Tag: gluten-free

Vegan Gluten-Free Tiger Nut Bread Mark ll

imageAnyone who is gluten-free for whatever reason will know how difficult it is to find a commercial gluten-free loaf that doesn’t look and taste like cardboard and is, if you’re lucky, only ‘good’ for toasting. It lasts a day and then breaks up. It has no flavour other than of additives, and no texture – and if you look at the list of ingredients, you may as well be reading a chemistry experiment!

We have several family members who are gluten-free and have made many variations of gluten-free loaves over the years. We find the ones made in the breadmaker are best, but it’s a bit hit and miss. One day it will come out perfect, the next the paddle will refuse to come out and you have a big hole in the middle or the bottom inch of the loaf isn’t cooked properly.

So, I am ever on the hunt for new recipes to try. This is our latest attempt based on a recipe I found by Dan Lepard on BBC Food. The first one we made, we used all tiger nut flour* as we didn’t have cornflour and it gave a lovely brown colour and lots of texture, but I think there was too much liquid: it spread too much and was very crusty.

 

So this is our second attempt and we kept a little closer to the original, although we didn’t have enough cornflour or enough tiger nut flour for the whole loaf, so we included some organic chickpea flour and a smaller amount of tiger nut flour this time. (You might also want to check out Version III and  Mk IV – the best yet!). 

Chickpea flour – also known as garbanzo bean flour and besan flour – is high in protein and has lots of vitamins and minerals including calcium – as does Tiger Nut flour, which is naturally sweet and high in dietary fibre.

 We were very pleased with it. You can’t really make traditional large sandwiches – it doesn’t rise a lot – but I had open sandwiches with tahini, lettuce, spring onion and olives and they were very moreish!

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 We used plain coconut yogurt in place of dairy to make it vegan, and we also reduced the amount of liquid a little.

All measurements are approximate, you may need a couple of attempts to find the right combinations for you.

 Ingredients

25g – 50g (10z – 1 3/4 oz) Organic Golden Linseeds

450 mls (16 fl oz) Warm Water

2 1/2 Tsps Quick-acting Yeast

80 mls (3 fl oz) Plain Coconut Yogurt (or soya yogurt)

11 oz  (312g) Organic Cornflour/ Fine Maize Flour

4 oz (114 g) Organic Chickpea Flour

1 oz (30g) Tiger Nut Flour

1 Tsp Pink Himalayan Salt

1 1/2 Tsps Organic Coconut Palm Sugar

50g (1 3/4oz) Organic Psyllium Husk Powder

50 mls (1 3/4 Fl oz) Organic Raw Virgin Olive Oil

A little extra olive oil and flour

 Method

 Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4

Warm the linseeds on a tray for about 10-12 minutes, until they darken slightly (the toasted seeds will release a sticky gluten-like substance when mixed with the wet ingredients, and they give the loaf a wheatgerm-like flavour).

Switch off the oven.

Mix together the water and yeast, then stir in the yogurt and seeds. Set aside.

Sift and mix together the flour, salt, sugar and psyllium husk powder  in a large bowl.

Pour in the yeast mixture and olive oil and mix well. Don’t worry if it looks like there’s too much liquid. It will turn into a sticky dough within a few minutes as the linseed, flour and psyllium husk powder become gel-like.

Once the mixture is firm enough, knead it for 10 seconds on the worktop to mix everything again, then place the dough back in the bowl, cover and leave in a warm but not hot place for 30 minutes.

Line a tray with non-stick baking paper.

Shape the dough into a ‘bloomer’ shape, ie long and thick, then brush with the extra olive oil, cover and leave it to rise for about 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 240C/465F/Gas 9 (we have a fan oven and adjusted to 200C).

Make some diagonal cuts across the dough with a sharp knife, sprinkle with a little cornflour and bake for about 40 minutes, or until rich golden-brown in colour.

Cool on a wire rack before slicing.

