Top ten tips for being gluten free

Check this out! My husband wrote this last night and posted it on http://www.taste.com.au/ which by the way, is an excellent website.

It's an awesome post that I wanted to share with you all, from the husband of a Coeliac, not an actual Coeliac. He talks a lot of sense, and has some great tips:

Great to see some solid advice for those who are new to the world of Gluten Free or have been diagnosed with Coeliac Disease. My wife is Coeliac and we both like to cook. It didnt take long to realise how little this needs to restrict you and in fact has helped us become more creative in the kitchen. Here are the top tips we have found

1. Join the Coeliac Society they can give you all the facts and assistance you need to get started. They also supply a great ingredient reference book.

2. Read up on what Gluten Free actually means and get smart on what ingredients and products need to be avoided. You dont need to hang around health food stores or the health food section of the supermarket. You can find gluten free products in the normal aisles if you take a look at the label and they are usually cheaper and better tasting.

3. Feel lucky you are in Australia - it has the best labeling policy in the world. If a product contains gluten it has to state that it contains it. So if it is an Australian labelled product and it doesnt mention gluten/wheat/barley/oats/grains etc then its gluten free! It doesnt have to say gluten free. Again the more reading up you do then you will understand this.

4. Gluten Free is a rapidly changing and improving market. Keep checking all types of stores for new products and try everything. We recently found some amazing GF products in a local IGA which was surprising.

5. Pasta - this can be a tricky one to replace but new brands are coming out all the time. One of the best is the cheapest - San Remo. Again just keep trying the different brands and eventually you will find something close to the real thing.

6. Bread - this is the tough one. There are many types of so called "Gluten Free Bread" which are barely edible and look more like cake with a funny chemical smell. Pick up a loaf and smell it. If it smells bad then you can guarantee it tastes similar. Dont give up hope there are some good brands out there and new ones are arriving all the time. Try Naturally Gluten Free and Choices Gluten Free

7. Someone has already made this point but it's a good one - just make naturally GF food then you are not substituting anything

8. Flour/baking - yes you can mix different flours but for me White Wings GF plain and self raising flour is fantastic so we just bake and add it to recipes as normal.

9. Keep looking online there are plenty of great websites and blogs around.

10. Enjoy it - GF cooking means using fresh quality ingredients which tastes so much better than the processed packged or take away rubbish and if you crave a pizza and a beer then try http://www.crust.com.au/ and buy some O'Brien's Lager from Dan Murphys Good luck! Jon

Not bad from a Northern Irish boy who was brought up on gluten!

Pea and Ham Soup even my toddler loves

Even my toddler can't get enough of this one! So easy, so cheap and so healthy.

500g of split peas (green or yellow, or a mixture)

1 brown onion, chopped

1 stick of celery, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1kg ham hock

1 bay leaf

Enough water to fill a big stock pot

Rinse split peas unil water runs clear. Fill up big stock pot with cold tap water. Add peas, chopped onion, celery, carrot and the bay leaf, and then pop the ham hock in.

Bring to boil, then simmer gently for approx. 2 hours. Take out ham hock, and remove all the nice pieces of meat. Throw away bones, add meat back to soup, and it's done!

I serve it with gluten free toast, and gruyere cheese melted on top.

This will last in the fridge for a week. It goes really thick in the fridge, but thins out once you heat it up again.

Enjoy.

Gluten Free Bread - a challenge to the major suppliers

When I first was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease and tasted the supermarket gluten free bread I was horrified. Next time you're in one of our local supermarkets, pick up a loaf of gluten free bread and smell it - it's very distinct......and very unpleasant.

Thank god for wonderful niche producers like Naturally Gluten Free and Choices Gluten Free bakeries.....without them, I just wouldn't eat bread.

I would like to issue a challenge to the major manufacturers - get someone in your company who eats normal bread to smell and taste some of the bread produced and see if they would eat it! Moores, Country Life and all the others you see in the supermarket - surely we can get closer to decent, affordable, edible gluten free bread for everyone, not just those priviliged enough to be able to order from the niche bakeries?

Gluten Free Bread in Australia

What I would do to have some yummy, soft, fresh Turkish Bread with vegimite for breakfast - or that soft, warm italian bread you are given in restaurants with oil and balsamic to soak it in.....


