Gluten and Dairy free Blueberry Muffins

A recipe for that classic muffin-blueberry, but for those of you who need one without dairy and gluten.
Gluten and Dairy free Blueberry muffins

Gorgeous Muffins with a zesty finished. Makes 12 medium or 8 large muffins. 265g Gluten free or rice flour 250mls Rice Milk 225g Blueberries 150mls Water 125g Caster Sugar 115mls Sunflower Oil 3 Eggs Zest of 1 lemon, grated 1 tbsp Gluten Free Baking Powder 1 Tsp Xanthan Gum Heat the oven to 200 degrees C. Line a twelve hole muffin tray with 8 or 12 muffin cases depending on the size of muffins you are making. Seive togethe the flour, baking powder and xantham gum in a large bowl. Set aside. Mix the eggs and sugar together until fluffy. Add the rice milk, oil and water, followed by the lemon zest, mixing well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir together until just combined. Finally add the blueberries, mixing gently making sure not to break the blueberries as you stir. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases, and bake in the oven for 18-20mins until browned on top. Remove from the oven and place on a wire cooling tray. Enjoy when cooled, or eat warm, with sorbet or a dairy free icecream, yum yum.

 

The secret to making these so yummy is definetely the xantham gum to give the muffin that springy cake texture.  It can be bought in Sainsbury's, and if you get products on prescription you can ad dit to your order x

Citrus Yoghurt Muffins

Well, I haven't managed to add any of the other recipes I promised, but I have found another one, which is one of our favourites.  These muffins will not hang around for long once they are made, they are gorgeous!

These low fat, delicious moist muffins are a great gluten free treat. They can be made dairy free by using soy yoghurt instead of the fat free dairy yoghurt.

• 200g Gluten free plain flour
• 175g Soft Brown Sugar
• 225ml Fat free plain yoghurt or soy yoghurt
• 115ml Sunflower oil
• Zest and juice of 1 Lemon
• 1 tbsp Orange Zest
• 1 tbsp Lime zest
• 1 tbsp gluten free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon xantham gum
• 1 Egg (beaten)

Makes 8 large or 12 medium muffins.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/ Gas mark 6

Mix the flour, sugar, citrus zests, baking powder, xantham gum and salt together in a bowl until they are well combine. In another bowl beat the yoghurt, oil, lemon juice and egg together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix gently together until combined. Don't worry if the mixture is lumpy.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin cases and bake in the oven for 18-20mins. Once golden brown, remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Variations: Sprinkle the tops with sugar and citrus zest before baking for a gorgeous crispy top.

Hobbies 2

More Cakes:

A few more of my hobby cakes, passes the time x

Hobbies

With J's coeliac disease I have discovered a dormant passion for baking which has meant I now make birthday cakes for friends with intolerances.  I made a haunted castle for F's birthday, which was a few days after New Baby arrived, so it wasn't great but I am still pleased with it.  I have a good recipe for gluten and dairy free sponge which also makes great cakes for decorating, so I will dig it out and add it to the blog, hopefully tomorrow, but as it is May bank holiday we are attempting to head off for some washed out festivities!

Relaxing

Am risking a little drop of pear cider and hoping that New Baby won't need feeding for maybe an hour or so, and putting my feet up in front of crap saturday night tv.  Before New Baby arrived I can't remember the last time I sat and watched all this junk, but since Rob had his paternity leave I am becoming quite partial to it.  Today I have managed to eat about 20 of the biscuits I made earlier, which on reflection might have been a mistake, as I think any post-baby weight loss may have been made up for today.  Have had 5 children in the house today, which has been lovely but quite tiring, tiring enough for the boys to fall asleep straight away this evening, hooray.  Tomorrow, there will be 6 perhaps more demanding children here, so perhaps we will all be asleep by 6.30.  I even managed to make gluten-free garlic bread to go with the pasta for tea, so am feeling very super mum-ish, but am sure I will regret all the hecticness tomorrow when we have to do it all again, and I am knackered, Rob is knackered after his week at work and I am nagging him to walk the dog before everyone arrives.  Looking forward to it already.

Global vaccinations programme

Please follow this link to sign the petition to get vaccinations fully funded for the world's poorest children

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/4-million.htm

Pass it on to everyone you know and ask them to sign it too.
Thank you.

