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Hello everyone :)  I'm afraid I have nothing new planned for today.  I thought I'd devote today to increasing allergen awareness in the only way I can.  Most people who have to deal with two or more allergens really struggle to find food that's safe, let alone find help dealing with combination food allergies.  Sites like my blog aren't all that visible to search engines.  This a shame because there is a ridiculous number of sites out there that are dedicated to recipes and advice for specific allergies. However, if these don't come up in search engine, how are people supposed to come across them in the first place?

Here's how we can help.  Most blogs and sites, like mine, already have share buttons included in their design.  Most sites will feature theses buttons to the left or right of their content or at the bottom of the post.  Mine, for example, can be found to left of my posts and at the bottom of my posts.  That said, everyone lays out their sites differently.  Please take 5 seconds to share good content when you find it.  This increases the contents visibility and makes it easier for those who have just discovered a new allergen to find the advice they need.

And, Finally, thanks for reading. :)

Chickpea and sweet corn bolognese; gluten-free, vegan

I have a very strict budget currently.  Not only do I have to make every meal at home but I'm also forced to resorting to cheaper recipes.  This was a excellent solution to both while remaining allergen friendly.  It is high in protein and high in nutritional content.  It's simple, tasty and very filling.

Ingredients:

Tinned tomatoes; 400g
Onion; 1, small, diced
Garlic cloves; 5, peeled and diced
Tarragon; 1 teaspoon
Sage; 1 teaspoon
Sweet-corn; 330g; drained
Mushrooms; 3 medium sized, diced
Tinned Chickpeas; 400g, rinsed and drained
Gluten free pasta; Cooked

Directions:

On medium heat, gently cook the onion.  Add the tinned tomatoes, juice and all. Add the herbs, garlic, sweet-corn, chickpeas, mushrooms. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.  Stir through warm, cooked pasta and serve.

Jacket potatoes

Jacket potatoes are a very easy option.  You can have any combination of topping that appeals to you and they tend to be very filling while remaining easy on the stomach.  Best yet, for the base as you need is a large potato, oil and salt!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Place oven in a baking tray.  Pour some oil over it and sprinkle with salt. Roll the potato around so that it's completely covered in the salty oil.  Pop in oven until it is cooked all the way through.   (Depending on the size of the potato and the quality of the oven this can take 1-3 hours).  The potato will be cooked when a knife can be shoved through without resistance.  Internally the potato will be soft enough for mash.  Add a dollop or margarine for texture.

Suggested topping:

Minced chickpea and herbs.

Tuna

Bake beans

Egg mayo

Potatoes

Potatoes are often quite cheap.  They can easily bought in bulk and can be stored at room temperature in most conditions.  They are one of the most useful vegetable you can keep in your kitchen.  They can be used in soups, stews, pies, side dishes such as mashed potato, chips, wedges and on their own and roast potatoes.  Cooked potato can last quite awhile in the fridge.  So you can cook up a batch of roast potatoes, for example, and store them for a lunches and dinners later in the week.

Potatoes are a good way to bulk out your diet when trying to avoid wheat products as most food places will have a friendly potato option on the menu such as chips or jacket potatoes.  They might even have nice potato salads. They only thing top be wary of is that oil that is used to fry things like chips.  Quite often every fried food in the shop with be cooked in the same vat, meaning that the oil will contain traces of gluten.  Most places are quite happy to cook it separately if asked.

Strawberries and chocolate sauce; dairy free, gluten free

This is a perfect example of why you shouldn't blog while very hungry because you've cut all junk foods out of your diet.  I am sitting here trying to think of something that is edible but doesn't contain to much sugar or fat.  This is extremely hard when all I currently want is fatty, sugary foods.  Like, mmm donuts.  Or fresh strawberries with chocolate sauce... yummy.

Although I refuse to believe this option is anything but healthy.  It has fruit! You don' have to have a lot of sauce, really.  The preparation for this is in two parts




Ingrediants:

Strawberries:

A punnet of fresh strawberries
Lemon juice.






Sauce:
A block of Dark chocolate (Vegan/raw); 100g
soy milk or preferred alternative; 1/4 cup
sugar; 1/4 cup
corn flour; 1-2 teaspoons




Directions:

The directions for this comes in two parts as, obviously strawberries and sauce are prepared separately.  It is recommended you prepare the strawberries first as by you have prepared then the sauce would have cooled.

Strawberries:

Wash the strawberries and remove the leaves.  Slice in half and place them all in a bowl.  Drizzle the lemon juice over them and stir around so that the lemon juice has covered the strawberries completely. Cover and place in the fridge while you prepare the sauce.  The lemon juice will prevent the strawberries browning in the mean time.

Chocolate sauce:

For the sauce you will a pot and a heat-proof bowl, the bowl must be able to rest in the pot.  Half fill the pot with water and place on the stove.  Place the bowl in the pot and turn to med-high.  Break up the  block and drop into the bowl. Pour the milk and sugar in and stir until the chocolate is melted.  If the mixture is to runny add the cornflour to thicken it up.  Remove the sauce from the heat and serve with the strawberries.