Gluten’s got a grimy name just now. I’ve previously outlined my thoughts on going gluten-free (who should, why it’s not a “fad” etc). It’s worth a read if you’re a little unsure about the whole debate. If you’ve already made the move, or have contemplated it, then you might learn a lot from this rundown of the tricky things that might stump you in your tracks along the way.

image via food delights

Steph Osfield is a great freelance writer who used to write for me at Cosmopolitan eons ago and she sung out recently to say she’d had all kinds of dramas going GF and offered to share her thoughts. She and her family went GF due to broad-based health issues, not due to celiacs per se.  I very much appreciate what she outlines here. It’s clear, concise and has helped me with my own dance around the pesky little protein:

I was prepared to become a Lego Grand Master and tadpole wrangler when I became a mother, but I didn’t count on becoming a medical expert too. My gorgeous kids (son 12 and twin girls aged 10), have been sick so often over their young lives that our doctor says they are working their way through the medical dictionary. Whole terms often pass with only a week where they are all at school.

Our household ailments read like a medical dictionary; anaphylaxis to peanut, vulvadynia (stinging, sore vulva), multiple food sensitivities, a virus called molloscum contagiosum (four years and counting) and the last two years – nocturnal epilepsy and a sleep issue called periodic limb movement disorder. But in their younger years it was the eczema, glue ear and diagnosis of asthma that led me to take the quantum diet leap to a gluten free diet. Out went the rye bread and porridge and wholemeal pasta and in came the big surprise – we didn’t then live happily every after. Several weeks into eating gluten-free, health issues like their eczema got worse. So I become a foodie super sleuth and here’s what I learned about going gluten-free:

1. It’s not just gluten…

Corn, corn, corn – when you’re swearing off gluten, corn-based options like polenta and tacos shells and corn tortillas are usually on high rotation. Bear in mind that people sensitive to gluten are often sensitive to corn as well. If you do have this issue then increasing your corn intake may ramp up your health symptoms, which will then counter any benefits you might be getting from eating gluten free. This was the case with my kids.

Tip: Make up your own mix of flours for baking with tapioca, brown rice and buckwheat flour to avoid corn.

Here’s some other foods. You may also have a problem with:

Paleo is the new Atkins. I don’t actually think this. But it’s what everyone likes to say. It certainly is a way of eating that’s attracting a lot of attention…and with it some terribly hysterical mis-information.

infographic mages via greatist.com

Wondering what the hell I’m talking about? How about I give a bit of a Paleo 101 rundown…with some pointers to how I’ve chosen to interpret this way of living. Because, as hopefully you know, I’m not into doing “diets” or being strict and draconian with my eating, or doing what I’m told I should do (this extends well beyond food, I’m afraid) or getting caught up in a fad.

I like to eat my way… and gently. And so: the below is not a guide to how I think YOU should eat. I’m simply sharing my experiences experimenting, which perhaps might prompt you to experiment, too.

To be honest, I’ve resisted writing too much about it previously, although a lot of you who quit sugar are asking whether you “should also be quitting carbs”. (Should, should, should.)

I’ve resisted in part because I’ve been wary of boarding too many bandwagons and becoming a dreary bore who tells other people what to do. And in part because I’ve wanted to distance myself from the Paleo bores. And there are many. And they are vocal!

But mostly I’ve resisted because I like to try things fully before I buy it and share it (although I’ve written about it briefly here and shared recipes here.).

I’ve now tried out the caper fully – for about five months. So, time to share:

The elevator pitch answer: what is the Paleo diet?

Also called the cave man diet, it’s about eating in a similar way to the way our ancestors – up until the agricultural revolution about 7-10,000 years ago – used to eat.

This equates to: meat, saturated fats (from animals, avocados, nuts etc), non-starchy vegetables, nuts, eggs and a little low-sugar fruit.

It means not eating: anything that arrived on the scene since farming and processing began (grains, sugars, vegetable oils, Dunkin’ Donuts).

But Paleo peeps vary their take on the details (see below). To this end it’s an approach, not a diet (there’s no manifesto or original author who cashes in on the idea).

Why would you do such a thing?

Because we evolved to eat this way – and metabolise this way – over millions of years. Grains and other “processed foods” require radically different metabolic and digestive processes. Our bodies simply haven’t adjusted to these different processes (evolution is a damn slow process) and so we struggle with these “new” foods  at every mouthful. Our genes are 99 per cent the same as they were 10,000 years ago.