The War on Breastfeeding

http://politicsrespun.org/2011/05/nestles-war-on-breastfeeding-mothers-takes-shameful-new-turn/

If you are interested in the Politics of breastfeeding this article might be of interest.  And check out the reaction of the masses at this facebook page, makes very interesting reading

http://www.facebook.com/Nestle/posts/125662994179631

If you want to comment you have to like this page, but you can 'unlike' as soon as you have commented.

Eating out with a coeliac/ fussy eater/ Vegetarian and Diabetic-What fun

We have always loved to eat out, finding places with nice things for me was alaways a bit of a pain as I am vegetarian, so we always tended to go for chinese or indian restaurants, but now we have the extra element of eating out with a fussy child with coeliac disease we have to be more creative.  We have a number of things we do to try and make sure that everyone is catered for.
1.  We always take gluten free rolls and snacks for J so if we are really stuck we have something to fall back on.
2.  We try and check the menu before we go, lots of pubs and restaurants now have their menus online, so you can have a look before you go and make sure there is something to suit everyone.
3.  If the menu is not online phone ahead and ask if they can cater for coeliacs.
4.  Take your own- we have gone to several restaurants, including Ask and Pizza Express and taken our own pizza bases for them to top, or pasta to be reheated.  The only problem with this can be cross contamination from the flour in the kitchen.  Pizza Express did not even charge us for topping the gluten free base.
5.  Mashed potato is a good alturnative to chips or a baked potato if it is made from real potatoes and is not instant.  Luckily it is J's favourite.

I'm sure there are lots of other things, maybe other people can let me know what they do, or good places to eat.  This list will continue to be updated.

Carrot Cake Muffins with Zesty Lime Icing

J and mine's favourite muffins.  Can also be made in a loaf tin, or cake tin for a gorgeous treat.  And they are gluten and dairy free, hooray!

Make 8 large or 12 medium muffins.

•  250Mls Sunflower Oil
•  250g light brown soft sugar
•  5 large eggs, preferably free-range or organic, separated
•  zest and juice of 1 large orange
•  170g Rice Flour or any gluten free flour mix., sifted 
•  3 slightly heaped teaspoon baking powder
 1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon 
•  a pinch of ground nutmeg
•  ½ teaspoon ground ginger
•  250g carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
• 1 Teaspoon Xanthan Gum
• A pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.  Line a twelve hole muffin tray with eight or twelve large muffin cases, depending on the size of muffin you prefer. Beat the vegetable oil and sugar together by hand or in a food processor until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one by one, and add the orange zest and juice. Stir in the sifted flour, baking powder and xanthan gum, and add the spices and grated carrot and mix together well.

 

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, then gently fold them into the cake mix. Scoop the mixture into the prepared muffin case, sharing evenly between them.  Cook in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes until golden and risen. You can check to see if the muffins are cooked by poking a cocktail stick into one. Remove it after 5 seconds and it if comes out clean the cake is cooked; if slightly sticky it needs a bit longer, so put the muffins back in the oven.Once cooked, remove the muffins from the tin, and leave to cool on a rack  for at least an hour.

 

Choose which sort of icing you prefer: sugar, or butter.

 

For the Sugar icing:

 

150g Icing Sugar

Teaspoon of warm water, or as much as needed for the required consistancy

Zest of 1 lime

 

Mix the ingredients, then use to decorate the muffins once cooled.

For the butter icing:

100g Pure or other dairy free spread

100g Icing sugar

Zest of 1 Lime

 

Mix ingredients and use to decorate muffins.

 

Sprinkle the decorated muffins with cinnamon.

Gluten free shopping.

As J is sill fairly new to this gluten free lark, we are still experimenting with finding alternatives to the things he really loved.  We have found sainsburys is pretty good, but weren't able to find tortillas anywhere, which he kept asking for, until now.  All the shop bought ones are made with corn and wheat flour.  The Mex Grocer has packs of 30 small gluten free tortillas for £2.95.  I ordered mine at about 4pm yesterday, and they arrived this morning- fab, looks like mexican for tea tonight, yeah!

http://www.mexgrocer.co.uk/ Pay them a visit.

