Dad's Super Gluten Free Pancakes

Pancakes are a favourite breakfast/brunch in our home and for years my husband has been working to perfect a healthy gluten and dairy free version for the girls and I.  He has finally happy with his mix and has agreed to let me share his recipe at last.

What you will need:

• 2 cups of gluten free flour (see note below for options)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp bi-carb soda
• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 2 tbsp rice bran or vegetable oil
• 2 cups non-dairy milk (we use soy)
• pinch of salt

A note about the gluten free flour mix:

When it comes to gluten free flours there are a huge array of possibilities, with greatly varying results. The standard supermarket bought flour mixes are predominantly starch with little, if any, nutritional value. Our aim has been to use a mix of flours that give a finished product that is light, delicious and highly nutritious. Here are a few possibilities you can try:

Flour option 1 - one cup of a starchy type of GF flour like a commercial blend or tapioca, and one cup of a more nutritious flour like sweet sorghum.

Flour option 2 - 3/4 cup of starchy GF flour, 1/4 cup brown rice flour, 1/4 cup sweet sorghum flour and 1/8 cup of high protein GF flour like quinoa or teff.

Flour option 3 - the Superfoods option, and the one we use for best results - 1/2 cup starchy GF flour (commercial or tapioca), 1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour, 1/3 cup brown rice flour, 1/3 cup quinoa flour, 1/3 cup teff flour.

You can play around with the flour mix as long as you end up with 2 cups of flour. 

Gluten free flours are now readily available in supermarkets and health food stores.

What you need to do:

     1.  Sift the flours, baking powder and bi-carb into a large mixing bowl. 

     2.  Separate the eggs and add the egg yolks to the flour mix. Set the egg whites aside

     3.  Add the golden syrup, oil, milk and salt to the bowl and mix together.

     4.  Whist the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.  Slowly fold egg whites into the pancake 

           batter.

   

     5.  Heat a frypan to medium and lightly oil before cooking batter in batches.

   

     6.  Enjoy with maple syrup, fresh berries or whatever toppings your prefer.

Sweetcorn Fritters

Everyone loves a fritter.  Well, everyone except my children.  They are finally coming around after years of rejection.  This is the recipe that seems to have won them over.

What you will need:

• 3 cobs of corn, steamed and kernels removed
• Chopped fresh parsley, roughly quarter of a cup
• 2 organic eggs
• 1/4 cup non dairy milk (I use soy as it is less sweet than some others but unsweetened almond would be fine too)
• 1/3 cup quinoa flour
• 1/3 cup brown rice or sorghum flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil for cooking

What you need to do:

1.  In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs and add the milk.

2.  Mix in the flours, cumin and salt and pepper to make a smooth batter.

3.  Add the cooled corn kernels and the chopped parsley and mix well.

4.  Heat a non-stick pan and add a little olive oil.

5.  Place heaped spoons of the mixture into the pan.  Cook for a few minutes before flipping.  Ensure that the fritters are golden brown and cooked through.

6.  Keep fritters warm in the oven while you cook the remaining batter.

7.  You can serve the fritters with green salsa, a quinoa salad or any other salad or vegetable side dish.

Notes:

• You can substitute a can of corn kernels but the result is nowhere near as tasty as using fresh corn.
• Any combination of gluten free flours will work.  I use quinoa to increase the nutrient profile and provide additional protein.
• If you can tolerate dairy products, regular cows milk would be fine.
• If the batter is too thick, just add a little extra milk to the mixture.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Chunky Green Salsa

I suppose this recipe is more of a salad than a salsa, but in our family we know it as 'Mum's green salsa'.  It works well served with sweetcorn fritters and is fantastic with grilled seafood or as a side dish with almost anything.

What you will need:

•  3 - 4 Lebanese cucumbers
• 2 medium avocados (ripe, but with firm firm flesh)
• Fresh parsley, small handful
• Fresh mint, small handful
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Olive oil\
• Salt and pepper

What you need to do:

1.  Chop the cucumbers into 1cm squares.  Do the same with the avocado.

2.  Rinse and then finely chop the parsley and mint.  Mix together in a bowl.

3.  In a small jar or dish, whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice (use equal parts).  Add salt and pepper to taste.

4.  Dress the salsa and leave to sit for about half an hour before eating.  Stir gently several times to mix the salad and herbs through the dressing.

