Low FODMAP friendly ready-made desert

I was very excited (I don't get out much) to read the ingredients on this, as I need to avoid sucrose but have a pretty big sweet tooth. Sweeteners here include grape juice, maltodextrin and dextrose (i.e. glucose), which as far as I can tell all agree with me, and this has a mild non-addictive background sweetness, which is just right. Note it's the 'a hint of lemon' flavour only which is low FODMAP, as the others contain glucose-fructose syrup. I've seen these in health food shops, and they're also available online, for example from Goodness Direct.

Carrot and pecan cake

I made the carrot and pecan cake from the excellent Sue Shepherd's and Peter Gibson's 'Food Intolerance Management Plan', merely substituting their suggested flours for the Dove's mix with some maize flour, and sugar with the glucose/stevia mix. I hope that including some of their recipes encourages any readers (if there are any! ;-)) to buy the book - it's brilliant and the cake was delicious. I might substitute some of the nuts with a few raisins next time. No pictures as made during a busy Christmas and it disappeared pretty quickly! :-)

Ingredients:
230g Dove's self-raising gluten-free flour mix
40g maize flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
200g glucose
20g stevia
90g chopped pecan nuts
2 carrots
125ml oil (original recipe states vegetable, I used olive)
3 eggs
125ml lactose-free milk

Sift and mix the flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and xanthan gum. Add the glucose, stevia and nuts. Grate the carrots and lightly whisk the eggs. Combine the carrots, eggs, milk and oil with the dry ingredients. Bake in a greased baking paper lined tin (the original recipe said to use a 20 x 9cm loaf tin, but I had enough batter for this and a few muffin cases too), at 140ish C for 1.5ish hours, covering the cake with baking foil halfway through so that the top does not burn. Let cool and eat :-).

Flapjacks

I adapted a feel-good flapjack recipe from the BBC Good Food website (the original is available here). Not sure exactly how low FODMAP these are, as I included sweetened cranberries for a festive feel (I made these at Christmas) and a hefty five bananas. The original recipe includes peanut butter, and these might have been better for it, but I left it out as my little niece is not yet eating nuts. They were a little squishy but definitely edible!

Ingredients:
475g oats
250ml water
5 tablespoons glucose
2 tablespoons cornflour (1 might actually be enough)
5 small bananas
50g butter
150g Ocean Spray craisins (sweetened rehydrated cranberries)
40g raisins
zest from two oranges
(2 tablespoons peanut butter - I did not include this, but it's in the original recipe and I'll include it next time round)

Make a syrup from the water, glucose and cornflour, and combine with butter which has been melted (I use the microwave) and whizzed-up bananas. Mix the oats, orange zest, craisins and raisins with the wet ingredients. Bake in a tray lined with greased baking paper at 140-ish C for 1.5ish hours. Allow to cool, cut up, eat! :-)

Vanilla cake

Yum! I used the same recipe as for the raspberry, chia seed and vanilla cake (adapted from here), but left out the raspberries and added just a few raisins instead. I also used a little bit of Stevia (20g) to make it a little sweeter and used 2 instead of 3 eggs. The caramel-like vanilla really came through - delicious :-).

Squash, carrot, pepper and celeriac (aka yellow veg) soup

I can't remember the type of squash that I used (it wasn't butternut), and I'm not sure if it was entirely low FODMAP, but I survived and the soup tasted good :-). The amounts listed are far from definite, as I can't remember in detail how much of each ingredient I used.

Ingredients:
5 carrots
1 celeriac
half a yellow pepper
1 small squash
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
2 or 3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
olive oil for frying

Wash, peel and prep the veg. Gently fry some of the asafoetida and then the pepper. Add the other veg and cover with boiling water. Add the bay leaves and peppercorns, and boil for 40-45 minutes-ish. Remove the bay leaves and most of the peppercorns, whizz and enjoy (I put some mint leaves on top to serve)!

Low FODMAP friendly ready-made pesto

Yay! One of the ready-made supermarket-available pestos is low FODMAP friendly :-). It's the Sacla free-from Basil Pesto, and the only question mark are the cashews, but I think we're talking miniscule amounts here, and unlikely to present any problems. The photos are of an empty jar, as it went pretty quickly!

Red grape jelly

I made a really simple and delicious grape jelly :-)

Ingredients:
500g red grapes
Dr Oetker Pork Leaf Gelatine

To make this, I just followed the instructions on the back of the gelatine packet. I soaked 4 of the gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes, whilst I whizzed up the grapes, which made about 1 pint of liquid. I then put the grapes in a pan, squeezed out most of the water out of the gelatine and added this to the pan, heating everything really slowly until the gelatine melted (without boiling). I then poured the mixture into a bowl, left it on the counter until it cooled and refrigerated overnight.