New Baby Flashbacks

Just caught a glimpse of new baby fast asleep in his bouncer chair, and the likeness to our eldest J took my breath away.  For the first time I have had the 'falling in love with new baby' experience.  With J it lasted for four days before it was taken away, and even then it was tainted because he wouldn't feed and we knew that there was something wrong.  Having a new baby in hospital, especially your first, can be a really overwhelming experience.  As a parent you have to hand much of your control over to the medical staff caring for your baby.  Having to ask to hold your baby, and needing to have help to get them out of the incubator, to manage the tubes and monitors the baby may be attached to, for me took away any feeling that he was our child.  Despite this, Rob and I tried really hard to build a special relationship with him, and I think that has lasted.  With F, we were still so raw from months in hospital with J that it took a long time to relax into being a new mum, but with new baby we have made up for all those experiences we felt we had missed.  Poor J had another blood test this morning, and was very brave.  We have been practising slow breathing to help him relax while he is having it done, which he is very good at, a future yoga master maybe, but when it came to having the blood test he was so scared he forgot all about it, and had to rely on a play specialist blowing bubbles at a cuddly toy for distraction.  It didn't work.  With things like that it brings back all the feelings we had when he was a baby, desperately wanting to protect him, but having to give in to the medical way of doing things.

More gluten and dairy free treats-Peanut butter and banana muffins

These gorgeous gluten and dairy free muffins are a lovely treat for breakfast, or any other time of the day!

Make 12 medium muffins.

230g Gluten free self raising flour

225mls Sunflower oil

200g Sugar

300g Ripe mashed banana

4 Tbsp Peanut Butter

1 tsp Gluten free baking powder

4 Eggs

1tsp Vanilla Extract

2 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Xanthan gum

Heat the oven to 200Degrees C.  Line a twelve hole muffin tin with muffin cases.

Mix the sunflower oil, sugar and eggs together until well combined.  Add the vanilla, peanut butter and mashed banana.  Sieve the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and xanthan gum together.  Once combined add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix gently.  Do not overmix, the batter will look lumpy, but it is supposed to.  Spoon the mix into the prepared muffin cases and place in the oven.  Cook for 18-20 mins until golden brown.  Once cooked, remove from the oven and cool on a cake rack, or eat warm.  Do not leave in the tray to cool or they will go soggy.

For extra special muffins top with candied peanuts before baking.  I will add a recipe for these soon.

National Breastfeeding Awareness Week is dropped

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/campaigners-livid-as-whitehall-axes-breastfeeding-week-2287445.html

It is such a shame that this is not going ahead this year, increasing pressure on local support groups, most of whom have also had funding slashed or withdrawn completely.  Although this article is supportive, the opening sentence, that health professionals like to drum the message about the advantages of breastfeeding 'into exhausted mother's brains', hardlyextols the virtues, but puts everyone in mind of the 'breastfeeding nazis',  the label given by some to anyone who is pro-breastfeeding.  Forget the scientific research that puts
the health benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and baby far above anything that money or lifestyle can give you, forget the 'dangers' of formula, the increasing allergy rate in children and the ballooning obesity epidemic that is sweeping across the western world.  These problems will not disappear unless breastfeeding is put firmly on the government 's agenda, not the wishy washy half hearted attempts at promotion that they have used in the past, but proper funding for local support for mothers, up to date training for health professional across the board, and programmes in schools that put breastfeeding in a positive light for girls and boys.  Without this the rates will never increase, and the health problems our country is experiencing now will only ever increase.  Another own goal for the Cameron/Clegg Government.

Gluten and Dairy Free Indulgent Chocolate Muffins

These muffins are really gorgeous, and great for a special treat, add icing and decorations for celebration or birthday cakes
Makes 12 standard or 8 large muffins

200g Gluten Free self raising flour/ rice flour (Using the blended flour rather than rice flour gives you a softer lighter cake)
200g soft brown sugar
120g Pure Sunflower Spread/dairy free spread or 120 mls sunflower oil
200g Dairy free chocolate, chopped
4 tbsp quality cocoa powder
2 eggs
150ml rice milk
Optional:
'butter' icing for decorating-
100g dairy free spread
50g icing sugar
50g Extra cocoa powder

Line a muffin tray with 8 or 12 muffin cases, depending on the size you are making. Preheat the oven to 180c. Add the flour, cocoa butter and caster sugar to a large mixing bowl and mix together. Cut the butter replacement into cubes and then add to the flour mixture. Rub together with your fingertips until you have a breadcrumb consistency.
Mix in the eggs and rice milk and beat together until smooth. Add the chopped chocolate and stir in gently. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases, levelling the tops and leaving a little room at the top for each muffin to rise. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes until risen. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool before serving.
If you are decorating the muffin, mix the ingredients for the butter icing together, and pipe on top of each muffin. Decorate with sugar stars and sprinkles for an extra special treat.

New Website to check out

An interesting new website to have a look at, there are forums, information pages and articles, you might just come across something you didn't know:

http://www.coeliacsmatter.com/index.html

See what you think.

