January’s theme for ‘Waiter there’s something in my…‘ was Stew and I thought long and hard about what to make. I love simple food, I try to eat as much local produce as possible and I like trying new recipes, so I decided to combine all three! [Read more...]

The fabulous bread maker I mentioned too briefly in my last post, is a Panasonic SD-253 Automatic Bread maker. It has a nut/seed/fruit dispenser and a gluten-free programme.

This is the first bread maker I’ve ever used, so I have nothing to compare it to but it is simple to use and produces lovely bread. The instructions include a cookery book with a wide range of bread recipes to bake in the bread maker eg; basic loaves, Ciabatta, malted loaves and fruit breads. [Read more...]

One of my highlights this Christmas was a present that my mum received. A bread maker! Not just an ordinary bread maker… it’s got a gluten-free setting too! Well it didn’t take long for us to try it out and it’s been in constant use ever since. [Read more...]

In my gluten-free quest, I have come across a lot of references to Quinoa and its great nutritional value but had never tasted it or even been up-close to it! So, I thought it was about time I found out more and tried some!

Wikipedia describes Quinoa as edible seeds, originating in the Andean region of South America, where it has been an important food for 6,000 years. Nutritionally, it is very high in protein (12-18%) and for this reason the United Nations has classified it as a supercrop. Unlike wheat or rice, quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids, making it an unusually complete foodstuff. It is a good source of dietary fibre and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is also gluten free and considered easy to digest. [Read more...]

Vitamin B6 (pyroxidine)

…is the focus for this weeks Vitamin Rich post (previous post on Vitamin B5 click here).

Vitamin B6, also called pyroxidine is necessary for the absorption and metabolism of amino acids. It also plays roles in the use of fats in the body, the formation of red blood cells, decreases homocysteine levels and risk of heart disease and improves glucose tolerance. Vitamin B6 also improves carpal tunnel syndrome, mood and sleep disorders and, possibly, reduces PMS symptoms. [Read more...]