Home made Chipolata Sausages - my way!

With the exclusion of Gluten, Grains and Additives from our diet, sausages no longer were an easy meal option. There are certainly options available from specialized Butchers but they are not always accessible and can be very expensive! Not eating sausages hadn't really a problem for us, however recently we went to a BBQ where all the kids were having a sausage in a slice of bread with sauce and Cayden and Klaudia decided they wanted one too. The following is my version of 'Chipolata Sausages' (small sausages). Cheap and very simple Gluten-Free-Grain-Free-Egg-Free-Dairy-Free-Sausages for the whole family to enjoy! They freeze really well and so are easy to prepare ahead and also become a wonderful  quick go-to-meal for during the working week....!

Ingredients
500g Pork Mince
500g Beef Mince
1tsp Garlic Powder
1tsp Dried Basil
1tsp Dried Chives
1/3 cup Fresh Parsley, finely chopped
Good sized pinch of Himalayan Rock Salt
Cracked Pepper to taste
Fry Pan
Oil to cook with, I used Coconut Oil

- Mix all ingredients in a bowl and then continue to knead the mix so the meat binds together. The more you knead, the better the bind. I did this for about 5-10 mins.

- Break off the size of a desert spoon of the mixture and roll to form a sausage. Repeat this till all the mixture is shaped.

If you choose to add a liquid to your mix for flavor ie Coconut Amino Sauce, this process will still work however you may need to refrigerate the mix for about 20mins to ensure the bind holds. I believe this kneading process is about 'stretching' the proteins of the meat to bind, by chilling the meat you are then forcing the proteins to 'contract' into an even better bind.

- Heat a small amount of oil in the fry pan and simply add the required amount of sausages and cook as normal. Place the rest in a freezer-safe container and freeze till required! (I love ready meals!!)

If you are going to cook the sausages on a BBQ, remember the risk for 'cross contamination' when cooking with other sausages or meats with unknown sauces.... I find the easiest way to avoid this is to take and use my own 'BBQ Cooking Mat' and to be responsible for the cooking of the food. When I explain the reasons, nobody has had a problem. Another way of course would be to take the meat already cooked....

The following is our quick Friday night meal - sausages served with cheesy 'cauliflower rice' and simple sides.... YUMMO!!

Gluten-Free-Grain-Free-Egg-Free-Dairy-Free-Sausages

Chicken Salad Pancake Stacks

I would have loved to have gone out to dinner with the family last night but given the unusually cold weather and lack of close-by suitable options, following is my take on something creative. I always love involving the kids in the creation of their own meals and the best way to do that is put everything in the middle of the table and then discuss what would make a ‘yummy dinner combo’…..  we ended up with 'Chicken Salad Pancake Stacks'!!

Pancakes

6 Egg Whites

3½ tbsp. Coconut Flour

4 tbsp Milk or Milk substitute

½ tsp of Garam Masala

½ tsp of Cumin

½ tsp of Onion Powder

Good pinch of Himalayan rock salt

Fry Pan

Oil for the pan, I used Coconut Oil

Crumbed Chicken

2 Chicken Breasts (I used Free Range) Cut into thick strips

1 cup Desiccated Coconut (I used Sulphite Free, 220)

1 cup Almond Meal

2 Eggs

2nd Fry Pan

Oil for the pan, I used Coconut Oil

- Mix all the Pancake ingredients in a small bowl. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes so the coconut flour can soak up some of the moisture.

- Prepare salad items, we had the following: English Spinach, Grated Carrot, Grated Cheese, Sliced Avocado, Sliced Tomato and Sliced Cucumber

- Mix coconut and almond meal in a bowl and whisk eggs in a separate bowl. Dip chicken in egg and roll in almond meal and place on a plate. Once all the chicken is done, heat oil in fry pan and commence cooking chicken on a medium heat until golden brown and cooked through. Alternatively you could cook chicken in the oven for about 12mins (turning after 6mins) or until cooked through.

- Heat oil in 2nd fry pan. Whisk pancake batter again and then pour an amount into the pan, quickly thinning out with a spatula to the desired size of your pancake.

- Flip pancake when browned on the bottom and continue till cooked through, remove and set aside. Repeat with batter until all used. Remember to oil pan between pancakes. I got 4-5 medium sized pancakes from the above mixture.

I then placed everything in the middle of the table and everyone assembled their own pancake with the salad items and chicken pieces. Following is a photo of ‘one with the lot’ including a dollop of plain Greek Yoghurt…. Yummo!

Enjoy!

Breakfast Bruschetta - simple and delicious!!