Waking up

Quote of the day from our eldest, when talking to a mum in the playground  'When our baby wakes up, he wakes up like a cockerel'. 

Bed Time

The boys actually went to bed without a fuss tonight, leaving me wondering what I should do for the next hours, as I didn't have to run up and down the stairs shouting and feeling like a wicked witch.  I even managed to get the bath done in record time and J got to read his school book too.  I would still prefer not to feel like I am a single mother, and for R to be here in the evenings instead of slaving over a hot stove.

Earth Mother

I realise I may be turning into what can only be termed an earth mother as i sit at the kitchen table helping a four year old make biscuits, with one boob hanging out, while i try and feed new baby, roll dough and tidy, all at the same time.  F doesn't seem very bothered by it, but i'm sure the people going past the end of our garden on a bus would find it interesting if they happened to look in our kitchen window.  We are now 2 and a half weeks in to the new routine with new baby, although routine gives our lives an image of organisation that they really don't have, I have survived 3 nights with the mother in law who invited herself to stay and sat around smoking fags and drinking red wine while poor hubby who was supposed to be bonding with his new family had to rush around after her like a blue arsed fly.  We are settling down quite nicely, and I am even managing to type this one handed, while feeding new baby, which may explain the erractic use of capital letters.

Still Waiting

Starting to wonder if this baby will ever arrive, I have done hot curry, pineapple, walking, riding an exercise bike for half an hour, and am now back to the beginning again, with thai food tonight.  Nearly ten days late and counting. I am trying my best to keep as busy as possible, picnic yesterday, lunch out the day before, pet shop today, but tomorrow is a full day on my own so who knows what I will do.  Hubby has an interview for a new job in the morning, so that is bound to get things moving.  I have been reading the Sears book of Attachment Parenting, which is great, but it seems that it is something natural that has to be given a name, so people can make money from it.  On the other hand, the methods they use allow women to keep their sanity while keeping their baby with them.

Speaking of sanity, avoid 'The contented little baby book' at all costs if you want to keep yours.  The routines, feeding advice and principles behind the book are enough to drive anyone to the brink, with almost every minute of the day being accounted for.

Just relax, especially for the first couple of weeks, I am keeping my fingers crossed that is what I will do, if the boys let me, I only have to fit in school runs, housework, lunchboxes and the needs of two other children, how hard can it be?

Ahhhh!

Oh my word!  Still waiting for baby.  I know, I know, he or she will arrive when ready, but I am getting to the point that I feel like exploding, not just physically, but at everyone as well.  I am a woman on the edge, I even managed to consume a whole pineapple the other evening, but to no avail.  On the bright side hubby had the evening off work last night as I though something was happening, and so got to watch Britain's Got Talent, which he was very pleased about.
J went to his birthday party yesterday, and enjoyed the pizza we had made, but when he got their, found that they were making their own pizzas there.  He didn't mind this as it meant he got to go on the climbing wall for longer while the others had to make theirs. An upside to attending a party with your own food!

Playing in the garden.

The joys of water play.  Poor J was in bed all morning again feeling horrible, but got up at lunch time, and after comsuming sustanance played outside all afternoon with F, throwing water around and sticking their heads in the water.  It's amazing that such a simple thing can keep two little boys entertained for such a long time, and make J forget about feeling poorly.  It is so horrible when he feels rubbish, and poor F was so bored, but nevertheless behaved himself, and kept going up to see J, he even took him a sword, very hopefully, at one point, but still couldn't lure him out of our giant bed.  Fingers crossed he feels better tomorrow, and who knows we might even have a new baby to add to the brood.

Bloody Immune system

Poor J has tonsilitus for the third time in three and a half weeks, and is now covered in huge spots/ bites which look like they may be infected.  Happy Easter holidays.  For the last year, since he has been on his gluten free diet his health has been so much better, but sometimes we are still hit with these blips which can take over three or four weeks and result in regular trips to the doctor and poor J being left with a tiny frame and big eyes. 

Birthday Parties with a gluten free boy.

