Diet & Recipe Category: Gluten Free

 

Gluten free Party tarty polenta pizza for an easy 1 dish meal

This meal is much quicker than phoning for a delivery and guaranteed to be gluten free and less stodgy. However, only the topping tastes of pizza. The rest is a veggie fest – more like a quiche and enough for two people.

Use a round pie dish and add the ingredients in the following order:

200ml yellow polenta

3 x 200 ml boiling water

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon of olive oil with an optional blob of butter

Mix all of this together with a fork until it thickens. Then add the layers of vegetables in the following order:

3 medium carrots, peeled and grated

1 pack of English or baby leaf spinach chopped up

3 thinly sliced courgettes (zucchini)]

3 thinly sliced large black mushrooms

100ml ready-made tomato pasta sauce

Cover the dish with a plate and microwave on full for 10 minutes.

Add the grated cheese and olives, replace the plate and rest it for a few minutes before serving. Some ovens may take longer, so you may need a few more minutes; it depends on how well the polenta is cooked. It should be firm and creamy but not gritty.

Other options:

As preparation for entertaining: After the initial cooking this dish can be kept in the fridge for a day or two, but don’t add the cheese. Before serving, cover the vegetables and tomato with:

• A layer of grated cheese or crumbled Feta cheese
• Olives, sliced red peppers
• Choose a few other delicious toppings such as artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, peppadews, and capers etc.

Use herb salt and seasoning at your discretion. Keep the dish warm until the guests are ready to eat then use the grill on full for about 5 minutes to create the pizza effect.

 

 

MORE BAKING

WHEAT, GLUTEN, SUGAR, MILK & EGG EXCLUSION IDEAS FOR GENERAL PRODUCTS

SUE’S UNIVERSAL PRO-EVERYBODY AND ANTI-EVERYTHING MUFFIN

Dear Deprived,

On an allergy or exclusion diet, make a few dozen of these straight away and eat them as easy substitutes for all the breakfast cereals, toast, sarmies, cakes, pizza, cookies & treats that have gone. Easy to make, quick and economical. No egg, wheat, dairy or baking powder. Sugar or gluten have substitutes in the recipe, so don’t panic. Minor blood type variants are also given. So, go buy your new ingredients and have fun. Also look at the blood type lists & other baking suggestions on the Nature Fresh website www.naturefresh.co.za

THE ADVANTAGES OF YOUR NEW MUNCHE MUFFINS:

1.) Full of Omega 3 & 6 oils , plus all sorts of other omegas & hidden treasures & fatty acids.
2.) Highly alkalizing to the body, especially the millet, that’s totally gluten free & high in protein.
3.) Full of soluble & insoluble fibres & lignin. No more constipation & helps eliminate parasites.
4.) Very, very low on the glycemic index: in the twenties, so more satisfying and safer for diabetics.
5.) They are totally yummy and easy to take with you for lunch or when other people pig out on junk.

SUE’S ALL TYPE MUNCHIE MUFFIN

For a batch of 24 medium sized muffins. The dough keeps in the fridge, and two singles cook in the microwave in 1 minute, so mix up a lot of dough. It also makes a nice cake like topping or hot pudding.

2 cups oats
1 cup millet flour
1 + ½ cups soya flour ( or mix ½ rye if preferred – makes it heavier & stickier) or use channa (yellow pea)
½ cup ground up linseed, also called flax seed. You can buy Health Connection flax meal.
½ cup brown sugar or fructose or use stevia powder as instructed.
½ cup ordinary sweet molasses or use the bitter blackstrap molasses if worried about sugar.
½ cup canola oil or olive oil. Never heat up sunflower oil, it releases harmful trans fatty acids.
1 + ½ cups water or juice or 1 cup water with a mashed up banana or other fruit pulp.
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda or potassium bicarbonate from health shop. Use ½ more for lighter effect.
½ teaspoon citric acid – from baking section in supermarket.

Mix up the dries, rub in the oil. It keeps like this, in the fridge. Add the water to make a stiff, but wet dough.
Spoon into greased muffin trays or paper cases (for microwave: they take about ½ minute- test one)
For a nice topping, sprinkle on a little brown sugar or sesame seeds. For extra effects, add nuts, dried fruit, cocoa or carob and the usual cinnamon, ginger, cloves & nutmeg. Poke in Albany chocolate pieces!
Bake in a hot oven 190 deg for 10 to 12 minutes. I usually cook rice and a casserole or hotpot at the same time. When I switch off, I dry out my fruit teas or bake up some oat granola in the cooler oven overnight.

