Oat Biscuits

4oz gf flour
1oz gf oats
1/2 tsp gf baking powder
2 tbsp golden syrup
2oz butter

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and then add the syrup.  Rub in the butter to form a dough.

Flour the board and pat out into a flat shape.  Cut out biscuits and place on a greased baking tray.

Bake at 180 degrees for 10 minutes until lightly browned, cool on a wire rack.

Fruity bars

7oz dried fruit (apple, pear, berries, apricots, peach, cherries, dates)

Put the dried fruits into a processor until they form a lumpy paste

Mould into finger shapes and place on a baking tray

Bake at 100 degrees C for 2 hours or until they've got slightly hard.

Leave to cool and they will be lovely and chewy.

Chocolate cupcakes

Makes 12:  2 eggs, 4oz sugar, 4oz butter, 4oz gf flour, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1tsp baking powder, 1 tsp xanthan gum

Mix all ingredients together and add a bit of milk until smooth.

Fill half of each cupcake case and bake at 160 for 20-30 minutes

Energy Balls

This is a recipe i found on the awesome Smashed Peas and Carrots for no bake energy bites.  It can be adapted so many ways and of course, the gluten free way by using uncontaminated oats. Too popular in this house that's why there weren't many left for the photo!

Shortbread Biscuits

Cornettos

This is a tuile biscuit recipe, which are tasty in themselves but while they are still warm from the oven you can shape them to make 'cornettos'

Gluten Free Sausage Rolls

 

GF sausage rolls ( makes 36)

12oz gf pastry + thin gf sausages eg frankfurters from Lidl

Roll out 1/2 pastry, thin and even (3mm) between clingfilm  or silicone sheets to double sausage width

place 2 sausages on and roll pastry up and over till there`s a small overlap, using the clingfilm to add `strength` to the pastry edge and peeling it back as you go

Cut pastry along and then slices the sausage rolls into preferred size eg X4 for a frankfurter and transfer to baking sheet, cook 30 mins 170C 

 

Meatloaf

500g lean mince, 2 eggs, 1 cup breadcrumbs, squidge ketchup
optional: grated vegetables, finely chopped onions

Add all the ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hands

Press into a loaf tin lined with greaseproof paper and cook for 35-40 minutes at 180 dc.  Check at a couple of intervals during cooking and drain off any fat from the top

Leave to cool slightly, remove from the tin, slice n serve or keep in the fridge.  Great for a quick dinner with potatoes and veg.

Flapjacks

 Oven temp: 160 dc
100g butter, 100g demerara sugar, 1 tbsp golden syrup, 150g gf oats
Melt the butter in a pan, stir in the sugar, syrup and oats
Turn out into a greased pan and press flat with the back of a spoon

Bake in the oven for about 30 mins until golden brown
Leave to cool then slice into squares

Leave to cool completely before removing from the tin

Variations: add sultanas, chopped apple, chocolate chunks, nuts, seeds etc!

See here for more information on oats and coeliac disease

Breadsticks

Dry ingredients: 400g gf flour, 7g sachet yeast, 2 tsp xanthan gum, 2 pinches salt, 2 pinches sugar
Wet ingredients: 300ml warm water, 1 egg, 2 tbsp olive oil
Optional for different flavours (not all at once!): parmesan cheese, seeds, tbsp marmite, handful chopped spinach, grated veg

Mix the dry ingredients thouroughly in a bowl, and seperately in a jug the wet ingredients.
Make a well in the centre of the bowl and add the wet ingredients.  Mix with a dough hook or wooden spoon.

Turn out onto a corn-floured surface and knead for 5 mins.

Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place for about an hour.


Turn out onto a corn-floured board again and gently pat into a rectangle, use a knife to slice into thin strips and place onto a baking tray lined with a non-stick sheet.

Spray with oil and sprinkle with seeds if not added earlier or leave naked.

Bake at 200 dc for 10 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack and eat that day, or keep in a sealed box once completely cool and heat in microwave or toaster bag.

Eggy Bread

2 eggs, 1 cup gf breadcrumbs (whizz up crusts and keep in the freezer)
optional: squidge ketchup, grated courgette/carrot/mushrooms/ham/cheese or leave naked!

Mix eggs, breadcrumbs and optional ingredients and leave 5 mins to absorb

Heat a tsp of oil in a small non-stick frying pan and drop the mixture in, smoothing down to the edges.



Cook on a medium heat until brown on one side and flip (or do what i do and slide onto a plate, turn the frying pan upside down and flip)

Leave to cool slightly, slice n serve!

Lovely cold too, great for picnics and lunchboxes.  We've also made a sweet version with a little sugar added to the mix and honey drizzled on top.

Coeliac Disease

Coeliac Disease

Coeliac disease is often misunderstood as an intolerance or allergy but is infact a serious, lifelong condition caused by a reaction to gluten in food. When eaten the body produces antibodies that attack its own tissues. The villi that line the gut are attacked and damaged, which leads to malabsorption of vital nutrients. Short term symptoms include stomach pain, nausea, bloating and diarrhoea. Long term complications lead to an increase in conditions such as anaemia, weight loss, osteoporosis and small bowel cancer. It is therefore vital that sufferers of the disease follow a lifelong, strict gluten free diet, which will eliminate the increased risk.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye so obvious foods to avoid are bread, pasta, biscuits and cakes. But with modern food processing techniques gluten is found in less obvious sources.