So the family woke up this morning on our last official day of 'holidays' and decided we needed a special breakfast! We went through the usual thoughts of eggs on toast, fruit salad or a big fry up.... but I decided against it all when I noticed the bread I had baked the other day in a flatter mould and realised how similar it looked to bruschetta - the following is what we ended up with! Simple and delicious!!

Breakfast Bruschetta

Ingredients
 Bread. As previously said, I already had some 'Chia Seed & Almond Meal Bread' baked however I believe you could substitute with anything you have. Otherwise here is the recipe for the bread I used

  http://www.taniaspantry.com/gluten-free-grain-free-dairy-free-nut-free-recipes/gluten-free-grain-free-paleo-yeast-free-baking/gluten-free-grain-free-yeast-free-dairy-free-bread-paleo/

 Fresh Banana, cut into thin slices

 Fresh Strawberries, cut into thin slices

 Honey to drizzle. I like to use Raw Local Honey.

 Cinnamon to sprinkle. I use 'pure food essentials - organic cinnamon powder'

 Yoghurt. I used Jalna Honey and Cinnamon Greek Yoghurt
 Coconut Oil to fry in. I always use one that has been 'cold pressed'. It tastes worlds better and is better for you.

 

- Cut bread into thin slices and lightly fry in the Coconut oil. I used about a tablespoon of oil

- Remove bread from pan when ready and place on a plate. Dress with slices of banana, strawberries and drizzle with honey

- Add yoghurt to the plate and sprinkle everything lightly with the cinnamon!

 

Done!!!

Hope this gives you the great start to the day that it did for us!! xx

 

Tips for traveling with kids and intolerances/allergies

So excited!! The family and I are in Cairns for the week to watch my amazing husband compete in the Cairns Ironman!! Interestingly, he has also followed K’s diet and loves it (with the occasional use of bread and rice/quinoa due to not having enough of the other options at the time)… But how do you travel with someone who is so reliant on ‘home cooked foods’ due to numerous intolerances/allergies?

Living with a child that has so many restrictions in their diet, traveling adds a whole other layer, but it certainly isn’t impossible!!

The following are a couple of things I have done to ensure we can all have a bit of a break and still enjoy food and all the social things that go with it:

1)      When bookings your accommodation. Pick somewhere that has a fully contained kitchen. Give them a call to make sure it meets your needs. Basically we just need a working oven to allow us to cook bread for sandwiches, toast etc and some muffins for snacks on the go. By having the conversation and explaining my needs, the accommodation has said they will put us in the room with the best oven to help out – awesome!!

2)      Also when booking, check out the location for accessibility to a supermarket and ideally a health food/ organic shop. Give them a call to see if they sell the things you need. It’s really hard to get suitable bread for K so I have pre-mixed the dry ingredients and now know I can buy the ‘wet’ ingredients up there. In fact the organics shop is on the same street we are staying on! But to make things easier, I also packed a ‘bake@home’ cake mix from Gluten free Grain free, the dry ingredients to make a ‘chocolate glaze’ and some desiccated coconut with the plan to make ‘Lamingtons’ (our fav!)

(bickies for the plane, whisk/measuring spoons/ measuring cup for cooking, bread mixes, cake mix, chia seeds for easy breakfast, coconut and glaze mix for lamingtons)

 

3)      Research any suitable restaurants/cafes so you might be able to ‘go out’. So happy there is a ‘Paleo Café’ in Cairns. Gave them a call and explained our situation and they have suggested to just come in and they will work out some suitable options for her then – am so grateful for this!!

4)      Anyone who has travelled/flown with small kids KNOWS food is your best friend…. giving you the ability to negotiate tantrums, waiting in lines and covering long distances!! For us, the trusty lunch box has saved our sanity on numerous occasions. We keep them stocked with cut up fresh fruit and veggies, preservative free dried fruits, sandwiches, mixed nuts and muffins/bickies depending on the need. We may also use certain ‘squeeze pack’ yoghurts and fruit purees for treats if things really are getting tuff!! :)

 

 

 

 

5)      Make sure you have some ‘Multix Bake’ baking paper (buy from Coles, Woolworths etc). This is the brand I find that works the best! With this, you can obviously line a tin to bake, you can wrap a sandwich to then toast in any sandwich press, use it to line the BBQ to prevent contamination from previously cooked meats including sausages and marinades, you can also use it to cook fresh fish on the BBQ - squeeze some lemon onto the fish and then use the paper to wrap it into a parcel (then buy a packet of Sea Salt potato chips and you have your own version of ‘fish ‘n chips’)…. you can also use it as ‘tracing paper’ for the kids too!!

So just a couple of things that have (and are) helping us have a great time away. Would definitely love to hear of anyone else’s tips that got you through your holiday too!!

…. So the big race is on Sunday and won’t be able to help myself but share how he’s going! Stay tuned!