Gluten Free Journey

Roast Chicken from Able and Cole

2009-02-21T09:06:00.008Z

A few weeks ago, I was offered an organic chicken by Able and Cole. Able and Cole are an organic company who operate a delivery service whereby they deliver organic, locally grown and sourced, fruit and vegetable boxes plus a whole raft of other products. All organic and all very tasty

When I recieved my organic chicken, I was in a bit of a quandry as to what to do with it ... I have about half a dozen ideas for recipes I want to develop which involve chicken. In the end I decided to feature various gluten free products and produce a simply roasted chicken

I roasted the chicken at the standard 20 minutes per pound, plus an extra 20 minutes. 35 minutes before the end of the cooking time I added pork, sage and buttered onion stuffing from Marks & Spencer. The gravy was made from Bisto Best gravy granules, if you want gravy granules for the times when you need gravy in a hurry, this is the one to go for, the joy of the brand being that it comes in a range of flavours. The vegetables that went with it are all from my latest organic veggie box from Able and Cole

That wasn't to be the end of it!!!! I had sandwiches the day after from the left-over chicken and made stock from the skin and bones, currently frozen and waiting for me to make some soup! This chicken went a long way!

:)

In the UK? Take another look at Dietary Specials!

2009-02-15T09:59:00.003Z

Being a working girl, every now and again I rely on fast food. Sometimes it's a question of having to! When these occasions arise, it's usually a bit of a struggle to find something to eat ....

However I often look at the gluten free range in Sainsbury's! Imagine my suprise when I discoved in a local branch that the Dietary Specials range had expanded. Either the range has expanded or the products that my local supermarket stocks has expanded, I'm not exactly sure which! Included now are two different pizza flavours and two pasta varieties!

Well! What's a girl to do! I got one of each! This range is definately worth keeping an eye on

:)

Coca Cola Ham

2009-01-15T22:17:00.009Z

My Christmas lunch 2008 was a fairly large affair with 14 people all invited to lunch at my son's place. He did have help and everything was prepared well in advance. The main course was a beautiful meal of various vegetables and various meats

My son is a bit of a dab hand at cooking the famous Nigella Lawson Coca Cola Ham. He cooks this two or three times a year, and has done for the last three or so years. My son is an excellent cook and has modified this recipe over the years, the only problem is he wont tell me how he has modified it. It's all games here, I have to cook it myself and then he will tell me the modification(s)

So I have duly cooked it myself, using a small gammon joint, with just one tiny modification ... so now I know the real modifications. Trust me, his coca cola ham is to die for

This is a christmassy recipe with nice warm spices ... posted too late!

2 kg gammon joint
2 litres coca cola (not diet)
1 onion, peeled and chopped in half
1 stick cinnamon
12 whole cloves
2 tbsp black treacle
2 teaspoons mustard flour
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar

Place the gammon joint in a pan with the coca cola, cinnamon and onion, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a slow simmer. Put a loose fitting lid on the pan. Cook for about two and a half hours or until the gammon is cooked through. Once the gammon is cooked it is usually referred to as 'ham'

Remove gammon joint from the pan and place in a roasting tin, reserve the liquid from the pan, as this makes a useful sauce for other dishes

Heat oven to a temperature of around 200 degrees

Leave the ham to chill slightly and then remove the skin from the gammon joint. With a sharp knife, make slashes in the fat creating criss-cross diamond shapes. At the corners of the diamond shapes, push in the whole cloves. Drizzle the black treacle over the fat, then sprinkle the mustard flour and sugar over the treacle

Roast for about 10 - 15 minutes or until you have a nice glaze on the fat

This tastes gorgeous :)

NB: the coca cola sauce that was reserved should be boiled down until it thickens and reduces in volume, it can then be used for a soup base or a barbecue sauce. I havent used my sauce yet, but my son assures me it makes a very good barbecue style sauce

Mango, Melon and Apple Smoothie

2009-01-02T09:20:00.003Z

The day before new Year's Eve, I had two wisdom teeth extracted! I've been dreading the though of having this done, on the run-up, but decided not to put it off ... but to get it over and done with ...