The jelly is really delicious without being too sweet. I served it with Alpro rice cream (low FODMAP friendly :-)), which I tried to whip, but my efforts only made it a little aerated (to be fair, Alpro don't make any whipping-related claims on the packaging ;-)). It made for a light, incredibly tasty desert.

Chilli and pepper corn bread

Yet another adaptation from the very good Food Intolerance Management Plan book - I didn't have the exact blend of flours specified, so improvised, with good results. This is very rich, with a real cheesy flavour, and the chilli and pepper add a bit of a kick and some contrasting moisture. I added some gouda as I ran out of parmesan, but the recipe asks for parmesan only.

Ingredients:

130g fine maize meal

105g Doves Farm white self-raising flour

3 tablespoons amaranth flour

3 tablespoons corn flour

2 heaped tsp baking powder

1 heaped tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1tsp salt

1 tsp olive oil

2 eggs

250ml milk alternative (I used coconut milk and actually added more towards the end when I found that my dough was a bit dry)

1/2 tsp chilli flakes (original recipe states 2 fresh chillies, which might taste nicer)

1/2 red pepper, cut into small pieces

100g grated parmesan

20g grated gouda (as I ran out of parmesan - original recipe asks for 120g of parmesan only)

Sift the maize meal, flours, raising agents and salt into a bowl a few times to mix. Whisk the eggs, and add the milk, oil, chilli, diced red pepper and most of the cheese(s). Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix. Pour into a greased, lined loaf tin and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 35-40 minutes-ish. Check if ready with a fork. Leave in the oven to cool for a bit, take out and cool completely. Eat (e.g. with butter or butter and marmite to accompany porridge, as a snack etc.) :-)

Green smoothie

OK, so this doesn't look massively appetising, but it was delicious. There's only half a glass here, as I had to take a really big gulp first :-). A really good way to get some greens and vitamins in, in an easily digestible way.

Ingredients:
3/4 really fresh soft lettuce leaves
a few sprigs of parsley
juice of one orange
1 kiwi
1 tsp frozen ginger
1 tsp frozen mint

Whizz and enjoy!

Lemon and poppy seed sponge cake

This is a recipe from the back of the packet of Doves Farm white self-raising flour blend. No photos, as I haven't made this for a while, but I want to record the recipe as the back of the packet has now changed :-). I always add a little baking powder, even if the recipe doesn't list it.

Ingredients:
125g Doves Farm self-raising white flour blend
1 tsp baking powder
100g  melted butter
125g sugar (I use glucose)
2 eggs
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Sieve and mix the flour, baking powder and sugar. Whisk the eggs, add the melted butter and the lemon juice. Mix the dry with the wet ingredients, add the lemon rind and poppy seeds and mix some more. Bake in a medium loaf tin, lined with greased baking paper. Recipe states 45 minutes' baking time at 190C, but I always set a lower temperature and bake for longer to prevent the glucose from burning. Keep testing whether it's ready by sticking in a cocktail stick/fork - it should come out without signs of wetness. Leave in the oven to cool for a bit and then take out to cool completely. That's it!

Olive tapenade

I got inspiration for this from Steve's/Sara-Jane's recipe and adapted it for low FODMAP purposes. Not sure my adaptation was fully successful, as it lacked a real kick that the garlic/stronger olive flavour would have given it, and I didn't want to overwhelm the olives with too much asafoetida/chilli/chives. Next time, I'm going to add a lot less yoghurt (or leave it out altogether) to make sure the olives really come through.

Ingredients:
black olives (I used a 90g container)
half a bunch of basil
good sprinkling of asafoetida
good sprinkling of chilli flakes
teaspoon of chives and a little more decoration
3-4 tablespoons yoghurt (next time, I'll use a lot less, or replace it with oil)

Whizz and sprinkle with additional chives! I served this with amaranth and corn pancakes (these really need a lot of work, so I'm not sharing the recipe here for now!) and grated parmesan. The parmesan worked well :-)

Raspberry, chia seed and vanilla cake

This is another recipe which adapted from Sue Shepherd's and Peter Gibson's Food Intolerance Management Plan book. In the book, it is a plain vanilla cake, and I added raspberries (originally frozen) and chia seeds, which made the colour very dark rather than the light cream that it should have been. I also added 3 rather than 2 eggs and perhaps I should have stuck to 2 - but the cake tasted very good nevertheless :-)

Ingredients:
150g Doves Farm gluten free white self-raising flour blend
35g amaranth flour
35g corn flour
75g custard powder
2 heaped tsp baking powder
1 heaped tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 eggs (maybe use 2 next time!)
220g sugar (I used glucose)
2 tsp vanilla essence
50g melted butter
200g yoghurt alternative
170ml milk alternative (e.g. coconut milk)
good sprinkling of chia seeds
1/2 cup-ish defrosted raspberries

Sift the flours. Whisk the eggs. Add the sugar and vanilla essence to the eggs and continue whisking. Add the butter, yoghurt and milk and stir. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk again. Add the chia seeds and raspberries.
Bake in a pre-heated oven (160C ish) - it took me 70 minutes, though the recipe states 30-35 mins at 170C. Voila!

