Good news: the Food Standards Agency has announced that an extended allergen labelling system is to be introduced in the UK by mid December. It will apply to both pre-packed and non pre-packed (loose) foods, i.e. both grocery and restaurant offerings. Whether the allergens are included or added to the foods they must be referenced on the labelling.
We already have allergen labelling on most pre-packed foods but this will be extended to include these 14 allergens.
Energy bars are convenient, portable sources of – energy, of course! Whilst it’s almost equally straightforward to carry a few nuts or seeds and some dried fruit, the handful of rolled oats won’t go down very easily unless they are bound together with some kind of syrup.
How do sports bars compare with supermarket offerings?
Great recovery food to follow exercise (carbs, fat and protein), but not so good for the dieters! (183 kcal per serving)
Prep time 10mins; cook 15mins; 20 servings.
Pre-heat the oven to 200 C / 400 F / Gas 6.
In a large pan, melt the spread, sugar, syrup and treacle together, stirring until melted and smooth.
Remove from the heat and stir in the carrots, oats and seeds until thoroughly mixed.
Tip into a 30x20cm (12x8in) tin, press down well and bake in the centre of the oven for 15mins.
When lightly golden around the edges, remove from the oven. While hot mark out 20 squares, then leave to cool. When cold, remove from the tin and separate properly.
Store in an airtight container. Suitable for freezing.
Source: www.britishcarrots.co.uk
Serves 10, prep 30mins, cook 1hr 45mins.
For the topping
Heat the butter / oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic, and gently fry for 15mins until the onions are soft and golden. Turn up the heat, add the mushrooms, then cook for a further 4mins. Pour over the wine (if using) and stock – don’t season with salt at this stage. Simmer for 40-50mins until the lentils are very soft. Season to taste, remove from the heat and stir in the tomato puree.
Heat oven to 109C /170C fan / gas 5. While the lentils are cooking, make the topping: Tip the potatoes into a pan of water and boil for approx. 15mins until tender. Drain well, mash with the butter and milk, then season.
To assemble the shepherd’s pie, put the lentil mixture in a large ovenproof dish and top with the mash. Scatter over the cheese and bake for 30mins until the topping is golden.
As a quicker alternative, use 3 tins of rinsed and drained green lentils – simmer them for just 10 mins after adding the stock.
Low calorie (450 kcal per serving); suitable for coeliacs; rich in iron, folate and fibre; suitable for freezing.
Source: BBC GoodFood February 2013
One in a hundred people suffers from a true allergy to dietary gluten, known as coeliac disease. Many more find that they are intolerant to wheat and hence foods such as bread, doughs and cakes make them feel uncomfortable.
Following a gluten-free diet is the solution for both groups. A wheat-free diet may be sufficient for coping with wheat intolerance but coeliacs will know that there are also other sources of gluten to be avoided. Larger supermarkets stock ranges of ‘free from’ foods including bread, pasta, pizza, cakes, breakfast cereals, flours and ready made sauces. When preparing meals from basic ingredients, it is not difficult to avoid wheat or gluten in many dishes, and to substitute other foods such as rice, potatoes and gluten-free oats.
Perhaps the two foods most missed by coeliacs and wheat avoiders are bread and cake. I’ve tried to make basic gluten-free bread in my bread machine but without great success. It seems that the dough needs to rise in a warm place in the conventional way and then be baked in an oven to get reasonable results.
I’ve had varying results with cakes. Whilst a light Victoria sponge totally eludes me, rich fruit cakes and recipes using fresh fruit (such as banana) or grated vegetables (e.g. courgette) work well with gluten free flour such as Dove’s Farm. These cakes do tend to dry out faster, however, than if they were made with wheat flour.
If you fancy something very rich and chocolately, try the ultimate beetroot and chocolate cake. This recipe will work with gluten free flour as the beetroot is very moist and, arguabley, you’ll be getting extra anto-oxidants with your portion of cake!
Recently, I’ve discovered a range of recipes which use some specific ingredients to counter the absence of gluten in producing moist and very tasty cakes. Glycerine (liquid) keeps moisture in and xanthan gum (a form of powdered starch) binds the ingredients together to give a conventional cake texture. Relatively small amounts of these ‘magic’ ingredients convert the usually dry gluten-free cake into a really moist delight, which is difficult to distinguish from a conventional wheat-based recipe.
The buttermilk breakfast muffin recipe is the first of these specifically gluten-free recipes to get the Russell-Price ‘tried and tested’ stamp of approval!
Yummy, moist, gluten-free muffins. Suitable for coeliacs but equally tasty for everyone.
I’m sure the recipe would work equally well with conventional wheat flour, omitting the glycerine and xanthan gum. Please post here and let me know if you give it a try….
