Choose simple food that is more likely to be wheat free, such as salads to start or fruit and Parma ham followed by steamed or roast fish, vegetables and grilled meats. Avoid all the pastries, soufflés and hot puddings and instead have delicious sorbets, ice creams, fruit poached in liqueur, fresh fruit salad or a wicked chocolate or fruit mousse. Do not be tempted by petits fours with coffee, but do enjoy top quality or hand-made chocolates.
Enjoy Your Food
Your social life does not need to stop because you are following a wheat-free diet. Have fun trying out new recipes and make life easy for yourself by putting together quick and easy ideas with something a bit more complicated – never (unless you have all the time in the world) combine three really advanced recipes in one evening or you will be exhausted and past enjoying yourself by the time dinner is served!
With all cooking, you need to enjoy tasting the food at the beginning, in the middle and at the end. Season with your fingers and not with a spoon so that you are in touch with your food. If you are cooking without wheat and dairy you will probably need more seasoning and the magic of fresh herbs or spices to perk up the food. Dried herbs and spices lose their flavour very quickly so buy small amounts frequently rather than a large amount, which will soon loose its essential flavour. With practice, it will soon be easy to judge how much extra seasoning you need to make your food perfect for your palate
A varied diet is a healthy and exciting one so be adventurous and try wheat-free recipes from around the globe – Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Malaysian or Indonesian dishes will seldom contain wheat as they usually use rice instead. However, avoid wheat noodles and anything dipped in batter. Indian food is generally great for cooking at home or for takeaways as they usually use gram flour for poppadums and most of the dishes are served with rice and thickened with yogurt. Avoid naan and other breads, and vegetables dipped in batter, and you should be fine. Some Mexican recipes, like tortillas, tacos and nachos, are usually made with corn and are delicious with chilli sauce, guacamole, and spicy meats. There is a delicious recipe for wraps in this book, which you can use with all sorts of alternative fillings, such as chicken tikka, slices of roast tuna and sweet red peppers, cold roast beef and guacamole, to name just a few.
Be Flexible
Wheat-free flours play an important part in many of the recipes in this book so I suggest that you stock up on different kinds. There is nothing worse than finding you have run out – particularly when it can require a major trip or an internet order for you to replenish supplies. You’ll be disappointed you cannot make that cake or pastry and, in my experience, it’s tempting to using a bit of leftover wheat flour – which would, of course, ruin your efforts to be wheat free.
These days, our busy lifestyles mean we need to have a flexible approach to food. This is reflected in these recipes, which can be adapted to suit your tastes and needs. It is easy, for instance, to halve or double the quantities according to your needs. You can also play around with the ingredients. If you like the general idea of the recipe but not the main ingredient you can, for example, swap salmon for a similar oily fish such as tuna, marlin or swordfish. A turkey recipe, for example, can be swapped with chicken, pheasant or guinea fowl. Red meats can be changed to other red meats and so on. You can substitute fresh or dried fruits with different varieties and combinations and substitute dairy products with goat, sheep or alternative dairy-free products. In my view, a good recipe book should provide ideas and inspiration and should be followed in a relaxed and enjoyable way.
Think Local and Organic
One of the aims of this book is to show you how easy it is to convert to the wheat-free way of eating so that you can feel confident enough to try all sorts of delicious foods. There is no danger of becoming bored with these new recipes – they’re fun, easy to prepare, interesting, delicious and, with a little help from you, they’ll be forever evolving.
I have selected many seasonal recipes, as I believe in eating food that is grown or reared in this country and which is sold in season. I am not a great fan of foods being flown from all around the world, picked too early and sold unripe. I am, however, a great fan of organic foods, farmers’ markets and local produce. With organic produce, the difference in taste – aside from the lack of chemicals and preservatives – is enough to convince me that the extra effort is worthwhile. Why not try some of the recipes using only organic products and see if you think there is a marked difference in sweetness, flavour and texture?
If you only buy a dozen organic products each week, I would always recommend that you opt for organic dairy products, eggs, chicken, tomatoes and carrots, as these make the biggest difference to the recipes.
I have always loved cooking and entertaining at home; my boundless enthusiasm for excellent food is equalled by my fascination for creating new and contemporary allergy-free recipes for all occasions throughout the year. Warm and comforting food in winter, and cool and refreshing dishes in summer all add up to a diverse and exciting food year. I hope my desire to make cooking without wheat rewarding and fun is reflected in my recipes and that you will have hours of pleasure preparing and enjoying them.
At-a-Glance Do’s and Don’ts for a Healthy, Wheat-Free Diet
| Do: | Drink 1.5 litres/11/2 quarts of pure still water each day, but not during main meals |
| Don’t: | Get so hungry that you eat anything |
| Do: | Keep wheat-free emergency snacks like hummus, guacamole, crispbreads, nachos, bread rolls and cookies in the refrigerator or store cupboard |
| Don’t: | Bolt your food, even if it is wheat-free this will not help your digestion |
| Do: | Use leftover titbits of wheat-free pastry to make little tarts, for example leftover vegetables and cheese or jam (jelly) and fruit |
| Don’t: | Continue to use the same set of wooden spoons if you are changing your diet to gluten, wheat-or dairy-free – buy some new ones |
| Do: | Freeze leftover wheat-free bread as breadcrumbs for bread sauce, toppings or stuffing |
| Don’t: | Forget to clean out your store cupboard, refrigerator and deep-freeze of products containing wheat |
| Do: | Buy a bread maker and ice cream maker if possible |
| Don’t: | Use your bread maker for wheat bread as it will contaminate your loaf |
| Do: | Scrupulously wash out your baking tins, bowls and containers before using for wheat-free cooking if you have used them for recipes that include wheat |
| Don’t: | Forget to stock up on different types of wheat-free flours for all your recipes |
| Do: | Make shopping lists and allow extra time in the shops for reading the labels |
| Don’t: | Panic buy, instead plan your meals, office or school lunch box and entertaining in advance |