Believe me, it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be. As both of the teeth are on the same side, I now find myself having difficulties eating, over new year. What a time to be unable to eat, one of the big festivals of the calender. New Year's Eve dawns and I am on four hourly pain relief ...

For everything there is an up-side, and the up-side of not being able to eat much over New Years Eve was a gorgeous mango smoothie on New years Day. I have a fair bit of fruit in the house that needs eating up, so here is my solution

2 mango's, pulp only
2-3 slices melon, chopped
1 braeburn apple, peeled, cored and chopped into cubes
1/4 pint semi-skimmed milk

Place the fruit into a liquidiser and pulse for a few seconds, until well combined and forming a liquid. Add milk to make a more fluid consistency

Chill and serve :)

A Healthier Bubble and Squeak

2008-12-28T09:07:00.010Z

I am in the fortunate position whereby various companies in the UK and further afield, from time to time ask me to evaluate their products

Just before Christmas I was approached by Able and Cole, who operate an organic fruit and veggie box system, whereby they deliver the box's to your doorstep. I used to use Able and Cole, but cancelled my order some time ago

I jumped at the chance to have the free organic box. Lovely fruits and veggies, they were lovely. I have had another organic box since the free one and expect to receive one every other week

So what did I make with my free organic box ...

Bubble and Squeak is a traditional English recipe for using up left-over veggies, usually potatoes mashed with butter and milk and green vegetables, but can include just about anything else, all fried in lard. A cholesterol nightmare! So I wondered, as I do, if I could throw together a bubble and squeak that is a bit more healthy ...

2 - 3 carrots, chopped into chunks
1 lb potatoes, peeled
1 head of broccoli, chopped into small florets
2 -3 small white onions
Knob of butter
1 tbsp olive oil

Add the carrots and potatoes to a large pan of water, bring to the boil, simmer for ten minutes or until the potatoes are approaching being cooked through
Add the broccoli to the potatoes and carrots, simmer for a further five minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked through
Strain the vegetables, tip into a large bowl, fork through to break the potatoes up and combine the vegetables
In a large skillet of frying pan, add the butter and olive oil, fry the onions until they have a good brown singed colour
Add the vegetable mix and fry, turning occasionally, this will allow a light crust to develop on the veggies

Divide between two plates and serve with your favaourite gluten free dipping sauce :)

At Last!!!! .......... an Update

2008-12-23T08:45:00.008Z

As happens, to the best of us, life sometimes gets in the way of blogging and I have abandoned this blog for the last three months, while leaving it available for anyone to read.

I continue to deal with chronic illness in my very near and dearest. I also continue to deal with terminal illness in my very nearest and dearest too. This all takes it's toll and something has had to give ... and I have needed my holiday from blogging

Over the coming months I plan to brighten up this blog, which could do with a fresher look and try to make at least one post per week ...

Christmas is going to be a very different experience this year. The celebrated Christmas lunch for twelve people is to be cooked by my son, age 23. He has to cope with his gluten issues and my gluten issues, so maybe not your traditional ingredients. We have managed to get gluten free gravy sorted out + a gluten free Christmas cake and pudding. We haven't done a huge amount of preparation for this gluten free Christmas feast, most of our gluten free alternatives have come from the high street, so to speak, as you can see!!

Bread sauce - I don't like this, so haven't even tried to find an alternative
Gravy - Bisto Best
Stuffing - home made alternative based on rice
Christmas Pudding - Sainsbury's
Christmas Cake - Sainsbury's

I also like a flavour of Italy with my Christmas, this crept into my Christmas experience about three years ago, so on the days leading up to Christmas I take a trip to Winchester News in Winchester. This is really a newspaper shop that has all sorts of Italian goodies. The man who runs this store shows me what he has in stock that is gluten free. I usually leave with a carrier bag laden with a 'Taste of Italy'. This time my haul included marzipan biscotti and a bottle of Il Santo

Try my gluten free cinammon coated nuts, recipe here

Happy Christmas to all of my readers :)

The Wanderer Returns!

