Simple Coconut Flour Pancakes

If there is one meal that I can always count on to be fuss free - it's breakfast. Mike and I are bacon and eggs kind of people, and I love it that way. It just makes mornings so much easier. Everyone knows that bacon is basically natures candy, and eggs are the easiest things in the world to season right. I'll chop up and throw in whatever left over veggies are found in the fridge, and I'm full for hours - no mid morning snack required.

Some mornings, however, I just need something a little different.

Low Fodmap Chicken Paella

Story time! It's a bit of a long story with lots of little details that matter, but I'll try to keep it short because

P A E  L L A .

Juicy Turkey Burgers - Low Fodmap, Paleo, & AIP adaptable

You'd have thought that after keeping vigilant for over a year about gluten, gluten containing products, and even gluten cross contamination that I would think twice about haphazardly throwing anything in my shopping basket without flipping it over and reading the ingredient label. Everything has gluten in it...seriously everything.

But no. Even after all this time, I still slip up with checking my labels.

Healthy Socca Pizza

If you haven't tried making my Simple Socca recipe from the other week, you may want to now. This next recipe uses the melt-in-your-mouth, chickpea flatbread as  delicious, gluten-free pizza base.

Socca is at the same time filling and light. Unlike more traditional pizza crusts that leave you almost a bit too full, using this as a base satisfies while sparing you the feeling of being stuffed like a turkey at Thanksgiving. It also works as a perfect vehicle for getting your favorite pizza toppings from point A (the plate) to point B (your face).

So, gather up your favorite pizza toppings, heat up the broiler, and prepare for delicious, mouthwatering pizza.

Ingredients

• Simple Socca flatbread
• 2-3 tablespoons marinara or pesto sauce
• 1/2 courgette, ribboned
• 1/4 cup (40 grams) feta cheese crumbled (use vegan substitute if you choose)
• 1/4 cup chorizo pieces (or a small handful)
• 4-6 cherry tomatoes, sliced (Don't use cherry tomatoes if you want this to be low fodmap. Other tomatoes are fine.)
• small handful of basil leaves
• top with your favorite dried herbs

These are the ingredients that I used for my pizza, but feel free to change the amounts adding more of what you like/decreasing what you dislike. It's your pizza - have fun with it!

Method

1. Prepare the socca according to the original recipe. 
2. Set your oven to 425F/220C
3. Spread your sauce sauce along the base and then top with whatever toppings your choose to use.
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes until your cheese begins to brown. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with dried herbs and allow to cool for 2-3minutes before digging in.

Creamy, Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce (Paleo and Vegan Option)

One of the best purchases that I've made so far this year was to buy a julienne peeler, or as we like to call it, the 'zoodler'. I mentioned it briefly when I posted my go-to salad, and I use it to make my favorite Carrot & Courgette Fritters. Basically, I use it for everything. It hardly ever leaves the drying rack in our kitchen because I'm constantly using it to slice up vegetables to mix into our food. 

So as you can probably imagine, we're slicing up courgette's left and right to make our own grain free pastas. Not only is this a healthier alternative to eating regular pasta, but it's also much more filling because of all the fiber you're taking in. 

It also means that I get to play around in the kitchen more to come up with different ways to eat our zoodles. After spending enough time oogling over pictures of red pepper sauces online, I finally made it around to try it out myself with a few tweaks to make it grain and dairy free. The roasted red peppers give the sauce a subtle sweetness with a creamy texture while the garlic and onions provide a more robust flavor.

Feel free to add your own noodles to this sauce because even without the courgette you're still getting a decent serving of vegetables between the peppers, onions, and garlic. 

Ingredients

•  2 red peppers
• 1 white onion, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast*
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch or corn starch
• salt and pepper to your taste
• 1 bunch chopped parsley and/or basil

*If you don't need this to be dairy free and you don't have nutritional yeast on hand you can sub it for parmesan to get that cheesy taste. 

Method 

1. Heat your oven to 500F/260C and roast your red peppers on a baking sheet for about 20-25     

minutes until they become charred. 

2. While the peppers are roasting, saute your garlic and onion in the olive oil on a large skillet for about 4-5 minutes on medium heat until they soften. Once they have sauteed long enough, set your skillet aside to cool until you're ready to blend everything.

3. Take this time to either slice your courgette or prepare your gluten free pasta according to the directions on the package.

4. When your peppers are done roasting, take them out of the oven and allow them to cool for at least 5-10 minutes. You're going to need to peel the skin off so they need to be cool enough that you don't burn your fingers. After they have charred, the skin shrinks up a bit making it easy to grab onto a bit of skin letting your peel it easily. After both peppers are peeled, remove and discard the stem and seeds.

