Courgette Fritters

So, as per my previous post we are starting our #FewFood diet imminently. Less than two weeks....  The reason for this delay is that such a big change really needs to be monitored carefully and we are starting immediately my daughter breaks up from school.

Two of her permitted foods are courgette and chickpea. Chickpea is also available in flour form, known as Gram Flour. Gram flour, also known as garbanzo bean flour, or besan, is a pulse flour made from ground chickpeas known in a number of Asian countries as gram. It is a staple ingredient in Indian, Pakistani, Nepali and Bangladeshi cuisines. You can find recipes on the BBC site for gram flour, assuming you are able to use more than a handful of foods!

When mixed with an equal proportion of water, it can be used as an egg replacement in vegan cooking so it works well as a batter. Gram flour contains a high proportion of carbohydrates, no gluten and a higher proportion of protein than other flours.

I was hoping to make my own few food version of vegetable pakoras, which can be found here. Having learned from our Facebook group than fizzy or sparkling water is brilliant for creating a batter I used some with the gram flour, and it did mix up to a nice thick consistency. This time I cut the courgettes into chunks and steamed them for a few minutes to soften. Then I dipped them into the batter and attempted to coat them sufficiently before frying in a little olive oil.

This was the gram flour I used - from Dove's Farm.

The verdict - really tasty if eaten immediately, but the batter became quite tough and leathery when cool. So definitely an option t eat straight away.

In actual fact after discussion wit our dietician  we've swapped the courgettes for carrots, perhaps easier and more filling, but it was a useful experiment!

Facebook Group Recipe Round-up

The members of our Facebook group are soon going to put me out of a job.... we've had some inspirational cooking with very few ingredients showcased on there this week.


Here a just a few of them!





Chicken Pop Corn Kebabs

• Cooked chicken breast, cooked mashed sweet potato, dash of oil and a little water if needed. 
• Bind all ingredients together in a bowl with maize meal (polenta). 
• Season if allowed and then divide into balls and pop on a baking tray, keep checking and turning. (Not an exact science as to when done. Just check and check.)
• Once crispy and firm take out. I bought cake pop sticks and put 3 on each (like a kebab). 
• Eat hot and cold.

Gingerbread Reindeer

Using a slightly different recipe to mine - (from the Glutafin site) one member made her own gingerbread reindeer. It's really simple, you can read more here.

I love the glass cherries for the red noses!

Lollies - Coming Soon!!!

Last but not least, I take my hat off to the person who made lollies on sticks from sugar alone, and wrapped them to look like store bought lollies! A real treat. For children who can only eat homemade food, sometimes making something look less homemade is a treat. My Mum used to make most off my clothes when I was younger, and clothes with labels in generated a great deal of excitement!

Keep checking back/subscribe for more info on how to make these simple treats.

Travelling with Allergies!

Travelling with children is tough enough, but travelling with children with any other health issue is definitely into the next league. We have a collection of complex issues and haven't travelled abroad once in ten years because it is just too anxiety provoking. The last time was when my twins were two, one drinking elemental formula and one 100% tube fed. This actually made it a million times easier than sourcing free from foods abroad, or having to take ingredients and find somewhere to cook when you get there.

Don't get me wrong, travelling with any medically complex child earns you the right to feel smug about what is no small feat when you return home, triumphant yet in need of a proper holiday to recover.... but travelling without knowing if you can actually FEED your child precipitates a nasty churning feeling in your stomach which has thus far put me off trying.

That's fine if you have summers like 2008 or 2010 with long weeks of summer sun and you can do THIS in the UK...

But sometimes our temperamental climate just doesn't cut it. We are desperate to travel next year so I ask some of my lovely Facebook Group friends to offer some advice.

Eosinophilic Awareness Week 18th-24th May 2014

18th-24th May 2014 is Eosinophilic Awareness Week. Read about EGID here.

Gastro research is drastically UNDER FUNDED. It is not "glamorous" and rarely on the radar for celebrities and focus groups, and rarely attracts public interest unlike cardiac care and cancer research. Gastro conditions are badly neglected in the UK when it comes to research funding allocation but without research treatment and outcomes are not likely to improve much.

Approximately 1% of the total amount of medical research funding available in the UK can be accessed for Gastro research. There are currently no listed projects specifically for Eosinophilic Disorders on the National Research database. GOSH are running a Gastro Research Project that will include related conditions/problems.

Alarmingly, children with allergic gut conditions are reaching epidemic proportions according to GOSH as our Consultant there explains in this video (celebrating 100 years of Great Ormond Street Hospital, screened on Daybreak in Spring 2012) At 6min 17sec in he speaks about the significant problem this is becoming.

No one knows why the UK has the highest incidence for Allergy. I went to Westminster to attend the All Party Group for Allergy in October 2013 and heard how in the 19th Century, a study into Hay Fever took two decades as it was so rare and there were insufficient people to include in the study. Today it is incredibly common. The UK tops the league table in the incidence of allergy in its population, with Australia second - which is interesting as their population obviously share a similar root. Allergic gut conditions are becoming common and hugely problematic for NHS paediatric services and Eosinophilic Disease is a specific subset of this group.

FABED is the main UK charity supporting families with members (adult and children) who suffer from eosinophilic disease.

FABED are UK partners supporting the United States Eosinophilic Awareness Week. This is coordinated by APFED. Two years they made this video to promote awareness.

Read more about Eosinophilic Diseases here.

During Eosinophilic Awareness Week, do something to raise awareness. Tell someone about EGID and the appalling lack of funding for gastrointestinal disorders in the UK.