Q
I’d like to bake with my young
newly diagnosed coeliac
daughter. Can you recommend
something safe?
A The great thing about young children in the
kitchen is they’re often eager to help out. Of
course, this leads to its own problems such
as preventing them from burning themselves
on the oven and handling sharp knives. There
aren’t many recipes where small children can
do everything (and you probably wouldn’t wish
to leave them alone in the kitchen regardless),
so the best things to make are ones wherethey can be in charge of a particular part of
the process.
If you look at my jaffa cake recipe you’ll see
there’s quite a bit they can do themselves. This
includes breaking up the jelly pieces, pouring
the jelly into its mould, cutting out the orange
jelly discs, pouring melted chocolate over the
cakes and so on. Good luck and enjoy! AWQ
I was ‘glutened’ the other day, but
I’m positive I’ve not eaten gluten.
What could have happened?
A If you really didn’t come into contact with
any gluten (such as cross-contamination,
the wrong food being given to you in a
restaurant or misreading the ingredients on
a food packet), then it may be you’ve handled
gluten through non-edibles. If you have small
children it’s worth checking items you all play
with to ensure they don’t contain gluten (like
play-doh and certain types of glue). Look at
bathroom products that contain wheatgerm
oil or oats. If you’re using a hand moisturiser
and then eating finger food (e.g a sandwich),the product might transfer. If you’re still
suffering after thoroughly checking everything,
it’s worth going back to your doctor to check
you’re not reacting to something else (like
lactose). AWQ
What did I do to get
coeliac disease?
A Don’t assume it’s your fault as
there’s no evidence to suggest this. Firstly,
coeliac disease is hereditary and therefore may
be in your genes. There’s a 10% chance one
of your parents passed it on to you. However,
there’s also the possibility an external factor is
to blame. It’s believed certain experiences can
trigger coeliac disease, including childbirth,
a stressful event, an accident (e.g a bone
fracture) and so on. More research is needed,
though, so until more information is available
it’s probably best not to think about why you’re
coeliac. Your energies would be better placed
getting on with things that make you feel a
lot more cheerful (like making some yummy
gluten-free treats in the kitchen!). AWOUR EXPERTS
ALI WALSH
Ali Walsh has been a coeliac for 20 years. She
started her award-winning business The Local
Bakehouse to provide delicious gluten-free cakes
and cake decorating courses. A regular on BBC
radio, Ali also writes a blog giving factual advice,
recipes and videos to make life a little bit easier.
Find out more at http://www.thelocalbakehouse.comLISA ROUKIN
Chef, teacher and writer Lisa, author of My
Relationship with Food has as her main focus
the desire to develop gluten- and wheat-free
recipes. She runs her own business teaching
private cookery lessons and demonstrations,
based around her healthy way of eating. She has
cooked live on BBC Radio, and was a finalist
on Gordon Ramsay’s The F Word. She is also a
blogger for the Huffington Post and provides
gluten-free recipes to Ocado.
http://www.myrelationshipwithfood.com