OK, so I've never found gluten free bread that gets even vaguely close to this. But I've found bread that is not only edible (when you get used to it - and you do, I promise) but will become a staple. I still believe that all gluten free bread is best used toasted (and toasted well) but if you get one of my picks on the day they are baked, they could be used to make a sandwich (especially the bread from Choices - see below).

So, my picks:

Naturally Gluten Free: based in Sydney, but deliever and stock in other places around the country. These guys have done a great job. The crunch is my pick of their products, and I'm excited to see if they continue to bring out more and interesting products. Their bread is so filling and satisfying, definitely my favorite. http://naturallyglutenfree.com.au

Choices Gluten Free bakery in Sydney. It doesn't really matter where you live, they will deliver! Their range of bread is great - everything from white, to wholemeal to grainy bread, par-baked rolls, pitta - you name it, they have it. They also have some nice treats to add to your order! Order $40 worth and they will deliver within metro sydney the next day for free - very cool, and a great, great find! http://www.choicesglutenfree.com.au/ My pick is their banana bread pre-mix - it's beautiful!

Thank you to both these guys for making the effort to ensure we can enjoy gluten free bread, and also thanks for continuing to innovate and produce more great products all the time.

Gluten Free Pizza

Finally I've found an awesome gluten free pizza in Sydney! I've tried a few, but Crust Pizza have come up trumps! http://www.crustpizza.com.au/

These guys have got it right! Nice thin base, no additives or preservatives and they deliver! What more could we ask for? They even stick a great big sticker on the box, (Gluten Free) so you can be sure you eat the right one.

If you felt like you were missing out on Pizza in Australia once you were diagnosed, you don't need to worry anymore!

Another pick for me is Hugos in Manly (right on the Wharf, and an absolute joy during the day or at night). Their entire pizza menu bar one (the meatballs) can be made gluten free. What a pleasure to go out for dinner (or lunch) and know I have the pick of the menu. http://www.hugos.com.au/

Finally, a surprising find was The Calabria Club at Manly Vale. A small, family type bowling club with cheap wine and carpet (!) is the last place I'd expect to find decent gluten free pizza. It's an awesome spot to hang out with the family summer or winter, with an enclosed area for the kids to cause havoc, while you sit and enjoy gluten free pizza. You can even take the bases home to put in the freezer. http://calabriabowling.com.au/main/page_home.html. A great find.

I think gluten free pizza is easy to get wrong, but both Crust, Hugos and Calabria Club have done a great job and I highly recommend them.

Any other pizza recommendations would be gratefully received.

Enjoy.

Carrot Cake (gluten free and very easy)

I have to admit, I’m not a baker. If my old friends from London could see me now….! I was undiagnosed then, drank far too much beer, and relied very heavily on packaged food and pasta with tomato sauce. I eat like a queen now, and have started to bake. For those of you that know me….don’t faint, I know it’s surprising. Not everything is a success, but I can tell you, this Carrot Cake was so easy and so yummy, even I could do it.

Check it out at www.bestrecipes.com.au and search under Gluten Free Carrot Cake.

This would be enjoyed by those who are gluten free or not gluten free. My hubby, who doesn’t like carrot cake and doesn’t need to be gluten free thought it was ‘delicious’.

Slow cooking, gluten free style

The winter has really set in now in Sydney (well, it’s a cold 18 degrees Celsius during the day) and someone at work recommended a slow cooker as the perfect easy, healthy way of cooking during the winter months.

I cannot believe I didn’t know about these things before. Being a busy working Mum, I hate that end of the day feeling of rushing to cook a decent meal for us all, without having to eat really late at night. I tried it for the first time yesterday – beef bourguignonne. It was delicious, and so easy! My hubby and I eat lots, and we will get 2 nights out of it for us both:. I prepared it all and put it in the slow cooker while my little one was sleeping at lunchtime. By the end of the day, the house smelt amazing, and my hubby got home to what seemed like a big effort, gormet dinner!

1kg chuck steak (I kept it in big 1cms pieces that just fell apart with the fork on the plate)
200g bacon (gluten free)
6 french shallots
Fresh Thyme
Bay leaf
Clove garlic
200gms button mushrooms (whole)
1 tbsp corn flour
300mls red wine
30mls brandy

Brown off the beef in a small amount of olive oil. Add the cornflower and stir in. Add the wine and brandy. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and add to crockpot (I did this for 6 hours on high, but check the instructions on your machine). I would add big chunks of carrot as well next time.

I served this with creamy mash potatoes and green beans. An absolute winner!