teaspoon of asafoetida

salt to taste

Method

Roast the aubergines till soft and remove the skin and chop.

Add the spices and chopped chili (you can omit this if it affects symptoms too much) to a pestle & mortar and grind.

Add the oil to a pan and fry the spice paste to release the aroma.

Add the aubergine, chopped potato to the pan and cooked till tender.

Add 4-5 pieces of frozen spinach and chopped red pepper at the end of the dish and cook for ten minutes.

Serve!

Turmeric potatoes

These small potatoes are easy to make, use 3-4 potatoes per portion of salad potatoes. I roasted them in the oven in their jackets till soft them sliced them and using 1/2 tablespoon of oil fried turmeric and coriander seeds to release the flavour and added this to the potato with salt to taste. You could use this recipe with older potatoes if you wished.

 

 

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