Category: Gluten Free

Posted by Christine Pope on in Allergies, Breakfast, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Health Care, Travel, vegetables

Gluten free Canberra

So many plans for February were cancelled it was a bit surprising that my Canberra trip actually went ahead. Part of the trip was associated with a Board role for COSBOA, which involved an in person Board meeting and the pitch finals for the Accelerator for Enterprising Women and other part was actually to have a short break and explore Canberra and surrounds.

Part of my planning with a trip is to check out recommendations on Trip Adviser and see what gluten free options are available and well rated. For any one with specific food intolerances or preferences there are a number of filters you can choose to enable you to see what the best options are in the area. There have been quite a few closures as a result of COVID lockdowns so its usually advisable to make sure that any venues are still open and trading hours are unchanged. Usually checking out that social media is current works but if you are really keen on a place call and check. Staff shortages mean many cafes and restaurants are limiting hours or days.

First up we looked out for a few good breakfast options with bonus points for some different breakfasts. The most scenic option was a cafe called Local Press at Kingston Foreshore on Lake Burley Griffin. The best local option (close to our hotel) was Eighty Twenty. Local Press has a number of gluten free and vegan options with the ability to build your own breakfast with your preferred vegetables and protein. My choice was the LP Veggie bowl with broccolini, carrot, wild rice pilaf, sesame crusted avocado and pickled cabbage and I added some house cured salmon. The combination was the perfect breakfast fuel and had a good range of different textures.

80/20 actually has four locations in Canberra and specialises in providing a range of allergen friendly food. Whilst I usually like to load up with vegetables and protein to really give the menu a workout the buckwheat waffles were obviously the best idea. Served with pureed date, maple nut crunch and seasonal fruit plus vegan ice cream the waffles were very tasty and satisfyingly sweet. Other options included smashed avocado, various acai bowls, a big breakfast and a veggie bowl.

On this trip we revisited a few of my favourites including the wonderful Akiba where the food is Asian fusion, Tipsy Bull with a great range of gluten free options and Pillagio Estates. These were probably the pick of the dining options in fact we enjoyed the Tipsy Bull so much we went back for a second meal when out trip was extended for a few extra days.

The Tipsy Bull has a friendly up market bar vibe with both in door and garden seating. It is reknown for its excessive number of gins on its menu however it offers a full range of cocktails and more usual beverages as well. Not the reason I enjoy going, but apparently gin is very big at the moment. The food is designed around share plates with the usual recommendation being that you order three small plates, two from the garden and one large plate to share between two people. The stand out dishes for us were the tuna ceviche, the large chicken plate and the crispy squid. In terms of garden dishes its always worth ordering the cauliflower if its on the menu, however the street corn and broccolini were also interesting options.

Akiba has a coeliac friendly tasting menu which is always worth ordering, but if you are going a la carte, make sure the miso eggplant, crispy squid and the fried rice with prawns are on your list. The seafood is also excellent and the kingfish sashimi is well worth ordering. The menu is really flexible and on one occasion when I ate with a colleague who was vegetarian we did enjoy a really tasty meal, particularly the mushrooms tofu and cashew.

Pillagio Estates has an extensive range of house cured meats and salmon in its cafe and at the fine dining restaurant. We were aiming for the cafe before we went for a bushwalk and accidentally drove to the fine dining at Pavilion. Despite our hiking gear staff were very considerate and offered us the option to dine in and were so glad we did. Since we had already thought ploughman’s lunch we did a fine dining version with a selection of the farm’s produce and a few sides from the garden. There was a little too much food realistically and one of the standouts was the Heritage Carrots with Sunflower hummus. There were five large carrots which in addition to the hummus made for a very substantial side. Paired with a garden salad and the Smokehouse Charcuterie Board it was a delicious meal and very relaxing looking out over the gardens where the vegetables were harvested.

The other activity for a little bit of balance after all these meals was a few bushwalks around Canberra. The All Trails app showed a wide range of graded options but my favourite walks were at The Arboretum. We walked up Daisy Farm Hill on a hot day and enjoyed the views from the peak and then to cool down walked through a beautiful 100 year old cedar forest. The other walk that is really worthwhile is the two bridges walk which takes you in a loop around part of Lake Burley Griffin.

