Gluten Free Tips

Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

This bread/cake will feed 4 to 6 people and is high in dietary fibre.

Ingredients are

300 gr dates
150 gr ground almonds
150 gr caster sugar
3 tablespoons butter
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 tablespoons cornflour
2 cl Cointreau
50 gr almond slivers

Pre-heat the oven to 175C

Take the stones out of the dates and cut the dates into small pieces.   Mix with 100gr of the sugar and the ground almonds.
Seperate the eggs and take the egg yolks and mix them with the remaining 50 grs of sugar and vanilla essence.

Melt the butter and mix in the cornflour, the dates, ground almonds, sugar, egg yolks and Cointreau.  Stir until well-mixed.

Whip up the eggs whites until stiff and fold into the above mixture.

Butter a round cake dish and line with greaseproof paper.  Pour in the cake mixture.  Sprinkle almond slivers on the top and bake for 30 minutes in the middle of the oven at 175C. 

Enjoy!

As a coeliac, you tend to stick with the “simple” foods and the foods you know and there isn’t a lot of time or opportunity for snacking. 

Luckily there are suppliers out there who can supply you with a nice snack.  One of these is www.fabsnacks.com

They offer gluten-free snacks, but also other snacks for other allergies, such as lactose, wheat-free, yeast-free……

If you’d rather make your own snack, I can recommend this easy, no-cook recipe for that all-time favourite – COCONUT ICE  it takes about 15 minutes to make, 4-5 hours to let set and then another 5 minutes to cut into pieces. 

Ingredients

405 gr tin of Condensced Milk

300 gr desiccated coconut

300 gr Icing Sugar

2-3 drops of Red (scarlet) food colouring

greaseproof paper

How to make :

1. Line a square or rectangular dish with grease-proof (parchment) paper. 

2. Mix all (except the food colouring) the ingredients together.  Spread half of the mixture and spread out evenly into the base of the dish – use the back of a spoon to smooth out the mixture.

3. Add the food colouring to the remainder of the mixture and mixed thoroughly.

4. Spread the pink mixture over the top of the first layer and smooth out.

5. Leave overnight, or at least 4-5 hours. in a cool place before cutting into squares. 

This coconut ice keeps well for 4-5 days in an airtight container.  Enjoy!

For a simple gift idea, place some of the coconut ice in attractive containers or jars and attach a gift tag.  You may also put some squares of clear cellophane and tie with colourful ribbon.

Gluten Free Crispy Fried Chicken recipe for celiacs from America (hence use of Chex).

To prepare this start the night before:

1. Cut Chicken Breasts in halves or strips.

2. Stir up a mixture of Tapioca Starch Flour with water in a cereal size bowl.
Make the thickness – liquid and not paste (somewhere in between). (optional)

3. Dip chicken in thinned Tapioca water.

4. Place chicken in a covered bowl in fridge, overnight (if time permits).

5. Place 3 Cups of gluten free Rice Chex in a zip lock bag & crush w/rolling pin.

The next day:

6. Take Chicken out & season w/salt, pepper & your regular chicken spices. (could be any – sage, oregano, garlic powder, 2 crumbled chicken bullion cubes, paprika, Tony Chacheries seasonings or any)

7. Dip into a (cereal bowl size) crushed gluten free Rice Chex Cereal.

8. Dip into Tapioca starch or your favorite gluten free chicken flours.

9. Fry in 1 1/2 inches of Canola Oil till brown & crunchy!!!

Fry in 1 1/2 inches of Canola Oil till crunchy!!!

You should note that this can all be done immediately and does not need to be refrigerated.

This can also be done by just leaving off the water.

As an alternative this could be done in the oven & baked w/Olive Oil sprinkles over the top.

A staple food of the Incas, Quinoa is a seed which is still grown in Bolivia and Peru.  It is extremely rich in complete protein (12-18%) , and is is excellent for vegetarians and vegans.  The small round seeds look similar to millet but are pale brown in colour.  When quinoa is cooked, it absorbs twice its volume in liquid.   The seeds then sweeten and become translucent.  The cooked taste is mild, and the texture firm and slightly chewy.

Quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, being secondary only to the potato and later, maize.   In contemporary times, Quinoa has become highly regarded for its nutritional value . Unlike wheat or rice ( which are low in lysine),  quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source.   It is a good source of dietary fibre and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest.  Because of these characteristics, quinoa is being considered a possible crop in NASA’s Controlled Ecological Life Support Sytem for long-duration manned spaceflights.

