These scones are a nutritious and healthy alternative to regular scones and a great accompaniment to soup.
Ingredients:
Method:
Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius.
Steam vegetables and mash with grated cheese. When cooled slightly, mix with flour, milk and oil.
Roll out on a floured board and cut into scones. Spray or brush with vegetable oil.
Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes.
Notes:
The moisture of the mixture will depend on what vegetables are used. Root vegetables give a drier mix; hence less flour/more milk may be needed.
Milk: rice, soy, almond milk can also be used.
Cheese: if you are intolerant to lactose, lactose-free milk can be used.
On the weekends I like to get up late and have a leisurely breakfast of coffee and toast with cheese and Vegemite on top. Vegemite is an Australian favourite. After eating his breakfast and going outside to do his business, Dreamy runs inside and leaps on the couch beside me where he waits for cheese as I eat my breakfast. I give him one or two slices of lactose free cheese in pieces. He then stares at my plate until I have finished. We enjoy these times together.
However, it is not easy to find bread which is suitable for my diet. Although there are many good gluten-free breads on the market, most have egg or soy in them. I have found a couple of bread mixes without these ingredients, but they are not always available.
So, this recipe was borne out of desperation. It is an easy alternative which is a twist on a scone recipe. I have added seeds and nutritional yeast for added substance. Nutritional yeast is very healthy and filled with protein.
Ingredients:
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a large bread tin.
Sift the flour into a large bowl, then add the other dry ingredients. Stir the ingredients to mix.
Make a well in the centre then pour in the cream and soda water. Use a round-topped knife to combine all ingredients. Add more flour or soda water if needed. The consistency should be like scone mix but will be wetter.
Place the dough in the bread tin. Cook for 50 minutes. To test if the loaf is cooked insert a skewer into the centre. If it comes out clean, the loaf is cooked.
Turn out onto a cooling tray and wrap in a towel. When cool, slice and place in a sealed container.
Notes:
The dough will harden as it cools but will soften when toasted. I cut the loaf into slices then store it in the freezer to keep it fresh. When I want a piece, I take it from the freezer and put it in the toaster to defrost as it toasts. I enjoy the warm, toasted loaf spread with margarine. It is yummy!
Cooking is my way of being creative. There is something satisfying about sharing a home cooked healthy meal with friends and family. Sharing food expresses the love and warmth I feel for others.
Living alone can be hard at times. One way for me to overcome this has been to cook a lot of food so that I can share it. The thought of sharing with my friends takes some of the loneliness away. It also lessens the temptation for me to eat a lot of food when I feel lonely.
This recipe makes a large quantity of pumpkin soup. I often say that I feed the multitudes as I share my culinary creativity with those I love. I hope you, too can share this recipe and any of the others on my site with your friends.
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line two large baking trays with baking paper. Spread all the vegetables over both trays so that each tray has a similar quantity. Pour the four tablespoons of oil over the trays of vegetables, using two tablespoons for each tray and spreading the oil evenly. Place the trays in the oven and cook for half an hour.
Preheat a large saucepan or pan to medium. Add the teaspoon of oil, then the curry powder and chicken stock and heat until the curry’s fragrances are released.
When the vegetables are cooked and cooled enough to touch, place in the hot pan with the spices. Add the water and lentils, then stir the lentils through the mixture. Simmer for one hour so that the vegetables are soft, and the lentils are cooked.
When the hot mixture is cooked, carefully use a stick mixer to blend the vegetables until all the lumps are gone and the soup is an even consistency. Serve while hot.
Notes:
When I first discovered my sensitivity to over 60 foods, I sulked for a day. I had hit another hurdle in my journey to health. How could I enjoy food with so many limitations? Meals made with the staples in my diet such as dairy, eggs, tomatoes, gluten, and olive oil were no go zones. This turned my life upside down. I loved my food, what could I eat now?
I complained to my closest friend about the situation. She empathised with me. The next morning at the back of my house there were two large bags filled with groceries. My friend had left a heap of foods I could eat – rice milk, coconut milk, gluten free flour, buckwheat flour, egg replacer. Alternative foods are not cheap, so I was grateful for her help. More than anything, I no longer felt alone in this.
Since that time the way I cook and what I cook with has changed. At times I crave rich, comforting food. This recipe is my way of satisfying that craving. It is possible to enjoy tasty, rich food even on a restricted diet. This is just one alternative.
If you struggle with food sensitivities or intolerances, don’t give up. It is worth the perseverance to enjoy good health.
Ingredients:
Method:
Place oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add diced onion and garlic, cook until onion is transparent. Add spices, heat until fragrances are released. Cut chicken into 3 cm pieces (or larger if you prefer) and add to pan along with chicken stock cubes. Brown chicken. Add flour to pan and mix with other ingredients until brown.
