Iron Man Waffles!

I am really pleased that I have at last perfected these tasty waffles and they tick so many boxes for people with special dietary needs too!

I specifically wanted to create a recipe that was rich in iron, with about 2% of your daily iron intake in every waffle but it had to be gluten-free, suitable for vegans and low in calories, at only 81 calories per waffle and low in sugar, all at the same time.

These waffles taste great topped with strawberries, which are very high in vitamin C, which helps the body process the Iron and they have a low Glycemic Index (GI).

This is the kind of recipe that you will be able to take out, for example 20g of the Buckwheat Flour, and sub it with 20g of a protein powder instead, for example Pulsin Rice Protein Powder, in order to up the protein content and lessen the carbohydrates at the same time.

Instead of Almond Milk, you could sub some alternative dairy-free milk that is chocolate flavoured to give a different twist but don't forget that would of course slightly alter the nutritional content.

This is a great basic recipe but feel free to add your own tweaks and adjustments and let me know how well you got on.

I like mine topped with strawberries and melted dark chocolate. How do you like yours?

IRON MAN WAFFLES

1/ Turn your waffle maker on and if you need to grease it first, make sure that you do!

2/ In a small jug pour in:

 3 x cups of Almond Breeze Unsweetened Milk 

 3 x teaspoons of  Biona Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother.

3/ Into a large jug mix the following dry ingredients:

1/2 a cup of Nairns Gluten Free Porridge Oats

2 x cups of Clearspring Organic Buckwheat Flour

1 and a 1/2 teaspoons of Doves Farm Gluten Free Baking Powder

1 teaspoon of Cinnamon

2 x teaspoons of Ginger

Pinch of salt.

4/ Into the smaller jug with the almond milk mixture inside, mix in the following:

1 x tablespoons of Meridian Blackstrap Molasses  

1 x Tablespoon of Meridian Dark Tahini

3 x Tablespoons of vegetable oil 

3 x Tablespoons of Essential Apple Puree

1 x Teaspoon of Taylor and Coleridge Vanilla Bean Extract

5/ Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well, make sure the flour and oats are well combined. 

6/ Then pour the correct amount of mixture into your waffle machine and cook according to that model's instructions. Mine is a heart shaped waffle maker bought for my birthday, I get 18 waffles out of the mixture and they take 2 minutes exactly to cook through. You might need to experiment to find out how yours works best.

The Easiest, Quickest, Tastiest Gluten-Free Pizza Ever!

I have just enjoyed the most delicious gluten-free pizza that I have ever made, no, I have just enjoyed the most delicious gluten-free pizza that I have ever tasted! Here is the recipe and it is PERFECT! The base is also brilliant for Vegans too, with no milk, or eggs needed! (If you are making Vegan pizza make sure that the toppings you choose are suitable for Vegans and don't put cheese on and I do NOT recommend any cheese replacement either, they are yuck, in my opinion!)

The base of the pizza is made with the Glebe Farm, Gluten Free Seeded Brown Bread Mix, which you can buy from our shop.

1/ Preheat your oven to 190 Degrees.

2/ Line a 9" x 13" baking tray with greaseproof paper and then grease well with oil.

3/ Pour a whole packet of 375g of Glebe Farm, Gluten Free Seeded Brown Bread Mix with Linseed and Sunflower Seeds into a large bowl and add the 10g of yeast included in the packet. 

4/ Stir in 1 tablespoon of raw cane caster sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt.

5/ Then into a measuring jug pour in hot water up to the 200ml mark, then add cold water to make up to 275ml in total.

6/ Add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to the water and stir in, then pour into the flour mixture and stir round until it is well mixed.

7/ Scrape the mixture into the baking tin and level it off, with the back of a spoon.

8/ Next, top with any toppings you like, put in the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes.

That's it!

In the photos, I used a tomato topping that I had whizzed up in the blender of tinned tomatoes, olives, herbs and tomato puree, with garlic, I spread that onto the base, layered baby spinach leaves on top of that, sprinkled on some cheddar cheese, and placed olive slices and torn sun-dried tomatoes on top.

The end result is the most delicious gluten-free pizza ever! Don't forget, you can make it suitable for Dairy-Free Diets and Vegans by missing out the cheese and ensuring you use only Dairy-Free/Vegan toppings.

Chickpea, Tomato and Quinoa Dahl

Lunch for Tuesday 5th May 2015, this gorgeous tasting, Chickpea, Tomato and Quinoa Dahl! Presented in a bowl for £2.70, at the time of writing and presented with a poppadom on the side. I have been told many times that I should charge more but I want to make healthy food accessible for all, I want to inspire people to eat like this at home too! People love my cooking but I am not a naturally great cook, the way I cook is to make it as easy as possible for myself, whatever I make is easy to emulate, I promise. Lots of the ingredients we use in our dishes, I stock on our shelves for you to take home and make it for yourself. These prices too are kept as low as I possibly can.