Healthy Eating Pyramid Update

Earlier this year Nutrition Australia updated their Healthy Eating Pyramid for the first time in over 15 years. The new pyramid reflects a change in food philosophy and provides clearer direction on what we should be eating.  In line with the food pyramids of traditional diets such as the Mediterranean Diet, the emphasis is on plant based foods with Nutrition Australia suggesting these should make up 70% of our dietary intake.  The pyramid also includes plant based protein options which means that vegetarians and vegans are not excluded.  The new pyramid looks like this:

My nerdy, healthy-food loving self is really excited.  If you are too, feel free to check out the links below for more information.

Nutrition Australia media release

Nutrition Australia Healthy Eating Pyramid

A New Beginning

So, after an extended time away, I thought it might be time to bring tao belly back to life.  Back in 2013 I returned to work after many years as a stay at home mum.  I completely underestimated the impact this would have on my life, but particularly the lack of anything resembling spare time that I was going to have.  Recent reassessments have meant that I will be dropping back to part time work again next year and I'm looking forward to posting here more regularly in the coming months.

Over the last year or so, my will to cook has pretty much disappeared.  I have struggled to get decent meals on the table, often serving the same boring options.  Most significantly I've come to really dislike preparing meals for my family.  My goal now is to get re-inspired and explore new recipes and ideas for healthy cooking that are family friendly and time friendly as well.

I'm looking forward to sharing my journey back from kitchen burnout with you.

Gluten Free Apple and Cinnamon Mini Muffins

I had been wanting to have a go at making some gluten free muffins for awhile now and today I took the plunge.  I don't like using commercial gluten-free flours as they are almost all starch and have little, if any, nutritional value.  For this recipe I've used my own combination which worked well and the muffins were nice and light.  The big stamp of approval came from my girls who are notorious for not eating anything I bake.  This time they were begging for more!

What you will need:

Dry Ingredients-

• 1 cup quinoa flour
• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup brown sugar

Wet Ingredients-

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup non-dairy milk (rice, almond, soy)
• 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 eggs

Extras-

• 2 small or one large apple, peeled and grated

What you need to do:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Spray a mini-muffin tray with olive oil spray or equivalent.

2.  Sift the flours, cinnamon and baking powder into a mixing bowl.  Stir in brown sugar.

3.  In another bowl or large jug combine all the wet ingredients and mix well.

4.  Tip the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

5.  Spoon the mixture into the muffin tray and bake for 12 minutes or until cooked.

These muffins are delicious right out of the oven, are great in lunch boxes and also freeze well.

Variations:

• To make larger muffins just increase the cooking time to about 20 minutes.
• For a vegan version use an egg replacer instead of the eggs.
• The sugar could be reduced to 1/2 cup if desired.
• 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts could be added at step 4, or you could put some chopped walnuts on the top of each muffin before baking.

Mediterranean-Style Chicken Soup

The last couple of weeks have seen the temperature dropping and a lot more people coming down with the coughs and colds often associated with this time of year.  It may be an old wives tale, but there is a lot to be said for a bowl of homemade chicken soup.  In many traditional cultures cooking broths from bones was said to help heal and strengthen the body.  There is also the obvious comfort you get from consuming a steaming hot bowl of soup.  This recipe is one that I have adapted from a book called 'Trupp's Wholefood Kitchen' and is a slight variation on the 'typical' chicken soup recipe.  You can make this as a vegetarian/vegan soup by substituting seasoned tempeh or smoked tofu for the chicken.

What you will need:

• 8 chicken drumsticks
• 1 cup of white wine
• 2 litres of stock (chicken or vegetable)
• 4 medium-sized, firm fleshed potatoes
• 1 large leek, finely sliced
• 4 ripe tomatoes
• 1 handful of green and black olives
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp salted baby capers
• 2 tablespoons of butter (substitute with oil for vegan version)
• 1 pinch of saffron
• few sprigs of fresh thyme
• 4 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

What you need to do:

1.  Rinse the chicken legs (remove skin if desired) and place into a stockpot.  Cover with wine and water, bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer.

2.  Peel potatoes and cut into 1cm cubes.  Remove the dark green leaves and cut the leek in half, and then into 1cm squares.

3.  Melt butter in a large saucepan.  Add potatoes, leek, garlic and capers.  Cook for 5 - 6 minutes over medium heat, and then add to chicken in stock-pot.

4.  Chop tomatoes into 1cm cubes.  Add tomatoes and saffron to stock-pot and bring to the boil.  Cook for 10 - 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

5.  Meanwhile, chop thyme and parsley.  Pitt olives if not already done.

6.  Remove chicken legs from stock.  Get rid of any remaining skin and discard.  Remove all meat from the bones and return the meat to the stock.

7.  Add thyme, olives, parsley and season with salt and pepper.

8.  Serve drizzled with olive oil.