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Going Gluten Free on a Budget

July 27, 2017

Going gluten free, whether it be for medical reasons or purely as a lifestyle choice, can be daunting. But once you get the hang of reading ingredients labels, you will soon realise it is actually relatively straight forward. You will also realise that a gluten free diet is far from cheap. Food manufacturers have caught on to the fact that gluten free foods are a big thing nowadays, which on one hand is a good thing because the choices are far more varied than they were even 5 years ago. But on the other hand they also know they can charge a lot of money because people have no option but to pay it.

But fear not, there are ways to go gluten free without costing the earth!

Handy Hints for Going Gluten Free on a Budget

Gluten and dairy free gingerbread men recipe

December 30, 2016

Gingerbread Men are a very popular biscuit for children any time of the year. But if you think about all things winter, Christmas in particular, gingerbread has to be right near the top of your list along with snow days, hot chocolate and candy canes.

Being gluten and dairy free needn’t mean you have to miss out either. This recipe has been in the making for a couple of years now but I think I finally perfected it! These gingerbread men are everything you want them to be, crunchy, packed with flavour and not as dry and grainy as many gluten free products tend to be. They are also firm enough to withstand small children decorating them(this has been put to the test by my three year old).

They do go soft within 48 hours, but lets be honest that is actually quite good for gluten and dairy free cookies which usually need eating within 24 hours!

Ingredients

175g plain gluten free flour (I use Doves)
25g besan/chickpea flour
25g arrowroot/tapioca starch
1 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 1/2 tspn ground ginger
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
60g granulated sugar
60g soft light brown sugar
3 tbls golden syrup
20g vitalite (or your preferred margarine)
50g Trex (vegetable shortening)
1 egg

Method

Preheat your oven to gasmark 4/180°C/350°F.

cut some non stick baking parchment to the size of your baking trays

1. Add all of the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl (flours, arrowroot, xantham gum, bicarb, spices, salt and sugars). Stir together to ensure it’s all mixed evenly.

2. Make a well in the centre of the flour mix and add the wet ingredients (syrup, fats and egg).

3. using an electric whisk beat all of the ingredients together until fully combined. Your mix should feel soft, shiny and a bit sticky.

4. Lay your pre-cut parchment down on your surface and place some of your dough in the centre. sprinkle with some flour and place another sheet of parchment or some cling film over the top.

5. Roll your dough so it fills the parchment and is about 1/4 an inch (approx 5mm) thick.

6. Dip your cutter into flour and cut your shapes into the dough about 2″ apart as you want them on your baking tray. Give your cutter a bit of a jiggle to make sure the dough is fully separated.

7. Remove all the excess dough around your cut out cookie shapes.

8. Cook for 15 – 20 minutes, or until golden brown, you may need to turn your trays around half way through cooking for an even bake.

9. When cooked remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes.

10. gently move the gingerbread men from the tray to a cooling rack with a spatula and leave to fully cool.

11. When cooled, put them back on the baking tray and bake for a further 10 minutes. Twice baking ensures a firm crisp cookie.

Repeat steps 9 & 10

leave to cool fully before decorating.

Hints and Tips

Besan flour has quite a strong, nutty taste. Don’t panic if you taste the dough raw, it mellows when cooked and goes well with the spices.

If you find your dough breaks while rolling out try pushing flat with your fingers first, patching up any tears and then using the rolling pin just to give it a smooth, flat surface.

This dough freezes really well. Because the baked biscuits don’t keep as long as a gluten based biscuit you might be best freezing into smaller batches. Once it’s defrosted give a good kneading before rolling out.

Let me know if you give these gluten and dairy free gingerbread men a go, I’d really love to hear how you get on. I’d also love to see your creations, you can send me a picture to my Facebook page, or tag me on Instagram (@mami2fiveblog) and Twitter (@mami2fiveblog).

Gluten and Dairy Free Welsh Cakes

March 1, 2016

Last year I shared my Welsh cakes recipe and I’ve had many compliments about them. If you have never heard of these tiny pieces of heaven, I strongly urge you to take a peek at the post to find out more about them and their history. Of course, I now have to alter most of my favourite recipes to make them safe for my gluten free, dairy free and soya free toddler. So after many alterations and plenty of taste testing, just in time for Saint David’s Day, here is my gluten, dairy and soya free Welsh Cakes recipe.