Please print out your blood type lists and keep them handy for shopping. Chuck out all the muck from the kitchen and : never, ever, buy the wrong food again

WATER OR DIGESTIVE BISCUITS

1 cup Oats or barley or millet flour
1 cup Rye or soya flour
1 teasp bicarbonate soda, ½ teasp citric acid
Pinch salt, teaspoon of sugar. Spices, etc.
½ cup Oil (optional) ½ sesame seeds if liked
Enough water to make a plastic dough to roll out or make balls with flour & hand press out.
Bake 170 deg for 12-15 mins on greased tray
Microwave makes them too hard, so don’t.

Variation: 1 rice flour to replace rye or soya, but mix first in boiling water to soften. Add oats, etc. Try other seeds, it’s a very strong mix but sticky so add oil or flour to the hands.

NO MORE PASTA, COUSCOUS or PIZZA

1 Bad news, we are told to toast our bread till dry and really chew it well. When you gobble down vast globs of not so well cooked wheaten muck, your body cannot digest it or expel it easily, so make a plan.
Shloooping up al dente pasta is even worse, because the starch busting enzymes in the mouth cannot do their job. The body will immediately begin to gush with mucous or the intestines will clog up.

2 If you have a gluten allergy, note that rice noodles are basically the stuff they make glue out of. Try bean thread noodles, called mung bean noodles instead.

3 Wheat free pasta is freely available now, made of 100% rye or rice and rye. They still can make a lot of glue inside you, so test.

4 Ideally, you should chew your pasta, and even your allergy muffins carefully and well and not drink water or booze whilst you eat: give your saliva a chance!

5 Couscous is also made out of wheat, the good news is that millet is a tastier and far healthier substitute. Go for the dehusked millet from your health shop. It needs more cooking than couscous, so cook it like rice.

6 If you still crave pizza, learn to make a substitute.

SUE’S ALL TYPE BAKING SYSTEM : one combination & adaptations for the strictest diets!

Step 1 MAKING THE BASIC MIX

1 Use a measure, say ½ cup for small trial batches. Later when you are familiar with the properties of the ingredients, use larger units.

2 All these recipes start with a ½ cup scoop.

3 You can pre-mix all this with the oil but no water and keep in the fridge. Handy for quick munchies or desserts on the run!2 x Oats/oat flour ( or add some barley)

1 x Millet flour ( if unavailable, more oats)
1 x Soya flour (or rye or pea channa flour)
½ x Flax seeds ground up or flax meal
½ x Brown sugar, fructose or sweetener
½ x Olive or Canola oil
1 teasp Bicarb of soda ( potassium bicarb)
½ teaspoon Citric acid (or vitamin C )
1 Water or juice ( the amount will vary )

Step 2 HOW TO USE THE BASIC MIX

1 The amount of oil you add makes it moister and more tasty. Start with ½ a unit

2 The amount of water added makes it a muffin, a cookie, a biscuit, a topping for apple dessert or a cake-like pudding.

Biscuits need very little water – just enough to make a putty ball, that you divide & flatten onto an oiled baking sheet. Muffins need more water, so they are gooey and puddings, even more, to make a sloppier dough mix & add more nuts, raisins, etc.

3 The amount of sugar alters the taste & texture. Molasses is nice to add to the wet mix. Double the sugar for a richer mix. Omit if making savoury biscuits or use a sweetener.

4 Soya & rye flour make the dough more plastic, so add more when making biscuits.

5 Flax seeds and millet make a looser, crunchier texture. They have no binding action, but add a lovely nutty flavour.

QUICHE & CHEESECAKE CRUSTS

For savoury, use less sugar & moisten till like damp breadcrumbs. Use more sugar for a sweeter cheesecake. Form inside the dish to an even thickness. You can pre-bake for a few minutes for hot fillings and longer for fridge tarts, both sweet & savoury.