Slowly add milk, stirring after each addition to avoid lumps. When sauce thickens, add cream and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to combine cream into the mix. Add grated cheese and let simmer for at least half an hour.
Pour the chicken and sauce over steamed vegetables.
Notes:
Plain flour: any flour can be used, but I suggest one which will not dominate the flavour of the dish
Milk: regular milk or rice milk are also suitable.
Cream: regular cream or an alternative can be used
Cheese: regular cheese or an alternative cheese can be used.
Ingredients:
Method:
Drain and rinse lentils. Place lentils and lemon juice into a bowl, then use a stick blender to mix scraping bowl occasionally. When the consistency is a paste, add oil, garlic and cumin, then blend. Add salt to taste and water to make smooth.
Notes:
Hummus is usually made from chickpeas, but if you suffer from gas, lentils are a great alternative.
Ingredients:
Method:
Mash the bananas. Add wet ingredients and nuts, then mix. Sift flour, baking powder and soda then add to mixture. Mix until combined.
Pour into a lined, greased loaf tin. Cook at 160˚ C for 50 minutes. Check that mixture is cooked by inserting a metal skewer in the loaf. If it comes out clean, remove from oven. If not, return to oven until cooked.
When cooled turn out onto a cooling rack.
Notes:
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Method:
Heat oil in a frying pan. Add chopped onion, garlic, capsicums, and stock cube and cook until onion is soft.
Add the minced beef to pan and brown. Pour passata and water into the pan and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add sliced zucchini and mushrooms, cook, until zucchini is soft.
Pour mixture over cooked pasta to serve.
Notes:
This recipe is low salt. I use capsicum to enhance the flavour and to reduce the amount of tomato (passata) as I am slightly intolerant to it.
Use gluten-free pasta if you are coeliac or intolerant to gluten.
Ingredients:
Tandoori spice
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
Sauce:
Half cup plain yoghurt
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Topping:
250 g chopped chicken breast
1 medium sized sliced capsicum
5 spring onions, cut into rounds
1 cup grated cheddar cheese.
Method:
Sprinkle tandoori spices into an oiled and heated frying pan and cook until spice fragrances are released. Add chopped chicken and cook until browned. Set aside.
Mix yoghurt, honey and garlic together and spread over pizza base.
Spread cooked chicken evenly over the sauce, followed by sliced capsicum and spring onion.
Cover pizza with grated cheese.
Place on top shelf of oven and cook at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.
Notes:
• Yogurt – coconut yogurt is a good alternative if lactose intolerance is an issue.
• Chicken – I use stir-fry chicken as it is already cut.
• Pizza base – the scone mixture can be substituted for pizza dough. I find this easier to make.
These biscuits are a healthy snack. Great for filling the gap between breakfast and lunch.
Ingredients
250g hard coconut oil
½ cup honey
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
150g hazelnut meal
125g crumbed walnuts
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 cup sunflower seeds
½ cup chia seeds
½ cup coconut flour
¾ cup gluten free SR flour
Method
Heat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
Place spread and honey in a bowl and cream the mixture. Add vanilla, spices and hazelnut meal and mix. Add crumbed walnuts, chia seeds and sunflower seeds, mix. Add coconut flour and SR Flour and mix.
Cover baking trays with baking paper. Roll mixture into balls using a teaspoon to determine desired quantity. Bake in oven for 20 minutes. When cooled, remove from tray and store in an air-tight container.
Makes around 25 biscuits. Biscuits will be crumbly when hot.
Notes
This recipe is based on a four ingredient Melting Moments recipe I was given by a friend. I used an electric blender to mix the ingredients.
As my mother had gestational diabetes, I am left with insulin resistance. Hence, this recipe is low GI (glycaemic index). There are several ways the GI is reduced:
SR flour – a small amount of flour is used to bind the ingredients only as SR flour is high GI.
Honey – I use a flower blend as this type of honey is lower GI than the usual commercial honeys. Also, I use a small amount in comparison to the other ingredients.
Vanilla and spices – I have a sweet tooth, so I use a lot of spice in my recipes. Spices are a great substitute for sugar. They improve the taste and reduce the need for sweetness.
Nuts and seeds – are low GI and full of fibre, hence these biscuits have a high content of these ingredients.
Spread – I use hard coconut oil as I do not suffer from food intolerance from its ingredients. Any spread can be used, but if you use butter you may need a dash of warm water to soften it.
Coconut flour – this flour tends to make the mixture dry. Watch that you limit the amount used or it may be too dry to make into balls.
Dried fruit – sultanas, dried apricots, or any other type of dried fruit can be added. But, if you want a low GI version, keep these to a minimum.
