At Caroline’s Cookery I have been working on my Gluten Free Baking. The star ingredient for me is Coconut flour which is ideal for cakes. My first attempt was not a success! BUT as you can see from my Banana Cake shown here I have now cracked it. To make a lovely cake you use a third of the amount of Coconut flour compared to a recipe using plain or self-raising flour.

Here’s the recipe

90ml	sunflower oil
80 g	coconut flour
1 1/2 teaspoons	baking powder
150g	coconut sugar
3	eggs
2	ripe bananas, mashed
125 ml	soured cream or buttermilk
1 tsp	vanilla extract
shredded coconut to decorate
Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark  4. Lightly grease a loaf tin and line
the sides and base with baking paper.
Sift the coconut flour and baking powder into a bowl and stir in the sugar.
Beat together the eggs, oil, bananas, cream and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
Tip the dry ingredients in and mix until everything is combined.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for about 50 minutes. Cool in the tin then
turn out and decorate with the shreds of coconut. Enjoy:)

To find out more about Gluten Free Baking and go home with some delicious baked goodies you can join me on the 29th June for my Gluten Free Baking Workshop. There are just 4 places available and it runs from 10:00 – 12:30 at a cost of £40 here at Caroline’s Cookery HQ

Some very easy ways to add that extra something to your Christmas Dinner are:

1. To make your own Cranberry & Orange Sauce. Take 250g fresh Cranberries (from Tescos or other supermarkets), the juice and finely grated zest of one Orange and. Put them in a pan with 150ml of cold water to cover. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for 10 minutes. You will hear the cranberries start to pop. Add 100g caster sugar and stir until it dissolves. Simmer for another 5 minutes plus. Test by drawing a line in the syrup on the back of your wooden spoon. As an option you can add 3 – 4 tablespoons of port when you add the sugar 🙂
2. Make separate stuffing balls. This is a favourite of mine http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3054/apricot-and-hazelnut-stuffing.
3. Parboil your sprouts then roast them with chestnuts and smoky bacon.
4. Put your pigs in blankets in a roasting tin lined with foil, drizzle runny honey over them, season with salt and pepper then toss them well so nicely coated then bake. Shake than now and again and baste until well cooked and nicely browned.
5. Add sprigs of fresh Rosemary, which is a trend this year. This can be put in your balls of stuffing, put into the cavity in your turkey with a halved lemon and generally used to decorate your dishes.

Enjoy! Wishing you a very Merry Christmas xx

 

For a protein packed breakfast try my Rye Soda Bread, Avocado, Poached Egg, Tomato, Mushroom and Beans.

Soda Bread is quick and easy to make and this version is extra high in fibre and essential nutrients. Top it with half a mashed avocado and your adding good fats (monounsaturated fatty acids), Potassium, Vitamin E. B Vitamins and fibre. Then you have got your high protein egg and 2 to 3 of your ‘8 a day’. This really is a great start to the day!

Notice I said ‘8 a day’ not 5. Aim for 2 fruit and 6 vegetables per day to get enough fibre in your diet and all the other nutrients. I’ll cover that in my next blog …

So the recipes:

To have a great start to your day:

First rehydrate. I would recommend a mug of hot water with lemon but if your not keen on that just grab a glass of water before your first tea or coffee of the day.

Secondly eat a good breakfast. To get off to a great start and keep your metabolism ticking over nicely breakfast really is important. So why not try porridge add a mashed banana, a handful of blueberries and a sprinkling of chopped walnuts.

For an extra protein packed porridge try this:

200g porridge oats, 25g linseeds, 25g flaxseed, 25g walnuts, 25g hazelnuts, 25g almonds,

25g quinoa, 15g whey protein (optional)

Blitz all the ingredients up in a food processor until they are a fine powder and store in an airtight jar. This makes 7 portions.

When you have it for breakfast you can make it up with your favourite milk add a handful of berries, some banana and pumpkin seeds.

 

Me too…

Hormones are kicking in, they have growth spurts and they might have bad skin.

They will be drawn to fast food when they are out with their friends.

Not a lot we can do about that BUT here is a quick and easy recipe you can cook for a family meal. It ticks all the boxes for food they should be eating and its good for you too, bonus!

 

Savoy Cabbage Pasta

Serves 4

2 shallots, finely sliced  400 g savoy cabbage, shredded  2 carrots, peeled and diced  2 leeks, washed and cut into thin slices 2 teaspoons rapeseed oil  2 bay leaves  1 x 400 g tin cannelini beans,drained  250g soya beans  500 ml vegetable stock  300 g wholewheat fusilli  80g cottage cheese  20 g parmesan cheese, finely grated  4 tbsp fresh basil

Put a large saucepan on a medium-high heat with 2 teaspoons of oil. Stir in theshallots then the cabbage, carrots, leeks and bay leaves. Add a good splash ofwater, cover, reduce the heat and cook for 15 minutes, or until softened,stirring occasionally.

Add both types of beans. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer for15 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling water. Once cooked (check the packet for cooking time) drain and add to the vegetables.

Stir in the cottage cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve each bowl of pasta with a sprinkling of parmesan, freshly ground blackpepper and a sprinkling of basil.