Friday 17 July 2015

Free From Fridays Linky

This week I am co-hosting #Freefromfridays, a regular linky on www.freefromfarmhouse.co.uk featuring free from recipes from across the web.

Free From Farmhouse


Linkys are an excellent way for Bloggers to join together and make a bigger impact, and for readers to easily access more information and ideas beyond the single page they are reading. For me, it's a fantastic way to discover what everyone else is doing in the #freefrom world, and an excellent way to gain new ideas.

For example, I have never used Teff flour in my cooking. Last week Nicola at A Free From Life added her link of the week, for Chocolate Teff Shortbread.  As a result I have researched Teff flour and will be using it in baking myself!



What is Teff?

Teff is a tiny grain with BIG health benefits. The history of Teff can be traced back thousands of years, to ancient Abyssinia, and is mostly grown in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is naturally gluten free, has a nutty favour and is extremely nutritious. Teff has more calcium and iron than any other grain, and is also a good source of Vitamin C. It's made up of 20-40% "resistant starch" too, excellent for blood sugar regulation and colon health. We will definitely be giving it a try!

I was also attracted to the "Almond and Pea Protein Pastry" from last week, as I am constantly trying to pack as much protein in for my daughter, who because of food allergies and chewing difficulties is often low on protein in her diet.




So if you Blog about food, and have some #freefrom recipes to share, please join in!

How to join in #Freefromfridays:-

1. Write a new blog post including the Free From Fridays badge or add it an existing recipe (Just copy the code below the image and paste it on your page)

2. Add your post to the linky form by using the ‘Add your link’ button

3.  Leave a comment below and visit at least 2 other recipes to comment on

4. Tweet your link to @freefromfarm using hashtag #freefromfridays so I can spread the word! 

Please tweet me at @Twinsplustwo and Emma @freefromfarm using hashtag #freefromfridays so we can share your recipes across social media.


Free From Farmhouse





  • It would be useful if you can label the main allergens your dishes are free from in the linky title to help others search suitable recipes:-

    DF: Dairy Free 
    EF: Egg Free 
    GF: Gluten Free 
    SyF: Soya Free 
    SF: Sesame Free 
    NF: Nut free 
    PF: Peanut free 



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    Sunday 12 July 2015

    Marmite or Chocolate? Picnic Pinwheels



    With another summer picnic on the horizon I trawled back through my recipes and found my recipe for Marmite Pinwheels. I decided to make two batches, one with safe chocolate spread and one with marmite! Can you guess which is which?




    Bizarrely, my little chocoholic preferred the marmite ones, my lover-of-all-things-savoury preferred the chocolate ones. They guessed pretty quickly too!

    These are best warm/fresh from the oven.

    Is Marmite Gluten Free?  

    Previously, Marmite was previously deemed to have only very low gluten levels and therefore be acceptable on a Coeliac diet - read here.

    Recent changes to the European Codex have ruled that foods labelled "Gluten Free" much contain less than 20ppm. Marmite falls slightly outside this limit.
    "Results have met the criteria for the old international Codex standard for “gluten free” (below 200ppm) and the recently introduced EU regulatory limit for “very low gluten” (less than 100ppm), but not the recently introduced EU regulatory limit for “gluten-free” (less than 20ppm)."
    So it's usually ok, and certainly my daughter tolerates it but including it needs to be an informed decision in discussion with your child's health professional.

    Friday 10 July 2015

    Funky Giraffe Bibs - a Product Review & Giveaway!

    I was invited to review a selection of five bibs, and selected one personalised, one XL and three other regular bandana bibs. These were sent free of charge and I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own.

    Having struggled with infant reflux with all four of my children, I have always seen bibs as something of a necessity (something to buy in bulk!) rather than a luxury. Changing clothes constantly was exhausting, but could be reduced if copious absorbent bibs were to hand. My children were always sporting a bib, which I detested as usually they hid their clothes.


    In the past I've seen pretty bibs, but they rarely do the job if your child is refluxing all day. So when the Funky Giraffe company contacted me, asking if I would review their bibs, I had a read.... and responded with a very enthusiastic YES PLEASE!

