gluten free familyA mum's blog about gluten-free living in Australia

Chang's pre-cooked noodles

Its not easy pleasing everyone in my family at dinner time, but noodles have stood the test of time as a perennial favourite.

Thin rice vermicelli noodles are probably our favourite type – but on a school night I rarely have time to do all the soaking and drying that is required to ensure they don’t turn to a gelatinous mess at the bottom of the wok.

So it was with some relief that I spotted a packet of pre-cooked gluten free noodles from Chang’s.

They are thicker than vermicelli – more like the width of spaghetti – but they keep their form very well in a fry pan – and have quite a delicious recipe on the packet – which I have (very loosely) adopted. Read the rest of this entry »

My Christmas girth may not yet be as wide as Santas, but some gluten free mince pies I found in Coles health food section have certainly made my festive season a bit jollier than last year.

Made by a manufacturer called Jon-Jon, these mini gluten free mince pies are handy little bite sized treats that have rather taken my fancy. And when it comes to calorific damage control – I am hoping size really does count.

But if you really must have something a little larger than Jon-Jon’s tasty bites, then you might like to check out your nearest gluten free bakery. Read the rest of this entry »

corn chip crab cakes (photo supplied)

Sometimes you just hanker for something crispy-coated. Unless you make it yourself though, these types of foods are usually out of bounds.

I have dabbled with a few types of gluten free breadcrumbs over the years.  I have made them the usual way by drying gluten free bread slices in the oven on low heat and then grinding them into submission.

You can also buy gluten free breadcrumbs if you can find them. Vitarium are among those who make them and they are pretty good [crumbs from Lifestyle bakery have also recently appeared on on shelves at Coles].

And back in the day when I used to whiz up my own chicken nuggets, I would coat these in rice bubbles crushed by hand with a wooden spoon or in the kitchen whiz.

They offer a very quick, easy, nice tasting last minute solution and they also go well in rissoles, meat balls and patties along with some onion, egg and seasoning – and whatever else you feel like throwing in.

But far and away the yummiest crumbing was introduced to me recently at a work do. Read the rest of this entry »

Against all the odds, I did manage to produce a car-shaped cake for my son’s birthday party.

Yes, it took two attempts and far more time than I am prepared to admit here – but on Sunday I was able to serve him up that big blue car cake as promised.

Here’s how it unfolded. I bought two NaturallyGood chocolate mud cake mixes thinking that would easily be enough mix (6.5 cups) to fill the mold I blogged about last week.  As you can see from my picture gallery below, my first attempt at a car lacked – ahem – wheels.  And because it took ages to bake, it got a bit crispy on the bottom (or top) as well.

But fortunately the vegetable shortening and flour pan lining held up well and I had no problem at all removing my half-car cake from its mold.

In my second attempt (which I neglected to photograph owing to it being midnight) I used almost three cake mixes (which easily made up the 6.5 cups of mix) and used the rest to make muffins.

When my final result still fell short of a whole car,  I concluded that gluten free cakes probably don’t rise as much as ordinary ones and vowed next time to fill the mold almost to the brim and put a tray underneath to catch any drips in the oven.

Luckily I had kept the first cake and was able to carve bits off that to complete the car shape.

As you can see – the pre-made icing was not too hard to handle and didn’t scrub out too much of the original car detail. Read the rest of this entry »

Call it the folly of a desperate woman – but I am hoping to pull off a modern-day miracle this week when I attempt to bake the best ever gluten-free car-shaped birthday cake.

It all began a fortnight ago when our birthday party season officially kicked off with a bang.  A poolside party with one of our son’s best friends yielded a fabulous feast of lolly pops, marshmallows and hot chips – all things our little guy could eat.

Not only did he have a ball – but we didn’t have our usual heartbreak of him feeling like a party pariah – where he gets to watch all the other kids gobble down things he cannot.

Fortunately in this day and age -  most party hosts are sensitive to our predicament and are happy to make a little concession here and there to make our little guy feel like one of the crowd.

We are also lucky in that most hardcore party fare – chips, lollies, chippolatas etc – are largely okay for him to eat – or at least we choose turn a blind eye to the possibilities of small quantities of wheat  (I realise many other kids do not have this luxury).

