GLUTEN FREE / LOW GLUTEN DIET incl GF Pancake recipe

Most people these days have heard of eating a Gluten Free diet but few realise that you don't necessarily need to be a Coeliac to reap the benefits from this way of eating! You also don't have to go full steam ahead to eating only Gluten free products. Even just reducing the amount of Gluten you are getting in your diet can show great improvements overall. By eating a low gluten/gluten free diet you will begin to notice things such as a flatter stomach, an increase of your energy levels and less of that fuzzy head feeling some people report having.

You'll find limiting gluten in your diet means your digestive system will thank you by improving regularity, feeling less sluggish and lessening the time that toxins sit in your intestines and bowel. By improving the functioning of your digestive system you'll find your metabolism benefits also. That could mean budging those love handles, muffin tops and belly fat much more efficiently alongside a healthy diet and regular exercise. Overall your health will improve in a very short time frame. I strongly recommend giving it a try for at least 2 weeks and see how much better you feel. Keep a diary each day of what you've eaten and keep track of your toileting habits and general wellbeing.

After playing around with GF recipes now for almost a year I'm beginning to get the knack of it! If you choose to buy a ready-made GF flour you can make things a little easier on yourself. If however you get to a point where you think eating GF is going to be a long term commitment then I recommend buying half a dozen different flours in bulk to reduce your costs. Most recipes benefit from the use of at least 3 flours. My own experimentation seem to reveal that using a light, fine flour (such as rice flour) in conjunction with a hardy, thicker flour with more texture (like coconut flour) alongside a small quantity of a high starch flour (such as tapioca starch) gives the best results.

Adding Xanthan Gum to your GF baking can help to hold all the ingredients together. Xanthan Gum is a natural polysacharide that can be derived from many sources. The one I use comes from corn *edited. It is used as a natural emulsifier in many food products and acts like gelatin to hold ingredients together. Some recipes I choose to use 1-2 tbsp of Chia seeds instead of xanthan gum, which also helps to bind ingredients and has added nutritional benefits.

Here is a family favourite recipe in my house. We love eating our Gluten free pancakes with organic maple syrup and berries on top but you can choose to eat yours anyway you like!

As with all my recipes if you don't want to use organic then use standard. If you don't have agave syrup then use honey. If you don't use coconut oil then use your alternative. The addition of all of these ingredients is what I believe produces a much healthier end result, but you make it as you wish!

ANGIE'S GLUTEN FREE PANCAKES
Big batch, serves family of 6

edited 29.3.2014

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp Xanthan gum (can be made without but helps to hold together a bit better)
2 tsp Gluten free baking powder (ordinary will work for low gluten)
40g Organic Extra Virgin Coconut oil
200g Rice flour (brown for more nutrients but white is fine too)
80g Organic coconut flour
20g Organic Tapioca Starch
60g Organic Agave syrup (or honey, maple syrup, coconut nectar/sugar)
10 drops Liquid Stevia (OR use more agave/honey if desired)
4 Free range large whole eggs
600mls Milk (your choice, plain, soy, almond, etc) Use more milk for thinner pancakes!

Topping as per photo: Organic Maple syrup, a few blueberries to decorate.
For Blueberry pancakes: Use half a cup of fresh or frozen blueberries (unthawed)

• Add ingredients together and mix well using your Thermomix, Mixmaster or hand beaters.
• Add a little more liquid if the mix is too thick. GF batters are generally thicker than standard! 
• If you like you can add half a cup of fresh or frozen blueberries (no need to thaw) at the end and fold in to the mix.
• Cook on a lightly oil sprayed pan or pancake/crepe maker and turn once the underside is brown and hardening (you won't see many bubbles on top like normal pancakes).
• Turn and brown on the other side and serve topped with organic maple syrup.

Serves a family of 6 so if you would like a small batch then please half the ingredients list!!

Hope your family enjoy these as much as we do!

