Potato and smoked mackerel soup – Low Fodmap

This is a really tasty soup that is made from basic ingredients and I hope you like it!

Ingredients

800g of potato

1 carrot

sprinkling of asafoetida

1 tablespoon of garlic infused oil

1 1/2 smoked mackerel

300 ml of lactose free milk

Salt and pepper

grating of nutmeg

Method

1 litre of water (or more depending on how thick you like your soup! Just add more as needed)

wash and peel the potatoes and carrot and chop

add oil to the pan and add asafoetida and fry

add vegetables

add flaked mackerel

add milk and water, bring to the boil and simmer till vegetables are soft

add salt and pepper to taste

blend or mash soup – depending on your preference

add grated nutmeg.

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This dish serves 3-4 (depending on how much water you add!)

Gluten free, cow’s milk free rose pancakes for the breakfast diva!

Make these for a special occasion – gluten and cow’s milk free pancakes with an extra special flair for a birthday or wedding breakfast, of in fact you can make them plain for a tasty cooked alternative to kick start the day. I was asked to review an almond flour by a manufacturer Sukrin who donated the flour for the review. I liked the flour, it was tasty and worked well for the recipe. For other manufacturer recommendations such as suitable for low carbohydrate and paleo diets, this may well be the case, however I don’t advocate removing the carbohydrate totally from from your diet or having a very low intake of carbohydrate for healthy people – carbohydrate is food for the brain and fibre containing (or wholegrain) carbohydrates are prebiotic, food for your gut bacteria. If you are having gut symptoms changing your types of carbohydrate may be a better option that stopping eating carbohydrate altogether – just ensure you have a medical diagnosis first before making any changes to your diet and request a referral to a dietitian! We do now know that changes to diet can affect the variety and number of gut bacteria that live in your digestive tract and we do not yet know what the effects  low carbohydrate diets have on long term digestive health. Our gut bacteria help with producing vitamin K and produce short chain fatty acids which help to keep the tract healthy. Most dietary changes Dietitians advocate are to identify a particular food intolerance culprit – this not only has benefits in reducing symptoms, but also means you can continue to have as varied a diet as possible.

You can taste the almond in these pancakes and they are very filling. Please also note whilst these pancakes are free of gluten and cow’s milk they are not suitable for the exclusion phase of the Low FODMAP diet in large amounts, almonds should be eaten in small amounts only (almond – as nuts – less than 10 at any one time.)

DSCF1609modIngredients

3 eggs

100g of almond flour

2 or 3 dessert spoons of rose syrup

200ml of hazelnut milk

a few drops of food colouring and edible gold glitter if you really want a decadent treat!

Spray oil to fry.

Mix the eggs into the almond flour, add the syrup and nut milk to the mixture then add the the food colour. Spray oil into the pan and using a piping bag pipe swirls of the mix into the pan and fry until the base is cooked and then finish the cooking in an oven at gas mark six for 5-10 minutes.

 

Vegetable Pasta – gluten free, Low FODMAP

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This recipe is a light roasted vegetable pasta sauce for use with gluten-free pasta. It is a great recipe for a warm summers day to eat alfresco.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of garlic flavoured olive oil

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 lemon

1/2 aubergine

1 courgette

2 orange peppers

100 g black olives

Grated parmesan (vegetarian or vegan)

Method

Mix the oil, cinnamon and juice from the lemon and season with salt and pepper.

Chop the courgette and aubergine and then roast.

Roast the peppers separately, remove skin and blend till smooth

Add the roasted vegetables to the peppers and chop, add the olives.

Add to cooked warm gluten-free pasta and serve.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Updated 22.11.14

 

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Who said you can’t have a fun free from Easter?

DSCF1315aThese are dairy free, wheat free, gluten-free easter nests just the job if you have to avoid dairy and want to have at least a small amount of chocolate.

Ingredients

100g milk free chocolate

60g of gluten-free corn flakes

30g sultanas

Gluten wheat & milk free yellow sprinkles

Gluten, milk and wheat free jelly beans

A few kitsch chicks!

Method

Weigh out the cornflakes and sultanas into a bowl.

Crush the cornflakes a little.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water.

Add to the cornflakes ans sultanas and mix till coated thoroughly.

Put the mix into a bun tin and flatten the middle to make a nest.

Place in the fridge to set then sprinkle the middle with sprinkles and add some jelly bean ‘eggs’.

Have a happy easter! 🙂

 

 

Saffron Simnel Cake

Saffron Simnel Cake

This recipe can also be downloaded from the IBS Network website

http://www.theibsnetwork.org/what-we-offer/recipes/

It is a different take on the traditional Simnel cake – without marzipan as this might provoke symptoms if you have IBS. A small slice of this is nice to have on Easter Sunday, many people may find that Easter eggs are too much to tolerate, particularly if you suffer from lactose intolerance. Saffron can be excluded if you don’t like the taste.

Ingredients

240g of self-raising wheat free/gluten-free flour
1 flat tsp of cinnamon
1 flat tsp ginger
2 tbsp ginger syrup
4 eggs
200g of milk free margarine
Large pinch of saffron
150g of golden castor sugar

Method
Pour approximately 1 tablespoon of boiling water on to the saffron and set aside to cool.
Weigh all other ingredients into a mixing bowl, add saffron and liquid mix, mix well.
Place in a paper lined seven-inch baking tin and bake at gas mark 6 220ºC for 45 minutes – 1 hour until a cake skewer comes out clean, when inserted into the centre of the cake.
Decorate.

DSCF1294modOther posts that you might find useful at Easter:

https://clinicalalimentary.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/easter-hot-cross-buns/

https://clinicalalimentary.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/easter-meal-roast-spring-lamb/

If you can tolerate marzipan you might want to try this recipe instead

https://clinicalalimentary.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/easter-with-food-intolerance/

Another AGM and slaw salad

I am preparing for another IBS Network AGM tomorrow, I can’t believe its three years since I attended the first one – we have achieved lots of things since then, the Self Care Plan and now free access to all, new website, two Wellbeing days and lots of meetings. Now for the next 12 months!

Slaw salad
½ courgette
1 carrot
1 bag of rocket
1 bag of radish
2 tablespoons of light mayonnaise
3 dessert spoons of pine nuts
Salt & pepper

Method
Grate carrot, radish and courgette and squeeze out any excess water.
Mix the mayonnaise with the carrot, radish, courgette, pine nuts, rocket and add salt + pepper to taste.

Simple!

This recipe was made originally with buckwheat but large amounts of this grain can be problematic for the Low FODMAP diet. The best advice is to use a good variety of grains in the diet so you are not relying on one type. Updated 22.11.14