1 Hot quiche type allergy fillings without eggs, etc: make a stirfry of veg, add rice flour, then liquid. Add crumbled Feta cheese, pour into the pastry and bake for a while.
2 Cold setting: use gelatine or seaweed to: 1 a savoury mix, eg: tuna or: 2 use mashed up fruit & yogurt, feta cheese or cottage cheese.

MUNCHIE BISCUITS AND SALTY SNACKS

1 Leave out most of the sugar, add 1 teasp only
2 A teasp herb salt ( or mixed with potassium eg: cream of tartar)
3 Add spices,chilli or curry powder as liked or lemon zest, etc.
4 Add ½ unit more soy or rye flour to strengthen the dough
5 Add grated parmesan or pecorino cheese & mustard & chilli & paprika, chives, herbs, etc. for some mean cheese snacks.
6 Add just enough water to make it plastic, so you can roll shapes
7 Keep soya or rye flour handy, dip pieces in it & roll, pat or stretch out into flat biscuits or small, fancy shapes or little balls.
Spray on olive oil & sprinkle with salt, spices, sesame seeds,etc.

Bake 170 deg for 12- 15 mins on greased tray.
Microwave test: 2 palm sized biscuits: 1 minute on floured plate

BRIGHT IDEAS FOR COOKIES

To your basic dry mixture add a selection of:
1 Enough water/juice to make a gooey mix
2 Chopped raisins, dried fruit, nuts, seeds
3 Double the sugar, add molasses, honey
4 Add cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, etc.
5 Substitute sugar if you have a problem
6 For a stronger cookie, toss in more soy or rye flour. Yellow pea flour is also nice.

Make a gooey mix and ease spoonfuls of dough onto a greased baking sheet, leaving space to ooze & flatten. Sprinkle sugar on each unbaked cookie for a nice glazed effect, or chopped nuts or sesame seeds.
For double chocolate chip cookies: cocoa & press in broken pieces of Albany chocolate

Bake 180 deg for about 10 mins.

Microwave test: 1 spoon of mix on saucer for ½ minute to check taste & texture. Also nice to keep dough in fridge to make in a jiffy.

MUFFINS AND RICH CAKE STYLE PUDDINGS

Follow the cookie ideas, but make the mixture a bit wetter: what I call sloppy. Spoon it into well greased muffin pans or individual little ramekin dishes or spread it over little bowls of chopped apple, for a delicious hot dessert. Serve with a fruit sauce, cream, yogurt, molasses & tahini or warmed honey or some custard.

1 Make up your own combinations of gorgeous goodies like seeds & nuts, dried or fresh fruit. Use mashed bananas, grated apple & even walnuts & grated carrot for carrot cake. Have fun.
2 The ultimate chocoholic’s dream (chocolate is neutral to all blood types, according to Dadamo – love the man!)
Add ½ unit pure cocoa powder to the basic mix. Toss in a few nuts, especially walnuts, they are also all-round compatible.
For an extra evil effect, take a few broken squares of Dark Albany chocolate and push them into the dishes, then bake.
3 Sprinkle on a spoon of sugar before baking, especially my Kama Sutra sugar to make a lovely sticky topping.

Bake in a very hot oven, for 10 minutes. About 190 deg.

Microwave test: 1 small ramekin, 1 minute. It should have a nice, light cake like texture. Keep some of the mix in the fridge for quickies when you need to whip up a fancy pudding for guests.

THE BAD THINGS ABOUT CHOCOLATE

1 Sugar, but that’s not all. Most people are not after chocolate for the sugar content. I do not agree with the experts, because there are plenty of other sweet things, but chocolate is the one thing that most people crave. You can reduce the overall sugar percentage of bitter dark chocolate by doubling up with the things you add: like oats, nuts and ground up flax seed. This helps to lower the glycemic index. Dark chocolate has a GI of 48, the same as baked beans, but the addition of nuts, seeds and especially lecithin and olive oil lowers it considerably and pumps in the omega 3, 6 & other essential fatty acids, so needed by hyperactive little brains & menopausal women.

