Chinese ‘Yuk Sung’ Minced Mushroom Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1 inch peeled & finely chopped ginger
• 1 tsp honey
• 25ml olive oil
• 25ml Geo Watkins Mushroom Ketchup
• Iceberg Lettuce
• 4 Large mushrooms
• 1 medium sweet potato
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200*c
2. Put whole sweet potato in to bake (this takes approx. 1 hour depending on the size of potato, just stab a knife through the centre to see if it’s soft through then remove when cooked.
3. Finely chop mushrooms/
4. Sauce: In a small pan combine Olive oil, Mushroom Ketchup, Garlic, Ginger & honey (salt & pepper to taste) & bring to the boil over medium heat.
5. Remove from heat and set aside.
6. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and add the mushrooms. Fry until slightly browned, then add 1/2 the sauce. Cook them through on a medium heat. Approx. 8 minutes.
7. Tear some leaves of your iceberg lettuce. You can either make wraps, or more of a stack- see photos below.
8. When your potato is cooked remove from the oven, peel & mash.

Now time to build your wrap! 

Lettuce first, then some sweet potato mash, topped off with deliciously tasty minced mushrooms! Wrap/stack & enjoy!

Tip: Use the leftover sauce for dipping or dressing!

Sauce

 

 

 

Mushrooms in Red Wine & Caramelised Onion Sauce on a bed of Sweet Potato Mash

 

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion (sliced to fine strips)
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Big splash of red wine
• 250g mushrooms chopped in to chunks
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 large sweet potato

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200*c.
2. Place the whole sweet potato on a baking tray and cook for 1-1.5 hours or until soft all the way through (test by sticking a knife through).
3. Whilst your potato is cooking add the oil and butter in to a saucepan over medium heat.
4. When the butter is melted add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes.
5. Add the sugar and sauté for a further 4 minutes.
6. Add the balsamic, red wine, salt & peper & sauté for 2 more minutes.
7. Now add your mushrooms and stir all the ingredients. Cover with a lid and cook for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally.
8. Peel your sweet potato and mash in a deep bowl.
9. Spoon a bed of mash on to a plate, top with your caramelised mushrooms & enjoy!

 

Chocolate Cake

 

I’m a little apprehensive when it comes to making PKU friendly cakes. No eggs, no milk and our LP flour…. How could it possibly taste as good as those we buy in bakery’s and supermarkets??!! This recipe proved me wrong!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups LP flour
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (lowest protein content you can find)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180*c
• Put ALL ingredients in to a large mixing bowl and stir in with a spoon.
• Using an electric hand whisk on medium-high speed mix the ingredients for 2-3 minutes until you establish smooth runny consistency.
• Pour the mixture in to a greased cake tin and bake for 45 minutes.
• Set the cake aside to cool.
• Once cool, ice the cake with your favourite LP frosting. Betty Crockers chocolate fudge frosting is perfect and very low in protein.

Serves 6, each slice contains 1.5 exch.

 

Pineapple Kiwi & Ginger Shake

 

I have recently invested in a Nutribullet. A compact blender which extracts all the goodness and nutrients from from anything you put inside and turns it in to delicious juices or smoothies. Not only is it an easy way of getting your 5 a day and boosting your vitamin intake, but I find that having on of these shakes with breakfast or in between meals keeps my tummy full and gives me more energy.

This super shake is packed with goodness. Here’s some of the reasons the ingredients benefit you!

Pineapple: Lowers blood pressure, improves skin, aids healing, improves fertility, aids digestion.

Kiwi: Protects against asthma & macular degeneration, aids sleep, good for the heart.

Ginger: Helps nausea & sickness, fights common cold, reduces muscle pain and inflammation, helps indigestion & menstrual pain, lowers cholesterol.

Mint: Helps nipple cracks and pain during breast feeding, helps fight common cold, helps indigestion.