Quinoa is good for you if you suffer from migraines.  Quinoa is a good source of magnesium, which helps relax blood vessels, preventing the constriction and rebound dilation characteristic of migraines. Increased intake of magnesium has been shown to be related to a reduced frequency of headache episodes reported by migraine sufferers. Quinoa is also a good source of Vitamin B2, which is necessary for proper energy production within cells. Vitamin B2 – Riboflavin has been shown to help reduce the frequency of attacks in migraine sufferers, most likely by improving the energy metabolism within their brain and muscle cells.

Quinoa is also a  good source of magnesium, the mineral that relaxes blood vessels. Since low dietary levels of magnesium are associated with increased rates of hypertension, ischemic heart disease and heart arrhythmias, this ancient grain can offer yet another way to provide cardiovascular health for those concerned about atherosclerosis.

Herewith follows a simple, easy recipe for a Leek and Bacon Quinoa Bake.  It is gluten-free, but also dairy-free, egg-free and yeast-free :

2 medium leeks, sliced into discs

1 clove garlic

1 small box of lardons

400 gr quinoa

black pepper

4 sage leaves

fresh thyme

olive oil

chicken or vegetable stock

Brown the lardons in a little olive oil; then add the leek, herbs and garlic.  Add more oil,  if required.  Fry gently for 10-15 minutes. 

Pour in the quinoa and cover with the stock.  Keep adding stock until the quinoa is cooked (white rings appear around the seeds – should be around 10 minutes), then cover and let stand for 5 minutes.  Make sure you leave enough stock in to ensure it is moist and loose after standing. 

Finish off with some ground pepper and serve warm. 

Note: refrigerate any left-overs for a delicious packed-lunch the next day!  (That’s if there’s any left!)

If you have been told to exclude gluten from your diet here are a few basic tips.

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AVOID:

- All foods made from wheat flour like bread, pasta, crackers, biscuits, cakes and pastry
- Wheat based breakfast cereals like Weetabix, puffed wheat, All Bran , muesli
- Wheat, rye, barley or oats used as an ingredient

Less obvious sources of gluten in manufactured foods:

- Wheat flour as an added ingredient, processing aid, binder, filler or carrier for flavourings and spices
- Wheat starches used as a carrier for spices, seasonings, flavourings or as a filler or binder or for dusting during the manufacturing process
- Contamination with wheat, rye, barley or oats during food production or storage
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GLUTEN-FREE (SAFE) ALTERNATIVE FOODS:

- Rice (white, brown, wild, rice flour, ground rice, rice cakes, rice pasta, rice noodles)
- Buckwheat, buckwheat noodles
- Maize (corn), maize starch, maize flour
- Cornflour, corn starch, cornmeal, popping corn, corn pasta
- Polenta
- Potato flour, potato starch
- Soya, soya flour
- Bean flours (chick pea flour, split-pea flour)
- Sago, tapioca, cassava, arrowroot, millet
- Oats in moderate amounts (up to 50g a day, which is one portion) can be consumed by most coeliacs without risk though little research has been done on oats in children with coeliac disease.

Whilst the change in your diet looks to be a great challenge you will find that you can easily adopt to this in a few months and the health benefits will be great.

Last Christmas, my husband surprised me with a waffle maker. It’s a German-manufactured (Tchibo) one, with the ability to make 2 waffles at a time. Each waffle sub-divides into 5 heart-shaped waffles. I’ve experimented with many gluten and gluten free waffle recipe dishes over the past few months.

My first attempt with a gluten free waffle recipe was to take a recipe similar to the breakfast waffles made with wheat flour, only substituting the flour with a gluten-free flour or baking mix. I find buckwheat and rice flour works well for this. However, you do need to add baking powder and you need to ensure they are fluffy by beating the egg whites separately and folding them in as the last step. You will also need to adjust the amount of milk to add. Gluten-free flours tend to absorb milk more.

This gluten free waffle recipe takes 15 minutes to prepare, and if you have a double-waffle iron like mine, it will not take long to make a delicious, warm breakfast with this gluten free waffle recipe! .
The Ingredients are :

• 3 eggs, separated
• 400ml milk
• 225g gluten free flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons vegetable oil

A second gluten free waffle recipe I tried was one adapted from a gluten-free pancake recipe from Thailand. It was made with rice flour, coconut milk, an egg, some sugar, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Again you need to beat the egg whites separately so as to make the waffles lighter, and you do need to add baking powder to ensure a light, airy texture to the waffles.

A third recipe – again adapted from a gluten free pancake recipe is the following : Mix 1 cup rice flour, 1/2 cup soya flour and 1/2 cup corn meal, 1 tbsp baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat together 1 egg and 1.5 cups milk and 2tbsp vegetable oil. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and cook immediately.