PLANNING AHEAD PAYS OFF!

I've come to realise over the last couple of years that one of the best ways to ensure you don't fall too heavily 'off the wagon' with healthy eating at home is making sure you have done some planning ahead when doing a regular grocery shop! Getting into a rhythm of jotting down at least 3 or 4 meals for the week can help considerably when shopping as you're much more likely to have what you need in the fridge and pantry and less likely to resort to eating a less healthy choice like takeaway.

These days I shop for all my bulk health food ingredients at Mrs Flannery's every 2-4 wks, preferring to shop on their Supersaver Saturdays and Member Saturdays for better prices. I shop usually once a week for all my fruit and vegetables at my local greengrocers for super fresh produce at great prices. Generally I'll opt to freeze chopped fruits that won't last as long and store more perishable items in my Tupperware fridgesmart containers. My Coles grocery list is almost always identical these days with the odd exception of a change in my lean white meats for the week or the odd stock-up of long-life pantry items (such as canned bean mix, cereals and soy milk/lactose free milk for the boys).

Having my set list of raw ingredients means I have a multitude of meals ready to make quickly and easily without resorting to takeaways every second or third night like I once did! Yes cooking and preparing meals can be time consuming but there are ways around that too! Try chopping up a whole bag of carrots, beans, potatoes, etc at a time and storing what you don't require that night in a well sealed container in the fridge and then you can use the prepared ingredients for 2 or 3 nights in a row! Or cook twice as much as your family will eat and freeze the leftovers to eat at the end of the week when you need a quick and easy go-to meal.

One of the other big tips I have is start simply. Having all the ingredients for a basic salad in your fridge means you've always got a side ready to go for lunch, dinner or simply add your salad stuff to your juicer when it's looking a little tired!! Always keep your staple ingredients on hand like rice, potatoes, pasta, noodles, etc to go alongside your chicken, meat, fish. Buy your meats in larger portions for better prices and freeze in individual portions, thawing out the day before in your fridge so it's ready to go the next day. I've learnt to look at a piece of chicken breast and vegies and instantly I have at least half a dozen dinners I can make from this. Eg: chicken and veg stirfry, curry chicken, chicken and veg soup, steamed chicken with salad, chicken skewers for the bbq, chicken bolognaise.

Don't forget when keeping a plan that your pantry should really be organised as well as possible so you always know what needs replenishing and you use what is actually there for you. Ever done a pantry cleanout and found loads of food sitting up the back that need to be chucked out because you forgot it was there? I think we're all guilty of this but when you organise your pantry efficiently from the start you'll find this happens less and less which eventually means less money going straight in your bin ;)

Below is a picture of my pantry. I sort my pantry so everything that I use daily is at eye level. All my baking ingredients are up high as I don't tend to bake all day every day. I keep the kids snacks in clear containers at their reaching height so they can help themselves to good healthy snack options throughout the day. Almost all my containers are clear and labelled so I never forget what is in them and know when they need topping up when doing a quick check before grocery shopping. My pantry took at least 2 years to look like this. I know that buying all the right containers can be expensive so I made my purchases bit by bit over the years. I'm at a stage where I pretty much have exactly what I need now, hence the reason it's looking so well organised!

I hope some of this has been useful to you guys. Don't forget I love your feedback but you may be best leaving your feedback on my Facebook page as more people will get to see your comments that way and you'll probably find I'll respond to you much quicker that way!

SIMPLE SIDES anyone can make!

I'd thought I'd share a quick post with some SIMPLE SIDES to add to any of your own favourite dishes. Here are a few of my favourite sides that are healthy, nutritious, quick and easy to make! You don't need any fancy gadgets (like my Thermomix), although I do use mine to steam my greens. Use your oven, microwave, Food processor or blender, cooktop or Thermomix (if you're lucky enough to have one).