Ingredients:

• 2 wheels of fresh pineapple
• 1 kiwi
• 1cm knob of fresh ginger
• 5 mint leaves
• 6 ice cubes

Method:

1. Chop the pineapple and Kiwi in to chunks & put in a blender with the mint and ginger.
2. Add 1/2 cup of water and six ice cubes and blend on high power until liquidised.

Sweet Potato Patties

 

Sweet Potato Patties with Homemade Salsa & Avocado

Ingredients:

• 1 Avocado
• 1 large sweet potato (approx. 450g uncooked)
• 2 small red onions
• 1/2 clove garlic
• Fresh parsley OR Coriander
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 2 cups LP breadcrumbs
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 40ml olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Dried chilli (optional)
• Juice of half a lemon

Patties Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200*c.
2. Place the whole sweet potato on a baking tray and pierce the skin several times with a knife.
3. Bake for 1 hour/1.5 hours. (To test if the potato is cooked, stick a knife all the way through. The knife should ease through smoothly when it’s cooked).
4. Remove the potato from the oven and set aside to cool.
5. Leave the oven on for baking your patties later.

In the meantime prepare your Salsa!

Method:

1. In a blender combine 1 tomato, 1/2 clove of garlic, juice of half a lemon, 40ml olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and an optional dried chilli. Blend until smooth liquid consistency.
2. Chop the other tomato & 1 onion in to small chunks and add a handful of chopped fresh Parsley/ Coriander leaves. Add in enough of your blended mixture to give you the consistency you prefer.

Salsa is ready- back to the Sweet Potato Patties!

Patties Method Continued:

1. Peel your sweet potato removing all the skin.
2. Chop in to chunks and mash in a large mixing bowl.
3. Finely chop the other Onion and add to the mixing bowl and stir in with the sweet potato.
4. Add 1tsp vinegar, salt and pepper to taste & 2 cups of LP breadcrumbs & stir.
5. Shape the mixture in to patties, and fry in hot olive oil for 5 minutes either side to seal the mixture.
6. Place the patties on a greased baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with a dollop of fresh salsa and sliced avocado…..Delicious!

Teriyaki Jackfruit Kebabs

 

I have just discovered ‘Jackfruit’- a fibrous, meaty textured fruit that’s highly adaptable for use in the PKU diet and practically Protein free! It has a firm flesh, and relatively bland taste but absorbs flavours and cooks very well. It’s available in canned form either in syrup or brine, for this recipe I used the Jackfruit in syrup which I soaked in water for a few hours to reduce the sweetness. You can buy Jackfruit at many International grocery shops (Sainsburys), or alternatively online click here.

Ingredients

• 210g Jackfruit in brine/syrup (soak in water before hand if they’re in syrup)
• 130g or 4 medium sized Mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp Teriyaki marinade
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 Small Onion
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• Wooden BBQ Skewers

Method

1. Tear or cut Jackfruit in to chunks/strips
2. Cut mushrooms and onion in to chunks
3. In a shallow container pour 2 tbsp of teriyaki marinade. Add the Jackfruit and toss around until coated
4. Add the Mushrooms and toss those around too until lightly covered
5. Add Salt and Pepper to taste
6. Leave to marinade for 1 hour
7. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees c
8. Cut the onion in to thick strips
9. Share the Onion/Mushrooms/Jackfruit between Skewers (This recipe should make approx. 5 Kebabs) & place on baking tray.
10. Add a table spoon of olive oil to the remaining marinade and drizzle over the kebabs
11. Bake in the oven for approx. 25 minutes or until browned. You can always chuck them on the BBQ if you are lucky enough to have some sunshine 😉

Teriyaki Jackfruit Kebabs served with Homemade Coleslaw and Pita.

Kebabs made & ready to cook

Marinading

‘Meatballs’ with Rice’ & Delicious Tomato Sauce

So, it’s not everyones thing to make a meal that imitates one that isn’t fit for the PKU diet or that contains meat. But for me, I sometimes miss these things so I decided to make a PKU friendly recipe for Meatballs with Rice. This recipe serves two but if you’re the only PKU member around your dinner table you can always put the rest in the fridge or freezer and save it for another day!

