Herbed Pork Fillet with Roast Vegetables

I wasn't sure about labelling this dish low FODMAP because of the apple... Anyway I got this recipe from the www.bbcgoodfood.com website but substituted the butternut squash for potatoes and omitted the onions. It's really easy and tasty and you could serve it with green beans on the side.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthways
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into bite chunks
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 500g lean pork tenderloins (fillets), in one or two pieces
• 1 medium Bramley apple
• 400ml hot chicken stock

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C. Put all the vegetables into a roasting tin. Drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper, then toss everything together. On a plate, mix together the zest and herbs. Roll the pork fillets in the mixture, then put it on top of the vegetables. Roast for 40 minutes. Peel and core the apple and cut it into chunks. Scatter the pieces into the roasting tin, then pour in the hot stock and cook for a further 15-20 minutes. Slice the pork, arrange on a platter with the veg, then spoon the pan juices on top.

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Elimination Diet Link

A friend of mine passed me this link before Christmas. He suffers from IBS and goes into this elimination diet from time to time. He cuts sugar and any other foods likely to cause allergies and then re-introduces them. He suffered from adult acne (like me) but since he started on these "detoxes" his skin cleared up.

I really was not in the mood to start any diet right before Christmas and I'm afraid to say that I still ain't. I think you have to be mentally prepared to embark on an elimination diet and stick to it. But
if you are this link is a very good starting point.

Dr Joe Fitzgibbon has a clinic in Dublin. I have never been to it but you can download and print the elimination diet from his website for free. It guides you through it step by step.

http://www.joefitzgibbon.ie/dp.php?c=resources

Low FODMAP Easy Meatballs

Sometimes I make a big batch of meatballs, freeze half and serve the other half with tomato sauce and spaguetti. They couldn't be simpler to make...

Ingredients:

• 800g mince beef
• 1 1/2 or 2 cups dry gluten free breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp dried herbs
• 1/2 cup water
• salt and pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C. Mix all the ingredients together by hand. Make little balls, more or less the same size so the cook evenly, and place them on a baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes.

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Gluten and Dairy Free Applesauce Muffins

I have to admit that I wasn't very good at Christmas. I ate a few things that I'm not supposed to, not many mind you, but I was wandering if I could re-introduced some types of food since I have been on this diet for nearly two years. Well, I am done experimenting for the time being...

I tried to go back to soya milk, mainly because of the cost, a 1 litre carton of hazelnut milk cost over €2 while I can buy 1 litre of soya milk for 85 cents. I was OK for the first day but I got extremely bloated after each meal afterwards. I stopped two days ago and I feel much better already.

I also had a few Brussels sprouts on Christmas day. Oh my, never again! Then to top it up I went out to dinner with friends. Of course the only thing that I could eat was salad and I decided to blow out and suffer later. It was two weeks later when I started to feel normal again.

Onion, garlic, dairy, cruciferous vegetables, peppers and gluten are the main problem foods for me. I also haven't eaten legumes in a year and a half.  Of course there are other foods that I avoid but I still feel that I haven't mastered this diet. I think it's time for me to do some  more research and update my list...

I am not sure if people on a Low FODMAP diet can tolerate applesauce but I can  have a couple of these muffins without any symptoms afterwards. But everyone is different...

I got this recipe from "the vanilla.COMpany" website. It's a socially conscious site dedicated to the promotion of pure, natural vanilla and the support of vanilla farmers worldwide and it's run by Patricia Rain, author of The Vanilla Cookbook.

I have to say this is the nicest muffins I've had in a long time. My son and my husband love them and they are very easy to make. The recipe is supposed to make 24 muffins but I think she means cupcakes because I only had enough dough for 12 muffins.

I omitted the pecans and the frosting and instead I sprinkle some granulated sugar on top of the muffins.


Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten free flour
• 1 cup ground almonds
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1 cup sunflower oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1-1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup toasted pecans, chopped (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 12 muffin tin with paper cases. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside. Blend oil and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, applesauce and then the dry ingredients. Stir in nuts if using. Sprinkle the muffin tops with a little sugar and bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

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One-pan Roast Chicken, Potatoes, Carrots and Cherry Tomatoes

This is what we had for dinner today. No need for parboiling the veg, just throw everything in...


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 kg chicken
• 1 lemon, halved
• 50g dairy free margarine
• 2 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 7 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 400g cherry tomatoes
• 2 tblsps cyder vinegar
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• salt and pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan. Place the chicken in a big roasting tin without strings. Put the lemon into the cavity. Rub the margarine, herbs and seasoning over the chicken. Arrange the potatoes and carrots around it, drizzle everything with oil, season and toss together. Roast for 20 minutes, then turn the oven down to 200C/180C fan and roast for 45 minutes more. Mix the vinegar and oil with the cherry tomatoes and stir into the tin, then return to the oven for 15 minutes more.

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Gluten and Dairy Free Clementine Cake

Happy New Year everybody!!!!!!

 I hope 2014 brings happiness, love, health and prosperity to all. 

I had a nice, quiet Christmas. My little boy wasn't sick and enjoyed Christmas day immensely, I can say without a doubt that Christmas is his favourite time; summer, Halloween, Easter...they don't come even close!

My first recipe for 2014 is from the Nigella Lawson website. She uses ground almonds in lots of her recipes which is quite handy for those of us who avoid gluten. She made the cake using a 21cm tin. I
used a 23cm, the same that I use for her olive oil and chocolate cake (one of my favourites). Because this is a dense, moist cake and I didn't want to risk burning the top and under cooking the centre I tried not to make it too thick.

Now, I have a confession to make: I'm not sure if what I used were clementines or satsumas but I can tell you they worked! By the way, I made the marmalade you can see in the picture. My first time making jam!! I cheated, though, I made it in my breadmaker machine which has a jam programme. I had to run the programme twice to get the right "jelly" consistency but it came out perfect. And you guessed it, it's clementine marmalade! I bought lots over Christmas and I had to use them up...

Back to the cake, if you are in a hurry to eat cake this isn't going to be for you. You have to boil the clementines for two hours! But I think it's worth the wait and what I like most about this cake is that it's flourless and has no oil or butter, all the moisture comes from the fruit.

Ingredients:

• 375g clementines (approx. 3 medium-sized ones)
• 6 large eggs
• 225g white sugar (my husband thought it needed more sugar, I thought it was fine, up to you to increase the amount...)
• 250g ground almonds
• 1 tsp gluten free baking powder 

Method:

Put the clementines in a pan with some cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 2 hours. Drain and, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the pips. Blitz the fruit (skins, pith and all) in a food processor.

Preheat the oven to 190C. Oil and line a 23cm Springform tin. Add all the other ingredients to the food processor and mix.

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for and hour. Cover it with foil after about 40 minutes to stop the top burning. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, on a rack, but in the tin. When the cake is cold take it out of the tin.

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