2008-09-05T13:21:00.006+01:00

I'm recently back from a breaak in the Highlands of Scotland. I've fiund a few new places to eat gluten free and a hotel that cater totally to the needs of a gluten free guest. Inspirational or what. I've successfully eaten gluten free meals in many restaurants across the globe, but unfortunately hotels have continued to be a bit more of a problem

I ate loads of seafood while I was away ... well I was staying predominantly in Coastal regions. This picture is of King scallops wrapped in bacon which I ate in a tiny inn sat right on a loch. They were pretty good. So good, I'm going to try and replicate this meal!

Happy days! :)

Nectarines and Raspberries with Ginger Crumbs

2008-08-16T21:35:00.005+01:00

This is a nice and easy 'throw-together desert. It is based on a recipe in 'Delicious' magazine. Believe me it tastes much better than it looks!

To serve 4

2 fresh nectarines, cut into halves, stone removed
3 tbsp agave nectar
100 g gluten free ginger cake, broken into crumbs
200 g Greek style yogurt with honey
100 g fresh raspberries

Place the nectarine halves in an ovenproof dish, spoon over 2 tbsp agave nectar, place under a medium-hot grill for 15 minutes
Add a further 1 tbsp agave nectar and the ginger crumbs to the nectarines, spoon over the yogurt
Grill the nectarines until the yogurt starts to bubble
Place one nectarine per plate on four small plates, with some of the agave and yogurt sauce which has been created. Add some of the fresh raspberries

Imagine the weather is wonderful and eat a sunny desert :)

Chorizo and Pinto Bean Salad

2008-08-10T16:58:00.004+01:00

One of my fave foods of the Meditteranean region is chorizo, and we all know how much I love food with a Mediterranean influence dont we. I've been sort of planning in my head to create a fairly robust salad using chorizo and lentils. Unortunately the lentils didn't quite cut it, although in theory it sounded like quite a good idea ... or so I thought!

I ended up with pinto beans and chorizo with sauteed onions .... turns out to be a good combination. I'll have to work with this combination a bit, to see what else I can dream up! In the meantime, here is my accidental chorizo and bean salad!

100 g GF chorizo
1 Spanish onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
Small can Pinto beans
1/2 pepper, diced
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1- 2 tbsp dressing consisting of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper
2 - 3 handful ls of mixed salad leaves and herbs

To serve 2

In a small fry-pan on a low heat dry-fry the chorizo - the intention here is for the chorizo to render some of it's saturated fat, which my arteries don't need. Dispose of the fat.

To the small fry-pan add 1 tbsp olive oil, add the onions and over a moderate heat fry them until they have softened and are taking on a brown colour

Drain both the chorizo and the onions of excess oil on kitchen paper

In a seperate bowl, add the pinto beans, peppers, half the parsley and half the chorizo / onion mix. Toss together with the lemon and olive oil dressing

Divide the salad leaves between two plates, add half of the bean / chorizo mixture to each plate, top with the remaining chorizo, onions and parsley

:)

The Food of Scotland

2008-08-04T09:56:00.003+01:00

Scotland, for anybody that doesnt know, is the land of the fruits of the seas and lochs (lakes), with the stunning mountain scenery thrown in for good measure. It's a place I love, hundreds of miles from my home in the very South of England, but a place I often return to. Shortly I will be making another return visit!

This however is a picture of the food of Scotland, taken during my sons birthday celebration, in Loch Fyne, a Scottish seafood restaurant in the South of England

Corn and Crab Cakes

2008-07-27T07:29:00.004+01:00

I've always fancied eating little crabcakes with sweet chilli dipping sauce, preferably at a table looking out to sea. That however is the stuff of dreams. Before I ever got around to eating those little crabcakes with sweet chilli dipping sauce by the edge of the sea, the crabcakes were off limits until I could work out how to adapt them to being gluten free and I can no longer tolerate chilli!

Big problem! A leap into the unknown of will it work or wont it work! It did and here are are my big crabcakes with no sweet chilli dipping sauce. The crabcakes however are mildly spiced, so hopefully that will make up for the lack of sweet chilli dipping sauce!