*

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Serving suggestions: Peanut butter and banana

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Sliced avocado sprinkled with lemon juice and black pepper on bread with rocket, watercress and cucumber salad.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/gluten-free_olive_oil_42050

*The Tiger Nut Company

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Easy-Peasy Vegan Cheesy Cashew Sauce or Dip

imageThere are times as an ex-cheese addict when you just have to have something vaguely resembling a cheese sauce or dip, with pasta or crudités or sweet potato chips for instance. Here is a simple basic recipe that you can adapt with your own flavours, making it more spicy if you like eg with chilli flakes, cayenne, garlic and so on. You can make it as thick or as thin as you want, depending whether you prefer a pouring sauce or a thicker dip.

Cashew nuts are an excellent source of magnesium – a mineral in which most people are deficient, see my post Magnesium: Are You Getting Enough? – protein and B vitamins. Nutritional Yeast is a good vegan source of protein with B vitamins and can be used to give a cheesy flavour to sauces, soups, pasta and so on. Some brands have B12 added, it’s a useful vegan source of this important vitamin (see B12: What Is It & Do We Need To Supplement It?). I use Marigold Foods’ Engevita with added B12.

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All ingredients are organic, measurements approximate.

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cups Cashew Pieces, soaked for a couple of hours more or less, then strained

3 Tbsps Nutritional Yeast

1/4 to 1/2 Cup of Water

A Squeeze of Lemon Juice, more or less according to taste

Slice of Raw Onion, chopped or a couple of Spring Onions, sliced

1/4 Tsp English Mustard

Pink Himalayan Salt and Ground Black Pepper to taste

Paprika or Cayenne Pepper

Method

Blend cashews, nutritional yeast, mustard, water, lemon juice until smooth

Add onion, salt and pepper, blend again either until smooth or with a bit of texture if you prefer

Sprinkle with Paprika, Chilli Powder or Cayenne Pepper

Good with Sweet Potato chips (fries), veggie burger and salad in place of mayo!

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Copyright: Chris McGowan

Warm Apricot & Ginger Rice Salad with Tamari-Splashed Garlic Mushrooms

imageThis was born on a very chilly, wet and windy July day a few days after I had finished a 7 day juice challenge. I had been having salads since, and this was my first fully cooked meal. I wanted something light but warming – it didn’t feel at all like summer – but we had a lot of summer vegetables and fruit so we decided to combine a little of both with some filling and nourishing basmati rice and served with large chestnut mushrooms lightly stir-fried with crushed garlic and tamari.

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Once the rice has been soaked for an hour, the preparation and cooking only takes about half an hour from start to finish.

All ingredients are organic and measurements are as always approximate.

Have a warm dish and a warm plate ready to serve.

Ingredients

1 Cup Basmati Rice, soaked for an hour, rinsed and drained. Cook as normal.

While rice is cooking, prepare:

1-2 or 3 thin slices of Ginger – depending how spicy you want it -chopped finely

1-3 Spring Onions, depending how big or small they are, sliced

5-6 Sugar Snap Peas or Mangetout, sliced

2″ of Courgette/Zucchini, chopped

Floret of Broccoli, thinly sliced

3″ of Carrot, shaved

1/2 Cup Sweetcorn

A few Small Broad Beans

3 Large Chestnut Mushrooms with Stalks separated per person, whole

1 Large Garlic Clove

2 Tsps Coconut Oil

Tamari

Black Pepper

Lightly toasted Pine Nuts

1 Fresh Apricot, sliced

A few Sprouted Mung Beans (optional)

Method

Just before rice is cooked:

Heat 1 Tsp oil each in 2 frying pans

In one, lightly stir-fry all the ingredients on the list up to the mushrooms.

In the other, stir-fry the whole mushrooms and stalks with a crushed clove of garlic and a couple of splashes of Tamari.

Keep everything slightly undercooked with a bite to it.

Place cooked ice in a hot dish and fluff it up with a fork to release the steam. Add some black pepper.

Lightly mix in the stir-fried vegetables, top with, mung bean sprouts, sliced apricot and toasted pine nuts. Place the garlic mushrooms on a hot plate

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The mushrooms have a salty, meaty texture giving you something satisfying to chew.

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Cauliflower Oats (Don’t Laugh, It’s a Thing!)

imageNo really.

