Grain-Free/Gluten-Free Apple and Pear Sponge Pudding

Posted on Feb 21, 2014 in Cakes, Cookies & Sweet Treats, Dessert

This is a receipe for cold winter nights when a pudding is needed to finish the day.  Its fast and easy to mix together, a great way to use up all kinds of over ripe fruit, or if you are really pressed for time you can even use tinned pie fruit.  This recipe was originally made by my grandmother.  It is very traditionally Australian and reflects my grandmothers English heritage.

I have been refining the grain free version of this dessert for a few years and finally have something that tastes very close to her wheat flour version. 

Links of interest: the food-brain-behaviour connection

Posted on Jan 31, 2014 in Recommended - Websites I Read

I recently came across this link via Mark’s Daily Apple about a mother who has completely eliminated her daughter’s autism symptoms through diet.

(Click here for link to Youtube Video if you can’t see embedded video above)

The Wonder of Kale

Posted on Dec 29, 2013 in Salads, Savoury Snacks & Meals, Smoothies

Kale,  Ahhh, kale. This truly is a “superfood” and a great addition to any healthy diet.  A short article from the Huffington Post outlines why kale should be on our plates here.  If you want to read up more detail about kale, try the Worlds Healthiest Foods article here.  In summary kale is low in calorie and high in fibre, iron, vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin A, folate and magnesium, among others.  It is full of antioxidants, and is a great anti-inflammatory food.  It also has proven cholesterol lowering benefits.

I always avoided it because the first time I tried it it tasted like tough grass.  Not at all appealing.  Turns out  I was just preparing it wrong.  While it looks much like silverbeet, it does require a little extra finesse.

Grain Free Lebanese Tabouli

Posted on Dec 17, 2013 in Salads, Savoury Snacks & Meals

Tabouli (also spelt Tabbouleh) is a traditional parsley salad with its origins in the Arab world.  There are various versions in most Arabic cultures, and it usually contains burghul, which is a variety/form of wheat or sometimes couscous (also from wheat).  This recipe is adapted to be made grain-free and of course gluten-free from the family recipe from my Lebanese in-laws.  They are from the beautiful coastal city of Jounieh so I guess that makes this recipes as authentic as you can get, as I was taught how to make it by my Lebanese sister-in-laws.

Grain Free Banana & Raspberry Cake

Posted on Dec 8, 2013 in Cakes, Cookies & Sweet Treats

I’ve been making a grain free banana cake for years.  This version is the “new and improved” version and the added raspberries make it something special, but it is still relatively inexpensive to make as it only uses two eggs.  The original recipe this one is based on is here.   This version I think is “healthier” as it uses coconut sugar and coconut oil.

The Candida Diet Program – A Review

Posted on Dec 5, 2013 in Recommended - Books I love, Recommended - Websites I Read, Weight Loss

Some time ago I received an email from Anna from the Candida Diet asking me if I would be interested in receiving a copy of their program, written by Candida expert Lisa Richards*.

Zucchini Pasta

Posted on Oct 15, 2013 in Convert & Substitute Recipes, Grain Free Information, Recipes, Savoury Snacks & Meals

Making a “pasta” out of a vegetable spiralizer is a great way to add interest to a meal, especially if like me you really really miss the whole “Spaghetti Bolognaise” experience.

The discovery of this awesome little kitchen gadget was so exciting.  My one is called a “Betty Bossi” and is a bit tiresome to use at it needs to be manually twisted, but it produces a great long skinny “noodle”.

Grain Free Living is now a WordPress Blog

Posted on Oct 13, 2013 in Housekeeping

After considerable thought I have moved Grain Free Living to a completely new platform, as you can see from the totally new layout.  I have attempted to put in place redirects so that the most popular pages will redirect automatically and avoid the dreaded “Page Not Found” error.

I have made this change for three reasons:

1) From a blog following point of view, the blog address has been changed from the nightmarishly confusing options of  “www.grainfreeliving.com/blog” or “www.grainfreeliving.com/blog/blog”, “www.grainfreeliving.com/home” and “www.grainfreeliving.com/?view=featured” (commence banging head on desk now, they are just the ones I know about) to just “www.grainfreeliving.com” (sigh of relief).