But what happens when you are invited to a birthday bash with people you don’t know so well – and who may not even know that your child has a dietary issue? Read the rest of this entry »

Gluten free gnocchi

What on earth do you eat if you are gluten free and vegetarian?

Someone wrote in with this very question a few months ago and it gave me real pause for thought.

Once upon a time I was vegetarian and I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to eat meat free meals while also trying to avoid almost every carbohydrate (aside from potato and rice) that are generally on offer at cafes and restaurants.

And I’m not even going to venture  a guess at what the dining options would be if you also had to give up yeast, soy or dairy – so for the moment lets just stick with gluten-free vegetarianism.

At least we live in a multicultural country. Mexican, Asian and Indian food are good options with their emphasis on corn, chickpea and rice-based foods. Read the rest of this entry »

What happens when you own two squishy bananas and a new gluten free cookbook?

Banana bread of course!

Unlike many gluten free cakes, this bakery treat is indistinguishable from its wheat-based equivalent.

And the one I made tonight was up there with the best.

My inspiration was 100 Best Gluten-free Recipes, a new US cookbook by Carol Fenster.

I had to tweak the recipe a little as it asked for a specific US brand of sorghum flour, but it turned out well regardless. Read the rest of this entry »

Psssst, all you gluten free folks in Melbourne busily planning your day out at the Irrisistable Gluten Free show on October 2-3, we have some free double passes to give away (value of $40 – so a decent saving). [UPDATE: COMPETITION NOW CLOSED]

For the unitiated, the show is being held at the Melbourne Convention Centre and will feature loads of food stands, educational sessions and live gluten free cooking demos.

I think we have made it pretty clear how much we love gluten free food fests here on the GFF blog. They are where we catch up on all the hot new products and sample fairly large quantities of cake. We also try to sit in on the many interesting talks from nutrition and lifestyle experts.

Grownups will have to pay $20 for entry to the show and it will cost $15 for kids aged 12-16. Family tickets are also available for $50 – that is unless you enter our competition and win a free double pass.

All you have to do is email us at mail@glutenfreefamily.com.au with the name of the show in the subject bar. The first five replies will win a double pass each which we will post out to you.

Don’t be jealous Sydneysiders. On November 20 – 21  the Irresistible Gluten Free Food Show will take the floor at the Royal Hall of Industies, Moore Park. the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre in Darling Harbour.

LH

Chia seeds

Now many of us have been forced to look beyond wheat as a source of nutrition, attention has begun to shift to some of the ancient grains of our ancestors.

They don’t just look wholesome – but actually contain higher levels of protein and fibre than more traditional gluten free staples such as rice, corn and potato, which could mean a healthier and more balanced diet for those of us who have sworn off gluten for life.  Here are a few that have caught our eye in recent times.

Chia

Chia seeds are popping up in a wider range of gluten free goods, so we thought it might be time to take a closer look at this grain.

The Lifestyle bakery has had great success with its award-winning chia loaf and breadmaker Dovedale has also released a number of breads and other chia-based goodies.

Dovedale says chia’s origins date back to Central American civilisations and “improves human nutrition by providing the richest natural source of Omega 3, antioxidants and dietary fibre”.

Read the rest of this entry »

gluten free expo fare

Fellow Sydneysiders, it’s almost time to pull out your walking shoes and an extra-large shopping bag because the Gluten Free Expo is coming to town on the 6th and 7th of August.

It’s no secret that we at GFF absolutely adore a gluten-free shopping shindig. It gives us (and our wee ones) a chance to sample a staggering quantity of delicious sweetmeats and sniff out new products that might make our lives easier when they hit the shelves.

We also try to grab the chance to lobby manufacturers and distributors about what we would like to see in the future, and quizz them on the small print of their ingredient lists.

Homebush’s Sydney Olympic park will play host to the annual fest organised by the NSW Coeliac Society and organisers say the expo is not just about showcasing the latest gluten free fare.  It has also lined up a bunch of authors, medical professionals and chefs to conduct live demos and presentations. Read the rest of this entry »