Another gluten-free waffle recipe is to take a gluten-free pancake or muffin mix – many supermarkets and health food shops stock these. Some are made with buckwheat flour or rice flour; and some have added ingredients such as apple and cinnamon, or maple syrup. You may need to experiment a bit with the mixes and vary the ingredients to your gluten free waffle recipe a bit, such as less liquid, more baking powder and fluffing up the whites into the batter.

As long as you persevere with the above gluten free waffle recipes, you will find the waffles that suit your tastes and lifestyle. I hope the above gluten free waffle recipe ideas entice your taste buds to start trying!

In this article I’m going to share with you a selection of gluten free pumpkin recipe ideas. Pumpkins are full of the antioxidant called beta-carotene. Current research indicates that a diet rich in foods containing beta-carotene may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer and offers protect against heart disease. Pumpkins are also a good source of Vitamins C, K, and E, and magnesium, potassium, and iron.

Pumpkins are by nature a gluten free food, and I hope that via the following gluten free pumpkin recipe examples you can incorporate this food into your starter, main course and dessert options.

Pumpkin Nutrition Facts (quoted for 1 cup cooked, boiled, drained, without salt)

• Calories 49
• Protein 2 grams
• Carbohydrate 12 grams
• Dietary Fiber 3 grams
• Calcium 37 mg
• Iron 1.4 mg
• Magnesium 22 mg
• Potassium 564 mg
• Zinc 1 mg
• Selenium .50 mg
• Vitamin C 12 mg
• Niacin 1 mg
• Folate 21 mcg
• Vitamin A 2650 IU
• Vitamin E 3 mg

Now for gluten free pumpkin recipe number 1. The (often-forgotten) pumpkin seeds! These can be roasted and kept in a container for up to a year. Pumpkin seeds are delicious as a snack food, or can be added to breads or sprinkled onto soups or other dishes. Pumpkin seeds are believed to have an anti-inflammatory effect, and help protect against prostate cancer and osteoporosis.

The second gluten free pumpkin recipe is for Pumpkin muffins

• 1 cup gluten-free flour
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup mashed, cooked pumpkin

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. In a bowl, whisk together the flour mix, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder and sugar. In a seperate bowl, beat the eggs with a fork; then stir in the oil and pumpkin. Pour this into the dry ingredients and stir until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes.

The third gluten free pumpkin recipe is for Pumpkin soup.

Children like it because of it’s sweet taste; but you can also present it at a dinner party and pass it off as a very sophisticated dish. The ingredients and preparation for this gluten free pumpkin recipe are the following :
Olive oil, potatoes, Leeks, carrots, onions, pumpkin, garlic, chicken stock, nutmeg, salt & pepper, and parsley.

Put oil in pot and glaze the garlic and onions until they are transparent. Then add chopped up potatoes, leeks, carrots and pumpkin. Then add the chicken or vegetable stock. Let it simmer until the vegetables are soft. Then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Purree the soup and serve garnished with chopped parsley.

As evidenced by the above 3 examples above of gluten free pumpkin recipes, you can see that you can incorporate pumpkin in many types of dishes – not just vegetable dishes. I suggest you look at some of the other dishes you normally make and see if you can substitute or mix pumpkin into them.

Good luck and Enjoy!

Gluten-free pasta can be used as a substitute for normal, gluten laden, pasta in most recipes and is virtually indistinguishable from the normal type of pasta. As such there is nothing to stop you from throwing a meal with your favourite Italian cuisine and including many pasta dishes made with gluten-free pasta if you or some of your friends happen to have coeliac condition.

The food manufacturers have been quite ingenious in developing gluten-free pasta and use many different approaches to producing the end product. Some examples of gluten-free pastas are: -

1. rice and corn pasta – this has good cooking qualities and resembles wheat pasta very closely
2. organic brown rice pasta – a similar texture and flavour to normal pasta with the enhanced nutrients of whole grain rice
3. white rice pasta – ground rice used to produce a realistic looking pasta
4. maize, potato, soya and rice pasta – the taste and texture of standard Pasta with a nutritional result

One main advantage of using these pastas is there very close resemblance to the typical gluten-based pasta you would buy in the supermarket or local store. Firstly, you can substitute these for normal pasta when throwing a meal form friends and no one will be the wiser allowing the meal to proceed without being diverted into a cul-de-sac in discussing the ingredients. Secondly, if you have a child or teenager who has recently been diagnosed with coeliac condition, you can very happily substitute the standard pasta they have been used to for these gluten-free pastas and again the gluten-free product will be inconspicuous in the meal.

With the growing awareness of coeliac condition and a more general requirement for gluten-free foods from larger sections of the community, gluten-free pastas are now becoming a regular items on the shelves of supermarkets. Indeed many supermarkets now carry extensive lines of gluten-free foods stretching from pastas to bread and cake mixes to name but a few.