To make 6 crabcakes

454 g fresh crabmeat
1 white onion, finely diced
3 tbsp whole sweetcorn
1 medium egg
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1 tsp gluten free Worstershire sauce
1 tsp wholegrain gluten free mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper
100 g cornbread crumbs
Vegetable oil for frying

put all the ingredients except the vegatable oil in a large bowl and combine well. Shape into six circular patties and place on a tray lined with greaseproof paper

Place in the fridge and chill for at least an hour - this will help the crabcakes hold thier shape

In a large fry-pan on medium heat, add enough oil to cover the base. When the oil is hot enough add the crab cakes and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side

Serve with salad :)

Corn Bread from Momma Cherri

2008-07-15T19:40:00.009+01:00

I'm planning on making a deep-south style meat-loaf fairly soon, but before I can make the meat-loaf I need some breadcrumbs. The plan was to make a cornbread and crumble it all up for breadcrumbs to use in stuffing's, burgers and my up and coming meat-loaf. There were no plans to post this recipe for cornbread, but it has turned out so nice ... here it is, featured on my blog!

The original recipe is from the British Queen of Soul food Momma Cherri, who grew up in Philadelphia before moving to the UK. I have adapted it to make it gluten free, but no further adaptions took place ... oops I changed the cooking method ever so slightly too

I'm really looking forward to the meat-loaf now!

225 g butter
225 g medium yellow cornmeal
100 g Doves gluten free bread flour (this includes xanthium gum)
125 g gluten free flour mix (this includes xanthium gum)
125 g castor sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
2 large eggs, beaten
475 ml semi-skimmed milk

I made this cornbread in a loose bottomed spring-form cake tin, which I'm sure isn't quite traditional!!! It does however give me a bit more of control over breads, that I am not familiar with baking!

Crank the oven up to 180 degrees, use the butter wrapper to grease the cake tin as a precautionary measure to prevent the cornbread from sticking

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, meanwhile slowly melt the butter in a small saucepan

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, add the eggs, butter and milk, stirring well with a wooden spoon. This will produce a fairly fluid batter, don't worry, proceed to baking ....

Bake in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch.

This corn bread has the look and texture of a madiera cake ... loads of breadcrumbs :) unfortunately a lot of it got eaten before I could freeze the breadcrumbs, but I have enough for the meat-loa!

A Day Late: Coleslaw!

2008-07-05T18:20:00.005+01:00

Oooops! A belated 'Happy Independence Day' to those that celebrating it eeeerrrr yesterday! I got my dates mixed up and thought today was the fourth, so gathered my ingredients today instead of yesterday!

However!

Coleslaw is on the menu today!

I have a long history of making my own coleslaw. Going back nearly thirty years. I think my mother or father taught me how how to make it, so this is more than likely a handed down family tradition. I've at some time or other produced everything from a classic slaw of cabbage. carrots and mayo to elaborate versions containing poppyseeds, cheese or variations with salad ingredients

I have to sadly admit though, that I have never used a recipe as it is one of those things that is all based on the look and texture of the ingredients. This coleslaw is no exception.

It consists of about a third of a medium sized white cabbage, finely sliced and sprinkled with salt to soften the cabbage, left for a while, then the resultant liquid drained. To the softened cabbage I have added three peeled and grated carrots and half a red onion very finely diced. The ingredients are then tossed together. Mix into these ingredients spooonfuls of half fat mayonaise untill the right consistency is achieved. Leave in a bowl for around an hour to allow the flavours to mingle

There you have it .... No Recipe Coleslaw!

Enjoy :)

Chicken and Pancetta Salad with Honey and Mustard Dressing

2008-06-30T17:12:00.003+01:00

Some days I dont have enough hours in the day, today was one of those days! So, it had to be something that was both quick and healthy with ingredients that I have in the house ... and here it is!

I dont much go on the salad dressings available in the stores these days. They often have gluten in them and a whole bunch of chemicals and I'm not into chemicals in my food anymore. I had to chance my arm again and try and make my own dressing. Boy, have I had some disasters over the last few years with salad dressings, but this one was good. Sweet with a bite! Just right!