Christine Pope is a naturopath and nutritionist who enjoys finding lots of good food that’s gluten free. If you enjoyed this blog you might also like A tea lovers guide to the Blue Mountains and Gluten Free North Coast. Please add any other suggested restaurants in the comments section below.

Posted by Christine Pope on in Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Health Care, Nutrition

A Gluten and Dairy Free Christmas

Whilst organising a Christmas menu around allergens may seem a little challenging the basics such as prawns, ham and turkey don’t require a lot of modification apart from finding a suitable stuffing! Mince pies and puddings require more significant modifications.

One significant issue is the ratio of stuffing to turkey. This recipe for stuffing cups from Donna Hay is a great solution to that option. I have made it by substituting gluten free breadcrumbs and nuttelex (for the butter) and they work really well. Just make sure your pancetta is gluten free too!

The side dishes for Christmas can be a range of salads or hot dishes, there are some useful suggestions in my blog on Four easy ways to add Brassica vegetables to your meals. Salad options with a dressing based on either mayonnaise (no dairy) or oil and vinegar can also be a good way to add vegetables and variety to the day.

Focussing on baking these are my two essential Christmas recipes and they are both from my Mum!

Mince pies (Makes approx 36)

Fruit mince – I jar

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

2 1/2 cups of gluten free flour,

1/2 cup castor sugar ,

185g butter (or Nuttelex for milk protein allergies)

2 eggs.

Combine butter and sugar, add flour until mix is like crumbs and then mix through egg to combine. Put on a floured surface and loosely knead. Wrap and chill in fridge for an hour before using.

Rollout pastry between two sheets of baking paper or on a floured surface. Cut into small rounds and use half for the base and the remainder for the lids. Spoon a heaped teaspoon of fruit mince into each pie and then seal lids by pinching the pastry together. Cook at 180C for 12-15 minutes.

Christmas Pudding

250 g each raisins, currants, sultanas and 60 g peel

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

4 eggs

1 cup plain gluten free flour

3 Tblspn Rum

250 g Butter or Nuttelex (Dairy Free)

2 cups soft breadcrumbs from gluten free loaf

Rind of an orange and a lemon

1/2 tsp each salt, mixed spice, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and bicarb soda.

Chop raisins and peel, add other fruit and combine with rum. Leave covered overnight.

Cream butter, sugar and fruit rind. Add eggs slowly beating each in well then stir in fruit in alternation with the sifted flour and spices and breadcrumbs.

Place in greased pudding dish. Cover with foil and simmer for 6 hours. Keep water level about half way up the pudding bowl and check levels regularly.

Serves 10-12 people.

Ideal to serve with Coconut Milk icecream such as Over the Moo Vanilla Bean or Coyo Vanilla or Vanilla Bean and Nutmeg.

If you are busy over the holidays and looking for some healthy options have a look at my E-book Healthy Holiday Options .

Finding the best Gluten Free options on the North Coast of NSW
Posted by Christine Pope on in Allergies, Breakfast, Gluten Free, vegetables

Finding the best Gluten Free options on the North Coast of NSW

Do you find travelling with food intolerances difficult? On a recent trip to Port Macquarie it is clear that holidaying in the regions with food intolerances is getting easier but there are still a few areas that need to improve.

In this blog you will find some tips for locating friendly restaurants and navigating your way through menus.

First up road food? Depending on where you are travelling you may find it easier to pack your own snacks and lunch or scope out some suitable alternatives. Gluten free options when travelling to the North Coast include chains such as Olivers who stock a range of healthy foods including fresh juices and a good range of gluten free options.

Secondly download Trip Adviser and review the restaurant choices in the area you are visiting. Trip Advisor lets you choose restaurants based on dietary requirements as well as options like online booking. Although during the current coronavirus crisis many restaurants have turned off online booking so that they can take deposits or confirm that you are planning on dining.

Once you have downloaded Trip Adviser its a good idea to search a list of cafes or restaurants which meet your requirements. Going one step further its a good idea to jump onto the menu and make sure that gluten free for example doesn’t just mean we offer gluten free toast.

Blooms on Clarence

Reviewing the options in Port Macquarie there were three breakfast options close by to our accomodation which included Blooms (was LV’s ) , Bandwagon Cafe and The Pepperberry. Each had reasonable reviews however our standout favourite was Bloom’s initially as they had a fabulous Mushroom fungus toast that was delicious and served gluten and dairy free. Staff were also very competent at dealing with requests for changes due to intolerances. The Pepperberry was a standout for its range of gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options including two types of fritters. The Morrocan fritters with corn were excellent, a little spicy and they benefited from the use of besan (chickpea) for a richer taste.

