Category: Uncategorized

A slightly different vegan potato salad

Spring is a beautiful time and although it is raining outside my garden is looking beautiful and green. The bright refreshing greens have led me to make a fresh and tasty potato salad full of crunchy greens and of course gluten and lactose free. It makes use of one of my favourite vegan alternative soft cheeses as well. Tasty.

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I start by slicing new potatoes, I’m leaving the skin on as I think it brings some extra taste and texture to a salad and this salad is all about texture and taste! Bring to the boil for approximately 15 – 20 minutes until cooked but not too soft.

Whilst the potatoes are cooking chop green beans into approximately 1cm long pieces and steam gently, I love crunchy green beans so I only steam for 3 minutes. Green beans have high levels of vitamin C, vitamin K and beta-carotene as well as antioxidants and fibre. I’m using a whole pack of green beans as it helps to balance out the carbohydrate in the salad from the potato.

Finely chop a fresh spring onion and have the your tub of sheese, salt and pepper ready to hand!

Once cooked and steamed drain the potatoes and mix with the green beans in a large bowl. Squeeze a quarter of fresh lemon juice into the vegetables to give a tangy kick before adding 2 large tablespoons of Sheese. I’m using the spring onion and cracked black pepper flavour as it is tasty and goes perfectly with the flavours in my salad. Mix through until melted to give a slight potato salad sauce minus the dairy! Season with a few turns of salt and pepper and dress with the chopped spring onions.

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Leave to cool and then serve as a delicious spring salad. This salad is perfect for the picnics and barbeques we have to come as the weather gets sunnier and is also going to brighten up my Saturday lunchtime.

To find lovely sheese please check out the following website – http://www.buteisland.com/

Warm Edamame and Sesame Salad

Easter doesn’t have to be a time for unhealthy eating at all. I’m going to fly in the face of the chocolate trend with a yummy, warm salad packed with veggies and crunchy yumminess.

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Warm a small amount of sesame oil in a pan, once warm add one chopped carrot cut into thin batons and one chopped courgette cut into thin batons. Add a small amount of minced garlic as the vegetables cook to make them taste lovely. After a few minutes add some chopped spring onions and some shelled edamame beans. I love edamame beans and edamame and carrots are a flavour combination I always think a winner.

When cooked add to chopped avocado and cucumber batons and dress with sesame seeds and gluten free tamari. Delicious hot or cold and perfect for some bank holiday vitamins.

The Hanoi Bike Shop – Glasgow

Another weekend away last weekend and I stumbled across a fantastic Vietnamese restaurant full of yummy food which meets all my many dietary requirements – I was in gluten free, lactose free heaven.

The Hanoi Bike shop is tucked away just off Byres Road in the West side of Glasgow close to the beautiful Gothic buildings of the university. Full of character, warm and friendly this is a great place I would really highly recommend to everyone – coeliac or not!

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Before booking a table my sister and I popped in to explain dietary requirements (coeliac, lactose intolerant, nut and mushroom allergies and no meat or fish can be tricky even for the best!) In addition to providing us a full menu they gave me a Gluten free and Vegan menu so we cross reference dishes which featured on both, I was really surprised to hear there were quite a few I could choose from. They then jotted down all my requirements, made a note against the booking and made the chef aware in advance. Brilliant service equals happy Nat.

When we arrived to eat the staff double checked dietary requirements and sat me close to the kitchen – it’s quite a small place but it’s full of life and near the busy vibrant pass is a lovely place to be. As well as gluten free and vegan menu’s they have gluten free and vegan drinks and cocktails highlighted too. I tucked into an amazing spiced gin cocktail; gin, chilli, lemon, coriander – wicked combination and made the difficult decision of what exactly I wanted to eat.

As it was hard to decide my sister and I shared a few dishes. The Hanoi Bike Shop actually make all tofu on site meaning it is beautifully fresh and creamy, I loved the sweet potato, tofu and coconut hotpot – I could have eaten it forever. On the side was a minty vermicelli rice noodle salad, a stunning flavour combination that was so fresh which I’m definitely going to try to replicate, though I don’t imagine I could get it anything like so perfect. I also had braised Vietnamese greens with a gluten free tamari . The sides are huge and definitely good sharers.

Throughout the helpful Hanoi Bike Shop staff checked the food was great and I was happy, I was so busy eating I could hardly answer as my mouth was so full all the time.

The Hanoi Bike Shop is an absolute must for any coeliac, vegan or in fact anyone in Glasgow to check out, I had such an amazing time, probably worth the trip just for an amazing meal.

http://hanoibikeshop.co.uk/

Gluten Free Cafe, Norwich

Visiting my sister in law last weekend I popped across a lovely surprise in the heart of Norwich when I found The Gluten Free Cafe just around the corner from Norwich Castle.

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Caramel Soya Latte and Gluten Free Ginger Cake – so naughty

All the food and drinks sold are 100% gluten free and they have a great shop upstairs with a variety of gluten free products available.

Being quite a frosty morning I was ready for a warm coffee and was really pleased to see that although the primary focus is gluten free the cafe offered a wide choice of milk and milk alternatives including soya and coconut as well as lactofree milk and milk products as well. It’s really great to find so many options available for allergy, intolerance and ethically limited diets. Caramel soya latte all the way for me.

They also served a range of different meals, cakes and take away lunches as well. I’m actually lactose intolerant and have a couple of allergies as well as coeliac disease so I still needed to check the ingredients but the owner had a file with all the products served in and their full ingredients. The ginger cake is perfect and went nicely with my coffee whilst my husband and sister in law did tuck into some chocolatey delights.

In the shop there were a range of gluten free alternative and naturally gluten free products. Quite a few are items you can find in the supermarket free from aisle but others are harder to find or more unusual, gluten and dairy free Worcester sauce is something I’m hoping to get stuck into soon. The edamame spaghetti is lovely too.