130 g cubed pancetta
300 g chicken diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp GF wholegrain mustard (make sure the mustard is GF)
2 handful ls fresh rocket
6 cherry tomatoes, halved

Dressing

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp GF wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp runney honey

To serve 2

Make the dressing first by putting all the dressing ingredients into a screw-top jar, shake, then put the dressing in the fridge to chill slightly
In a dry frying pan, add the pancetta, dry-fry on a low heat, to render up the fat from the pancetta and let the pancetta come to a golden colour. Discard the rendered fat and tip the pancetta onto kitchen paper to absorb any further fat

Thank your lucky stars, you have just got rid of a whole load of liquid cholesterol, that isnt going to clog your arteries

In the pan add the olive oil and wholegrain mustard, allow to sizzle for a few minutes, add the chicken and saute until cooked though, leave for a few minutes to rest
Divide the rocket leaves and tomatoes between two plates, add the chicken and pancetta, dress with the honey and lemon dressing

Lunch!!!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-06-22T10:40:00.003+01:00

My gluten free son has been pleading with me for the last two weeks to make him some GF cookies. I've given in to his wishes, so here are cookies especially for a GF son!!!

I've set myself a further challenge ... when don't I! I'm sure my son wont notice the difference! As I have elevated cholesterol, that I am trying to reduce. I don't fancy doing on life-long medication to reduce it! I am trying to reduce saturated fats in my diet. When it comes to baking, that means I am trying to replace butter (high in saturated fat) with sunflower oil. It has a knock on effect, when mixing up a recipe, sunflower oil produces a wetter mix than a butter mix, so I've added flour to counteract that. Even considering the extra flour, this is a very good cookie

1/4 cup sunflower oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups vanilla castor sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup gluten free flour mix
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup medium ground oats
3/4 cup jumbo oats
100g chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 350 degrees

Mix the sunflower oil and the egg together in a small jug

Sieve the sugar and flour into a large bowl, add the baking soda and ground oats
Add the peanut butters, mix to combine. Ad the egg and oil mix, stir to combine. Add the jumbo oats and chocolate chops, stir to combine

This produces a fairly sticky dough. Take handfulls of dough and roll them into balls a bit more than an inch in diameter. Place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Cook for 12 minutes or until just turning golden. Keep an eye on them, they turn from golden brown to very brown fairly quickly

Rocky Road Brownies

2008-06-15T17:47:00.008+01:00

I have somewhat vague memories of eating rocky road chocolate cake about twenty years ago, as far as I can recall I've never done anything 'rocky road' from then till now. I doubt very much if brownies had reached these shores at that time, if they had, I certainly hadn't heard of them!

I was thinking of making some cookies for myself and my gluten-free son this week-end. He is always trying to get me make GF cookies since I let him sample the Flourless peanut butter cookies which I jazzed up a few months ago. Then I came across this recipe from Carol Fenster, cookies became brownies, which I have only adapted sligtly by using a healthier oil (sunflower oil which is heart-healthy). I was sold before I even started gathering the ingredients together. I love brownies as does my son and anything of the 'rocky road' ilk is fine by me!

1 1/4 cups gluten free flour blend
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthium gum
1/4 cup sunflower oil (this is far healthier than using butter or margerine)
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
1/2 cup brown castor sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup warm water or coffee
1/2 cup GF chocolate cups
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees - Line the bottom of an 8" square tin with cooking parchment
In a mixer bowl, stir together flours, cocoa, baking powder, salt and xanthium gum and set aside
In a large mixer bowl, beat together sunflower oil, sugars and egg with an electric mixer on medium speed, untill well combined
With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients. Mix untill well blended, add warm water or cofee and mix untill thoroughly combined. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts marshmallows and cranberries
Spread the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes
Cool before cutting

Impress your son with Gluten Free Rocky Road Brownies :)

A Cup of Tea and a Slice of Cake in the South-West

2008-06-07T19:18:00.006+01:00

I've been working away from home recently in Plymouth, Devon. A wonderful place to go visiting this time of year! I was unfortunately working so saw hardly anything, but my husband went out for a few hours with a camera, to take some pix

On the way back, we were travelling in homeward, and just approaching Honiton, it was 5.30 in the afternoon, so getting a cup of tea in such a small market town was a bit of a long shot. Honiton is one of those old fashioned towns, they are famous for their lace making and definately not the sort of place where you'd see a fast food joint, more a place for tea-rooms. Thats exactly what we found ' The Boston Tea Party Tea Room and Cafe', YES, it was open .. at 5.30 pm

I was gobsmacked that we found somewhere to get a cup of tea at all, imagine how shocked I was to find I was in a tea-room that had orange and ginger gluten free cake

If you are ever in this part of the country check it out!

