flour

It doesn't seem to matter what kind of wheaten flour you use - it still works better than any substitute I have found so far. It's really quite remarkable. I have just baked some banana bread for some work colleagues using homebrand plain flour (see pictures below). I use the same recipe with almond meal, and it really just doesn't work out the same. I've tried a mass of combinations using almond meal with things like tapioca or coconut flour if a varying degree of quantities. It's just not the same. I do miss baking with real flour - but I have gotten quite creative with the alternatives. I will share them along the way.

What's got me really confused is how many things have flour in or on it. I mean I can understand your breads, pastries and pastas, but steak? Hot chips? It's a little crazy! So of course now I have to say to the poor wait staff "I'd like the fish, but could you please check if it has any flour of any kind used in the recipe? Thanks". And of course, back to my previous post they say "Of course. Are you a celiac?" They are just doing their job, and I think it's great they even know what a celiac is! But I wish they wouldn't look at me like some kind of alien when I say "Sorry, no. I just can't have any grains." Their eyes just jump out of their head in complete confusion, their mouth is open with nothing coming out, and then they are running in the other direction as if they don't want to get infected by me some how.

Anyway back to flour. So many good things come from flour that I just can't seem to replicate - pancakes and doughnuts are a great example of that. Pastries and pies - I really miss good pies. And I have to say there is nothing like the smell of fresh bread. Pasta, pizza, and of course biscuits - tim tams, mint slices and actually just cookies! Just about anything that is cooked and tastes good is bound to have some kind of flour on it or in it!

I have tried a few times to make my own bread but that has failed quite miserably. For those looking for a gluten free bread there are quite a few out there and they aren't too bad I don't think. But there is an alternative completely grain free bread made by place called Deeks Bakery, and I have to say - pricey as it is, it is pretty damn good. I buy it i bulk and store it in the freezer and it really does the job well. It doesn't taste like normal bread obviously, but it also doesn't taste like crap. And if you're looking for something to hold your sandwich fillings or burgers in, then I think it's pretty good. Highly recommend it. Honestly I have not found anything better - for me - yet. My husband gets tired of me having to stop there every time we're in Canberra, but it's just so worth it for me.

So you might be asking what do I use instead of flour. Well my main substitute, as I've mentioned is almond meal. But I also use tapioca flour and coconut flour as well. If you're using a substitute, and you're baking, you might also need a bit of xanthum gum to help your baked goods rise. Hazelnut meal is also supposed to be good - but I haven't tried it because I'm not sure I can have hazelnuts. And for the lucky ones, you can obviously use a lot of corn flour and rice flour. But just be careful with the corn flour that its corn flour, and not wheaten corn flour (I know, what's with that!?). Other flours are like lentil flours, chick pea flours, which again I haven't used yet because they are on my experimentation list of food groups.

celiacs and gluten intolerance

So I thought I’d clarify a something first. I am not a Celiac and I am not Gluten Intolerant – although I can tell you that some days I wish I was – it would certainly make buying food easier! In fact the blood test I took at Australian Biologics tells me that I could have as much gluten as I wanted … if it didn’t come from a grain. I am not able to eat just about all normal grains. So that’s wheat, oats, rye, barley, rice and corn. What’s even more interesting is that someone told me that rice is supposed to be one of the least allergic foods – and yet I can’t eat it – well at least my experiments to date have leaned towards not. What’s with that?!

Also for the record I make no claims to being a professional, I always recommend seeing a specialist and reading the ingredients. This blog is primarily a record of food and how it affects me. But everyone is different and is likely to react differently.

I think the most surprising thing has been how much it affects me. I really didn’t think the food you ate would have that much impact (other than over consumption etc). And what’s more its like a swinging pendulum. Most days you’re high, then you eat something – either on purpose or not, and then off you go down to low. It takes about a week to recover. Most of the symptoms are gone in a few days - but a week to get it all out.

So also interestingly, as Miss Danielle writes in her comments – I have to rotate foods because I find that I get bad reactions to foods that I thought I could eat, and fine (well sort of) with other foods I couldn’t sometimes! It’s completely insane! Actually I’m glad she wrote that because I really thought I was just getting paranoid and becoming a hypochondriac nut job.

So from here on I want to share recipes and thoughts, pictures of food and so on.