Eating out seems to be a big issue for me at the moment – it must be the weather! So, I have to mention a fantastic meal I had at Milgi (www.milgilounge.com) on City Road last week. Even if you’re not vegetarian or vegan, Milgi is just a cool, eclectic place to hang out and have a drink. It’s so popular as well. Me and a friend went in there late one night, and the only place we could find to sit was in the bath tub in the beer garden (as I said, it’s eclectic).
The kitchen at Milgi is now totally vegetarian, voted for by the customers, and the food is really tasty and very reasonably priced considering the huge portions they give you. Even Milgi couldn’t provide a menu to fit my weird dietary needs, though. However, have no fear, the staff are extremely helpful and offered to make me a vegan breakfast with polenta cake (gluten-free) instead of sour dough toast. Unlike some of the restaurants in the area, they don’t charge you for the switch either. They just want to make sure that everyone can get a meal. Along with the great atmosphere and good food, Milgi also has an impressive drinks list and vegan and gluten-free options amongst the desserts.
Showing posts with label gluten-free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gluten-free. Show all posts
Friday, 3 August 2012
Thursday, 2 August 2012
New Discovery – Kallo Soya Milk
I remember a time, only a few years ago, when there was only two choices of non-dairy milk in supermarkets, sweetened and unsweetened soya milk. Nowadays, ‘free-from’ aisles are big money, and are literally getting bigger. It’s great that we have so much choice now, but one downside is that it takes longer to do your shopping. Instead of just finding the one product you can use, you now have to actually choose from the array on offer. I don’t know how omnivores do it on a daily basis J
I usually buy my soya milk (unsweetened) from the health food shop, but due to supplier issues with Provamel I found myself in front of the non-dairy section at my local Tesco. I was lost. I had no idea which one to choose from the many brands with varying degrees of sweetness and added vitamins that were in front of me. Did I want soya, rice, oat or almond? Then something new caught my eye – Kallo soya milk. As a regular user of Kallo stock cubes, rice cakes and corn cakes, I know they are a reliable and quality brand. So I decided to give their new soya milk a try.
Kallo are the UK arm of Wessanen, a company with a 250 year history of producing natural and organic food throughout Europe. They also produce breadsticks and gluten-free cereals. Other brands under the Wessanen umbrella include Whole Earth, So Good and Rice Dream.
After buying the soya milk, I popped in to the health food shop to pick up some other bits. The sales advisor told me that she’d tried Kallo soya milk and didn’t like it, so when I first opened the carton my expectations weren’t very high. I have to say, though, it’s really nice. It’s a slightly different taste to Provamel, but the consistency is about the same so it’s perfect for adding to hot drinks or making porridge/oatbran etc.
Although I still stick to my Provamel unsweetened soya milk, I’d definitely sub it with the Kallo alternative again.
I usually buy my soya milk (unsweetened) from the health food shop, but due to supplier issues with Provamel I found myself in front of the non-dairy section at my local Tesco. I was lost. I had no idea which one to choose from the many brands with varying degrees of sweetness and added vitamins that were in front of me. Did I want soya, rice, oat or almond? Then something new caught my eye – Kallo soya milk. As a regular user of Kallo stock cubes, rice cakes and corn cakes, I know they are a reliable and quality brand. So I decided to give their new soya milk a try.
Kallo are the UK arm of Wessanen, a company with a 250 year history of producing natural and organic food throughout Europe. They also produce breadsticks and gluten-free cereals. Other brands under the Wessanen umbrella include Whole Earth, So Good and Rice Dream.
After buying the soya milk, I popped in to the health food shop to pick up some other bits. The sales advisor told me that she’d tried Kallo soya milk and didn’t like it, so when I first opened the carton my expectations weren’t very high. I have to say, though, it’s really nice. It’s a slightly different taste to Provamel, but the consistency is about the same so it’s perfect for adding to hot drinks or making porridge/oatbran etc.
Although I still stick to my Provamel unsweetened soya milk, I’d definitely sub it with the Kallo alternative again.
Monday, 23 July 2012
One week down, four to go...
Week one of my allergy-free diet and lifestyle is behind me, and I feel good. I'm not saying that I suddenly leap out of bed at 5am (unfortunately that's what time I have to get up for work) every morning and bounce around all day with a huge grin on my face instead of eczema, but I do feel better. One big difference I have noticed is that I'm much more focused and able to concentrate better. I don't feel as stressed, either. And I'm not really missing any of the things that I've cut out of my diet. I thought I'd be craving bread and chocolate, but it's not really bothering me. I think that's because I'm eating the right stuff so my body doesn't feel the need to crave the bad things, but whatever the reason it seems to be working.
This week my aim is to cut back on caffeine even further than I have done already. From tomorrow I'm replacing my morning filter coffee with decaf, so it'll be interesting to see how I cope without the caffeine fix and if I cave and go and buy a real coffee from the coffee shop in my office.
This week my aim is to cut back on caffeine even further than I have done already. From tomorrow I'm replacing my morning filter coffee with decaf, so it'll be interesting to see how I cope without the caffeine fix and if I cave and go and buy a real coffee from the coffee shop in my office.
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Xantham Gum
One of the discoveries I have made during my cooking and baking experiments is that xanthan gum is a great alternative to eggs. For those of you that can’t eat wheat or gluten, it also comes in handy for making gluten-free bread as it binds the mixture together better. Xanthan gum is used as a food thickening agent and as a stabiliser in things such as cosmetic products. It can be derived from sources such as corn, wheat, dairy, or soy, so you do need to check the label carefully before you buy it. Doves Farm www.dovesfarm.co.uk sell a great vegan, gluten-free xanthan gum that even comes with a recipe for gluten-free bread on the side of the tube.
Xanthan gum comes in the form of a dry powder, and as a general rule I use ¼ tsp for every egg that the recipe calls for. You do have to be quick when working with xanthan gum, as it starts to set as soon as you add it to anything liquid. For this reason, I would recommend adding it at the end of the recipe wherever possible. If you’re using xanthan gum in place of eggs, I also find that adding a splash of soya milk provides the moisture that you lose when using the dry powder.
Xanthan gum comes in the form of a dry powder, and as a general rule I use ¼ tsp for every egg that the recipe calls for. You do have to be quick when working with xanthan gum, as it starts to set as soon as you add it to anything liquid. For this reason, I would recommend adding it at the end of the recipe wherever possible. If you’re using xanthan gum in place of eggs, I also find that adding a splash of soya milk provides the moisture that you lose when using the dry powder.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)