The Toddler’s Coeliac Disease Test Results

February 5, 2016

Last year I wrote about O’s tummy troubles and him being put on a dairy, soy and wheat/gluten free diet. At that time he didn’t have a specific diagnosis as we were waiting for blood test results. Eventually, over five months after having bloods taken we were finally given the results (how ridiculous is it to have to wait that long!?!) and a diagnosis…

Sort of…

Two of the blood tests were for coeliac disease. One, a genetic test, the second an antibody test. The genetic test came back as positive, meaning simply, that he has a genetic predisposition to develop Coeliac disease at some point in his life.

HOWEVER

Many people are genetically predisposed but may never actually develop coeliac disease in their entire life.

His antibodies test came back negative. Meaning that his body isn’t creating antibodies to fight the gluten in his system. Meaning they can’t diagnose Coeliac disease.

We were told that he probably has a non-coeliac gluten intolerance alongside the dairy and soya and to keep him off all three for at least a year, when they would then look at slowly introducing each back into his diet one at a time. Obviously by that point he was already not eating gluten so they couldn’t retest but she made it clear that they wouldn’t have anyway.

I left that appointment a bit flumoxed and unsure of what to do next, or what to say when asked why he can’t eat certain foods.

That old saying ‘if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck….’ kept popping into my head.READ MORE »

Crunchy Potato Skin Crisps Recipe

November 12, 2015

If you hate food waste as much as I do and also want to save yourself some money this recipe is perfect for you.

These potato skin crisps are not only super simple to make, they are using up potato peelings that you would be otherwise throwing away. The fact that most of the nutrients of a potato are found just under the skin is purely a bonus!

These make a great little snack on their own or you could even serve them as a starter with salsa or any type of dip you fancy. We make ours with garlic and onion salt and smoked paprika but they are just as nice simply with salt.

Here’s how to make these delicious potato skin crisps.

Ingredients:

Potato peelings
1 tablespoons of oil (any type)
seasoning of your choice

Method:

Preheat your oven to around gas mark 5, 190 centigrade, 375 fahrenheit if you are already cooking something at a different temperature these will cope just fine but remember to keep an eye on them if its much hotter as they will burn quickly.

Collect your potato peelings into a bowl and add the oil. Mix up with your hands until the skins are evenly coated with the oil.

Add your seasoning, we add onion salt, garlic salt and smoked paprika, I can’t give you exact amounts as your quantity of potatoes will be different every time but keep in mind you don’t want to add loads, just a good shake. Remember you can always add more after they are cooked.

Lay onto a baking sheet and spread out as much you can manage, don’t fret too much if they overlap but they may take a little longer to cook.

Flip over and move around every 10 minutes or so to avoid burning. The potato skin crisps will be ready when when they have puffed up and are nice and crispy.

For extra flavour: When they are cooked, pile into the middle of the baking tray and sprinkle with grated cheese, leave for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, let me know if you try it 🙂

Gluten free, Dairy and Soya free Lime and Coconut Cupcakes Recipe

October 9, 2015

I have been on the hunt for a springy, tasty cupcake recipe ever since we switched our youngest to a gluten free diet a few months ago after already being dairy and soya free. Having to omit butter and wheat flour (the main staples of a cake recipe) made everything I baked either very dry and crumbly, or extremely wet after an hour or two and either way, everything had a grainy, dusty after texture. All the recipes seem overly complicated too, adding random ingredients which to me seemed unnecessary.

So after a little bit of playing and going back to the basics of cake baking ratios of 2:2:2:1 I learnt as a child (2oz each of butter, sugar, flour to every egg used) I think I have created a gluten free, dairy free and soya free cupcake that is light and springy and holds just like a wheat flour cupcake.

I have also been desperate to find a dairy free frosting that doesn’t split and go oily and can hold up to piping without collapsing into a soggy mess. I have tried numerous methods, both from following recipes as well as from experimenting but nothing really looked or tasted how I wanted. Until now!

So here I give you my gluten free, dairy free and soya free cupcakes: