Wednesday 3 July 2013

lifestyle changes

our  first encounter         our search goes on 




Its now getting easier to find organic foods the more we researched the more we found,  after a difficult start at our own supermarket searching it's  vegetable counters, well It did have Organic produce  but you had to look very hard to find them and there was very little of it  not enough to make it worth our while to go organic completely,  Other produce in store  yes  also  very hard to find it meant spending far to long shopping.

It was difficult  looking here there and everywhere all over Dorset, trying as many of the  farm shops advertising Organic produce, well some of there product were, Some we walked into  and, some we walked straight out of.

The farm shops that we have now found are good,very good indeed.  We have one farm shop  close by another within a 40 minutes drive.

We have found  found  two super markets  one with a large Organic product range within  6 minute drive  from us  which we intend to do our first shopping trip there tomorrow the other is going to be within a 3 minute drive  but is still under construction its due  to be finished in October  this one according to its webpages has a huge Organic range, I think we have all our food ranges covered.  What we can not get  from one we will from others. 

Tuesday 2 July 2013

visiting chefs


Louise
Ryan
Apollonia
                                             
Louise's kitchen  

Gluten and Lactose Free recipes

Green fish curry,     Prawn and asparagus risotto,     Breakfast,     Chicken  breast cooked in honey,

Chicken  with mixed vegetables and rice,


Introduction

Hi, my name is Louise. I'm Martin's daughter, my dad is the author of this  blogs, however all the recipes are my own work.

In the last week I've been following a gluten and lactose free diet. I've had ongoing health problems for well over a year now. The main symptom being swollen ankles and fingers, along with a bloated stomach. The fluid retention has been horrible. After countless medical tests and still no solutions I started to keep an eye on what I've been eating and how it relates to my symptoms. Bread was the main cause of the fluid retention. I cut it out for a few weeks and all the fluid retention drastically reduced but never completely went away.

After I'd cut out bread for 4 weeks I then started to notice that dairy products were making me feel ill. Stomach ache after ice cream or cream, feeling sick, sometimes actually being sick, and still some fluid retention.

So, after lots of research on the internet I've decided to try a gluten and lactose free diet. It's still a little trial and error but I'm certain I'm going in the right direction. At first I thought maybe I would have to stick to a bland and boring diet. But really, so far that is not true. I'm pleasantly surprised.

If I have spent so long online looking for recipes then I know others have as well and I want to share some of my recipes with you. I hope they help and I hope you enjoy them.




                                  

chicken with mixed vegetables and rice

Please bear in mind that I live in Holland so will list ingredients that I use here, if you need advice on UK versions please let me know and I'll do my best

Ingredients: - feeds 3-4 people

3-4 Chicken Breasts
300g rice (as long as it's gluten free)
300-400g mixed vegetables (can be frozen or fresh, wok mixes are good)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper
Salt
Curry powder



Preparation:

Dice the chicken
Add salt, black pepper and curry powder to flavour the chicken
Leave for 10 mins to let the flavour absorb
Cook the rice as per instructions on the packet
Heat the olive oil
Add the vegetables and heat for 10 minutes, stirring often
Add the chicken and cook for a further 10-15 mins
Add the cooked rice to the wok and stir for a further 3-5 minutes.
If required add additional salt and pepper to taste



Serve in bowls

chicken breast cooked in honey

Ingredients - feeds 3-4 people

3-4 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
salt & pepper to test

Preparation

Wash the chicken and leave to dry on kitchen roll
Sprinkle with the lemon juice, pepper, and salt
Leave chicken for 10mins
Mix the olive oil with the honey
Cover the chicken breasts with the honey marinade
Grill the chicken on both sides, apprx 15mins depending on thickness of chicken

Serve with salad or with vegetables of choice
In picture below I chopped the chicken breast up and mixed it with broccoli and tomatoes. Slightly too much brocoli in the mix below but you can mix to your own taste.

breakfast

I'm not really a big breakfast eater (I know, I should).
However, I've recently found that sometimes I am quite hungry in the morning now.

Generally I've been drinking a glass of flavoured soya milk and having a rice cake either with marmite or with honey. Marmite is still my preferred choice (well you either love it or hate it).

prawn and asparagus risotto

Ingredients - feeds 3-4 people

900ml vegetable stock (if it's gluten free, otherwise water)
350grams green asparagus - in jar (adjust cooking time if fresh)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion
1 garlic clove - finely chopped
400grams rice (any kind as long as it's gluten free)
500grams prawns
Basil, salt, and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Heat the vegetable stock (or water) in a pan
Add the asparagus and heat gently for 3-5 mins
Take the asparagus out the pan but save the stock/water
Gently fry the onions in the olive oil for a few mins
Add the chopped garlic and fry for a further half a min
Add the rice and cook with onions and garlic
Stir constantly until the rice has a 'glazed' look (few mins)
Add the stock/water
Let it cook gently for 25 mins, stirring often
Add the prawns and asparagus
Cook for 5 more mins, stirring often
If there is any stock/water left in the pan drain it off
Add basil or any other herbs to taste

Serve in bowls

Pictures to follow

green fish curry

Ingredients - feeds 3 people

300g rice (any kind of rice as long as it's gluten free)
500g white fish - cod or similar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion - rougly chopped
2 leeks - sliced in rings
125g green curry paste
200ml coconut milk

Preparation:

Cook the rice as per instructions on pack
Cut the fish in to bite size pieces
Heat the oil in a wok and fry the onion for 1 min
Add the leeks and fry for further 3 mins - stirring constantly
Add the green curry paste and the coconut milk
Bring it to the boil
Lower the heat and add the fish
Stir it all around, and put a lid on the wok
Let it cook for around 10 mins, stirring occasionally

Serve in bowls
It looks a bit like cabbage in the pic below but it's really very tasty.
Felt like we were missing something though, not quite sure what. Will maybe add some runner beans next time. If you try any variations let me know.