    About Funky Giraffe

    Funky Giraffe was started by Yasmin during her maternity leave from the fashion company she worked for. Having a child shifted her priorities somewhat, and along with her brother (who runs the manufacturing side) they have launched Funky Giraffe to offer quality items at affordable prices. The bandana bibs came first, but have been followed by a range of hats, romper suits, burp clothes and other baby clothes.

    The current range includes :-

    Bandana bibs from £1.98
    Personalised Bandana bibs from £4
    XL bandana bibs from £3
    Burp cloths from £4
    Hats from £4
    Playsuits/rompers from £7

    Incredibly, post and packing is free, the full range of prices can be found on their website http://funkygiraffebibs.co.uk

    Funky Giraffe has sites across the world, so you can benefit from easy ordering wherever you are.

    For Australia visit http://funkygiraffe.com.au 
    For France visit http://funkygiraffe.fr
    For Spain visit http://funkygiraffe.es
    For Italy visit http://funkygiraffe.it
    For the USA visit https://groovigee.com/index.php
    For Germany visit http://funkygiraffe.de

    Review

    I was invited to review a selection of five bibs, and selected one personalised, on XL and three other regular bandana bibs. These were sent free of charge and I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own.



    About the bibs

    From Funky Giraffe -
    "We only use high quality cotton fabrics for our bibs and baby clothes. The bibs have a fleece backing, as after much experimentation we found this best at keeping baby's chest dry. They are shaped to fit around the neck without causing discomfort and have two sets of nickel free poppers. They are designed to last from birth to an age where they should normally not need them, the idea you only need to buy them once. " NB For older children there is an XL size if required.

    My thoughts

    Since my own children are long past infancy I have not been able to test these properly. However I can honestly say I am quite impressed. They are fairly thick and would definitely prevent immediate leakage through to the baby's chest - and even their clothes, and seem well made.  This is a significant improvement on most bibs on the market. I did feel however that the personalised bib was thinner than the others sent to me, and not such good quality. I think I would be a bit disappointed if this were the one I had paid more for.

    The neckline was soft, not tight but sufficiently close to the neck I felt to prevent dribble or milk disappearing down the back. The colours were lovely, strong and the personalised one didn't fade when I washed it. The second set of poppers is an excellent idea, providing they don't become stained or marked these bibs would definitely grow with your baby.

    What I particularly liked about the product was the versatility. Because they are inexpensive you can buy several to mix and match with your baby' clothes, so it looks like they are part of the overall outfit rather than a necessity to cover them up. I would have really valued them for my children when all I could find were baby blue or pink thin cotton bibs which were quickly soaked and obviously not chosen to team up with their clothes.

    STOP PRESS!! Originally I offered the three bandana bibs in the photo below in my giveaway, but the wonderful people at Funky Giraffe are now offering TEN as a prize!

    (These ten will be chosen by the company, but if anyone prefers the three in the photo below I will honour that. It's either 10 random ones or the three pictured below.)


    CONGRATULATIONS TO "MR RICH TEA BISCUIT" - THE WINNER OF THIS GIVEAWAY


    3 Funky Giraffe Bandana Bibs
    SuperLucky Blog Giveaway Linky

    Thursday 9 July 2015

    Quick, protein rich lasagne

    Dairy free, gluten free, wheat free, soya free, could be egg free

    Struggling for a quick and easy idea for tea, and inspired by a not dissimilar suggestion from our Facebook group, I made this.



    Basically I mixed a can of Amy's Spanish Rice and Red Bean soup with some quinoa, a tin of chopped tomatoes and a little free from couscous. (optional)


    Bring to the boil with enough water for the couscous and leave to cool. This is your "red lasagne sauce".  Now I was in a hurry so I didn't make a white sauce, just layered with free from pasta, finishing with a layer of breadcrumbs for a crispy topping. Then bake. It freezes really well, and the leftover sauce is great with rice, on a jacket potato or with pasta!


    Only eight more weeks of rushing around like a loon until term starts, this is set to be a favourite speedy supper here!

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