Tag Archives: Grain Free

Aunty Sandra’s Pasta made a little more healthy for the kids!

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IMG_2966OMG, I’m exhausted.  I have just made spelt rolls testing out the Callington Mill flour now available from my new website www.paleoprovidore.com (they are lovely), made my new version of what the kids know as “Aunty Sandra’s Pasta” by special request for miss 6 and lamb shanks in the oven for us!  Now to make something for the lunchboxes for the morning…I think I’ll make my chocolate cake!

I thought I would quickly share the pasta recipe because it is so quick and easy and ALL kids seem to like it from 5 year olds through to teenagers.  I will give you the original recipe plus my “healthified” one!

Aunty Sandra’s Pasta Original Recipe

250g spiral/macaroni/tube pasta of choice

1 tin condensed tomato soup (I think it was a 400/420g tin)

6 bacon rashers

1/2-1 onion

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp. oil of choice

Method

Cook pasta and remove from saucepan to drain.

Put saucepan back on the stove.

Add oil.

When hot, fry off onion, garlic and bacon.

When soft, add tomato soup and pasta.

Heat through, and serve with cheese if desired.

I sometimes would put in a casserole dish and grate cheese on top – pop in the oven to brown!

My “healthified” version

250g gluten free pasta – macaroni or spirals

200g Organic Passata

6 rashers organic bacon

2-3 spring onions

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon organic maple syrup

1 good pinch salt

1 tbsp. oil of choice

Method

Put pasta on to cook.

In another saucepan fry off spring onions, garlic and bacon, then add passata.

Let it simmer while the pasta is cooking.

When pasta is done, drain.

Put back into the saucepan and add the tomato mixture.

Serve with or without cheese.

Miss 6 hasn’t even realised I’ve changed the recipe and requested it for dinner again tonight!!!  Miss 12 and Mr 19 may be a different story though!

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Paleo Quiche – Gluten, grain and dairy free, low fodmap, fructose friendly!

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As promised here is my quiche recipe. It is a rough guide as to what I used as it was just a trial that worked really well!

“Pastry”

1 1/2 – 2 cups Almond Meal
1 egg white
1 full egg (or you could use 2 egg whites)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Mix ingredients together until they have a pastry like consistency.
Next time I would do this in the Thermomix – mix the ingredients for about 5-6 seconds on speed 5 and then kneed for about 1 minute.

Roll out between two sheets of baking paper.
Put into a greased quiche dish.
Prick the bottom of the pastry.
Blind bake for about 10 minutes or until it has only just started to colour.

“Quiche”

About 6 eggs
Then add whatever bits you have in the fridge. I added:
1 tomato diced
Greens of about 6 spring onions, finely chopped
ham/bacon (about equivalent to 6 rashers of bacon)
2 tablespoons coconut yoghurt
Approx 100g baby spinach leaves finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together.
Pour into the “pastry case”.
Cook at 180 degrees until set in the centre.

Hope you enjoy it! We had leftovers cold and heated in the microwave – both worked well! Bron x

A hearty, rich winter warmer…slow cooked Oxtail, chorizo and red wine stew.

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037Last week I ordered some oxtail from our local butcher. I’ve never cooked it before so it sat in the fridge for a couple of days before I finally decided that I needed to do something with it.

It was a dreary winter’s day, so perfect for a warming winter stew.  I got on to Taste.com.au and searched for some recipe inspiration. Oxtail, chorizo and red wine stew came up and had some good reviews. I had all of the ingredients in the cupboard (except for the truss tomatoes to roast), so promptly set about making this dish, and boy was I glad I did!

Ingredients

2kg oxtail pieces

1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil or garlic infused olive oil

1 onion or 3-4 spring onions (green only for low FODMAP) roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves finely chopped (I used 1 garlic clove as I can tolerate that but omit if sensitive)

3-4 carrots, roughly chopped

2 chorizo, chopped

1 tsp smoked paprika (pimenton)

Finely grated zest of 1/2 orange

1 bay leaf

2 rosemary sprigs

2 cups (500ml) red wine

2 x 400g cans whole peeled tomatoes (I actually used 1 tin + passata)

3 cups (750ml) beef stock

16 cherry truss tomatoes (the only thing I didn’t have!)

Mashed potato, to serve

Chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

Method

023Preheat the oven to 170°C.

Tie a piece of kitchen string around each oxtail piece so the meat holds on the bone.

Place oxtail in a saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes to remove impurities.

Drain, rinse in cold water and set aside.

Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large flameproof casserole over medium heat.

030Add onion, garlic, carrot and chorizo, then cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until vegetables soften slightly.

Stir in paprika, orange zest, bay leaf and 1 rosemary sprig. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Add wine, canned tomatoes and stock, bring to the boil, then add the oxtail. Cover with the lid and bake in the oven for 3 hours.

