Author: nataliewalkernw

For a yummy protein fix this stew is an excellent choice and great for lunch or evening meal. In this stew I use butter beans as they are tasty, low in calorie and really high in protein. You can use any white beans in this stew and cannellini and haricot beans work beautifully too. Packed full of vegetables this meal has 4 nutrient packed vegetables in one dish and will get you on your way to your 5 a day!

Start by finely chopping a medium white onion and lightly sauté in a teaspoon of olive oil in a large cooking pan. There are some great ethical olive oils about these days, I use the Clearspring olive oil as it has great organic credentials but there are loads of options available. Add a clove of finely chopped garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes on a medium heat until the onion is soft.

At this point add 6 stalks of finely sliced celery and 3 finely chopped carrots into the pan with . I slice celery so they are still in little half moon shapes but quarter the carrots before slicing to keep the pieces small and delicate. I am really lucky that I’m not one of the unfortunate people allergic to celery as I really love the stuff and celery is full of loads of vitamins. Continue to warm through the onion, carrot and celery in the oil and garlic for a further 5 minutes. It is really lush and tempting watching the vegetable soften and cook as the colours become really bright and beautiful as they cook.

Roughly chop five large vine tomatoes and add these, skin and all in with the vegetables and then add 750ml of hot stock. I really love vine tomatoes as the flavour is really earthy and somehow a lot more tomato-ey than other tomatoes. Yum.

In terms of stock I use the Kallo organic vegetable stock cubes as unlike a lot of stock cubes they are completely suitable for coeliacs and they are organic and have a reduced salt option which I think is great. No more dicing with yukky gluten in a stock cube! I also add about 6 or 7 stalks of finely chopped coriander, just because I love coriander. From this point the cooking becomes super easy as it is just a question of popping a lid on the pan, making sure the hob is at a medium temperature and leaving to cook for about 45 minutes. I would like to pretend in this time I do something really useful with my time but instead I just play with my cats.

Ready cooked butter beans (and in fact chickpeas and other beans) make it so easy to be vegan or vegetarian as it allows you pack the protein into meals without hours of soaking and waiting. Add one can of drained butter beans and continue to cook for a further 30 minutes. Then voila, ready to serve.

Although this dish does take a little while to simmer and cook I promise it is well worth it as the taste is delicious, creamy without any cream and so full of veggies and beans it will really keep you going. Great for freezing and reheating for an excellent packed lunch too! It’s so good, I’m off to eat a big bowl-ful now.

It is aubergine Saturday in our house and whilst aubergine Saturday may not be celebrated officially yet I am sure it is just a matter time. I’m going to kick start by cooking an amazing aubergine salad for lunch.

Rice is a real staple of any coeliac or gluten free diet and can ensure that you get enough complex carbohydrates in your diet. However, rice can get a bit dull when you are eating it all the time so today I’m going to mix it up with some long grain and wild rice. Wild rice is a great addition to rice dishes as it is higher in protein and lower in calories than long grain rice. In this recipe I used pre mixed rice and wild rice and begin by cooking the rice for 15 – 20 minutes until light, fluffy and cooked through.

Whilst the rice is cooking I prepare all the yummy veg for the salad and the timings are great as it means that by the time the rice is cooked lunch is ready! I chop aubergine into approximately 1 cm sized cubes, obviously these are ‘rustic’ cubes, don’t worry about appearance as it all about the taste! I then cook this in a pan with a little olive oil, a chopped garlic clove and a small amount of chopped red chilli. I stir this through as it cooks for 10 minutes and I really enjoy the great smell the aubergine, garlic and chilli give off, it’s really hard not to eat it straight out of the pan. Chop 1 large vine tomato and then add this and cook for another 5 minutes.

As I am impatient and sometimes a little keen to eat all the lovely food I’m cooking I cool the rice off by pouring cold water through the sieve after I have drained the hot water off. I finely chop spinach and round lettuce to bulk up the salad and add some extra tasty salad flavours. It is now literally time to mix the rice, aubergine and salad vegetables together and lunch is served. This is delicious served with balsamic vinegar and a little bit of olive oil to make a yummy dressing.