I know, you thought courgette (zucchini) oats and beetroot oats were pushing it, but Rachel at Healthy and Psyched raised the bar considerably: she challenged me to try cauliflower oats and I am pleased to say I not only rose to that challenge, I reached the bar and leapt over it!

I know it’s weird, but if you change your perspective a little and see oats in the same way as, say, rice which you have either savoury (risotto) or sweet (rice pudding), or even a mixture of both – we put raisins or dried apricots in some rice meals – then it’s not quite so odd.

Not convinced?

Look at the photo, it’s sweet and fruity and has peanut butter too – I love cauliflower with peanut butter (we put it in a casserole with cauliflower and cashews) – and peanut butter goes well with banana too.

You can use whatever berries you want, Rachel used blueberries, I thought raspberries would go well but there was half a pomegranate to use up, so in it went. You could add cacao, if liked.

Cauliflower is a good source of B Vitamins, Magnesium, Vitamin K, Vitamin C; peanut butter and oats also have B Vitamins and protein and more magnesium in the oats – necessary for healthy muscles, preventing cramps, keeping you calm – and the nut milks are equally nutritious as well as sweet and creamy. Pomegranate is a nutritional superfood, with plenty of phytochemicals that help reduce blood pressure. The whole bowl is filled with dietary fibre.

Here goes for the  first attempt: All ingredients are organic (except pomegranate), vegan and gluten-free.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Oats

3/4 Cup Boiling Water

1/4 Small Cauliflower, grated

1/2 large Banana

1 Medjool Date, chopped

1/2 Cup Tiger Nut Milk or Almond Milk (click links to make your own)

1/4 Pomegranate or Berries

1 Tbsp Peanut Butter

A few Slices of Banana to Serve

Method

Soak the oats in the boiling water in a saucepan for a few minutes while you prepare the cauli and get everything else ready.

Add the grated cauli, the banana, the chopped date and the milk

This bit is important:

Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, to ensure the cauli is cooked.

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(If you’d like it extra smooth, you could blend it with a stick blender)

Pour into a bowl either on top of frozen berries of your choice, or just add fresh berries, peanut butter and slices of banana for the topping in whatever fashion your creative juices dictate.

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It really works! Go on, who’s going to be first to give it a go? If it makes it easier, adding the cauliflower gives you 1 of your 5 a day veg and it is soooo filling – this bowl filled me up until mid-afternoon. It’s far more than I would normally eat that early in the day.

I said to my husband that there was enough for two, but he didn’t take me up on it, he suddenly remembered he had a bike to fix!

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Leslie Kenton’s Sandstone Loaf

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I first had this in the summer of 1986 when my friend and I discovered ‘Raw Energy’, the book and the philosophy. It was a beautifully sunny summer (remember them?) and we spent many days eating our raw creations in her garden – with the occasional glass of white! I think this may well have been the first thing I made with my faithful Braun Multipractic Food Processor, bought that summer and still going strong.

*

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I altered the amounts and some of the ingredients each time I had it, but this one is relatively faithful to the recipe, although I prefer more seeds to give it a bit more of a bite and we used coriander instead of parsley. Leslie often used to use vegetable bouillon powder in her raw savoury recipes, we didn’t have any so we improvised and used some dried King Soba instant organic miso soup! You could also use nutritional yeast.

You can make it as smooth or as coarse as you like, depending whether you would prefer it as a pâté or spread, or more like nut roast to have with salad.

(You could use almond butter instead of tahini for a slightly different flavour, but it would need to be fairly runny).

As always, the measurements are very approximate, you can never stipulate the size of a carrot for instance! So, go with what looks right and taste as you go along.

All ingredients are organic.

The recipe is Raw, Vegan and Gluten-Free.

Makes enough for 4 or 5 for a light lunch. Will keep about 3 days in the fridge and can be kept in the freezer too.

