Christmas brings with it the usual festive treats too – Christmas cake, pudding, mince pies, biscuits, crisps etc. So, what happens when you want to join in too, but want to avoid wheat and gluten and avoid that bloated feeling? My best advice is to make them. Although there are some great alternatives on the market, a lot of them are full of sugar and hugely fattening with substitute ingredients. The good news all round is that the traditional recipes can be slightly altered to fit in with your dietary requirements, so we can still have a happy and healthy Christmas.
Most recipes require flour, and there are a wide range of gluten free flours on the market. All of these are suitable. Adding orange juice can enhance flavour if you want to avoid too much alcohol being added. Spirits, wine and cider are all gluten free so can be used instead if you wish. As a general rule, mixed spices are gluten free as long as these are pure with nothing added.
The Coeliac Society of Ireland provide a list of gluten free foods on an annual basis and around Christmas time often have some great festive recipes.
Elana’s Pantry is a gluten free blog that do recipes. Elana has a “healthy” gluten free Christmas cake recipe using almond flour as an alternative to plain flour. She also used mixed fruit and nuts. Have a look on her blog for the recipe and easy instructions. Ingredients she uses are as follows: 1 large orange4 eggs, ¾ cup agave nectar, ½ teaspoon almond extract, 2 cups blanched almond flour, ½ teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 cup dried cranberries, ½ cup dried apricots, chopped ½ cup pistachios, chopped ½ cup walnuts.
Happy baking 🙂
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