Since around the beginning of March, we have introduced a Daily Dish of the Day in our Shepton Mallet shop, I kept turning people away for lunch and didn't want to do sandwiches. Then one day a beautiful Vegan couple turned up in my shop, they love playing Bananagram, so I got one in for them and maybe that was when they realised I might be open to gentle persuasion. That lovely couple are now a family of three and have completely convinced me to keep cooking Vegan lunches for Shepton Mallet.

I am NOT a vegan myself but what inspires me to keep cooking these vegan dishes? Well, there are several things, I do enjoy challenges and cooking something Vegan and making it look and smell so tasty that even meat eaters will buy it, try it and come back for me, is pretty exciting for me! Our business is based on sustainability, the vegetarian and vegan way of eating is much better for the earth and we are already committed to our business being 100% suitable for vegetarians, there is just less harm done to our world when animal products are avoided and I have to say that all the Vegans I've met so far seem to look fit, healthy and slender. I don't know if that's because they have to keep saying, 'No, I can't eat that, no, sorry, can't eat that', or whether it could be the discipline they show in saying no to certain products, extends over into their own health and self-control. I can't imagine a Vegan person sitting down and just deciding to stuff their face with raw cane sugar, even if it is entirely suitable for vegans. Vegan eating in general fits in with Paleo style diets, apart from the slabs of protein made out of cows or pigs that Paleo eating encourages us to have on our plate. I also like the idea of conscious, mindful eating, of having standards and sticking to them, it appeals to me. If you are going to eat animals, then at least call them by their proper names and don't suddenly change a pig to bacon and a cow to beef, it's silly and a cover up of the truth.

I like the way that these dishes I am creating are nearly always gluten-free, they are always made from scratch, no pre-made sauces, or additives, certainly not bought in from a manufacturer and passed off as my own! My dishes are always great for Slimming World members because they are usually SYN FREE! I am proud of that. That's why I wrote it in big letters. They are not so synfree though, if I have cooked something with tinned coconut milk in, so always check with me first! They are always dairy free too and packed with protein. I don't eat dairy or gluten myself, I feel so much better for it, healthier, fitter and slimmer, so it's easy for me to make those kinds of lunches for everyone else. The other thing is my partner Gunter is diabetic, so I am very aware that foods of a low to medium GI are better for all of us, not just for diabetic people.

The great thing about these Vegan, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Slimming World friendly lunches, is that they embrace people from all cultures, people who have to follow all kinds of restrictions in their diets, people that want to eat healthily, well, tastily and sensibly! I like it when people connect together and these vegan lunches are doing exactly that! Imagine going somewhere to eat where there is NO menu, there is only one dish on offer and that is Dish of the Day! I love seeing people that don't know each other, sitting down to enjoy the same food and people that do know each other and are coming out as a family or as friends sit down and share the same food, it's very, very special. The whole way of doing this means I don't ever have to throw food away. Why ever did we think it was such a good idea to have so many choices in what we eat in restaurants? This way that I am discovering for myself is leaner, greener, healthier and proving to be very popular!

Here are the ingredients that I used in the Chickpea, Tomato and Quinoa Lunch, so you can check through them. Allergens are in bold.

Onion from the Friday Market
Garlic from the Friday Market
Ginger from My Coffee Stop
Tomatoes from the Friday Market
Tinned Tomatoes from My Coffee Stop
Cumin from Peppers
Coriander from Peppers
Turmeric from Peppers
Chilli flakes from Peppers
Yeast Extract from My Coffee Stop
Spinach Leaves from Aldi
Fresh Coriander Leaves from Aldi
Cashew Nut Butter from My Coffee Stop
Quinoa from My Coffee Stop
Kallo Yeast Free Stock Cube from My Coffee Stop, (Contains Celery)
Chick Peas from My Coffee Stop
Leek from the Friday Market
Celery from the Friday Market.

So come along and taste it for yourself, or make it for yourself!

Low Gi, Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Muffins!

I am so excited! I have finally created a low GI, gluten-free and dairy-free muffin recipe!

These muffins are great for diabetic people, those on a low carbohydrate diet and those that have gluten and dairy intolerances, as well as those that just want to enjoy a healthy, tasty and nutritious snack.

I have just finished one of these muffins and I have to say it's the best tasting gluten and dairy free item that I have ever tasted.

The muffins I chose to make were Blueberry and Banana and I used a brilliant combination of gluten-free flours to create a really fluffy texture. The flour replacements I used were gluten-free flour made from potatoes and rice starches, quinoa flour, ground almonds and gluten-free oats.

The milk I used which was an excellent dairy-free replacement was Rice Dream Original. I have been trying to bake with Coconut Milk but it's been making the cake too dry. We normally use yoghurt in our cakes but as I wanted to make these dairy-free, I substituted unsweetened 100% apple puree, from Biona, instead.

For the sugar, I used a small amount of raw cane sugar, with a low GI Coconut Sugar.

I am so exceptionally pleased with these muffins and feel they are a real break through in my dairy and gluten-free baking.

Hope you can pop by and try some soon.

Please let me know if you have certain foods you can't eat and what kind of cake you'd like us to bake for you, just by commenting here.

Keep happy and healthy. Xx