And a few more pictures, this time of Plymouth!

Mango Relish

2008-06-01T16:54:00.003+01:00

This recipe is inspired by the TV chef Paul Merrett. His recipe includes chilli, but unfortunately due to quite severe reflux I cant tolerate it and also have to keep my food quite light on spice. This spice level works for me, but you may like to add a tad of chilli powder. If you do, let me know of any variations and I'll update this recipe

I plan on cooking some chicken breasts with a light Asian marinade to go with this relish, but think this will go with a whole host of food!

Make sure you use ripe mangoes, mine were a little under-ripe and held their shape a bit more than I wanted them to ...

Drizzle of sunflower oil
1 onion, diced into 5 mm cubes
1/2 red pepper, diced into 5 mm cubes
60 ml white wine vinegar
4 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp curry powder
2 large mangoes, cut into smallish dice

Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat
Sizzle the onion and red pepper in the oil or a few minutes, until the onion becomes translucent
Add the white wine vinegar and sugar, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about five minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken
Add the curry powder, diced mango and stones from the mangoes and cook over a low heat, until the liquid has evaporated and the and a jam consistency is reached - approximately 30 minutes
Leave to cool and pot in a jar

Foccacia Rolls - Yeast Free

2008-05-26T14:57:00.010+01:00

I have been lucky enough to receive a promotional copy of another one of Carol Fensters books which is published by Avery, a division of Penguin Books. I did receive a copy of Carol's earlier book, Gluten Free- Quick and Easy, you can see the review here. I still use some of the recipes from that book to this day, but this book I believe would be a great addition to any gluten free cook's library, it includes all those dishes that you have avoided for ages, because they have small amounts of flour in sauces for example!

This recipe is based on the Quick-Bread Foccacia on page 34. The only adaption I have made is to make rolls instead of one larger bread. I have also used a pre-mixed flour blend instead of using Carol's blend - both were similar!

I will also make the Foccacia bread with yeast over the next couple of weeks, to compare the two! OK for me as I don't have a problem with yeast, but for those of you that do ... try this! Even better, buy the book, as there are other yeast-free recipes

2 cups gluten-free bread flour mix (I used Doves, but there is a bread flour mix in the book)
2 tsp sugar or honey
2 tsp xanthium gum
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp unflavoured gelatin powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp onion salt
1 tsp dried rosemary and thyme
1/4 tsp potato flour (not starch)
2 large eggs
1 cup low fat milk
2 tbsp olive oil + a few sprays of 1 cal per spray olive oil
Pinch Italian seasoning

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Line 4 4 " individual cake tins with baking parchment
In a large bowl add all the dry ingredients
Mix all the wet ingredients in a 1 pint jug
Slowly add the the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mix thoroughly to combine - you should have a sticky, slightly wet dough
Divide between the cake tins, spray the top of the dough with the 1 calorie per spray olive oil and sprinkle with the dried Italian seasoning
Bake in the oven for approximately 11 minutes

The Ketogenic Diet for Control of Epilepsy in Paediatic Patients and a Gluten Free Diet

2008-05-16T18:49:00.015+01:00

As the mother of a son with Tonic Clonic Epilepsy there have been many trials and triumphs along what has at times been a very difficult journey ...

Getting a diagnosis of epilepsy for some forms of epilepsy can sometimes be difficult. Once you have a diagnosis you move onto the treatment phase, trying to reduce or stop the seizures. For many people with epilepsy good control can be achieved, sadly this isn't always the case. So for some starts the battle to get as good a control as is possible

For people in the UK struggling with any form of Epilepsy, there has always been somebody at the end of the phone for me at Epilepsy Action. They provide leaflets and general information at all of the Neurological Centres of Excellence

Sometimes the need for information can be strong, when it was strongest, I logged onto my computer, accessed the internet, and did a Google-search. Hey presto! I found Brain-Talk (now known as Neuro Talk). Neuro Talk is an online community for people with all sorts of neurological disorders, providing forums for people to communicate their problems and their solutions. It was here that I discovered that I wasn't the only mother isolated by chronic neurological disease in their child. They helped me to find a way through, both for myself and for my son. They also opened my eyes to the possibility of manipulating epilepsy with diet, which I duly did, a relaxed form of the Ketogenic Diet that was fairly low in Gluten

