Sharabelle bakes

Linda McCartney's Vegetarian Beef Roast with red wine & shallot glaze I wasn't looking forward to Christmas this year since it was the first one since dad had died. As someone with Mental health problems the festive season is not my favourite.  From my own personal experience it brings out the worst not the best in people.   So this year I decided to hibernate with a stack of books and some good food, my own idea of personal bliss.  The books turned out to be a great plan since the festive TV was so abysmal.  The food however had mixed reviews.   I started with my normal breakfast a lovely bowl of Scottish porridge, topped with fruit, yogurt, mixed seeds and a drizzle of honey.  As a nod to my favourite Childhood Christmas memories I then had a little chocolate. For lunch I planned to cook Vegetarian Beef Roast severed along with baby potatoes and Brussels sprouts.  I had really been looking forward to it, so was ...

Christmas time is one of the hardest times of year for me, for  a lot of reasons.  Christmas reminds is of the people are who are no longer here.  This will be the first one without my dad.   It's a difficult time of year for those of us with mental health problems. My  depression and anxiety get worse, I find busy shops and streets hard to deal with.  My food intolerances increase my anxiety as well.  I dread the idea of eating out or being invited to someones house. Not everyone knows how to cater for those individuals with food intolerances.  I often wonder how many people feel they can't or just avoid inviting them at all.  There are so many foods that are naturally gluten and dairy free.   Free from foods are now more economical and readily available in our local supermarkets.  I've done some research and found ideas to share.  Hopefully making it easier for everyone this festive season.   ...

Tis the season to be jolly Buying Christmas presents for people with food allergies or intolerances, can be hard.  Free From foods can be more expensive than regular varieties, so they are  perfect gift idea. My mum always makes sure I have my favourite Dairy free Caramels filled Chocolates in my Christmas stocking.    This Christmas there seems to be  a greater variety of free from food products available in our  supermarkets.    There are gingerbread stars and christmas tree's to bake with the rest of the family.  Selection boxes to put in their stockings.  Mince pies and christmas cake to suite everyones taste.   There are also plenty savoury ingredients to make your Christmas dinner meal perfect.  There are gluten and dairy free pastries, so you can bake your own pies or tarts.  Along with Gluten free crackers and dairy free Cheese.   Down below is a small selection of m...

FLAKED PUDDING RICE Tesco's own brand £0.80 I discovered flaked rice a few years ago, up and till then I'd never heard of it.  It can also be called Flattened Rice.  It was a new product, so I had to try it out for myself.  The great thing about Flaked Rice is that it cooks a lot quicker than ordinary rice.  You can make it on the stove top in 8 Min's, or you can cook for longer in the oven. Wiki - Flattened Rice Speed is a great selling point, another is that it is accidentally Gluten and Dairy Free. It is also really easy to cook.  Making it one of my go to comfort foods.  After writing my Rice dessert recipes blog post, I have been craving coconut rice pudding.  So bought a tin of coconut milk, and made some today.   All you really need to make rice pudding is - rice, dairy free milk, sugar.  I used my coconut rice milk to cook it, then folded in some of my Alpro Coconut Yogurt as well once it had cooled down. Th...

I used to love making all my own food from scratch, however since being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia I can't do this anymore.  The major problem is my hands.  Every so often the muscles twitch in my legs and hands, and I really do not want to be holding a knife when that happens. So Iv been browsing the Supermarket aisles for my favourite foods. I've learnt the hard way when you have a food intolerance that It's best to always check the ingredients.  Much to my dismay foods that should not contain dairy seem to have it added.   Authentic Mexican Guacamole does not contain cream.  However more than one supermarket is guilty of this mistake.   Guacamole Asda Guacamole Contains Double cream Tesco Guacamole Contains Single Cream Morrisons Mexican style Guacamole Contains Double Cream Check out this site to make your own -  Classic Mexican Guacamole Recipe Hellmanns Classic Coleslaw recipe ...

What do you eat? Just back from Tesco and found a great offer for those of us that can only eat gluten and dairy free bread.  Tesco has  Udi's Products on offer for £1.00, till the 13th July.  It's a better than half price offer with most Gluten free breads retailing from £2:00 - £3:00 for a loaf.  So it's a good time to stock up and save some money.  Check out more Tesco special offers  on Gluten free products xxx