The standout options in Port Macquarie were Bills Fishhouse and Twotriplefour at Cassegrains Wines. We dined at Bills Fishhouse on the Friday night and had emailed to let them know of the various dietary requirements which included one gluten free and one both dairy and gluten free. The waiter was really well prepped and also adjusted the Fish Tasting Special to our requirements, replacing oysters with a delicious Kingfish sashimi with coconut cream. They also offered some interesting options with Kingfish wings ( a bit fattier and tastier than the main fish) as well as a delicious salt and pepper squid.

Having mentioned that we were dining at Twotriplefour the following day for lunch we were really thrilled to see printed menu’s already adjusted for our dietary requirements. It may have triggered a round of over ordering as there were so many options, however we really didn’t need to eat dinner that night so it was worthwhile. We has a delicious entree of warm marinated olives, mushrooms, eggplant and a herb and lettuce salad followed by lamb rump. Twotriplefour also offer hampers for picnicking in the grounds and that may be an option for later trips.

Bago Maze and Winery

A third tip is to contact the venue in advance either by email or phone and see if they can accomodate your dietary needs. The Bago Maze and Winery offers both salami and cheese platters and can provide gluten free crackers on request. The other venue which had a surprisingly good menu was the cafe at Billabong Zoo which offered a range of salad bowls with gluten free and vegetarian options. Regardless make sure both venues are on your list for your trip, Billabong zoo is in sub tropical grounds and has an impressive range of animals. Personally loved being able to feed the wallabies and sneak in a little gentle pat on the back but we would recommend being at the lion enclosure just after 11am as the keeper gets up close and personal with the lions.

Bago Maze is one of the superior hedge mazes from our travels and takes a good hour to really explore and conquer both turrets as well as identifying the many features. For Christmas they had hidden a range of Austalian animals in the maze so it was fun to go down dead ends just to see if you could find the platypus or the wombat.

Perhaps the only criticism to make at this point is that restaurants seem to freely indicate on platforms that they offer dietary options however the menu’s do not always meet these claims. A number of cafes in the area advertised gluten free but then failed the menu test as there were no gluten free items marked. Its also essential that staff recognise the importance of separately preparing gluten free foods, which in most cases these venues did by checking if the diners were coeliac. The other item is to ensure that gluten free options if fried are only prepared in a separate fryer, otherwise you risk trace contamination.

Christine Pope is a naturopath and nutritionist who enjoys eating out and travelling. For useful blogs on the subject have a look at Mountain high – adding dietary options to your holiday. and A tea lovers guide to the Blue Mountains . Christine is available for appointments on 02 8084 0081 and can offer online consultations for those not currently based in St Ives, Sydney.

Posted by Christine Pope on in Gluten Free, Health Care, Tea, Travel

A tea lovers guide to the Blue Mountains

Whilst the options for holidays restricted to NSW at the moment it seemed timely to put together an update on tea friendly venues in the Blue Mountains (that also provide gluten free options). It is very disappointing to go to a cafe or restaurant that offers expresso coffee from freshly ground beans and then be offered hot water with a tea bag rather than leaf tea, so here are the best options for the tea lovers!!

One of my favourite spots is the Megalong Valley Tearooms. It’s fairly easy to access from Blackheath and it’s a lovely drive down into the valley. Better still you can do sections of the Six Foot Track to build an appetite or walk off an excess of scones!!

Megalong Valley Tearooms have a wide range of traditional and herbal leaf teas as well as good gluten free options and a veggie hash which is usually served with an egg but without it makes a good vegan meal too. They had expanded the farmers platter to include their homemade soups and the Cauliflower leek and fennel was excellent. The accompanying vintage cheddar pickles and corned beef made for a hearty lunch. My top tea pick is the Billy Tea which includes eucalyptus leaf.

Medlow Bath has two options now. The high tea at the Hydro Majestic is well worth a trip particularly if you order the white tea with rolled pearls which unfold in the glass teapot. Bookings can be made online and they can accommodate gluten and dairy free requests.