The Ketogenic Diet is getting a lot of press here at the moment, due to the results of clinical trials in London. It is not new, it was developed in the 1920's. Paediatric epilepsy patients in the USA were using the diet, or a form of the diet at least ten years ago, that I know of, some with good results. It was developed to help with seizures in paediatric patients for whom seizure control is the most difficult. It is a very strict regime with increased levels of fats, normal levels of proteins and minimal levels of carbohydrates (naturally gluten low)

If you want to know more about one woman's true life struggle with her son's epilepsy, you could do much worse than watch the film, First Do No Harm, starring Meryl Streep. It follows a mothers journey from her sons diagnosis of a severe form of epilepsy through to the eventual trial on the Ketogenic Diet. It is released by The Jaffe/Braunstein Films Ltd Production Company and I acquired it as a giveaway from the Daily Mail

I was as a result of the Ketogenic Diet and Neuro Talk, that I eventually started to resolve my own food issues. I knew I was ill at the time, but had other issues to deal with! As a result of being low in gluten on a relaxed form of the Ketogenic diet I released why I was being sick all the time. It later got to the point where I couldn't tolerate gluten at all .... but that is another story!

I believe that some epilepsy patients do rather well on a gluten free diet!

Food for Thought :)

Noodles, Noodles, Noodles ... with a Free Giveaway of GF Soba Noodles!

2008-05-08T08:32:00.013+01:00

Following on from the comments on my noodle recipe.

I loved being able to eat noodles after such a long time of not eating them. I still remember those days when I used to go to noodle bars in London and eat beautifull noodle dishes in stunning sauces, without giving a thought to food allergies. Then along came food allergies! And so I looked unsuccessfully for some good gluten free noodles, unsuccessfully! That was then and this is now. I have found some gluten free noodles

So ...

I have a few 250 g packs of buckwheat soba noodles, with the ingredients listed as buckwheat and salt only. Although there is a rider that states 'may contain traces of gluten', which is standard UK to cover manufacturers against contamination as they use gluten containing products in other lines

If you cant get gluten free soba noodles and would like a pack, hook out your best noodles recipe, post it to your blog by 31st May. Email me or leave me a message in the comments to this post, with the link and I'll publish the recipes as soon after that as I can. I'll also send noodles to the best recipes

Fruity Granola in Clusters

2008-05-05T18:33:00.008+01:00

One of my sons has been real sick recently and has just been discharged from the hospital. He suffers from one of the neuro conditions that has a connection with celiac disease, so any time he is sick, it is a fairly big deal.

For a few days there I was living life in the worried and tearful lane ... it's at times like this that I resort to comfort food, definitely nothing complicated! If you'd been around here, you would even have seen me resorting to egg and chips ... me ... I don't even like eggs that much!

My son is recovering and so am I, so I decided to make some granola (still only eating comfort food). This time I wanted to try and get it into clusters, and surprise, surprise, this is in clusters!

2 cups jumbo oats
1 cup puffed rice
1 cup flaked rice
Handful dried blueberries
Handful dried cherries
Handful raisins
Handful red skinned peanuts
2 handfuls walnuts, chopped
120 g runny honey
120 g sunflower oil
1 tbsp maple butter

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees

In a large mixing bowl, add the oats, puffed rice and rice flakes, stir to combine. Add the fruits and nuts, stir to combine. Add honey, sunflower oil and maple butter, stir to combine

Tip the contents of the bowl into two large roasting tins, cook in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, stirring at least a couple of times during the cooking period

Leave to cool, then put into a storage container until breakfast time

A Spanish Inspired Salad with Artichokes and Chorizo

2008-04-30T18:31:00.007+01:00

This salad is certainly of Spanish inspiration and is loosely based on a recipe by Delia Smith. It may be Spanish in inspiration, but I have used local ingredients wherever possible, which admittedly in April isn't that often! I love the tastes of the Mediterranean as I am sure you will now have realised, but Spain is one of my favourite countries in the 'Med'