2 Kilojoules/ calories. Very High and weight for weight, the same as regular cheeses. People eat vast quantities of cheese and also crave it – ask my husband! A slimmer’s rule is always to have other things at hand when you tuck into cheese or chocolate: First try an apple, nibble a few nuts, scrunch up a nice leafy salad and then have your cheese. Likewise with chocolate, first slowly chew some toasted oats, mixed with flax seeds and yes, a few teaspoons of pure cocoa powder , olive or flaxseed oil and chopped nuts. You can mix it to an evil paste and spoon a little down when you have a chocolate attack. Then nibble a wee choccie, you will enjoy it so much more and will not have to finish the whole box! Most of us crave what’s in the cocoa powder and only feel better when the cocoa helps us to release endorphins, stimulate the central nervous system and release glycogen from the liver

3 Cocoa actives that stimulate the brain. Caffeine is one of them, but it’s very low when compared to coffee & tea.

4 Saturated fats and stearic acid. Pure cocoa has zero cholesterol but the waxy solids they add to prevent commercial chocolate bars from melting are horrendous. We cut down on their effect with these recipes by adding olive or canola oil and teach you how to use lecithin to emulsify the fats. The result is a softer, tastier chocolate!

5 Flavours, biscuits, colourants and coconut. Have a break from evil additives. If you crave cocoa, either for the minerals, trace elements, amino acids or psychoactive substances, most ready made confections have a pathetically low amount present, so enjoy learning how to make your own smart chocolates, it’s not difficult.

IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM………..DON’T

If chocolates or pure cocoa do not agree with you , better not be led into temptation. Go for carob or alternatives.
If you are addicted to chocolate, perhaps these recipes & notes will help you to solve the underlying problem.

MAKING VERY HEALTHY CHOCOLATES

Make these nutty delights in bulk for the family:

1: 200g chocolate melted as instructed. Add the oil, lecithin & extra cocoa – but never more sugar!

2: Mix the following together:

1 cup of ground up flaxseed or flaxmeal
1 cup of toasted oats or homemade granola
1 cup of chopped nuts & dried fruit. Blood type A
can have sunflower seeds & peanuts. But no coconut, ever & no peanuts for inflammation, arthritis, etc.

3: Mix this into the chocolate blend, spoon by spoon, till no more can bind with the chocolate.

4: Keep it warm, all the time, especially while you spoon it into little clusters on baking paper or into little chocolate moulds. Nice to make chocolate bars, as well.

THE CHOCOLATE MELTDOWN

HOW TO SOFTEN 200g OF COOKING CHOCOLATE

Warning: never add water as it affects the chemical process and the chocolate goes hard & gritty.

1 Use cooking chocolate or dark Albany chocolate. They are usually lactose free. My fundis have tested the local brands, and recommend Swiss. Nestle also makes pure alkaline cocoa powder, free of flavours and other nasties.

2 Take a small pot of hot water and keep it warm on the stove, but not boiling.

3 Fit a glass or metal bowl on top and chuck in the chocolate. 200g slabs, or use 100g and halve the recipe

4 Be patient as it melts slowly and I now add ½ cup of oil to this mixture. Use olive if you have it, or canola oil and especially the cold pressed virgins!

5 You can add lecithin as an extra, if you have some granules. Before melting the chocolate, soak 50ml of the granules in the same amount of water. It becomes a sticky goo

6 Add the lecithin mix & stir. This emulsifies the chocolate. You can leave it out, no problem, but it’s soooooooooooooo good for you and tasty this way!

7 Stir gently, (licking your fingers all the time) Add more pure cocoa powder to taste: 2 – 4 tablespoons.

WHAT TO DO WITH THIS NEW CHOCOLATE

1 Whilst still warm, have a little over a hot pudding or your very own homemade health ice cream. Keep the rest warm, as it gets very hard when out of the hotpot.

2 Make chocolate drops by spooning it out onto baking paper. Let them harden and they are ideal for using on quick desserts or to pack into tuck boxes with nuts, etc.

3 Make a large, thin flat sheet of chocolate, called really stretching out your chocolate. Do this on baking paper and you can run a knife over it to make grooves for cracking into smaller pieces.