These sides can be put together with a piece of steak, fish or chicken. Alternatively you can do as I do some nights and whip up a few and serve buffet style at the table for the family to pick and choose as they wish! These options are lower in fat and will fill your tummy for longer than things like wedges, potato bake, creamy coleslaws or any of those other 'quick' side dishes many people opt for. These are also an easy way to increase your vegie count for the day!

STEAMED ASIAN STYLE GREENS

• Chop your favourite greens, such as Pak Choy, Bok choy, green beans, broccoli, etc
• Steam your greens using a steamer or cook in the microwave
• Make up a dressing using Soy sauce and Agave syrup (honey would work too)
• Stir through the dressing over greens when just cooked, but still retaining some crunch!
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve whilst hot!

GARLIC ROASTED BABY POTATOES

• Chop baby potatoes into bite sized pieces and space evenly on a baking paper lined tray
• Spray potatoes using some Extra Virgin Olive oil spray
• Mince 1-2 cloves of garlic and sprinkle evenly over the potatoes
• Sprinkle salt over the potatoes
• Cook in a preheated oven at high temp (approx 200 deg) for approx 10 mins before turning roughly in the tray. Cook further for approx another 10-15 mins. Test a piece to see if cooked to your liking before removing from oven. Keep a close eye on your oven til you get to know how long and exact temp for your oven!

MINI GARDEN SALAD

• Punnet of cherry tomatoes, 1 cucumber, half a block of low fat fetta cheese, balsalmic glaze or dressing (recipe here) >>http://angieshealthykitchen.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/preventing-post-christmas-pigouts.html
• Halve your tomatoes if you wish, dice your cucumber (cut in half lengthways, then those lengths in half again, then across to dice), cut your fetta into tiny cubes
• Combine the salad in a bowl with a drizzle of your glaze or dressing (enough to your liking)
• You can also add pitted olives if you like them!

SPECIAL BAKED BEANS

• Puree 2 tomatoes in your food processor, blender or Thermomix.
• Add minced garlic, onion or shallots if you wish
• Cook in your Thermomix or on your cooktop for approx 10 mins on high temp with a little coconut or olive oil
• Add the tomato mix to a can of baked beans and sprinkle with crumbled low fat fetta cheese or grated cheddar if preferred
• This serves nicely with some eggs for breakfast, added with chilli/curry paste and potatoes as a quick and easy vegetarian bean curry or goes nicely as a side for any main at dinnertime

THE YEAR THAT WAS 2012.

This year has been Phase two of my healthy lifestyle change. Phase one in 2011 was the shedding of the inital weight I had been holding onto over the course of my child bearing years. It was about building up my fitness levels again after so many years of living a more sedentary life. I gave birth to our fourth son in late 2010, having had the 4 boys in just under 7 years. I began 2011 slowly recovering from my Hysterectomy feeling lethargic, flabby and generally unhappy within myself. My body was showing the signs of stress that the mutiple pregnancies had taken on me.

For others undertaking a lifestyle change either currently or for the beginning of 2013 you may like to use my approach to help you along the way. I have seen my personal lifestyle changes as a 3 Phase approach and I've found this has helped keep me on track along the way.

Phase One is the commencement and starts by making small manageable changes to your diet and everyday routine. Set yourself a realistic goal or small goals along the course of the year. You might like to write them down as a reminder to yourself or just visualise what it is you are hoping to achieve. Some small changes you may want to start with are as follows:

• Buy yourself a new water bottle with a 600ml plus capacity. Look for BPA free products such as stainless steel or Tupperware plastic.
• Get into the habit of taking the water with you everywhere you go. Ensure you drink at least 2 full bottles per day, sipping frequently throughout the day.
• Add a couple of lemon slices to your water bottle which will not only give your immune system a boost and digestive system a flushout but will give your water a lovely fresh, sweet taste.
• Start every day with a substantial breakfast within half an hour of waking. If you are a cereal fan try swapping for other choices for a few days a week. Great options include natural yoghurt (topped with chia seeds, fruit and a drizzle of maple syrup or honey), banana smoothie or eggs and smoked salmon with tomato or mushrooms.
• Invest in a good quality Food processor. Many of my recipes are made using a Thermomix but you can manage using your own basic kitchen items if you have a good quality Food processor. Making many of your meals and snacks from scratch means you are in control of the amount of fats, sugars and salt in your diet and can easily substitute healthier options. If you are time poor you might like to invest in good quality storage containers (I am a massive Tupperware fan) so you can make things in bulk and freeze them for time-saving purposes.
• Invest in a Juice Extractor. Substituting snacks and meals with a healthy fresh juice can be a great way to kick off your new healthier lifestyle. I regularly juice and believe it helps my digestion, clears my skin and gives me energy. I find it especially beneficial when sick or during a busy period like Christmas when I'm burning the candle at both ends a little more than usual. Juicing is a particularly good choice for post-alcohol occasions when the liver needs a rest and assistance in flushing out the toxins.
• Start walking at least 3 times a week. The amount of time you spend isn't totally important, just getting your body moving and heart rate up will help to gradually build your fitness. Even a 15 minute walk or jog can improve your muscle tone and assist with weight loss. I started walking for around 15 minutes a few times a week early this year and am now able to run/jog between 2 and 5 kms a few times a week. Get aquainted with your neighbourhood, grab some friends to join you for a walk at least once a week and allow yourself thinking time on your walk. I find I come home from my run feeling much clearer in the head from the time I've had alone with my thoughts.
• Reduce the amount of chemical household cleaners you have in your home. Did you know that pure vinegar can be used in a spray bottle as a multi-purpose cleaner? It is highly effective in killing germs, bacteria and most mould. It is also very inexpensive when compared to kitchen, bathroom and other standard cleaners. You can also add a little bicarb soda to the vinegar to make a paste to clean more stubborn stains in your kitchen, bathroom, etc. Don't forget the best way to kill off salmonella and other dangerous bacteria is by using good old fashioned hot water, dishwash liquid and a scrubbing brush.  You can also add a couple of drops of eucalyptus oil to your cleaning cloth or to a spray bottle of water if you're looking for a lovely smelling home. Wipe your surfaces down first with a spray of the vinegar and eucalypt cloth or spray the eucalypt mist in your bathroom or toilet for a greener, safer option to nasty chemical based air fresheners. Making these changes to our home has together with dietary changes greatly decreased the asthma, hayfever and sickness in our home. Give it a try, I guarantee you won't go back to the chemicals!

Having come to the end of my Phase two (a period of increased exercise, greater control over diet and the return to a healthy BMI) I am now looking to 2013 for Phase three, what I see as the final challenge to my healthy lifestyle change. 2013 is for me about maintaining my healthy weight, keeping myself in optimal health with minimal sickness within the family and toning the last of my trouble spots.

Stay tuned for an upcoming blog where I will provide you with even more tips on increasing your good health and well-being! Thanks for following along in the short time I have been blogging with you so far and I look forward to hearing all your own stories of vitality in the new year!

PREVENTING POST-CHRISTMAS PIGOUTS!

Hi everyone,

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas spent with family and friends! I had an awesome day, spending time with my loved ones at my Mum and Dad's home. The aircon, pool and great company kept us all happy and there sure was more than enough food to go around! I was still a little cautious with my choices but then I am one of those crazy people that get excited when there's more than 3 salads to choose from!

If your family is anything like ours chances you were loaded up with left-overs to take home and you're now at Boxing Day wondering what on Earth you are going to do with half a kg of ham or a kilo of prawns!

One of the best 'healthy' choices you can make with most Christmas leftovers whether it be turkey, chicken, prawns or ham is to make yourself lots of tasty salads! There's minimal fuss, limited dishes to wash up afterwards and that way you're eating your proteins with lots of good healthy greens and vegetables. All you need to do is pop into your greengrocer and grab some salad leaves, cherry or standard tomatoes, cucumber and whatever other choices take your fancy. Don't forget to grab some lemon to make an easy dressing and some chilli too if you don't mind a bit of heat in your dressing!