Place cherry tomatoes and leaves from the remaining rosemary sprig on a baking tray. Toss with remaining 3 tbs olive oil, season, then place tray in the oven with the oxtail for a further 30 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened and the meat is meltingly tender.

Remove the kitchen string from the oxtail pieces, season sauce to taste with salt and pepper, then serve on mash with roasted tomatoes and parsley.

Absolutely delicious and a real winter warmer on these dreary, rainy wintery days…roast lamb tonight!!!

Grain free rolls

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IMG_9713 aThese are the rolls I served with the Moroccan meatball tagine and are absolutely delicious and versatile.  Having eaten gluten free for a number of years, I would have to say they are the best rolls I have tasted and have the added bonus of keeping fresh for up to 5 days in an airtight container.  They only take about an hour to make from start to finished and are yeast free.  A winner by all accounts!

The original recipe that doesn’t require a Thermomix is from Maria’s Health Blog , but I use my Thermomix to make them.

There are a few versions of the recipe.  You can use almond or coconut flour and whole eggs or egg whites.  The egg whites give a lighter roll.  I’ve made both and couldn’t say I have a favourite.  The children prefer the ones made with coconut flour.

I’ll include the Thermomix recipe for the coconut flour.  The one for almond meal can be found at Thermomix Community Website.

Ingredients

60 grams coconut flour

25 grams psyllium husks (recipe says 5 tablespoons which weighs 30g, but I’ve had more success with 25g)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

4 full eggs or 8 egg whites

250 grams boiling water

Method

Preheat the oven to 175 celcius (350 Fahrenheit) and line a tray with baking paper.

Put coconut flour and psyllium husks in the Thermomix bowl and pulse on turbo 3-4 times.

IMG_9709Add baking powder and salt and pulse again on turbo another 3  times.

Add eggs and turn dial to closed lid and knead for 20 seconds.

Program another minute into the time settings.

Measure the boiling hot water into the Thermomix bowl and immediately set the dials to start kneading.

Using a spatula (silicon works really well) take enough mixture to make a roll of the shape and size of your choice and place on the baking tray.  I usually make 6 dinner rolls with this mixture.  Pop them into your preheated oven for between 50-65 minutes depending on the size of your rolls (mine take 55 minutes).

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The little balls of dough puff up in the oven and turn into these great little dinner rolls.

How easy is that and what a great alternative for those of us who choose to eat grain free!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Choc chip cookiesOMG these are so good! Who would think of combining nut butter with eggs, baking
soda and baking powder and getting a biscuit? This recipe is by a very talented
cook who has a website site (and recipe book) called PaleOMG.

I’ve made the cookies with almond butter, sunflower butter and a combination of
both! I’ve used both maple syrup and honey at reduced rates and both work fine! I’ve used about 2 tsp vanilla essence in one batch as I was having a lazy moment! Mine don’t seem to spread like the author’s (probably because I’m reducing the honey) so I roll them and then flatten them with a fork.

To make these cookies you will of course need some sort of nut/sunflower seed butter.  You can buy some from the health food shop or the supermarket.  I prefer to make mine in the Thermomix.

To do this, take 2 cups nuts which can be either raw or roasted (about 10 minutes at 180 Celsius/350 Fahrenheit), and processing them on about speed 7. I scrape down the sides from time to time during the process so that the blades can do their magic. Many recipes add oil to the mixture, but I prefer not to.

Keep going until the butter is silky smooth and has a shiny, oily look in this photo by Amazing Paleo.

almond-butter-3

Time will vary according to the type of nut you are using and may take up to 5 minutes. Add ½-1tsp salt.  Amazing Paleo has a great recipe for using a food processor.

To make them Low FODMAP, use sunflower seeds and maple syrup. I am yet to try them with macadamias, but that would also be low FODMAP. This recipe is definitely a keeper!!! For a school lunchbox treat make them with sunflower seeds as most Australian schools are now nut free.

Ingredients

1 cup sunflower seed butter or any other nut butters

1-2 tbsp Maple Syrup (or honey in not fructose intolerant)

1 egg whisked

1 Vanilla bean(split and scrape seeds with the back of a knife)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 2 if you haven’t got vanilla beans)

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

Pinch salt

½ cup Enjoy Life Semi-sweet chocolate mini chips (or your favourite chocolate chip – Sweet William is also Dairy Free)

Method

Turn the oven onto 180 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).

Line a biscuit tray with baking paper.

Put all ingredients into a large bowl and stir until well combined, and the mixture looks like cookie dough.

Roll into balls using a large teaspoon of cookie dough and place on tray.

Squash them down with a fork.

Place them in the oven and cook for 18-20 minutes – watch though as I find different nut butters cook at different speeds.

Transfer to a wire cooling rack.

When cook keep in an airtight container.  They store for about a week if they last that long!

Makes approx 12 cookies.