Ingredients

2 Chunky Medium Carrots, roughly chopped

1 + a half Celery Stalks (with leaves if they have any), roughly chopped

1/4 Cup Almonds + a few extra for serving*

1/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds*

1/4 Cup Sunflower seeds*

1/4 Cup Mixed Sunflower + Sesame seeds*

Large Tbsp Tahini

1 Small Onion, finely chopped or a few Spring Onions

Handful of fresh Parsley or Coriander or herb of your choice

1 level Tbsp Organic Miso Soup powder or Nutritional Yeast or 2 Tsp Vegetable Bouillon Powder or 1 Tsp Chilli Flakes

2 Tbsps Grated Beetroot

Method

Process the carrots and celery until well homogenised. Set aside in a mixing bowl.

Finely grind the almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Add to carrot mixture.

Coarsely grind the mixed sesame and sunflower seeds and add to mix with tahini, onion, fresh herbs, powder and beetroot.

Stir well, add seasoning to taste.

Spread in a square dish, press and smooth it down if you want a pâté or loosely roughen the mix if you want some texture.

Garnish with fresh herbs and almonds or toasted seeds.

Refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

I had it on a bed of mixed rocket salad with thinly-sliced cucumber and tahini/lemon juice/water dressing.

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*https://www.buywholefoodsonline.co.uk/

Copyright: Chris McGowan

vegan pancakes [2] — boingghealth™

Pancakes are big in our family – the teenagers and toddlers alike love them – and here’s a great recipe from BoinggHealth:

“A few weeks ago we posted a vegan pancake recipe. I’ve been playing around a bit and created this recipe below, which went down very well with the whole family: 1 cup flour (I use spelt or buckwheat) 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1 tbsp chia 3 tbsp water 1 cup […]

via vegan pancakes [2] — boingghealth™

Blueberry & Walnut Protein Smoothie

 

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This punily thin-looking smoothie is deceptively strong in terms of antioxidants, electrolytes, healthy fats, B vitamins, protein and fibre.

Walnuts contain a significant amount of the heart-healthy alpha-linolenic acid or Omega 3 fatty acid. They are rich in antioxidants and contain manganese, copper, vitamin E and the B vitamin, biotin.

Quinoa is a gluten-free alternative wholegrain packed with protein and fibre.

All ingredients are organic except the coconut water, which is unflavoured, unsweetened and contains no additives.

Ingredients

1 Small Ripe Banana

1 Handful of Blueberries

1 Handful of Walnut pieces (1)

1 Dsp Chia Seeds *

1 Tbsp Quinoa Flakes (1)

1 heaped Tbsp CoYo Plain Yogurt 

1 Small Glass Coconut Water

Blend, add ice if desired.

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Today’s music believe it or not is the first time I have ever listened to One Direction! It was this or Cher on the theme of Strong (get it?), I went with the boys 😊

*The Raw Chocolate Company

1. Buy Wholefoods Online

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Warm Rice Salad with Ginger, Dulse & Sprouted Mung Beans

imageRice salad, whether warm or cold, has long been a favourite in our house. It is quick – essential here! – nutritious and versatile: you can vary the spices or herbs as well as the vegetables.  If you keep until next day, heat it through thoroughly.

We use organic basmati rice. Brown rice contains B vitamins, protein and fibre. We always soak it for an hour and then rinse, to remove any arsenic (yes, most rice, even organic, contains a small amount of arsenic from the groundwater it was grown in – more or less, depending on where it was grown). Cook it according to your usual method, but don’t overcook it. It wants to be whole and nutty, not splitting or wet and mushy. If you overcook rice, it acts like sugar in the body and you lose many of the benefits of using wholegrain rice.

Dulse is a sea vegetable. These contain all 56 minerals and trace elements required by the human body for optimal functioning, as well as B6, B12, Iron, Calcium and are an important source of Iodine for a healthy thyroid.

Sprouted Mung Beans add protein, fibre, B vitamins and several minerals, as well as Vitamins C and K.

Ginger is anti-inflammatory and spring onions are prebiotics – they provide the nourishment that probiotics feed on to maintain a healthy gut.

Ingredients

1 Cup Basmati Rice, soaked and rinsed, then cooked in 1 and 1/2 Cups Boiling Water, about 25 minutes. Have a hot dish ready to serve it in so that any moisture disappears and fluff it up lightly with a fork.