Courgette, carrot and bean sprout soup

Cheap and tasty - quantities of vegetables can be adjusted to taste.

Ingredients:
6 small carrots
3 courgettes
bag of bean sprouts
2-3 tablespoons light olive oil
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1-2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp mixed peppercorns
1 tsp salt

Wash and chop the carrots and courgettes. Heat the oil in the pan and gently fry the asafoetida. Put in the carrots and courgettes for a minute or so, followed by the bean sprouts. Cover in boiling water. Add the bay leaves, peppercorns and salt. Boil (under cover) until all the vegetables are soft (45ish minutes). Take out the bay leaves and some of the peppercorns. Whizz and add more salt if needed :-).

Red veg soup

This was really good!

Ingredients:
7 large-ish tomatoes
6 small carrots
1 1/2 peppers
2-3 tablespoons light olive oil
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1/2 tsp mixed peppercorns
1 tsp salt
small bunch fresh basil
2 tablespoons cornflour

Cover tomatoes in boiling water and leave for 5-10 mins - then peel off the skins and chop up. Chop up carrots and peppers into smallish pieces. Heat up oil in a big pan and gently fry the asafoetida and then the peppers. Add the carrots and tomatoes and cover in boiling water. Add the mixed peppercorns and chopped fresh basil and salt. Boil until the vegetables are soft (covered for most of the time) - around 40 minutes, adding boiling water if the soup becomes too thick. Turn off the gas, pick out some of the peppercorns and whizz. Mix the cornflour with 1/2 cup of cold water into a paste, add a few tablespoons of the soup to warm it up and then add to the soup. Stir and heat up again until boiling. Eat!

Seed and spice muffins

This is a recipe I adapted from Sue Shepherd's and Peter Gibson's Food Intolerance Management Plan book. I used a different range of flours from the ones they suggest, so I think most gluten-free flour mixes should work. Despite my ignorant attempts to wash the chia seeds which ended up in a gloopy mush, the final result tasted really good!

Ingredients:
140g Doves Farm gluten-free white self-raising flour blend
75g fine maize flour
45g amaranth flour
2 heaped tsp baking powder
1 heaped tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
125 ml light olive oil
125 ml milk alternative (I used coconut milk)
40g chia seeds
10g poppy seeds
100g sunflower seeds
30g pumpkin seeds
110g sugar (I used glucose)

Sift flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice and cinnamon into a bowl twice (or mix thoroughly). Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl. Add the oil, milk and seeds. Whisk again (especially if you decided to wash the chia seeds beforehand and they have gone all gloopy!). Add the sugar and the other sifted dry ingredients. Mix well. Spoon into muffin cups - I used 19, but they were relatively small. Bake at 160-170Cish for 25 minutes. Take out and cool :-).

Watercress, coriander and fruit smoothie

Superfood smoothie :-)

Ingredients:
few leaves of watercress
few leaves of coriander
half a grapefruit (can be left out)
one kiwi
half a cup of blueberries
(optional - cold green tea for additional liquid, if needed)

Whizz!

Grape muffins

This is a recipe I adapted from 101 Gluten-Free Recipes June 2014. They were supposed to be strawberry flavoured, but I discovered the strawberries had gone off at the very last minute, so I included grapes instead :-).

Ingredients:
400g gluten free flour (I use Doves Farm white self-raising blend, with some raising agents and xanthan gum already mixed in)
1 1/2 teasopoons baking powder
160g sugar (I use glucose)
2 eggs
200 ml soya yoghurt
60 g butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp strawberry flavouring
300 g grapes, cut into quarters

Mix flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and then add the soya yoghurt, butter, and vanilla and strawberry flavourings. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together - add more yoghurt if the mixture is too dry. Add the grapes. Spoon into muffin cups and bake at 150C for 30ish minutes (original recipe states 190C for 15-18 minutes, but this results in burned glucose if you opt for this sugar.)

Rocket, parsley and fruit smoothie

Ingredients:
a few rocket leaves
a bunch of parsley
juice of half a lime
one kiwi
half a cup of blueberries
1 tsp frozen chopped ginger

Whizz all of the above together! This is a good way to get through lots of vegetables, fibre and vitamins without having to chew for ages :-)