To Serve 4

300 g chorizo sausage, diced
Handful of black pitted olives
280 g jar artichoke hearts, drained and cut in half
Handful crispy lettuce
Handful wild rocket leaves
Handful seedless grapes, cut in half
410 g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed
6-8 small tomatoes, cut in half

Dressing

2 tbsp olive oil from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped

Dry-fry the chorizo in a small pan over low heat, this will remove a lot of the saturated fat from the chorizo. Leave to cool

Combine the salad dressing ingredients in a screw-topped jar, leave to one side

On a large platter, arrange the crispy lettuce and rocket leaves, add the grapes, tomatoes, artichokes, olives and beans, scatter the cooled chorizo over the top. Drizzle with the dressing

:)

Beefburger and Salad al la Caprese

2008-04-24T22:21:00.004+01:00

Its been around six years since I've eaten a beefburger with salad, so I guess its about time I created my own version of the old favourite. I've based it on those beefburgers that I used to eat in London in American Style diners make of virtually 100% beef, not that this is 100%, but I dont imagine it is far from it!

I cant say beefburgers with a huge wadge of bread roll is something I miss, as I eat a lot lighter now than I did in my pre-GF diet days, but I have been thinking about doing a burger salad for a while. As I cut out the bread, I figure its ok to add the Caprese style salad rather than a salad of salad vegetables only

Beefburgers

500 g minced beef
2 fat cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper

Rocket leaves

Caprese Salad
100 g small tomatoes, cut in half
125 g ball of mozzarella
Handful basil leaves, left whole

Salad Dressing

1 tbsp lemon juice
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Make the beefburgers first by mixing all the ingredients in a large bowl, divide the mixture into four evenly shaped balls, pat the balls down to make a beefburger shape

In a frying pan, add about one tbsp oil, add the beefburgers and fry on one side until you can see the meat starting to turn brown

In the meantime, put the ingredients for the salad dressing into a screw-top container, shake well to mix

By now the beefburgers should be cooked on one side, turn them over

In the meantime, put the mozzarella, tomatoes and basil leaves into a salad bowl, add the salad dressing, and mix to combine

Arrange the rocket leaves on two plates, add the caprese salad to one side of the plate. When the beefburgers are a nice brown colour as per the picture, they should be cooked through, add those to the plate

Next, congratulate yourself on cooking gluten free beefburgers and eat them!!

:)

A Healthier Cookie: Oat and Sultanna with Peanut Butter

2008-04-20T08:12:00.013+01:00

In my pre-gluten free diet days when I could eat anything I pleased, my favourite cookie was sultana and oatmeal. I used to buy a pack of six huge cookies most weeks from a local supermarket. That was then and this is now!!! I've tried a few different commercially produced gluten free cookies, but given up on them because they just didn't cut it. Recently though I found the flour-less peanut butter cookie recipe, and other cookie recipes in Mike's book. I loved the lightness of the flour-less peanut butter cookie and the chewiness of Mike's strawberry and chocolate cookies

I had been thinking about adapting the flour-less peanut butter cookies to something more substantial, and then I saw Natalie's Jazzed Up Flour-less Peanut Butter Cookies. Here is my version of the Flour-less Peanut Butter Cookie - Jazzed Up

Its fairly light on saturated fats and high in fibre with the addition of oats and oatmeal (good for reducing cholesterol), therefore heart healthy

2oz butter
1 1/4 cups vanilla sugar
2 egg's, beaten
1 1/4 cups peanut butter
1/2 cup finely milled oats (flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup jumbo oats
3/4 cup sultanas

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar
Add the eggs, beat until combined
Add the peanut butter, beat until combined
Add the oat flour and baking soda, mix until combined
Add the jumbo oats and sultanas, mix until combined
Refrigerate the dough for a few hours, the dough will firm up as a result of being refrigerated, but will still be a fairly loose, sticky dough
Roll the dough into balls, a bit more than an inch in diameter, place on a cookie sheet, allowing plenty of room for the dough to spread
Bake in a preheated over at 190 degrees for about 12 minutes (time will depend on the size of the cookie balls) or until golden

This should produce around 18 cookies, depending on the size of the cookie balls!