This one pot aubergine and polenta meal is another quick and easy dish; ideal for a tasty midweek treat and fully of lovely veggies as well as some great gluten free carbs. Start by frying 1 large chopped onion for 3 -4 minutes in a large pan, then add 1 chopped aubergine, a sprinkle of salt and some rosemary (you will notice how much I love rosemary as the blog posts continue!) then continue to fry for another 5 minutes. I really enjoy eating and cooking with aubergines. Aubergines are really low in calorie and a filling addition to a lot of meals. They are also really versatile and go really well with Mediterranean, Asian and middle eastern flavours which means they work well in a lot of my favourite meals! Aubergines are also high in dietary fibre, vitamins B1 and B6 and minerals making them another one of the super vegetables I enjoy so much.

As the aubergines start to brown and soften add 4 roughly chopped vine tomatoes and continue on the heat for another 5 minutes. One of the great things about this meal is that you don’t have to chop finely at all as a caponata is a really rustic Italian stew and the tomatoes, aubergine and onion will all shrink down and integrate taking on loads of flavour as they do.

To give this dish a real dose of the Mediterranean I add a dessert spoon of capers and allow them to sizzle with the other veggies for another 5 minutes. Capers are a really tasty ingredient, although the pickling and production methods do make them higher in sodium due to the added salt so you do have to be careful with quantities. On the other side of the caper coin they do however have great antioxidant properties containing rutin and quercetin which have great healing properties.

At this point the caponata is nearly ready… nearly… not long now… to save on washing up (a key priority of mine) I actually at this point put the caponata to one side in a separate dish and use the same pan to cook the polenta. Polenta is a great addition to a coeliac diet, or in fact any diet as it is made out of maize or cornmeal and is really filling. Polenta is an easy ingredient to make from scratch but I often use ready made polenta as it is so readily available and predominantly ethical (as with Arborio rice in previous blog posts polenta sold in the UK is as far as I have found produced in Italy and should be covered by EU regulation on employment and environmental laws). I cut the ready made polenta into slices about 1.5cm thick and then lightly fry on each side for a couple of minutes until golden and soft. I then dish up the polenta and pop the caponata back into the same pan again.

At this point I then add handfuls of chopped spinach to the caponata and allow it to wilt stirring through the caponata. Once the superfood spinach is wilted it is time to dish up and get stuck in, I often eat this with a drizzle of balsamic to season as it sets the taste off beautifully!

Chickpeas are a great addition to vegetarian and vegan diets as they are a brilliant source of protein as well as being healthy and filling. I love chickpeas and really enjoy using them in a range of different dishes. They bring a real feeling of sunshine to all dishes and work really well with warm and aromatic flavours.

This salad is great served warm or chilled and is sure to give you a real shot of vegetables. It makes a lovely, colourful lunch and is incredibly filling.

I love toasted chickpeas as I enjoy the crunchy texture they get. I start this recipe with about a dessert spoon olive oil, a clove of minced garlic, a sprig of chopped fresh rosemary and a small amount of rock salt and pepper, I mix this in a large roasting tin and allow this to warm up in the oven on about 200 C. After this has warmed for 5 minutes I add the vegetables. I finely chop 1 large onion and chop 2 medium courgettes into slices and then halve the slices. I then pop all of this into the roasting pan and use a wooden spoon to stir it around allowing the seasoning and oil to lightly coat all the veg. The next step is easy – leave in the oven for about an hour and go and get on with something else, hopefully something fun (not cleaning)

Green beans are another vegetable I think are totally delish and which go really well in warm salads. Green beans have loads of vitamins and as vitamins are best maintained in vegetables which are steamed I use a microwave steamer to cook the green beans in this recipe. It only takes 90 seconds and the beans are perfect. I then mix all the roasted vegetables with the chopped green beans and finish it off with squeezed juice from half a lemon to make a tangy, tasty dressing.