We haven’t changed genetically; our diets sure have. Ditto our waistlines and health…

After my post about why the paleo diet works, and then my coconut flour post, one of the biggest requests I’ve had is: what can I eat for breakfast if I’m grain-free, sugar-free? You ask, I oblige…here’s a glorious host  of options for you to try from bloggers and tweeters and from my own archives. Hope it helps.

PS My personal favourites are the turnip bake and the “corn cakes”…clever!

PPS For my previous paleo breakfast ideas (nut balls, egg + spinach in a cup etc)  go here and here and here.

berry crumble-top muffins, recipe below

blueberry crumble top muffins

From Maria at RestCo: This recipe uses both coconut and almond flour. It is best to make these a day ahead and let the flavors meld overnight. Baked goods made with coconut flour taste best completely cooled.

In a food processor or kitchen mixer process the following wet ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup birch sugar (or sweetener of choice)
• 2t vanilla extract

• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4t salt
• 1/4t baking soda
• 1/2T cinnamon
• a few grates of nutmeg

Perhaps you’ve finished off at work? Perhaps you’ve done the shlepp back “home” to the parents and are a little bored? (Raining much in your neck?) Perhaps you’re dreading the mince pie/pudding/platters of lollies and Jatz onslaught and want to contribute a few edibles of your own…These might provided some inspiration. Jo and I have compiled a few All-Timers:

image via Scandi Foodie

pumpkin chia muffins

Oh, it’s just snacks, snacks and more snacks…whip up a batch of these for those “anyone want another Iced Vo Vo” moments. The full recipe is here.

A few months back I connected with Lee Holmes who told me she was writing a cookbook. She asked if I’d “endorse it”. For some niggly, gut-based reason I had a very sound feeling about what she was doing…Lee has an autoimmune disease and has healed herself through diet. She sent me some recipes from her book…and I thought, This Is The Book We All Need.

Cut to today. Supercharged Food – 90 recipes that don’t contain gluten, wheat, sugar, yeast or dairy – is out now. It’s rare that I’d want to cook every recipe in a book (I’ve already played with several, including lavender tea with almond milk!!), so choosing a few to share with you here was an indecisive’s conundrum. But I thought it might be nice to share two that are perfectly geared for toting on the annual schlepp to the stodge-fest that is family Christmas…so you don’t have to be tempted by bloody mince pies.

butternut cookies

• 150g coconut flour
• 1/4 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons stevia powder, plus extra to dust
• a pinch of sea salt
• 200g cashew butter
• 4 organic eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 1/2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons coconut milk (try Lee’s homemade version, recipe in her book)

Preheat the oven to 175 C and grease a baking tray.

In a bowl, mix together the coconut flour, baking powder, stevia and salt.

I’m a big fan of Sally Fallon and her “bible” Nourishing Traditions (in fact it’s my all-time favourite manual…I VERY much recommend it). She’s an adherent to the Weston A Price way of living, which is similar to Paleo living, which is similar to how I eat (I’ve personally found it the best approach for my auto-immune issues).

photo via The Alkaline Sisters

Anyway, in a recent edition of WAP’s Wise Traditions Magazine (by Jen Allbritton), they ran a rundown on the best tricks for eating breakfast based on Sally’s principles. So I’ve shared a few below. I recently shared a post on how to eat breakfast without sugar and grains…this kinda builds on it. I know a stack of you were interested in reading more. Yeah?

5 Weston A Price breakfast tricks:

• fats and protein should be the featured nutrients, as they are critical for brain chemistry balance (these include egg, meat, fish, full fat dairy including yoghurt, kefir, nuts and seeds, coconut oil, butter, avocados).
• fruit, veggies, tubers and whole grains make a wonderful side note.
• make at least a portion of breakfast food easily digestible through soaking grains, or sour leavening, culturing dairy, fermenting fruits and vegetables.
• don’t rush. Relax through your morning meal.
• plan ahead.

Some breakfast favourites from fellow WAP foodies:

Sally Fallon: bake no-nitrate bacon in a pan with fruit (such as apple slices, apricot, peaches or nectarines, or with cherry tomatoes and mushrooms). Serve with eggs of any style – scrambled, fried. Enjoyed with a glass of raw milk. Breakfast tonic favourites include swedish bitters, beet kvass, cod liver oil, high vitamin butter oil mixed with warm water.