Seriously Good Gluten-Free cooking with Phil Vickery

Time for another review I think. Having tried a few more cookbooks out recently I want to mention this one in particular because it is different from many ‘ free from’ books in that the writer can and does eat whatever he likes.

The book is hardcover, nicely put together and was made in association with Coeliac UK, so a good start before I even open it.

        Right from the first page, even before the contents page, there is useful advice on products like Xanthan gum (brilliant for gluten free baking, or so I’m told here.) I am a bit confused by this information being so close to the front, rather than later in the book, but it is good to know anyway I guess.

        The book is divided into sections and includes breakfasts, party foods and, my favourite, the all important comfort foods. I know that for me the biggest loss when I couldn’t eat flour any more was all the meals I grew up with that mum would make when it was cold or I needed something filling and homely.  When I saw the section in the book I got giggly and childish with glee.

         There is also a vegetarian section which is poignant as I am toying with the idea of becoming vegetarian right now and am concerned I will starve to death.

        What amazes me about this book is that Phil Vickery is not a sufferer of Coeliac disease. He was just a normal chef interested in getting his Christmas puddings sold at the local fayre. He kept being asked if they were gluten free, which they were, and decided to get them labelled as such. Through subsequent contact with Coeliac UK he decided to write a gluten free cook book from a chef’s point of view and not that of sufferers. Considering how much research and time has been involved in this project I am very impressed that he made the effort.

        The book starts with some information on Coeliac disease, how it affects you, what can and cannot be eaten and some guidance on diagnosis. Very helpful if you suspect you have the disease but also for informing family members who want to cook for you.

        In the first the section entitled, ‘Breakfasts, Smoothies and Drinks,’ there are only a few breakfast options. His choices are very ‘chefy’ and not the sort of thing anyone would make very often. I don’t really ever consider ‘Crab and Mushroom Kedgeree’ for breakfast and his recipe takes 25 minutes to cook anyway so knowing me it would probably be lunch time before I served it up. The ‘Flat Mushrooms with Basil Pancakes’ takes a whopping 40 minutes to prepare and cook, which I would never ever do at breakfast time. Both would be better relegated to another section of the book.

        Vickery does however have some wonderful ideas for quick meals. My favourite is the ‘Stir-fried rice with avocado and horseradish.’ Ready in only 15 minutes, it is one of the faster options but also its simplicity is welcomed after a long day at work.

        A lot of his dishes are dairy laden (including the veggie options) which for me is a no-go and makes this book quite difficult. In some dishes such as the ‘Popcorn chicken with spicy dipping sauce’ the condensed milk or dairy cream can be substituted using soya cream but other meals contain three or four types of dairy and would be no good using substitutions.

        The selection of salad and dips is huge, which is perfect for this three day heat wave we are having (if you get cooking now). Having given it a try I will most definitely be making his ‘Chorizo, red onion and butterbean salad’ again. It is very simple, wholesome and quite strongly flavoured.

        Sadly our concept of ‘Comfort Food’ seems to differ. I think ‘chicken and leek pie’, or ‘spotted dick’, Vickery thinks ‘Lentil, Lime and Coriander Soup’ and ‘Sweet Kansas Style Barbecue Pork Shoulder.’ We agree on ‘Pot Roast Chicken with Sweet Baby Onions,’ but I could make that gluten free very easily and was hoping for redesigned English favourites. 

        One thing I can say for this book is that Phil Vickery is most definitely a chef and not a health guru. He adds sugar to all his drinks and many of his dressings, butter features quite heavily and although there is nothing wrong with that, it is something to consider.

        The dessert section mixes decadent ‘Fudgy Almond Cake’ with ‘Plain Scones’ much to my relief. I wanted a good gluten free scone recipe and now I have one! I would personally avoid the ‘Tangy Lime Mousse with Mint Muddle’ though, it sounds truly vile!

Easy Does It

Budget Airlines have never been places associated with haute cuisine, let alone allergy friendly foodstuffs. I was told that things had changed as of late and went to investigate. Could EasyJet be catering for me?

      The answer you will be unsurprised to hear is ‘no, not really’. They are trying a tiny bit though and that has to be discussed.

      Onboard you get the usual stained, sticky menu full of overpriced fat laden alternatives to a good meal only this time when you turn to the end a section opens out to reveal a slightly better alternative!

      This alternative is called the ‘Feel Good: Scrumptious and Yummy box’. The faux rustic picture displays the  selection of goods on a pine table complete with plate, neither of which are delivered with the box much to my disappointment. The box itself contains vegetable spread, which looks like baby food but tastes a bit better. It has the bonus of being vegan, dairy free and gluten free. It comes with spelt crackers. SPELT CRACKERS? I hear you cry. Yes spelt crackers! Don’t get too excited though because they have added cheese to the dough, rendering the good idea useless for lactose intolerants everywhere!...They also offer baked Oat crisps which once again made me very happy only to be cheese flavoured, destroying the moment.  It’s like a bad joke. EasyJet man says ‘Look we can cater for you now...’ before turning on me and laughing manically ‘No we can’t, we want to watch you eat vegetable spread with only your hands as accompaniment.’

      There is a small bag of dried cranberries and raisins which are pretending to be healthy but upon close inspection are sugar coated. So close and yet so far. They are at least allergy free and therefore safe but are not winning any prizes.

      The pictured bar of Green & Blacks dark chocolate is nothing to prepare you for the miniscule bar that awaits you. It is like they have shrunk it to ensure that if you can eat chocolate you won’t be able to find the damn thing because of its proportions and then EasyJet man can laugh at your disappointment again. It is not going well until...