I am waking up far to early for my own good, this morning it was 6am, yesterday, it was 5.30.  I suppose this is my body's way of telling me I soon won't be getting much sleep.  Hopefully my writer's block will have disappeared today, although J+F will be home at around 12 so I don't think I will be getting much done today, although I did hear a rumour that Hubby may be off this evening, although how true that is remains to be seen.
I continue to worry about the party J has next weekend, which is very excitingly a climbing wall party, but they are having pizza, so we will have to take a gluten free one for him, as well as some sort of cake. If they are having anything with the pizza, ie chips, I hope they have ordered some for him, although they will have be cooked in a fryer with the chicken nuggets and whatever else battered they serve there.  Last time this happened a child who hadn't replied turned up so ended up having J's meal, which meant he was left with just his gluten free pizza.  Hubby was very cross but J didn't seem to mind, so it is more our problem that it is his.  I am panicking in case the baby hasn't arrived by then which means hubby will be at work, so I will have to take him, F is too small to join in, but will want to, as it is a climbing wall party we have more chance of leakage from J's colostomy bag, as well as the organisation of the food.  His bag has been fab recently, but I think the combination of sweat, excitement and jumping around with other small boys makes leaking at these things far more likely to happen.  I was going to ask one of his friend's mum's to take him, but it is just too much responsibility for someone I don't really know very well, ahhhhh.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated, I'm sure birthday parties are supposed to be fun.  One very anxious mother (do you think this might have something to do with my due date passing and no baby arriving?)

A time to brag

Today has been a good day.  I have done my first session as a breastfeeding counsellor at a local group, which was lovely, and lots of people told me how great I looked, which I have to write down so I remember when I am entrenched in a post baby world of stretchy skin and excess weight, I can look back, and remember that I did look good when I was nine months pregnant.
Worrying about other things- my reliable friend who is looking after the children when we have the baby has to go away with work monday to friday, ahhhh, so have hastily recruited another friend, who is probably too busy to do it, but said yes anyway.  My mum has also put herself in the frame although she lives and hour and a half away, although her main response was 'don't worry, it's only a couple of days, nothing's going to happen then.'  Thank you mother, but not really very helpful.
J+F are still of in the wilds of Norfolk having a lovely time, although when I tried to speak to them earlier F was asleep on a window sill in a fish and chip shop, and J was eating burgers and chips.  I try not to think of all the gluten that is probably in there, and know that Mum and aunty are doing their best.
I have to keep looking at this post and feeling good about myself and my ever dropping bump.  It is so low now I can even feel the knocking of the head against my pelvis while I walk!

Pullthru Network

While looking back through my old posts I found this website that I had forgotten about http://www.pullthrunetwork.org/articles/category/Support-New-Parents  It is american, but has some great info and support on it, for parents whose children have had bowel surgery.  Ths article is fantastic, and could be for anyone who has had a child who has something 'different' about them.  Have a look.

Family Life

Being married to a chef is fairly rubbish at the best of times, but particularly around big events and celebrations.  Split shifts, late nights and no weekends off inevitably take their toll, but it kind of takes the biscuits when your husband's boss enquires how everything is, on being told he didn't sleep well as I was having lots of twinges and we are both on tenterhooks, replies "You do know my wife and I are eating tonight, what happens if she goes into labour?  I hope you have a contingency plan."  So I must make sure nothing happens between now and 9 o clock, we wouldn't want the boss's meal to be ruined now would we?

Come on Baby

Pacing the house all yesterday evening, thinking that something was happening with baby number 3, backache, contractions and great restlessness, which all boded very well until at 11pm it all stopped.  Now the backache is back, but nothing else, I am fed up!
On another note, have had to book J in for a blood test next week to check iron levels, and whether his allergy markers are down.  Going to a different hospital this time, but still very apprehensive as he only has to think of a needle to come out in cold sweats and panic.  The blood tests are definetely one of the worst things about all his treatments, as they are so traumatic for all involved.  Will be worrying about that all week now.
At least J and F are both having a lovely time this week with Nanny on holiday.

Love this site

http://www.askdrsears.com/  Good info and sources of books on lots of parenting subjects.  If you follow them on Facebook there are lots of very interesting and funny questions and comments posted there.

Back again.

Right, I will try and keep it up this time.  Sitting at home waiting very impatiently for baby number 3 to arrive, and missing the boys lots while they are on holiday with nanny in Norfolk.  I had a curry last night in a vain attempt to get things moving, and have been eating lots of tins of pineapple, but have now discovered, much to my annoyance that it is only fresh pineapple that contains the special enzyme which is supposed to help.  That will teach me to do my research. Still on that never ending journey to discover what I am going to do with my life, although I am now finally a qualified breastfeeding counsellor, which is very exciting, just waiting for my official bit of paper, but now entertaining thoughts of homeopathy, and goodness knows what else.  The big question here is will I ever be statisfied????