4 Go nuts, by plonking walnuts onto the chocolate drops as they set, or sprinkling them onto the large sheet.

SCONES

Turn oven to 180 degree c

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rice flour (Health Connection brand)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1tsp salt

Mix these together in a bowl, then mix in another bowl :

• 2 eggs
• ½ cup oil (rice bran oil)
• ½ water

Pour one bowl into the other and mix together with a wooden spoon. Divide sticky dough into 6 balls and dust balls with corn flour. Place baking paper onto a tray and place balls evenly spaced and squash each ball slightly. Bake for 15 mins then remove if risen and firm. Eat immediately as they dry out when stored. Makes 6 small scones or 4 large scones.

PIZZA BASES

Turn oven on to 160 degree c

Mix in a bowl:

• 1 cup rice flour
• ¾ cup corn flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp Xanthan gum (from a health shop)
• 1 tsp salt

Then add:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 egg
• 140 ml warm water

Split into 4 balls and coat in rice flour. Dust a baking tray in rice flour and press the balls flat onto the tray until they are 1 cm high discs. Rub olive oil across the top of each one and then smear with tomato paste. Bake for 10 minutes till slightly risen.

Add other finely sliced toppings like onion, mushroom and red,yellow and green peppers and pitted olives. Sprinkle grated cheddar or mozzarella cheese on top and bake for 10 minutes, then grill for 5 minutes and serve hot. Makes 4 small pizzas or 2 large pizzas.

HOME-MADE PASTA

Mix in a bowl into a dough:

• 2 cups of rice flour (473ml)
• 2 large eggs and 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tsp Xanthan gum
• ½ tsp salt
• 1/3 cup water (110 ml)

Keep adding water until dough is soft but not sticky. Add corn flour if is becomes too sticky. Roll dough out with a rolling pin and cut into ribbons with a sharp knife and leave to dry or roll out and cut with a pasta maker. Leave flat to dry on wax paper covered trays. Lightly coat in more rice flour and scoop into bunches.

Boil a large pot of water with a splash of oil and some salt. Add the bunches and cook for 5 – 6 minutes before removing from the pot and draining through a colander. Feeds 4 people.

MUFFINS

Turn oven to 180 degree c . Spray teflon coated muffin tray with Spray & Cook (not the olive oil one)

MIX TOGETHER WET INGREDIENTS IN A BOWL:

• 1 cup fruit juice
• 1 cup grated carrots / sweet potato / apple / 2 ripe bananas (use one option)
• ½ cup rice bran oil
• ½ cup chopped nuts / chopped dates / chopped apricots (use one option)
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tsp allspice / cinnamon powder / ginger powder

MIX TOGETHER DRY INGREDIENTS IN A BOWL:

• 2 cups rice flour
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ cup brown sugar

Add the wet mix to the dry mix and blend well with a wooden spoon. The mixture will fizz and foam (acid meets alkaline) and become light and fluffy. Spoon until level into muffin trays and bake for 25 mins or until a tooth pick when pushed to the middle of a muffin comes out try. Makes 12 standard size and 6 giant size muffins.

CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C

MIX TOGETHER WET INGREDIENTS IN A BOWL:

• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup unrefined organic brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla essence

MIX TOGETHER DRY INGREDIENTS IN A BOWL:

• 1 cup rice flour
• 2/3 cup of cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp Xanthan gum (avail from health shops)
• 1/2 cup walnuts or pecan nuts crushed
• ADD LAST : 2/3 cup hot coffee

METHOD:

Spray & Cook spray into a ceramic or Pyrex glass square dish (approx 20cm w x 30cm long)

Mix the wet ingredients in a bowl by hand with a wooden spoon

Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl except the coffee

Add the dry to the wet ingredients and mix into a thick paste

Add the coffee and mix well by hand with a wooden spoon. You will have a thick, sticky mixture

Pour the mix into the greased dish and spread out evenly

Bake for 30 minutes then turn the oven off and leave the brownies in the oven till cool

Remove and cut into squares and be queen for a day!

Can be heated up again in portions and served with ice cream or whipped cream.

PANNA COTTA (cooked cream) DESSERT

• 4 leaves of gelatine
• 568 ml cream (two tubs)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 200 ml milk
• 2 tsp vanilla essence

METHOD

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 10 minutes then drain off water. In a small pot on the stove add cream, sugar, milk and vanilla. Heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and add soaked gelatine leaves one by one until dissolved.

Pour mixture into wine glasses and let set overnight in the fridge. Top with fresh or frozen berries and serve.