Here are 2 of my favourite home-made salad dressings that you can use with most salads. The lemon dressing is particularly good if you're making a prawn or fish salad!

LEMON & CHILLI DRESSING

2 small chillies (omit if you don't like heat or use only 1)
Juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp of coconut oil (grapeseed or light olive oil will work)
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste

Process chillies in your Thermomix or Food processor
Add the other ingredients and mix on low speed or shake in bottle
Store in cupboard in well sealed bottle or container.

SWEET BALSAMIC DRESSING

2 tbsp of White wine vinegar
4 tbsp of Oil of your choice
2 tbsp of Balsamic glaze
2 tbsp Agave syrup
Salt & pepper to taste

Add ingredients together and mix well in a bottle.
Store in cupboard in well sealed bottle or container.

Another healthy option for using up leftover proteins is adding them to a variety of chopped vegetables (pre-cook heavy vegetables like potatoes), adding either a watered down pasta sauce or white sauce, covering with a sprinkle of low fat cheese and bake in a moderate oven for approx 20 mins or until the vegetables soften and the cheese looks golden and bubbly.

A yummy take on this using prawns is add a little smoked salmon (if desired), capers, diced potatoes and green beans with a white sauce mixed with a little low-fat sour cream and topping with the cheese to bake.

Today so far we've had a prawn salad with the chilli lemon dressing and tonight we're having home-made sushi with the rest of the prawns. Tomorrow I am making a ham, cheese and vegetable omelette and another salad!

EATING HEALTHY ON THE RUN!

Some of the best laid healthy eating plans can be thrown off course just simply from passing the good old golden arches at a time when your hunger pains are screaming out to eat anything in sight. Drive-throughs were once my friend, a quick and easy meal or snack on the run or something to use as a bargaining tool to quieten the kiddies down when on the road. The biggest problem with places like Maccas, KFC, Red Rooster and the likes are they make it TOO easy to stop and grab a quick fix.

Once you start crossing off the drive-through off your list of go-to places for dinner or a munch on the run you start asking yourself, where else could I stop and grab something quickly that will satisfy me for a bit? Instantly you're getting yourself out of what I think of as the 'danger zone' and into places you can make far healthier choices from. I use drive-through now on a very rare occasion and find the less I eat of those foods the less I feel I want or need them. Once you break the habit it's easier not to see it as a temptation, that goes the same for all unhealthy foods!

Here are a list of some of your other options you could make if you find yourself desperate to grab lunch, dinner or a snack on the run:

• First, it goes without saying taking a piece of fruit or a little container of dried fruit and raw nuts is a really smart choice. Pop into your handbag or car console and it's there when you need it.
• Stopping at a fuel station these days doesn't have to be a bad choice but beware there are temptations everywhere. Go in with the mindset that you are going to buy a piece of fruit, a yoghurt, a packet of rice crackers or even an Up and Go drink and forget the lollies and ice-creams calling out your name.
• Sushi can be a really healthy and filling option. Try the tuna, salmon, avocado or skin-free chicken rolls as a healthier choice but even 1 or 2 of the others is a far better choice than a big mac or nuggets!
• Subway are a good choice but if you are gluten free or low gluten most people don't seem to know that you can get a salad made to your liking in a decent sized bowl. Adding in some skin-free chicken or lean ham and asking for only a dash of dressing (or none at all) will add flavour and fill you up for at least a good couple of hours.
• Stopping by a BOOST to grab a low fat smoothie or fruit/vegie blend juice is a great way of adding to your fruit/vegie daily requirement whilst keeping you going til lunch or dinner.
• Sumo Salad have some amazing lunch options and there seems to be a growing number of them in many Food courts these days. They not only have salad, but you can also grab a healthy pasta dish packed with vegies, fruit salad and yoghurt, even mini bread rolls filled with healthy choices.
• Stopping into your greengrocers for some grapes, cherry tomatoes, apples, etc to snack on can be a great choice for not only yourself but also your kids if you have them. We often take a lunch box with us filled with fruit for a snack on the go.
• If you're in the mood for some chinese look no further than some of the soups. Chicken and sweetcorn soup is very filling, not to mention nutritious. It's also cheap and is also usually ready to go quite quickly.
• Japanese usually has a number of healthy options that won't break the bank either. Things like rice-paper rolls and sashimi can be nutrient packed, tasty and easy to eat on the run!

