Gluten Free Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lemon Drizzle Cake has been one of my family’s favourite cakes for years now. It is loved so much that my daughters have even asked me a few times to make it for their birthday instead of any other creamy or chocolate birthday cakes.

The recipe for the very much loved cake comes from a magazine from many years ago and it has been perfect until I thought of making it healthier and gluten free. I was a bit anxious about the result of replacing the regular flour with a mixture of gluten free flours. Simply, when you have a recipe with ingredients that work perfectly you worry that changing anything may destroy the final outcome. In case of Lemon Drizzle Cake I was afraid that using gluten free flour mixture could make this cake dry. I thought about it so much that I actually dreamt the solution: ground almonds! They give moisture to the cake so it is equally delicious as the regular version but can also be enjoyed by people who can’t tolerate gluten.

INGREDIENTS (for 16 portions):

Cake:

120ml sunflower oil,

60g corn flour,

40g rice flour,

60g ground almonds,

2.5tsp baking powder,

170g sugar,

2 eggs,

6 tbsp milk,

grated rind of 1 lemon.

Icing:

100g sugar,

4 tbsp lemon juice.

METHOD:

1. Preheat an oven to 180 Celsius degrees (160 for fan oven).
2. Line with baking paper a 20cm x 26cm cake tin.
3. Put all the cake ingredients to a food processor and process for 2-3 minutes. You could also use an electric mixer to beat the batter.
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared tin, put to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
5. Prepare the icing by mixing the sugar and lemon juice together.
6. Spread the icing evenly on the baked but still hot cake, let it cool down.

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Roasted Asparagus with New Potatoes and Poached Egg [vegetarian]

May is a wonderful month for many reasons: the weather is in general much better than earlier in the year, grass is finally lush green and so are trees, and even better - they are not only green but also colorful as many of them bloom beautifully. But there is another reason I like May so much: asparagus.

Since it was pictured on an Egyptian frieze from around 3000 BC, we know that asparagus have already been cultivated for thousands of years. It has been appreciated  for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine for its positive influence on digestion. But as much as I realize its health benefits, I particularly value its taste especially since I can enjoy it here only for a very short time.

If you wander how to cook asparagus, try this recipe. The majority of it is very simple, the most difficult part is probably the preparation of poached eggs but I hope that with the detailed steps I included, it will not be so tricky after all. Poached egg looks really good with this dish, the runny egg yolk acts here as wonderful sauce but if you omit the egg you could also use this dish as a side for roast meat or fish.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 portions):

1 kg new potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 2 cm slices,

2 tbsp olive oil,

500g green asparagus, ends snipped,

200g cherry tomatoes,

4 eggs,

salt and pepper,

1 tsp vinegar.

METHOD:

1. Preheat an oven to 220 Celsius degrees (200 degrees for fan oven).
2. Put the pat-dried potato slices to a big oven-proof dish, sprinkle with 1 tbsp olive oil and some salt and mix well to coat all the slices.
3. Put to the hot oven for 25 minutes.
4. Take the dish out from the oven, move the potatoes around to make sure they are not stuck to the bottom of the dish, arrange the asparagus and tomatoes on top.
5. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp of oil, salt and pepper, put back to the oven for 15 minutes.
6. Prepare the poached eggs:

• in a small pot boil some water (approx. 7-10 cm depth) with vinegar,
• break an egg into a small bowl,
• when the water is boiling decrease the heat so it doesn’t boil rapidly (there are no big bubbles) and stir it a few times with a spoon to create a whirlpool,
• gently slide the egg into the water and boil for 3 minutes,
• take it out with a slotted spoon and place on plate lined with kitchen paper,
• if you like you may cut away whisky edges of the egg white.
• repeat with the other eggs. If you prefer, you may use two pots to speed the process of the preparation of poached eggs.

   7.  Serve one poached egg on top of arranged vegetables.

This is another reason why I love May :)

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Can Detox be a Solution to How to Lose Weight Fast? (Part 3)

Week 2

The first week of my detoxification diet is now behind me. To be honest, I haven’t really noticed any results of it so I decide to check my weight and I am nicely surprised - I have lost 3kg! Realizing it helps me carry on although I do feel a bit bored by having very similar food every day. That is why in the second week I have a more liberal approach to my detox.

I follow the directions regarding breakfasts and having soups twice per day. But when I cook them I sometimes add either organic vegetable stock cube or a bit of salt. And when I have my proteins for dinner, I occasionally have it with salad rather than cooked vegetables. I also every now and then swap fruit mousse for fresh fruit and have walnuts or hazelnuts instead of almonds.

I carry on drinking lots of liquids but not only green tea, I often choose herbal or fruit tea or even just water with lemon juice. And if I cannot run and do endurance exercises every day, then at least I go for 30-minute walks.

The good thing is that I don’t feel sleepy in the afternoons any more though I cannot say I am full of energy as promised in the article.

Conclusion:

Being on this detox diet for 2 weeks was difficult at times. The biggest problem for me was that food in general didn’t taste that great due to lack or only a tiny amount of added salt. Although the taste of my meals suffered because of it, I am happy I did it as I know I had to cut down on salt. I have read it takes only a few weeks for taste buds to adjust so I hope the detox put me on a straight route to achieving my goal.

