Christmas present idea #1 – Allergy free cookbook

This week the shopping bags produced pork mince instead of the beef mince that had been on the list. A catastrophe, a dilemma, what to do with pork mince? I wasn’t quite sure that chilli or Bolognese would work but luckily this brilliant new cook book had just the thing.

Pork meatballs

Ingredients:
All you need is:

1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
500g/1Ib of mince
1 tbs dried mixed herbs
1 tbsp olive oil
450g tinned tomatoes
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp lemon juice

Method

• Mix onion, garlic and herbs into the mince
• Squash into 24 walnut sized balls
• Brown in a frying pan with olive oil
• Add tomato, lemon and paprika
• Simmer for 20 minutes
• Sprinkle with fresh parsley
• Serve with pasta

These meat balls were really easy to make and the key to success is getting really finely chopped onions. Ours were a big chunky but it still worked out really tasty. Since I can’t eat tomatoes I made another batch with ‘Free & Easy’ gravy instead of tomatoes which was very delicious too.

This recipe is dairy free, gluten and wheat free, nut free and possibly tomato free. You could serve this with gluten free spagheti. We had ours with Seeds of Change spinach pasta which is delicious, and since I only have a wheat/gluten intolerance, this pasta is one of my special treats. Very, very yummy.

If you’re looking for ideas for Christmas presents for someone you know who has food allergies, this cook book is excellent. The recipes are simple, easy to follow and don’t take ages to cook. They are every day meals that anyone can follow. We all get stuck in a rut, cooking the same old things, and this is especially hard when your diet it restricted due to allergies.

Give the gift of inspiration to your loved one. There are recipes for starters, main course and puddings, including: Chicken kievs, sweet and sour pork, stew and dumplings, crumble, date squares, fudge and coconut ice, to name just a few. I can’t wait to try out the others; I might share pictures on here, if they work out! These meat balls nearly didn’t make it to the blog; they smelt too amazing and tasted even better.

All recipes are milk, egg, soya, wheat and gluten free and you can buy “I’m Hungry by Tanya Wright” on Amazon as a Kindle book.

Happy allergy free Christmas shopping and safe allergy friendly cooking to you all.