1 Tsp Coconut Organic, Raw Coconut Oil

A couple of thin slices of Ginger, finely chopped

A few Spring Onions, depending on their size

2 decent-sized Mushrooms, whatever type you favour, or a few if small, chopped

A few Sugar Snap Peas or Mangetout, trimmed and chopped

A stick of Celery, with leaves, chopped – reserve half for the green salad

About Half a Small Courgette (Zucchini), chopped

Ground Black Pepper

A few splashes of Tamari – not too much because the Dulce is salty

Some Dulse, snipped into small pieces and soaked for a couple of minutes

A couple of handfuls of Sprouted Mung Beans

Method

  Very lightly stirfry all the ingredients adding them in the order listed, only adding the Dulse and Mung Beans when the rice is cooked and you’re ready to serve.

It takes only 5 – 10 minutes. Try not to overcook, you want some bite to the vegetables and you want to retain as many nutrients as possible.

Mix together lightly with the rice in a hot dish with a fork.

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Serve wth a green salad and a dressing of your choice, with humous, spicy cashew cheese or guacamole.

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Zoats: Mark 2 (I like this one better!)

imageWell, only one person had any enthusiasm for the original savoury porridge or Zoats (zucchini or courgette oats), so here is my second try and I liked this much better. I left out the cacao and made it with tiger nut milk which is sweet and creamy (recipe here), but you can use nut milk or soy or rice milk – though the latter will give you a thinner porridge and doesn’t have the same nutritional value. I also used raisins instead of dates to sweeten it, which is what I would normally put in straightforward, everyday porridge.

Courgettes contain heart-healthy potassium, folate (necessary for cell-division), anti-oxidants, B vitamins, iron and zinc.

Have a go, it won’t do you any harm and it might very well do you some good!

Vegan and Gluten-Free if you use gluten-free oats.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Oats

1/2 Cup Tiger Nut Milk or Horchata

1/4 Cup Water

1/2 Courgette/Zucchini, grated

1/4 Cup Raisins

1 Dsp Shelled Hemp Seeds*

1 Dsp Lucuma Powder* (mild, malted flavour)

1 Tsp Wheatgrass Powder (for extra nutrients – optional)

Goji Berries* and Raw Chocolate Mulberry Chips* to serve.

….

Method

As before, add oats, milk, water and courgette to pan and warm imagethrough until it starts to cook, stirring well. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add raisins and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add hemp seeds, lucuma powder and wheatgrass powder, of used. Mix well.

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Transfer to a bowl and add goji berries and raw chocolate mulberry chips, and a little more milk of desired.

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*

I loved this version! Of course, this is only a template, add whatever flavouring and fruit you like and happen to have.

This is such a satisfying breakfast and starts you off with 1 of your minimum 5 a Day veg and fruit.

We buy our tiger nuts from http://www.thetigernutcompany.co.uk/

* http://www.therawchocolatecompany.com/

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Eat Your Greens! Light Summer Lunch

imageI usually have a juice or smoothie for lunch, but the shopping order had just been delivered and all this fresh salad was calling to me from the confines of the fridge: ‘Let me out, let me out!’ Well, it was a fine day for once even though the sun was still being a bit lazy, and I decided to let them out to play. It’s simple, light and tasty and may look like rabbit food, but it’s full of nutrients, including protein (even in the romaine lettuce!). I’ll be having this today having finished my 7 day juice challenge.

Ingredients

(All organic except the Tamari which is wheatfree)

1 large Romaine Leaf

on which lay

A Large Handful or 2 of Babyleaf & Rocket Salad Leaves

Sliced Ridge Cucumber

1 Thin Stalk of Celery + Leaves (chopped)

3 or 4 Sugar Snap Peas, sliced lengthways

4 Green Olives, pitted & sliced

Lightly Toasted Sunflower, Pumpkin & Sesame seeds splashed with Tamari

Clive’s Organic Humous with lemon*

Black Pepper

*

Arrange to suit your artistic bent – digestion begins with the eyes – and eat at leisure, sitting down at the table. The more relaxed you are, the longer you sit, the more you chew, the more you will digest and absorb. Oh, and switch off the tablet and phone! (Yes, mum!)

*http://www.clivespies.com/

Copyright: Chris McGowan