Another issue – having very similar meals. In theory I could have different soups twice per day every day but in reality to save time I made more of one type so it lasted me 2-3 days. If I was to be on this detox again, I think I would still cook bigger portions but I would just have one on a day and freeze the rest to have it at a later point.

Combining cooking for my family and myself was something I also had to deal with as – however much I love cooking -  I really didn’t want to spend whole days making so many different dishes with different ingredients. I solved that problem by cooking similar meals for all of us e.g. I would cook soup in two different pots so I could add the forbidden ingredients to the one pot meant for my family.

And what about the benefits? The main goal of any detox is to eliminate toxins from one’s body. Honestly I have no idea whether I have achieved it but I am sure that eating very healthy food for 2 weeks must have had positive impact on my body. And there are two benefits I was able to notice: I lost in total 4.5kg and my cellulite is almost invisible!

Would I follow this detox diet plan again? Probably yes, but I am not sure if for the whole 2 weeks. I think one week of this cleansing diet can be a great start to improving your lifestyle and eating habits. Or it can be “a purgatory” after eating feasts when you want to get back on the right track and possibly pretty safely lose some extra weight!

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The First Week of My Detox - will I stick to the rules and survive? (Part 2)

Day 1

I feel great about starting this detox diet. After breakfast – I choose the avocado option – I make my own almond paste as I want it to be as healthy as possible and without any unnecessary additions. So I process 200g of almonds for approx. 10 minutes till I get a thick but amalgamated paste. I also cook my 2 soups. I don’t add any salt to either of them and I think this is now for me the biggest problem: I unfortunately like salt and probably have been adding too much of it. However I am hoping that after this 2-week detox my taste buds will adjust to less salt and although I cannot see myself not using salt at all, I hope I will be able to decrease the amount I add to my meals.

Though the soups don’t taste that great, I cook double portions to make sure I don’t have to cook 2 different soups every day. For the same reason I also prepare a big portion of apple mousse. It is simply made of peeled apples cooked with a bit of water and cinnamon. The mousse tastes really good and sweet even though I don’t add any sugar.

Apart from the soup, my dinner consists of a portion of steamed salmon (with a squeeze of lemon juice and pepper) and cooked broccoli.

For the daily activity, I do 30 min. of muscle strengthening exercises and 50 min. of running.

Overall after the first day of my cleansing diet I feel pretty good, only a bit tired (it is normal). I know I will have a problem with food not tasting its usual way, so I will have to lower my expectations from one hand but from the other – I think about making it tastier while still following the rules of this regime.

Day 2

Drinking warm water with lemon juice just after I wake up is not new to me – I have been doing it since my cousin advised me several years ago. The only difference is that I have had it with a slice of lemon and now it is with half a lemon. It is sour but not so sour that it is unpleasant to drink.

Except for breakfast when I have a slice of bread with almond butter (good but a bit of honey would make it great J), I have the same meals as yesterday and I do feel tomorrow I definitely will need a change.

From an early afternoon I start feeling really tired and sleepy so I promise myself to go to bed earlier not to have the same problem tomorrow. However I don’t use it as an excuse and I do the same amount of exercises as yesterday.

Day 3

I desperately need a change in taste so I cook a sour gherkin soup for myself and it is yummy (even though still no salt in it!). I think having a distinct flavour like the sour gherkin balances out the lack of saltiness.

Another change from yesterday – dinner. I prepare chicken breast for myself by marinating it in garlic and hot paprika and then roasting it in a foil without any fat. I have it with a salad made of lamb’s lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers with lemon juice and a few drops of olive oil. Although I should have cooked vegetables for dinner, I am positive raw ones are not going to do any harm to me ;-).

Day 4

I have read each detox exhausts organism maybe that is why I have to sleep longer then usually. Last night I went to bed early, slept almost 9 hours and feel I would still do with a bit more.

I definitely will have to make the sour gherkin soup again, I really enjoy having it for lunch with a portion of brown rice. But still - the apple mousse for snack is my favourite meal of the day!

Day 5

Since I still cook for my family, today I take a shortcut and cook mushroom soup for all of us. I cheat a bit and add some salt and organic vegetable stock to it. The soup tastes great!

Today I also skip fruit mousse and have an apple instead. I unfortunately also skip exercising – I didn’t do it in the morning and in the evening I am simply too tired. However I did a lot of cleaning so maybe that will count ;-)

Day 6

Today and tomorrow is going to be very difficult to me. We have a guest staying over so obviously I will prepare tasty food. Will I be able to resist and stick to my detox diet? The only solutions is to adjust it a bit and instead of my diet lunch, I have 2 types of salads: tomato & roast pepper and beetroot, grape & pomegranate. They taste divine.

When in the evening we go to cinema I am fine with not having anything to eat while we watch a movie as anyway I never really enjoy fast food.