      I find the one saving grace of the worst £4 I ever spent... A Chocolate Orange nakd bar. I am eternally grateful and too hungry to savour even a crumb.

Professional Opinion: Paula Haywood

In her role as a Nutritionist, Paula Haywood joins us to discuss the problems associated with food intolerances and sensitivities:

1.  What is the most common allergy provoking food?

Cow’s milk products are the most common foods people react to. Cow’s milk is in most cheeses, cream, yoghurt and butter.  It can be hidden in many foods and sometimes called “casein” which is milk protein.  It is casein that people can react to not milk sugar, which is lactose.  It doesn’t necessarily mean you react to goat’s milk or sheep’s milk, however some people do.  Some people react to yeast containing foods including wheat.

2.   Can you explain what is meant by food allergy, food intolerance and food sensitivity?

Some people have an allergy to a food and this reaction involves the immune system. Severe food allergies to shellfish or peanuts for example, can cause immediate gastrointestinal upsets or swelling in the face or throat.  However food intolerance refers to a reaction that does not involve the immune system and is caused by the way the body processes the food or food additive. Food sensitivity refers to the fact that a person reacts adversely to a food or component of a food, when it’s not entirely clear whether the reaction is due to an allergy or intolerance.

3.   What is the most common problem encountered by your clients?

Frequently clients see me for advice concerning food intolerances, weight management, digestive health issues (eg. constipation, irritable bowel syndrome), low energy, skin problems, female health issues such as pre-conceptual nutrition advice or unexplained infertility.

4.   What advice would you give to someone who suspects they may have a food intolerance?

Keep a food diary recording daily all foods and drinks taken.  Avoid any suspect foods for fourteen days before introducing them individually, noting your symptoms. Discuss your symptoms with a professional, I do not recommend people simply avoid food groups without having advice because nutritional imbalances will result.  It is also possible to follow a diet for three months that excludes suspect foods, which are replaced with healthy alternatives.  The suspect foods may then be reintroduced once the digestive system has had time to desensitise and heal.  The use of diagnostic tests and supplements may be helpful.  Unless someone has a genuine good allergy, it does not mean that foods have to be avoided indefinitely in all cases.

5.   Any products you particularly endorse?

I sometimes recommend diagnostic tests to assist clients with food allergy testing if it would be helpful for the client.  I may also use supplementation in the short term which depending on the client, may include digestive enzymes, probiotics and other gastrointestinal support products.  What I always discuss with the clients is how and when they eat.  It’s important to make time to eat meals in a calm state of mind and to chew food thoroughly before swallowing.  When stressed our digestion is impaired and this results in poor digestion and unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms we all want to avoid.  Poor digestion over time, can contribute to undigested food molecules triggering food intolerance reactions.  So we should take eating more seriously than we do.

6.   What is the worst case you have seen?

That would be a client who had been travelling in India for one month who on returning developed increased appetite, weight-loss and exhaustion. This client came to see me with irritable bowel symptoms and fatigue.  She was suffering from a variety of parasitic infections, identified via a diagnostic stool test.  It can take some time to recover digestive health following parasitic infections and so I recommend to all my clients, that when they travel abroad, that they take appropriate supplementation to protect themselves.

7.     Favourite literature on the subject?

Hidden Food Allergies by Patrick Holford and Dr James Braly.

8.     How did you come to work in Nutrition?

I became interested in diet and nutrition through my own health issues and read many books on the subject before studying Nutrition formally. I found that when I ate a diet tailored to my own specific requirements, I improved how I looked and felt dramatically.

9.     Do you have any intolerance yourself?

I don’t digest foods containing fats very well including cheese, like many people. I take supplements to boost my body’s ability to breakdown and digest fats efficiently. 

10.  How can I ensure I get the nutrients I need when avoiding one or more food group? Lactose? Gluten? Wheat?

I generally recommend to my clients living in London that they take a multi-nutrient to includes vitamins and minerals essential for health.  This is because much of our food today has travelled some distance and been in storage resulting in loss of nutrients. Modern farming methods also mean that our soil is not as rich as it would ideally be. Living in a polluted city such as London also means we have a higher requirement for anti-oxidants.  I only recommend supplement products that are high quality that I am familiar with myself. There are some decent gluten free foods around and some quite unappealing ones.  A lactose/milk-free diet can include coconut milk, soya products, rice milk and nut/seed milks.  Wheat-free diets can include grains/cereals/flours and starches made from other grains including quinoa, rye, rice, oats, buckwheat, barley and amaranth.  It’s important to read labels as many foods contain wheat, gluten and dairy. 

I would recommend to anyone with food intolerances to seek advice to ensure that they are following a tailored individual diet, that covers any shortfalls from foods which are being avoided for a period of time.

11.  Any best kept treatment secrets for people with intolerances?

I am not a practitioner who enjoys telling people what they cannot eat and so I put the emphasis on what foods people can eat.  Food should be pleasurable for people and it may be that for particular reasons a situation has arisen where a food group has become problematic at a specific time.  This can follow a period of stress.  I like to work with that individual to determine whether with the right digestive support, the food in question may be reintroduced after a healing period of time.  Clearly if the person has a Type 1 allergy inducing an immediate immune response this is out of the question.  But in other cases, this is my preferred method.  Most people benefit from increasing the variety of foods in the diet as intolerances can arise from eating the same foods over a period of years.  Notably, in cases where clients clearly have what tends to be referred to as disordered eating or emotional eating issues, it’s important that they address these.  I can work with clients to develop healthy attitudes to eating however if I feel a client needs specialist help in this respect, I refer them on. 

Paula Haywood

DipION MBANT CNHC

Email: paulaehaywood@hotmail.com