5. Next, add your sauteed garlic and onions, the peppers, nutritional yeast, broth, arrowroot/cornstarch, salt and pepper to a blender and blend until smooth.

6. Once you have smooth, creamy mixture add your sauce back to your skillet that you used to saute earlier and reheat the red pepper sauce on medium heat bringing it to a simmer. Feel free to add any additional seasonings at this point: oregano, red pepper flakes, etc. Play around with what you like. 

7. If you are using zoodles, make sure to heat them up in a skillet before adding your sauce. Top with fresh herbs and parmesan and enjoy.

Traditional, Gluten Free Toad in the Hole

In honor of Coeliac Awareness Week, I wanted to post at least one gluten free alternative to a popular comfort food.

Enter: Gluten Free Toad in the Hole. What's more traditionally British than sausage and Yorkshire Pudding?

As an American who didn't even know what a Yorkshire Pudding was until my first visit to England when I was 20, I feel a bit gipped knowing I went so long without having anything quite so tasty. To make up for lost time, I went through a number of batches of yorkshire pudding recipes this last week before I was able to come up with this recipe for Toad in the Hole....no complaints from anyone here.

This recipe is perfect for anyone who wants a make ahead meal. This is especially ideal for us because week our kitchen is going under construction. Today I'll be busy prepping away over the stove to get ready for a few days without an oven. Much to Mike's pleasure, I'll be making his favorite Honey & Ginger Chicken to have for the next few days because it still tastes amazing cold.
I think I'll also be making some more of this to freeze for later use.

Ingredients

For best results, use room temperature ingredients

• 1 cup (122 grams) gluten free all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk (250 ml) For a lactose free alternative, you can substitute for 1 cup almond milk (240ml)
• 3-4 gluten free sausages, we use Black Farmer Gluten Free Sausages
• 2 tablespoons duck fat, butter, ghee, or fat of your choice. 

Method

1. Heat the oven to 400F/200C.
2. Pour the fat into the bottom of your roasting tin and then put your sausages in the tin, rolling them around until they are coated in the fat. Roast them in the oven for 10-15 minutes until browned.
3. While your sausages are roasted, prepare your batter. In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together all of your dry ingredients until thoroughly combined.
4. In a small mixing bowl, whisk your eggs until slightly frothy. Then begin pouring your milk into the egg mixture, stirring to combine.
5. Pour your egg and milk into the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
6. When your sausages are done, remove from the oven and pour your batter over the sausages and then return to the oven to bake for an additional 30-35 minutes until the top has turned a golden brown and the batter has risen. 

Coeliac Awareness Week May 2015

Today marks the first day of Coeliac Awareness week. Despite the growing number of gluten free food products that we find walking up and down store aisles, many people still don't realize that Coeliac Disease is not a food intolerance, but a serious autoimmune disease. 

I also just learned today that it is ME/Fibromyalgia Awareness Week as well. CFS/ME is an extremely controversial illness because of how vastly different it is from person to person. There are a number of reasons why a person might be affected by ME, but I do find it astounding to see such a strong correlation between undiagnosed Coeliac Disease and ME. In fact, it's amazing to me how many autoimmune diseases are negatively impacted by the consumption of gluten even without being Coeliac.

I think many people struggle to accept how important the food we eat actually is sometimes. Anyone who has ever owned a pet knows this intuitively. If your dog gets sick and starts acting out of character one of the first things you might ask yourself is 'what did they eat?'. How many times have we done that with ourselves? Sure, if you come down with a bad stomach ache, you might piece two and two together, but no one stops to think why they might be feeling tired and achey.

I don't mean to turn this into a gluten-is-the-root-of-all-evil thing, though in Mike's case that might actually be true. I just hope that people will read this and look within themselves to discover what things could be impacting their wellness. 

                       

Sources: 

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coeliac-disease/Pages/Causes.aspx

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1790189-overview

http://www.glutenfreehelp.co.uk/medical-research.html

Simple Socca: A Chickpea Flatbread

In Italy it's called farinata 'made in flour' and in Tuscany it's called cecina 'made of chickpeas'. In France, more specifically in Nice, it's a popular street food called, socca. I call it delicious.

Socca is an incredibly simple recipe that is naturally vegan and gluten free requiring only a few ingredients. Chickpea flour, water, oil, and whatever seasonings you want to throw in the mix.

Personally, I love simple recipes. Since I try to make the majority of food we eat from scratch, I appreciate recipes that I can throw together in limited time without having to use difficult to source, pricey ingredients. Not to mention, Mike has so many trigger foods, gluten being only one of them, it's just easier for us from both a mental and practical stand point to just make it all ourselves.