At the end of the day fast food places can be handy and have their place in our lives, it just doesn't have to be as prominent as what they are today. What's wrong with just using it as an infrequent visit coming home late from a christmas party or an easy stop whilst on holiday or a long roadtrip? Believe me I know it's not always easy removing the drive-through from your normal routine each week, heck I live one street from Maccas, but the sooner you remove it from your eating options the sooner you'll get your healthy eating back on track!

STAYING HYDRATED & ANGIE'S SUGAR FREE CORDIAL

With the warmer weather upon us it really is time to keep the fluids up. I'm sure you've all heard to drink 2L of water every day. Not only is it important for good organ function but new research is proving that drinking plentiful supplies of water can play an important role in helping to improve your metabolic rate. The easiest way to ensure you're getting enough water each and every day is to take a water bottle with you everywhere you go. I've been doing so ever since I was a young girl and suffered some kidney issues and now if I forget to take my bottle with me it's like I left a leg at home!

In addition to water you can try some other refreshments to keep it a little more interesting. Try adding a couple of slices of lemon to your drink bottle for a nice change. Drinking lemon water can help to boost your immune levels, assists your liver to digest fats more efficiently and helps to release toxins from your body.

I am a massive fan of juicing regularly and found this particularly helpful in my earlier days of losing weight when I was trying to cut my meal portion sizes down. Back when I was 30kgs heavier than now I would juice first thing in the morning and store in the fridge for drinking during the day. I would start with a light breakfast, drink a large glass of fresh vegetable/fruit blend juice for morning tea, have a light lunch, another glass of juice for afternoon tea, then dinner followed by one last juice at night if I was looking for a late sweet snack. A good juice for those starting out is 1 bag of apples, 3 carrots, 2 celery sticks, 1 peeled lemon and one thumb sized ginger piece. That should make enough juice for 1-2 people per day. When drinking fresh juice you can reduce your 2L water goal down a little as fruit and vegetables generally have a high water content to them.

A new family favourite here for Summer is my Sugar Free cordial. This cordial is really nothing like store-bought cordial, in that it has no added sugar, is high in vitamins and minerals, is thirst quenching and immune boosting! You will need a juicer to make this and whilst I use my Thermomix (TM) for pureeing the berries you can do this in your blender or food processor (FP) without a problem.

ANGIE'S SUGAR FREE APPLE-BERRY CORDIAL

1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries (strawberries will work too)
2 bags of apples (1 kg bags)
2 lemons (peeled)
1 thumb sized piece of ginger
Agave syrup (to taste)
Stevia drops (in addition to agave if you wish, to taste)

Start by processing your berries in your TM or FP.
Place the apples, ginger and lemon through your juicing machine.
Add juice to pureed berries in the TM or FP and add a good splash of agave syrup (stevia too if you wish).
Give this a quick whiz on a low setting.
Pour into an air-tight container and add equal quantity of water to the juice concentrate.
Taste test and add a little extra agave if required.
Don't forget to give the container a good shake before serving each time.

Don't be scared to try your own flavour combinations. I served this to friends today and they all loved it. One friend suggested it would be great to add to sparkling mineral water to make it a little extra special for special occasions.