Sunday, 26 October 2014

Falafels

This recipe has been borrowed and adjusted a few times so I hope if the original creators find it, they are ok with the changes.

Ingredients
  • 2x400g cans chick peas, drained & rinsed

  • 1/4-1/2 leek, roughly chopped
  • 
2-3 cloves garlic

  • 2tbsp quinoa flour with a pinch of baking powder added
  • mashed potato and/or cashew nutbutter (amount varies according to taste
  • 
salt
Method
  • Place chickpeas, leek, garlic into a food processor and blitz until smooth (you can use a hand held barmix and bowl if you do not have a food processor
  • Add flour, potato/nutbutter and salt and purée again  until it is quite smooth
  • Roll mixture into balls, about heaped teaspoon lots and lightly flatten to make into 'medallions' or larger to make burger-size patties. (If your mixture is too 'wet' to handle, add flour and lightly mix through until you can use it.  I also found dropping the balls of mixture into some more flour, coating them, made them easier to handle.)
  •  Bake in Moderate Oven 30-40 minutes (turning at approximately 20 minutes
  • Drain on kitchen paper

Rice and lentil casserole

So, this might not be the most flavoursome recipe but it is easy and only requires one baking dish.

Ingredients (4 serves)
3 cups of water or salicylate-free homemade vegetable broth
3/4 cup red lentils
1/2 cup Doongara Clever Brown Rice
2 sticks of celery chopped
1 leek/shallot sliced
salt (if you are using water)

Instructions
Turn oven on to 170 degrees Celsius
Place all of the ingredients in a baking dish, mix and cover with foil.
Place baking dish in oven for 60 minutes (if it the ingredients have not cooked and then cook replace foil and cook until the rice and lentils are done).
Eat with whatever floats your boat (and is salicylate free) - I usually have it with iceberg lettuce .

*Sometimes there maybe some water at the base but I generally find that it is absorbed if I leave the foil on and put it bak in the oven (turned off) until I am ready to eat it.



Potato, cabbage and tofu soup (low salicylate)


Ingredients
3 tsp Safflower oil
250g Carisma potatoes, peeled and diced
3 Tbsp Doongara Clever Brown Rice
600ml water
salt
2 stalks of celery finely sliced
1 sliced leek
160g shredded white cabbage
250g firm tofu, baked in the oven (if you are ok with Tamari, you can brush a little on the tofu prior to baking)
Salt to taste

Instructions
Add Safflower oil to saucepan and heat.
Add leek, garlic and potatoes to Safflower oil and cook until slightly browned.
Add rice and cook for 1 minute.
Add water and salt (to taste).
Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cover for 10 minutes.
Add cabbage and baked tofu and leave uncovered for 2 minutes.

*Baked tofu - remove tofu from package.  Place absorbent paper/cheese cloth or a tea towel on a plate, put tofu on top and a heavy weight (I use a bag of potatoes) on top of that to squeeze the water out.  Leave for 30 minutes.  Place baking paper on a baking tray.  Turn oven on to 150 degrees Celsius. Remove weight and cut tofu into whatever size pieces you want.  Brush tofu with Safflower oil (and Tamari if you can tolerate it) and place on baking paper.  Cook each side for approximately 10 minutes (it depends on how you like your baked tofu. Remove from oven and add to soup.




Saturday, 25 October 2014

Quinoa is yet to be tested for its salicylate value however it appears to be well tolerated.  I, personally, have had no issues with it.  I am however unable to guarantee that you will be able to tolerate it and therefore recommend that you consult your Dietitian prior to preparing or consuming it.  If you do tolerate it, then I am sure that you will enjoy having a wholegrain in your diet (although this does not mean you will like the meal.

Quinoa porridge with poached pear

Quinoa porridge
Ingredients (2 servings)
150 grams of Quinoa
350mls water
100ml rice milk
vanilla pod 
agave to taste

Instructions
Place one vanilla pod in the rice milk.
Rinse quinoa under running water.  
Add quinoa to 350ml of water in a saucepan and cook on the stove top for approximately 10 minutes. Remove quinoa and drain.  
Return quinoa to saucepan with the rice milk and vanilla.  
Add agave to taste and cook simmer for 5 minutes.  


Poached Pear
Ingredients (2 servings)
One whole ripe pear, peeled 
350mls of water
vanilla pod
agave to taste

Instructions
Combine water and agave in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Place whole pear and vanilla pod in the water and agave mix and simmer for 20 minutes 
Cover with a piece of baking paper over the top (please be very careful if you have a gas stove or breeze through the window).  
Turning pear every 5 minutes to ensure that it cooks
Remove pear from syrup and quarter to remove core.  
place on top of quinoa porridge (I chop mine and keep the syrup for future cooking adventures or pour it on top if I want something extra sweet),

*Some other ideas: pour rice milk over the mixture before eating; add agave or maple syrup at the completion of the cooking process (or not at all); add banana on top rather than, or in addition to, agave.  My mother, who is super fit, has Type 2 diabetes and likes to eat this when I visit so I leave out the agave and she cooks an unripe pear separately.  






I am a vegan who has a salicylate intolerance. Unfortunately, there are not many recipes that are both vegan and low in, or free of, salicylates, so I decided to start my own. I hope that non-vegans like some of the recipes as well. It would be awesome if others post some vegan recipes that are friendly to those with salicylate intolerance. I understand that not everyone is going to like the recipes posted so if you modify it and it tastes yum please let us know, as that is what I have done. I will try to put some some photos up soon but for now here are some recipes that you might find useful. Enjoy and please share.

Immunologist, GP and Accredited Practicing Dietitian
Please ensure that you are appropriately diagnosed by an Immunologist and have support from an Accredited Practicing Dietitian as this blog provides recipes not nutritional advice.  When I first did the Elimination Diet I was 17 years old and at University, I had a severely underweight dietitian and found this very unhelpful but I was limited by my access to specialist clinicians and she worked in the clinic of my Immunologist.  I weighed 41 kilograms at the end of the elimination phase (losing 15 kilograms) and the dietitian did not seem concerned (as competitive athlete and undergraduate health student, I did).  So please, do not settle for just anyone, especially if you have other beliefs (health, religion, ethics) about your consumption! Allergy

RPAH Allergy Unit
I try to follow the RPAH Allergy Unit Food Intolerance guidelines with my food inclusions and exclusions.  This is there website:  http://www.sswahs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allergy/default.html
I find the Friendly Food book useful but not particularly friendly to vegans and repeating the same meals can be frustrating for the palate.

Despite any research evidence (systematic reviews) to support their use in the treatment of food intolerance, I did try Naturopaths, Chiropractors, Acupuncture, Chi Nei Tsang, Detox retreats, Kinesiology, various massages, psychotherapy, yoga and colonic hydrotherapy.  From this I did find some modalities useful in managing the stress that accompanied my food intolerance but generally found that massage oils and Naturopathic medications and detox's very counterproductive.  I am sure that people have had varying experienced with these services though and I believe that if it helps you then there is no harm in it but consult your Immunologist and AP Dietitian before participating so that they are informed and can learn from your experiences if it helps and help if it does not go to your plan.

I use SLS products in my shower and sorbent hypoallergenic toilet paper and Simple or QV toiletries in addition to specific eating programme.  All of my house is cleaned with bicarbonate soda and vinegar.  It is important to emphasise that my family do not like the food I make as it is a) vegan (and generally gluten free as well), and b) low in salt and a lot of the time flavour.  I do have some days when I feel like I cannot get enough salt but I do try to limit my intake in addition to the use of oil.

Other useful websites (although not vegan-specific and I cannot guarantee quality or accuracy)