Gluten and Dairy Free Banana Pancakes (Low FODMAP and Low Syn)

If there is one foodie event that we all love it has to be pancake day. What is there not to love? It is the one day that you can have as many pancakes that you want without feeling guilty! But with me following the Slimming World eating plan and the hubby having so much success with the FODMAP eating plan we really do not want to undo the hard work. This got me thinking as to how I can adapt the classic pancake into one that is not just healthier but also one that is going to keep everybody's tummies happy.

When I saw that this week Aldi had included bananas in their fantastic Super6 offer I got stocked up. Everyone loves bananas here so I knew that if I used them as the base for this years pancakes they would go down well and priced at just 69p I can buy plenty as once you have tried these pancakes you will need to make more!

This is what I did...

Low Syn/Gluten Free Broccoli Pizza Base

I love pizza but on Slimming World it is a no go if you want to keep those syns down! As I am not one to be beaten I got researching and found a recipe for a cauliflower base on the Slimming World website. I had a go and it was nice, but there was something missing. I found it had to handle and when I tried to turn it over it did break. But this did not put me off, I planned to try again. However when I checked if cauliflower was high or low FODMAP I discovered that it was high. As the hubby is following a low FODMAP eating plan I had to think again. I started to think about what other vegetables could work and broccoli kept coming back to mind. It has a similar texture to cauliflower so thought I'd give it a go.

It was a huge success! Forget cauliflower pizza bases, broccoli is the one the choose if you want a vegetable pizza base. It was so much easier to handle and finished with an irresistible crispy edge, it was so good! I did make a cauliflower one too, for me, and did end up eating the broccoli one with the hubby. As it was such a hit here I thought that it would be a great recipe to share with you.

This is what I did...

Smoked Fish Tagine - 101 Cook Books

One of my favourite Christmas presents had to this gorgeous, traditional tagine.

I have wanted to invest in a tagine for a while now and my lovely eldest son picked up on this and asked the hubby to buy me one for him to give to me as my Christmas present. This gift means a lot for two reasons, the first is that it is something that I have really wanted but secondly, J took the time to listen and realise this was something that I wanted and found this one for me himself. My first born is certainly growing up at a scarily rapid rate! As this is a traditional tagine a heat diffuser is needed to prevent cracking, so once I had one I could not wait to get cooking! 

You may also see in the title I have a new theme. This is the first, what I hope to become a weekly feature, 101 Cook Books posts. Like a lot of foodies I have a huge collection of cook books. I have had a count of the books that are in my kitchen, office and living room bookshelf and have actually accumulated about 101 cook books! Before I counted them I had no idea how many I had and yes, I was amazed by the number. My 101 Cook Books posts are my way of sharing the books that I love but I am also wanting the posts to encourage me to use my books more often. Each week I am going to use one of my cook books to make a meal and I am going to blog about it. My posts will feature the recipe, tell you what, if anything, I changed and tell you a little bit about the book. Over time I hope to tell you about all of my cook books and who inspires my everyday cooking.

Today's recipe is based on a deliciously slimming recipe that I found in Slimming World Free Food Feasts. Since I started to follow the Slimming World eating plan this has to be one of my favourite go to cook books. It contains 60 fantastic "free" recipes. If you do not know how Slimming World works, "free" foods are foods that can be eaten freely, no calorie counting, no weighing and no limit except from your appetite! My Smoked Fish Tagine has been based on the Slimming World Squash, Swede and Chickpea Tagine recipe. The majority of the recipe has been followed, I have not used the garlic as the recipe states as they are high in FODMAP's but have added carrots, red pepper and smoked fish.

This is what I did...

Naked Coleslaw - Low FODMAP and Syn Free

For the next few weeks we are following the FODMAP eating plan.

For years the hubby has suffered from digestive discomfort and one day while he was looking on the internet he discovered the FODMAP plan. FODMAP stands for Fermantable Oligo-saccharides Di-saccharides Mono-saccharides and Polyols, otherwise known as FODMAP's. FODMAP's are carbohydrates that can be hard to digest and cause digestive discomfort and eliminating foods which contain these carbohydrates can ease symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, gases and bowel problems. They are found in various fruits, vegetables, dairy and many other foods. After doing my own research and visiting various different websites I now have a list of FODMAP foods. The list is divided into two sections, high 'red' FODMAP foods, which I need to avoid in the hubby's meals and low 'green' FODMAP foods which he can eat.

This has meant that my meal plans need to be planned more carefully. Now when I write my weekly meal plan I am carefully looking at the ingredients that are needed for each individual meal and adapting them accordingly.

When I was planning this weeks meals I found a recipe in the Slimming World magazine that I knew everyone would love, but it was served with a homemade coleslaw which contained many high FODMAP ingredients. This got me thinking how I could make a coleslaw type salad that is both syn free for me and, of course, low FODMAP for the hubby. What I created was a huge success and is now a firm favourite.

This is what I did...

Weekly Meal Plan - Week 1 2017

Hello, happy new year and welcome to another year of meal planning. Towards the end of last year I was tempted to stop meal planning. But having not planned last week I have realised why I do plan. Last week I dreaded the question "What's for tea?" but when I meal plan I am ready for it and can relax knowing that I have a plan in place.

I have tried to food optimise as much as I could over the Christmas period. I was so disappointed when I went to get weighed at my Slimming World group the Friday before Christmas as I had put on 4lbs. I think that my reduced steps and activity as the children were at home and I was sat working really did have a devastating effect of my weight loss plus the Christmas treats and alcoholic drinks certainly did not do me any favours! This however did give me a bit of a kick up the backside and during the Christmas week I did allow myself treats but did not go mad and drank a lot less that I usually do at Christmas. When it came to stepping on the scales last Friday I was delighted to see that I had managed to maintain my weight. Now that the festivities are over I am back on plan and raring to go!

Another change in our diets is for the hubby. After suffering from digestive problems and doing a lot of research we are going to be trying to follow the FODMAP diet. FODMAP's are a collection of poorly absorbed both simple and complex sugars. They are found in various fruits, vegetables dairy and other foods. Eating foods with a high amount of FODMAP can be hard to digest and can cause pain. So I have a list of low FODMAP foods and am going to be sticking to those for, initially, the month to see if it makes a difference. So watch this space!

Now on to this weeks meal plan. I am looking forward to getting back into a routine. Our meals have been so unorganised and we have had many a late meal which is not great. The hubby and J are back at work and school tomorrow and the twins return of Wednesday so then it will be back to normality.

This is what we will be enjoying this week...