This recipe has loads of depth of flavour and is a joy to prepare and eat. You will never be jealous of dishes with gluten or lactose in again!

Before I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance and Coeliac’s disease I used to make a butternut squash and goats cheese risotto. Obviously the goats cheese is a huge no-no now but I have found that with some extra veggies and some perfect home grown herbs this risotto can be even better than ever before!

Butternut squash is a really healthy and powerful food. Technically a fruit the butternut squash is full of anti oxidants, dietary fibre and also potassium which can help to strengthen bones and improve bone health; ideal for Coelaic’s trying to boost levels of support against osteoporosis. Butternut squash is also full of vitamin C to keep the immune system ticking along and boost against the snuffles.

As promised this is a very, very squashy risotto so I actually use an entire large squash in this recipe. Start by peeling and chopping the squash, removing all the seeds and chopping into small pieces about the size of raisins. I am sorry, it is a lot of chopping, get the power ballads on to help you through it like you would at the gym as it really is worth it. I then roast the squash in a small amount of olive oil for just under an hour, the squash will go really soft and a lovely sweet smell will fill the rest of your house (but only if your house is as small as mine).

Once the squash is cooked you can start the risotto in a large pan. Start by chopping a large onion into small squares and fry the onion on a high heat in a little olive oil. Olive oil is one of those brilliant products where there are actually loads of fair trade and ethically sourced options. I recommend the Clearspring olive oil as it is organic as well as produced in Italy. They also make a beautiful gluten free Tamari sauce which I use as a substitute to soy sauce in a lot of dishes.

When the onion has softened in the oil and heat for about 5 minutes I add 2 finely chopped garlic cloves and then add Arborio rice directly to the pan. I use about 250g which will mean the risotto can serve 4 people (or fewer but more hungry people!). The majority of Arborio and risotto rice you find in supermarkets and shops are grown and processed in Italy which means that in theory the production should be in line with EU employment and environmental legislation but it is worth looking out for organic risotto rice which can be found quite easily.

Continue to fry the rice and onion, stirring all the time and keeping an eye out for when the rice starts to become translucent. When the rice has got that nice see through quality about it then it is time to pour in some stock (see the carrot and coriander soup post for info on gluten free, ethical and sustainable stock cubes!) Make about 500ml of stock but initially pour in about 100ml and let it sizzle off quickly.

Add all the yummy, squishy squash to the pan and stir in along with more of the stock and plenty of chopped, fresh rosemary. I love the taste of rosemary and really don’t understand when people say it only matches with meat. I find it adds a depth to a lot of vegetable dishes and in this dish it cuts through the sweetness of the squash. Rosemary is originally a herb found in the Mediterranean I am keen to bring rosemary to new appreciation by pairing it with colourful dishes and flavours. I’m lucky enough to have a couple of rosemary bushes in my garden and nothing beats these lovely fresh herbs.

Once the rosemary is added it is time to turn the heat down to a medium level and continue to add stock and stir for the next 20 – 25 minutes as the rice absorbs the stock and turns into a juicy, filling looking meal.

You will notice that as the squash cooks the beautiful, bright colour of the squash is absorbed into the rice, when all the stock has simmered off and the rice is soft and cooked it is time to add roughly chopped spinach and allow the spinach to wilt into the dish. Spinach is a great addition to vegetarian and vegan meals as not only is it really delicious but is also full of iron, folic acid and vitamins A, C and K. Paired with the potassium in the butternut squash vitamin K makes this meal a dream for healthy bones! Once the spinach is wilted the risotto is ready to serve. If you are as lucky as I am to have fresh rosemary you can garnish with a sprig ready to serve. I love Italian food and this recipe just proves that lactose free and gluten free food can be as filling, rich and creamy as you could ever want it to be. A real dinner time treat.