Tara Prana

Mother. Teacher. Foodie. Friend.

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I’ve discovered a new flour!

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Which gluten/grain-free flours do you use in your cooking?

There are so many options available, with new ones emerging all the time. Until now I have mostly dealt with almond/other nut flours, tapioca, arrowroot, coconut, flaxseed meal and besan (chickpea) flour. These flours are all great in their own way but none of them emulate or replace chewy, malleable, spongy wheat flour (c’mon, we all know it!;). Plus, we need to combine them to create baked goodies.

Well guess what? I’ve discovered something.

I have stumbled across a new grainless flour and it replaces wheat 1:1.

Really??

Yes (in most instances).

And another thing: it resembles wheat.

Really?

Yes.

Do you want one more? In most cases you can use conventional-normal-people-wheat-recipes and just sub the wheat for this flour. No special recipes.

Are you kidding me?

Yes.

(Just joking, no I’m not).

 

The story….

I’m Australian, but I follow many US-based paleo and other foodie blogs. I kept hearing about this ‘yuca’ flour that people were talking about. It sounded great, albeit hard-to-find, and I knew I couldn’t source it in Australia. I assumed it was either the same or similar to tapioca and would be a starchy flour like it. I’m all for easy-to-use and affordable ingredients so I didn’t look into it too much.

That was until a few months ago when I heard of a new flour hitting the Australian foodie supply and interwebs. It was called Cassava flour. I did some researching and discovered that this Cassava flour was actually the American ‘Yuca’ flour that I had heard about. Cassava was a familiar root vegetable to me, having lived on a pacific island. I had been under the general impression that Tapioca/Arrowroot/Cassava were all names for the same thing essentially, but I wasn’t exactly clear on that.

The lovely folks who supply this product, Otto’s Cassava flour, sent me some information and product to try.

And the rest is history, baby.

I’ve made cupcakes with it. I’ve made pastry (no photo as it did not look pretty, at all. Pastry skills: fail). What did I make the most with the Cassava flour, though?

Pancakes. Pancakes every weekend. Because I like almond meal or  gluten-free pancakes as much as the next grain-free girl, but oh man, nothing beats REAL wheaten pancakes. Chewy, bendy and stackable. Except for these, as they are just like real wheaten ones but without the tummy ache! Woot-woot.

IMG_6406

I was going to give you some facts on cassava flour. But you can just read them here, from the source.

If you are in Australia you can now purchase Otto’s exclusively through www.pantryinnovations.com.au. Double yay.

 

 

 

 

Australian Gelatin, oi, oi, oi!

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Peptipro jellies

Peptipro jellies

I first discovered the healing benefits of Gelatin a year or so ago and began incorporating it into my regular diet. I googled recipes, experimented with different methods and blogged about it here and here. Most health-focussed sites were recommending the grass-fed, conscious product Great Lakes. I started purchasing this hard-to-get product through Primal Influence (here on the Sunshine Coast) and eventually attended an informative workshop with the lovely Aimee who runs the business with partner Clint.

The problem was, Great Lakes’ is a product of the USA and purchasing it in Australia is quite expensive. After a while I did start noticing it popping up in local health food stores , but it was at the same price or dearer. I then discovered an online store and started purchasing it there as it was cheaper. I felt a little guilty not purchasing it through a local company and ‘going online’, but with the amount I wanted to use the cost was really adding up. I wondered why, with our large cattle industry here in Australia and with so many organic and conscious beef farmers, there was no producer of Australian grass-fed, quality Gelatin.

Well folks, thank God for instagram. Many a discovery has been made on this little app and one sunny morning last month I logged on to discover a sweet little account called Gelatin Australia. ‘Ooh, Gelatin Australia‘, I wondered, ‘Could it be that they sell AUSTRALIAN grass-fed Gelatin?’.

And that’s the end of my ethical dilemma with purchasing Gelatin online and from overseas. I can now buy my:

→ Grass-fed (but grain-finished)

→ Australia-produced and regulated

→ Australian owned

→ A-grade

→ Sustainable

→ Affordable

beef gelatin from an Australian website and it is MUCH cheaper than the alternative brand.

Please note that I am not necessarily claiming Peptipro to be ‘better’ or ‘higher quality’ than Great Lakes. To me, they are both excellent products. My elation simply comes from being able to purchase an Australian product* as that means I can: save on unnecessary shipping, keep our economy going strong and support local producers in this small country of ours. As an Australian however I do automatically feel more confidence in purchasing products that are produced by our own (highly regulated) industry, and had noted recently that Great Lakes’ had removed the ‘grass-fed’ from their labels (this I find quite interesting). * Both brands produce their collagen formula in countries outside their own.