Another option is a cafe called Tournament which has a range of options for gluten free and vegetarians. The menu includes an Ethiopian spiced bean stew as well as daily specials like the lentil pie with polenta pictured above. Impressively they also made their own gluten free bread with spiced loaf. My daughter was still in the mood for breakfast and had the poached eggs with sides of roasted potatoes and bacon. Teas included a lovely refreshing berry mix as well as the usual options.

On the other side of the mountains we also found a little gem called The Lithgow Tin Shed . At the top of Lithgow near the train station it offered a full range of teas including chamomile, lemongrass and ginger as well as green and peppermint teas. The menu incorporated a lot of fresh local produce which is also sold in the cafe. The three salads on offer were noodle, root vegetables with goat curd and rocket and pear. The options included adding poached chicken, confit duck or local cured salmon. Both the salads we tried were delicious and the noodle salad with chicken was very filling.

One note for anyone travelling at the moment is that if you really want to eat somewhere make sure you book in advance. Currently with COVID-19 restrictions many cafe’s are limited to the number of people they can accommodate, often at half their pre COVID capacity.

Christine Pope is a naturopath and nutritionist based at Elemental Health St Ives and is looking forward to finding good tea options around NSW in the coming months. Appointments can be made on 02 8084 0081 or online.

Posted by Christine Pope on in Gluten Free, Health Care, Nutrition, Recipes, vegetables

Easter cooking gluten free.

This Easter weekend with so many of us stuck at home it could be a good time to try your hand at cooking a few new things themed around the holiday. For example fish pie for Good Friday which is usually a fasting day in Catholic households which translates as no meat. Saturday could be about some gluten free hot cross buns and Sunday might be time to get out the big guns with some gorgeous sides for the prawns and ham. Monday you will probably be living on leftovers but these easy banana muffins could be a nice addition to breakfast or afternoon tea.

The fish pie recipe is from Taste.com and uses almond milk in place of dairy. The gluten free hot cross bun recipe is from the Healthy Chef. Some healthy sides for Easter could include the following;

Roast vegetables with chili jam

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 2 red and 2 yellow capsicum
  • 4 medium tomatoes
  • 2 large carrots
  • 2 medium zuchini

Slice vegetables thinly and halve tomatoes. Spray with olive oil and bake uncovered in hot oven 20 minutes. (200 C) Turn and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Chilli Jam

  • 1 medium onion chopped finely
  • 2 crushed garlic cloves
  • 4 large tomatoes seeded and chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped basil
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 80ml dry sherry
  • 2 chilis seeded and chopped
  • 3/4 cup raw sugar

Combine ingredients in large pan and bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Serve with roast vegetables.

French beans provencale

  • 500 g green beans
  • olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tsp parsley

Wash beans, top and tail. Steam until tender Meanwhile heat oil in saucepan , stir in garlic and parsley and a pinch of salt. Add beans and toss until well combined.

Warm Cherry Tomato Salad

  • Olive Oil
  • 2 Tablesp Honey
  • 1 Tblesp oregano, tarragon and basil
  • 1 sliced onion
  • 6 shallots
  • 2 punnets cherry tomatoes
  • Vinaigrette – 2 Tblesp Balsamic, 1 Tblesp Olive Oil and 1 tsp mustard.

Heat oil stir in honey and herbs. Add onion and brown stirring constantly.. Lower heat and add tomatoes and stir gently. Serve warm and sprinkle with vinaigrette and chopped basil.

Vinaigrette – combine oil and mustard and beat in balsamic vinegar.

Gluten Free Banana Muffins

  • 1 tsp vanilla essence (add to sugar)
  • 50 g butter
  • 3 mashed bananas
  • 1 1/2 cups gluten free self raising flour or 1 cup gluten free self raising flour plus 1/2 cup of almond meal or coconut flour (coconut gives it a nice moisture)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup choc chips preferably dairy free (or 1/2 cup frozen raspberries)
  • 1/2 cup sugar

Melt butter, mix in sugar and then egg. Add in alternately flour and bananas and stir well. Then add in the choc chips. Spoon mixture into 12 muffin cases or greased muffin tray. Cook 15-20 minutes at 180 Celsius. Muffins should be lightly browned when cooked.

Christine Pope is a naturopath and nutritionist who practices at Elemental Health at St Ives. Her favourite tool for finding new recipes is googling ingredients.