The only thing that had to be counted for in this recipe was the Passata. 2 exchanges for the whole lot (1 Exch per serving) But you could always make it 0 Exchanges by making your own Passata!

Ingredients

• Promin Sausage Mix x2 packets
• Promin LP Rice (or similar)
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Medium Onion
• 3 Medium Mushrooms
• 1 Medium Tomato
• 100ml Passata
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Glug of White Wine (optional)

Preparation

1. Follow instructions to make Promin Sausage mix. Once left to stand for 5 minutes divide the mix and shape in to 10 small balls. TIP: rub oil on your hands before shaping. This stops the mix sticking to you! Then set aside.
2. Finely chop the onion & mince the garlic.
3. Heat 2 Tbsp Olive oil in a large sauce pan. Add Onion and Garlic & leave on a low heat to soften for 3 minutes stirring occasionally.
4. Chop the Tomato and Mushrooms in to very small chunks.
5. Add the Tomato & Mushrooms to the pan, add salt and pepper to taste and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
6. Add Passata and a glug of white wine to the pan. Leave to simmer for approx 20 minutes.
7. In a frying pan, heat frying oil and swill around the pan. Add meat balls to the pan and leave to brown slightly on one side before turning them over. When you have sealed the meatballs, toss them around the pan to brown off the edges. Set aside.
8. Cook rice as instructed.
9. After the sauce has simmered, add it to the pan with the meatballs and heat through slowly allowing the flavours to mingle. Approx 3 minutes, then serve!

 

Meatballs in Tomato Sauce on a bed of Rice. YUM 🙂

Lemony Zucchini Bruschetta

These tasty little Bruschetta’s are perfect for a starter, snack or even a canape.

0 Exchanges per serving!

Ingredients:

• 2 Medium sized Zucchini sliced thinly lengthways with a vegetable peeler.
• 1 lemon (as juicy as possible!)
• 2 Mevalia Ciabattine (Or your favourite PKU friendly bread) sliced in half to make 4 pieces
• Olive oil
• Coarse sea salt & Pepper
• 1 clove garlic cut in to 4 large chunks
• 4 shaves of parmesan (Optional- count as exchanges)

Preperation:

1. Preheat your oven to 200’c
2. In a medium sized bowl combine 5 tbsp olive oil, juice from 1 lemon & the chunks of garlic. Add the Zucchini and toss around ensuring it is totally coated in the dressing.
3. Add Salt and Pepper to your tasting.
4. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to marinate for 30 minutes. (this will soften the Zucchini and allow for the flavours to really sink in.)
5. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over each piece of bread and bake in the oven for 6-9 minutes (Or until golden and slightly crisp)
6. Remove the bread from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
7. Remove Zucchini from the bowl with a fork and share them between the four pieces of bread, layering them as you go.

TIP: To moisten the Buschetta, just drizzle on some of the left over dressing from the bowl, and if you’re serving non PKU friends too; just add a shaving of parmesan for extra taste and flavour. Serve and enjoy!

Lushious Lemony Zuchinni Bruschetta!

Cajun Spiced Mushrooms

 

Being off the diet for so many years I developed a love for Cajun Chicken. When I returned to my diet I started to crave the taste so my Nan introduced me to a new idea. Mushrooms being practically protein free are a perfect meat substitute in the PKU diet, and these Cajun mushrooms are so easy to make and super tasty!

So here’s how you do it.

1. Roll your raw mushrooms in flour or FATE mix enough to coat them in a dust.
2. Toss the mushrooms around in a bowl of egg replacer.
3. Then roll the Mushrooms in Cajun spice, again lightly coating them but ensuring they are well covered.
4. Deep fry the mushrooms until they become a darkish brown and slightly crispy (Approx. 5 minutes)
5. Leave to stand for a few minutes, and enjoy!

Great for a starter on their own or serve as a meal with some soured cream and a crispy salad!

Delicious Cajun Spiced Mushrooms