Day 7

I am really proud of myself today: after a long walk (just like yesterday that is my exercise for today) we end up in one of my favourite coffee and cake places but what do I (bravely) order? – Mushroom soup and water with lemon! I enjoy them (really) watching the guys drinking latte and having 2 (!) amazing cakes each. Resisting these cakes is a real achievement.

At dinner time I have plenty of vegetables and the same chicken as everybody else but without the sauce. So now I can proudly announce that I have quite successfully completed the first week of my detox diet!

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Lemony Soup with Kale

I am still a novice as far as kale is concerned. I have started to use it fairly recently after I heard how healthy it was, and my brief research has confirmed it. Kale has many health promoting properties but I would like to focus on only one, very important to me right now: support in the body’s detoxification process.

Plant food contain lots of different chemicals called phytonutrients that help protect these plants from various threats like bugs, fungi, etc. but they are also supposed to be beneficial to human health. Kale is a great source of one group of phytonutrients called glucosinolates that - after the vegetable is eaten and then digested - transform in our body into isothiocyanates (ITCs). Majority of toxins that may be harmful to us must be eliminated from our body by our cells through a two-step process and it is ITCs that positively influence both of these steps. Knowing how exposed we are nowadays to toxins coming from either the environment, or food we eat, makes kale an even more important component of a healthy eating plan and health promoting diet.

But it is also tasty although not in an obvious way like let’s say a tomato that you can enjoy without any additions. In kale’s case I think you need a distinct flavour added like e.g. lemon in the below recipe.

INGREDIENTS (for 4-6 portions):

2+1 tbsp rapeseed oil,

1 onion, roughly chopped,

500g cauliflower, cut into florets,

500g broccoli, cut into florets,

1.5l vegetable stock,

3+1 tbsp lemon juice,

1 garlic cloves, thinly sliced,

100g kale torn into bite-size pieces (without stems),

salt and pepper,

smoked salmon to serve (optionally).

METHOD:

1. In a big pot warm up 2 tbsp rapeseed oil, add the onion and fry for 1-2 minutes on a medium heat.
2. Add the cauliflower and broccoli and fry for another 2 minutes.
3. Pour the stock, bring to boil and cook for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
4. Add the lemon juice, check the seasoning and liquidise in 2-3 batches.
5. On a big frying pan warm up 1 tbsp of rapeseed oil, stir in the garlic and kale, fry for approx. 3 minutes, season with salt, pepper and 1 tbsp lemon juice.
6. Serve the soup in bowls with kale, optionally garnished with strips of smoked salmon.

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Detox - what are the benefits and what should you eat? (Part I)

Spring has always meant for me spring cleaning at my home and this year, I decided to extend it also to my body and go on a detox diet. Detoxification in general means having high quality (preferably  organic) unprocessed food, drinking lots of water or green tea and complete elimination of bad food for a certain period of time to allow your body to get rid of those toxins.

I have read articles about cleansing diets and opinions on their effectiveness vary. Some sources promise you will feel better and lighter after toxins are removed from your body, others claim there is no scientific proof detox diets really work. So I decided to check it out myself. I think eating only healthy food and banning solid fats and added sugar for some time will certainly do no harm to me and maybe there will be positive results after all.

Through my research I have found a few different options: short detoxes lasting only 2-3 days, very strict ones or detoxes that require spending long hours in the kitchen since they give very precise directions as to what and when to eat. I decided at the end to implement a gentle detoxification that I found in an old Elle Magazine article. I liked it because it gave overall guidelines and it was not too detailed like some other ones that make you weigh each and every ingredient.

For clarity and simplicity I divided the products/recommendations into 3 groups:

Banned products:

• sugar and sweets,
• acidifying products that intensify production of free radicals: dairy products, simple carbohydrates (e.g. white bread, rice and pasta), saturated and trans fats (butter, fatty meat, sausages, processed food), alcohol, coffee, ready-prepared meals, fried food.

To be kept under control:

• animal proteins as they should be limited to 150g per day,
• salt.

Recommended:

• Ecological, high quality food,
• Alternative sources of calcium: almonds, whole grain wheat, green leafy vegetables,
• Products with favorable alkaline: green vegetables, sprouts, seasonal fruit, brown rice, rice milk, quinoa, eggs.
• Olive oil – source of unsaturated fats.
• Drinking lots of water and green tea,
• Daily physical activity – at least 30 minutes of walking or running.

And here is the suggested detox diet plan for 2 weeks:

Just after waking up:

• 1 glass of warm water with juice from 1 lemon,

Breakfast:

• Green tea with ginger and lemon,
• 1 slice of spelt bread with almond butter OR 1 mushed avocado with sprouts,

Lunch:

• 1 bowl of cream soup made only with vegetables,
• 1 portion of brown rice or quinoa with vegetables cooked al dente,

Snack:

• 1 portion of fruit mousse,
• a few almonds,

Dinner:

• 1 portion of vegetable soup,
• choice of 1 portion of proteins: fatty fish e.g. salmon (3 times per week), poultry (twice per week), 2 eggs (once per week), goat’s cheese or mozzarella (once per week),
• cooked vegetables.

So with all the research sorted and shopping done, I am ready to start my detox!

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