Why don’t you try one with the next meal that you take. As a challenge do a blindfold taste test to those members of your family who are able to eat gluten. You will find that blindfolded n one is able to distinguish the taste or the texture of gluten containing pasta from the gluten-free pasta.

You can search for a long time on the Internet but you could struggle to find a recipe for Gluten Free Dutch Apple Pie, believe me I have tried before and the search came up with a blank. There are many recipes for Dutch Apple Pie and many sites that specialise in Gluten Free recipes but none of them had Gluten Free Dutch Apple Pie details.

The reason is simple when you consider it, the basic ingredients of Dutch Apple Pie are already gluten free with the exception of the pie crust and it is there where we need to turn our attention.

The main ingredients for the apple pie are

• Your standard gluten free pie crust mix
• 5 or 6 cups of peeled and cored sliced cooking apples, not eating apples
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 0.25 cup of fine granulated sugar
• 0.25 cup of packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons of gluten free flour
• 0.25 teaspoon of nutmeg

The key ingredient to making this a Gluten Free Dutch Apple Pie and one that your family will want to eat is to use a gluten free pie mix. Often gluten free flours can be crumbly and dry. It is important that you use a flour mix that has been prepared for pie making. Your local supermarket or health store should have a selection of these. Remember this is a pie pastry not a cake mix.

Before you start you should preheat your oven to 375°F.

Whilst the oven is warming put the gluten free piecrust into a shaped pie plate. Then mix the fruit ingredients. Mix the sliced cooking apples with the lemon juice and add in the sugars, gluten free flour and spices (cinnamon and nutmeg).

Now pour the fruit mixture into the pie bowl and start to prepare the pie topping.

To finish off the pie and produce a serving that would make your grandmother proud you should use the following ingredients for the topping

• 0.75 cup of gluten free flour
• 0.25 cup of fine granulated sugar
• 0.25 cup of packed brown sugar
• 0.25 cup of butter or margarine depending on your preferences warmed to room temperature to help the mixing

In a separate bowl mix the topping ingredients until the mix has coarsely crumbled and then sprinkle this evenly over the apples in the other bowl..

Put the prepared pie into the oven and cook at 375°F for 50 minutes checking that it is turning a golden brown.

Then find some friendly family members and serve this Gluten Free Dutch Apple Pie to them, stand back and wait for the complements. Oh and by the way save some of the pie for yourself.

Gluten free desserts are plentiful. Some desserts, such as fruit, are naturally gluten free. Some are easy and simple to make – like Angel Delight. Other gluten free desserts are more complicated, like pies, cakes, trifles etc. But, just because you’re on a gluten-free diet, doesn’t mean you need to give up desserts, or spend hours in the kitchen making them!

Gluten is a protein present in many cereals, specifically in wheat, barley, oats and rye. I’ve outlined some practical tips and ideas for gluten free desserts – for yourself, for packed lunches, picnics and entertaining:

• Pancakes made with coconut milk and rice flour – accompanied by ice-cream, Nutella, or anything else you fancy!
• Rice-cakes with peanut butter
• Amaretti biscuits
• Angel Delight – a fast easy dessert which you can have in the cupboard. An instant dessert that can impress.
• Make waffles with a batter made with buckwheat flour and rice flour – select your favorite topping!
• Then there’s always fresh fruit – make it more appetizing by carving it into shapes, or cut into pieces and make a fruit salad – this could be accompanied by vanilla ice-cream or crème fraiche!
• Coconut macaroons are gluten-free. or make your own.
• Adapt your favorite trifle recipe by using some gluten free Madeira cake, or gluten-free biscuits and use all the other ingredients as they are to make a wonderful trifle. Once the cake/biscuit has been soaked in the brandy no one will know it’s a gluten free dessert!
• Bananas and custard. Custard is the easiest gluten-free dessert – either make your own, or by the instant version.
• Fill a meringue basket with fresh raspberries or strawberries and top with a spoonful of greek-style yogurt.
• Pan-fry canned or fresh pineapples slices with some butter and brown sugar and serve with ice cream…
• Fill the center of cored baking apples with mixed dried fruit, some butter and brown sugar. Microwave or bake till tender and serve with custard or ice cream.
• Make fruit kebabs and dip into chocolate sauce!
• Thick fruit milk shakes or smoothies
• Chocolate rice crispy or cornflakes cakes
• Home-made chocolate mousse.
• Roulades – chocolate or strawberry.

I hope the above provides you with inspiration for gluten free desserts, to be enjoyed by coeliacs and non-coeliacs alike!