Speaking to the owner I learnt that she and many members of her family have coeliacs disease which is what inspired her to set up, she started with just a shop and the cafe is a new venture opened in January 2016.

It’s definitely well worth the visit any time you are in Norwich and great to support them in their venture, hopefully one day it will lead to many more gluten free cafe’s around the UK in the future.

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Sesame carrot salad

I’m also whipping up a colourful, tasty and Thai inspired salad ready to put on a smile on my face come Monday lunchtime. As a lactose intolerant coeliac nipping out of the office at lunch to find food can be pretty difficult so I always take a healthy meal with me.

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This dish is full of gorgeous flavours and simple as anything. Being full of antioxidant properties as well as Vitamins A & K and lots of fibre carrots make a brilliant salad base. Carrots also bring a crunchy focal point to a salad and really make this meal. I’m using my spiraliser just to make it more attractive and exciting to eat. If you have a spiraliser peel 2 medium carrots and spiralise, if not peeling and the grating or chopping carrots into batons will have a similar effect.

Although obviously not suitable for soya allergy sufferers I absolutely love edamame beans and they are a great source of protein and fibre and I add a liberal handful of shelled edamame beans to the salad.

Top your salad bowl up with sweetcorn and add a couple of sliced spring onions. I serve this salad with sesame seeds and a gluten free tamari. I love the Clearspring gluten free tamari as it is organic and great for my body as well as the earth. I can’t wait for Monday lunch time now!

Lentil and Vegetable Soup

Good morning! I’m not sure where February has got to but it’s definitely time for a healthy, vegetable Sunday. I’m off out on a nice walk so I’m using my slow cooker to make a healthy, lentiley, chunky soup that will be ready for lunch by the time I get back.

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Start by chopping the veggies. Peel and chop a large sweet potato and large carrot. I chop them into small squares approx 5ml x 5ml as this is a no blend soup and the vegetables give a great tasty crunch. Add these into the slow cooker. Chop one large white onion finely and add this in too.

I then add a couple of tablespoons of red lentils and brown lentils into the mix. Lentils are fantastic foods and absolutely packed full of fibre. They are really great not only for coeliac and vegan diets but for everyone. High fibre diets help to manage blood sugar levels as they burn energy slowly and steadily. They are high in protein reducing the need for meat or meat substitutes and help promote heart health with a strong combination of minerals.

All in all lentils are full on super heroes.

I then pour on a pint and a half of stock. As a coeliac I use Kallo vegetable stock as it is fully gluten free, tasty and vegan!

I’m going to pop on high and then get out in the fresh winter sunshine, knowing that my lunch will be waiting for me when I get back.

10 Minute Vegan Dinnertime

Having invested in a spiraliser this week it seems likely that I will be eating (and you will be reading about) plenty of curly fruit and vegetables over the next few weeks.

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It has already had a big impact and meant I can cook an amazing, coeliac friendly, vegan dinner in 10 minutes flat – heaven for mid week meals. I’ve started off simple with courgette spaghetti and popped together a quick chilli, tomato and avocado dressing.

Start by spiralising 2 medium courgettes, courgette are a really healthy green food, they are high in vitamin C and antioxidants but really low in calories and fat. I always find they have a mellow and almost creamy taste which is why I’ve chosen them as my gluten free spaghetti replacement. I found that chopping the courgettes in half made it easier to spiralise but the whole process took a couple of minutes even though it was my first time.

Steaming vegetables is a much healthier way to cook vegetables and maintain their nutritional value. I have a great microwave steamer and popped the courgette straight in and on for 4 minutes on 800 watts. Some steamers and some vegetables require water to cook but courgette has such a high water content there is no need to use any additional water.

Whilst the courgette spaghetti steams I whipped up a really quick and rustic tomato suace which takes about 5 minutes to cook. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a small pan on a high heat and a handful of chopped cherry tomatoes, a small amount of chopped chilli and a clove of chopped garlic. I also used a tiny bit of ground rock salt and black pepper to add some more flavour, keep cooking on a high heat. At the same time as that cooks I whizz into action chopping an avocado.

Once the courgette spaghetti and the sauce has cooked serve straight away with the tomato sauce and avocado; a really delicious spirally vegetable dish – certainly the first of many!

Eating out free from – Prezzo

Continuing to adapt after diagnosis with allergies, Coeliac’s disease or lactose intolerance is really hard and this past year has been quite a struggle. It can also be hard not to run to safety foods and to actually try to push your own boundaries. Since I was ill and following diagnosis I’ve rarely eaten out but I’m trying to push myself and in doing so have found a brilliant Coeliac UK approved solution in the form of Prezzo.

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When we ordered drinks I chatted to the manager about my dietary requirements (Coeliac, lactose intolerant, vegetarian, allergic to nuts, allergic to mushrooms – phew!) and they were really helpful straight away. I was amazed when they brought over a copy of their gluten free menu for me to have a look at. Seriously impressive – there was a real selection with many of the pizzas available on a gluten free base , gluten free pasta options as well as grill options.

As well as the gluten free menu the manager printed me a full and up to date allergy menu for both the gluten free menu, the full menu and the January 2016 specials menu which details all the common allergens including gluten, lactose, soya, nuts and more. I opted for the gluten free Penne Arrabiata, the only allergen in this is celery – which I really love and can eat without problems.

It’s fairly straight forward food but having access to all the info is so useful and makes you feel in control of your dining experience regardless of dietary requirements.

A big thumbs up for Prezzo on the free from front, will see you again for more Italian food soon.

http://www.prezzorestaurants.co.uk/main-menu/ – gluten and lactose free options can be searched on their menu online too!!