Sprinkle in a few herbs and customize this recipe to your own flavor profile. Serve with a dip, use as a pizza base, or enjoy on it's own - you can easily make this for yourself with no sweat off your back.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (92 grams) chickpea flour (gram flour)
• 1 cup (235 ml) water
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus more for oiling the pan
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• pepper to taste

Method

1. Whisk together the water, chickpea flour, oil, and salt in a bowl until all the clumps are gone. Them cover and let the flour absorb in the water for at least 30 minutes to an hour. If you want, you can leave the mixture to sit for up to 24 hours, but who wants to wait that long?
2. Place a 9-10 inch skillet, cake tin, or whatever shallow oven safe baking dish you can find in the oven and preheat to 450F/230C.
3. After the oven is heated fully, drizzle 1-2 tablespoons more oil in the skillet and swirl around until the bottom and sides are coated.
4. Quickly whisk your chickpea batter once more to make sure everything is properly combined, and then pour the batter into the skillet. Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the sides begin to crisp and the top turns slightly golden brown. You may need to babysit the socca depending on your oven. Mine has a lot of hot spots so I have to keep turning it even few minutes to prevent too much burning in any one area.
5. For a crisper, more golden top you can turn the oven heat up to broiling and leave in the oven for another couple of minutes.
6. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving. 

I quite like this sliced into chip sized pieces and topped with my basil & avocado dip.

Creamy Basil & Avocado Dip

Guacamole + pesto + hummus = your new favorite multitasking condiment

I call this a dip for the sake of ease, but really this 'dip' can be anything you want it to be. I've also used this recipe as a pasta sauce, a sandwich spread, and a salad dressing. The question is, what don't I put this on? It's fast, it's versatile, and it's delicious - it's everything you want out of a recipe.

I don't think any description I could come up with would do it justice. The avocado mixed with the tahini makes it perfectly creamy while the lemon and garlic add a bit of sharpness. It's fresh and flavorful, and only requires a few ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 large, ripe avocado peeled and diced
• 1 small lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup  (60 ml) water 
• 1/4 cup (58 grams) tahini
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil chopped 
• 1-2 cloves garlic (your preference) 
• sea salt to taste

Method

1. If you have a high powered blender, all you need to do is throw everything in the blender and blend until smooth, probably for about 30 seconds. If your blender isn't as strong, you may need to mince your garlic and basil first to make sure everything gets mixed thoroughly. 

This makes about 1 1/2 cups and will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Squares

Everyone needs at least one go-to peanut butter recipe under their belt. You just have to. They're perfect for when you've got a sweet tooth you can't kick and you want something easy to throw together.

The best part about peanut butter cookie type desserts is that they are usually naturally gluten free, so you don't even have to worry about trying to figure out how and what to substitute in place of flour. If you do need to be careful about gluten cross contamination, make sure you use certified gluten free oats for this or any recipe because often times oats are produced in factories that deal with flours and other grains.

I'd call this a guilty pleasure, but I'm a big believer in food for the soul, and you just can't feel guilty about eating anything quite so tastey.

Normally I just go for the standard cookie method, but I decided to play around a bit to make an already simple recipe even easier. All you need is one mixing bowl, one baking tin, a handful of ingredients, and about 30 minutes start to finish.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250 grams) peanut butter, crunchy or smooth (natural, oily peanut butter isn't ideal)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup (100grams) packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (90 grams) certified gluten free oats
• 1/4 cup (45 grams) chocolate chips optional

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 350F/178C and line/grease an 8x8 inch square baking tin.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the peanut butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. If you want to use an electric mixer for this, handheld or standing, mix at a medium speed. You can definitely do this by hand though like I did, it just takes a little extra work with the peanut butter and the eggs. I like a good workout mixed in with my baking though.
3. Stir in your baking soda and oats until combined.
4. Once everything is mixed together completely, press your dough lightly into the baking dish making sure it's evenly distributed. Bake it in the oven for 15-17 minutes depending on your oven. To check that it's finished, stick a tooth pick or knife into the center and when it comes out clean you're done.
5. You can either stop here and enjoy your freshly baked bars, or keep going to add a little chocolate. While you're letting your bars cool on a wire rack, begin to melt your chocolate in a small sauce pan, stirring constantly. You can either do this part in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between intervals until it's completely smooth.
6. Once your chocolate is melted, drizzle it over the tops of your bar. Just go crazy with it. Slice, and enjoy. 

This recipe was brought to you by peanut butter & chocolate - the world's favorite partners in crime.