Foods that may contain gluten:

Alcohol, beers, lagers and stouts. Some ciders

Bread, baking powder, breadcrumbs

Cakes, biscuits and pastries

Caramel colour

Cereals

Cheese, some grated and processed cheese

Desserts, some ice creams and frozen yogurts contain thickeners using gluten

Drinks, flavoured tea, coffee, and malt drinks

Meats and fish, processed meat such as burgers and sausages, crabsticks may also contain wheat.

Nuts with a flavoured coating

Sauces, stock cubes, soups and gravies

Seasoning and spices, malt vinegar

Sweets and chocolates may contain gluten especially those with a coating

Frozen chips

(Extracted from a gf cookbook)

Cross-contamination. Food should be prepared and cooked separately from gluten-containing food including chopping boards and toasters.

Shopping List

Flours:  I buy all mine from my local Indian shop - they come in big bags and are much cheaper than the health food shop.  Just check with the owners that they are gluten free, for instance cornmeal (polenta) is naturally gluten free but some packets say 'contains gluten' so there may be an issue with cross-contamination.

Rice Flour
Cornflour
Tapioca Flour
Cornmeal
Potato Flour
Chickpea flour

From the free-from aisle 

Gluten free Baking Powder
Xantham Gum
Gluten Free Oats
Pizza Bases
Pasta
Spaghetti
Gravy granules
Biscuits/crackers

General - An example of what i would buy at Morrisons
(Check labels & your Food & Drink directory)

Tomato Sauce (Heinz standard - NOT rdeuced salt version)
Baked Beans
Balsamic Vinegar
Microwave popcorn
Rice Snap Cereal
Cornflakes/Honey Nut
Tortilla Chips
Crisps

Nutella
Jam
Raisans
Rice Cakes
Corn Thins
Poppadoms (Sharwoods)
Tacos (Old El Paso Original)
Soups (Baxters - check labels for Gluten Free symbol)
Options Hot Chocolate
Squash (any except barley/cloudy ones)
Rice Breadcrumbs
Smash
Tinned Tuna

Sausages (Black Farmer or check label)
Lean Mince
Chicken
Frozen Fish

Potatoes
Veg
Baby salad leaves
Fruit

Frozen veg
Ice CreamFrozen Berries (if theres none left from foraging!)

Cake!

I love gluten free cake, i think it tastes just as yummy as a wheat flour cake, even more so as its so moist.

Heres my recipe, i use the all-in-one method for small cakes, only creaming the butter and sugar first if its more than a 5 egg cake.  This one does about 20 cupcakes or a loaf tin.

4 eggs
8oz sugar
8oz butter
8oz flour (5oz rice flour, 2oz potato flour, 1oz tapioca flour)

Milk

1 tsp gf baking powder
1 tsp xantham gum

1 tsp vanilla extract or juice of 1 lemon

Mix until smooth and add milk to achieve a custard like consistency

Bake at 160 degrees, 20 mins for cupcakes, 40 mins for loaf tin.

Lidl Gluten Free

Although Lidl customer services dont provide a list of everything thats gluten free, you can email them to ask about specific products.  We have some favourites i wasnt sure of so i emailed them and this is the reply:

Re: Gluten Free Products

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your valuable feedback via our Online Contact Form, regarding the above. We understand you have previously contacted us by telephone and were advised to email us with the barcodes. May we thank you for providing this information.

On receipt of this information we contacted our Quality Assurance Department. They contacted our suppliers and we can now advise that the following products are suitable for a gluten free diet:

Goody Cao
Mister Choc Chocolate and Hazelnut Spread
Fruit King Fromage Frais
Kania Tomato Ketchup
Ace Vitamin Drink

Our supplier of our Ice Cream has advised that although the product is gluten free they use gluten in their factory. They have strict procedures in place of segregation and handling of all allergenic raw materials. However, we do not currently routinely test the final product for traces of gluten.

We trust that you will continue to be a valued Lidl customer.

Yours sincerely,
For and on behalf of Lidl UK GmbH



Jackie Swan
Customer Services

Tel: 0870 444 1234

Very helpful!

Chocolate bars suitable for Coeliacs

My son has spent a while online today researching what chocolate bars he could choose and making himself up a sheet to print off.  Not exhaustive and only Cadburys so far but here it is:

   

Bread

We get all bread on prescription and no matter what brand we've tried my son is not that keen on it fresh, he would eat it but not enthusiastically.
So...i always toast it for him using the toaster bags - even for school lunch.
Either individually, let them cool and then make up the sandwich, or i make up the sandwich and put the whole thing in the toaster to make a toastie.  He loves it and doesnt seem to crave fresh bread.

I have made my own bread of different sorts, with varying success, he likes it straight out the oven, but leave it a few hours and its got to be toasted again.

A big favourite, even with my non-coeliac daughter is the breadsticks (see recipes).  I make up a batch every couple of days, of different flavours and they are great for the after school munchies.