Please also note that www.gelatinaustralia.com.au does stock both of the mentioned brands.

Purchase it here.

 

Chocolate pudding jelliesApple beet jelliesElderflower jellies

Choc pudding jellies

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IMG_6107 IMG_6098 IMG_6102I have been ‘refined sugar free’ for a couple of years now. Well, I was.

It started off as just sneaking some dark chocolate after the kids were in bed. Every night. It was organic, good quality, dark chocolate so it wasn’t that bad. Then it became hubby and I eating a block between us. One night I *may have* demolished one by myself after a particularly stressful day. After a while I realised that I couldn’t really claim to be mostly ‘sugar-free’ when I was inhaling chocolate daily. Plus, I was craving the chocolate, or anything sweet really. I knew I had to go cold turkey on sugar again.

Small problem: I fail at self-control. So I decided to trick my brain and replace the naughty chocolate with a healthier, refined sugar-free version (yes, yes- I know these still contain sugar). I had made these a few times as large pudding squares from a recipe by Aimee of Primal Influence, and so I made up a batch using some recently bought silicon chocolate moulds I got from K-Mart. These guys helped to make my self-trickery even more effective.

These really are very easy, and provide a bit of variety from my recipe for Healthy Jellies that uses fruit juice (recipe here and in my lunchbox eBook, ‘Forget the Sandwich!’). Pop them in the fridge and whenever you have a sweet craving reach for these- and don’t feel guilty.

Choc pudding jellies
 
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Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
A protein-filled healthier chocolate alternative.
Author:
Recipe type: Lunchbox, Sweets
Serves: 30-50
Ingredients
  • 275ml coconut milk
  • 2 Tbs coconut oil
  • 2 Tbs filtered water
  • 1-2Tbs sweetener of choice (honey, maple, coconut syrup, coconut sugar)
  • 3 Tbs cacao or cocoa powder
  • 4 Tbs Great Lakes' Grass Fed Gelatin
  • Macadamia oil for greasing.
Instructions
  1. Lightly grease silicon chocolate or ice cube moulds with macadamia oil.
  2. Place all ingredients except gelatin and honey (if using) into a saucepan and mix well. Do not heat yet.
  3. Evenly sprinkle the gelatin over the surface and leave for 5-10 mins to 'bloom'.
  4. Turn heat onto low and slowly whisk together.
  5. If using honey, add now and continue whisking.
  6. Pour into the greased moulds and transfer to the fridge straight away.
  7. Depending on the size, the 'chocolates' should set in 1-3 hours.
  8. Store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Notes
Tbs = Australian metric Tablespoon which is 20mls.

 

 

 

 

Vegetable Spaghetti

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Vegetable spaghetti

Spaghetti squash instructions

Spaghetti squash instructions

Have you heard of this vegetable before? I vaguely remembered hearing about it, until recently when I found to my delight that they were being stocked in my local fruit and vegetable store.

If you are in the states, and possibly the UK, I am under the assumption that these are commonly available along with other varieties of the squash family. Until recently, here in Australia (and sub-tropical Queensland in particular), they were rarely seen. The only squash we are familiar with are the small yellow button variety and Butternut squash, which we call Butternut pumpkin here. Just to be confusing!

The producers are the Milano Brothers in Victoria who have a facebook page called ‘Vegetable Spaghetti’ with information and recipes about the vegetable. They also list their suppliers around Australia, so you can go ahead and source some in your local area too!

The first time I cooked it without following the instructions listed on their label about boiling the squash, and instead took the advice of the cashier who said he preferred it baked. He instructed me to simply cut it in half lengthways, drizzle with olive oil and bake in a moderate oven for about 45 mins- 1 hr. On this occasion I baked it and added it to a jar of pasta sauce. The texture was perhaps a little too  ‘al dente’, as I had not been sure how long to cook it for. Despite this it was delicious and got the ‘thumbs’ up from my kids.

The second time I cooked it I boiled it as per the instructions in the above picture. This method yields a mushier ‘spaghetti’ and is not my preferred version.

I continued to cook it for many months following the first (bake) method and we all enjoyed it each time. However, I recently stumbled across this youtube clip by Against All Grain’s Danielle Walker- where she shares her own method of preparing the spaghetti squash- and I haven’t looked back! This method was third-time lucky for me.

 

Let me know if you already love Spaghetti Squash, or if you try it for the first time after reading this!

 

Tara x

Before and after.

Before and after scooping out.

In sauce

In sauce