So you’re probably thinking, why on earth has she decided to make chilli Jam! You would be correct in thinking that, I know its a slightly obscure thing to make but trust me on this, once you’ve made it once you’ll keep making it. In all fairness, the quantities mean that you get quite a hefty amount of the stuff, so you might want to halve the ingredients if this is your first attempt and you’re not sure on whether you’ll like it or not. Saying that, once made this will last for 3 months in the fridge or the cupboard!

Now, you’re probably thinking that this all sounds great but when would I use it? Well to tell you the truth this can be used for just about anything…I’m talking the base of a stir fry sauce, something to dip your chicken nuggets or halloumi fries in, a salad dressing even! I dipped my ham and cheese toastie in it today and boy was that an experience!

The thing that makes this chilli jam different to your average shop bought Sweet Chilli Sauce, is 1) This is free from onion and garlic. 2) It uses lots of red peppers which make it really sweet and Moorish. 3) This is a little thicker, and packs way more punch without blowing your head off. You can definitely still use it as a sauce because its like a thick paste rather than a lump of jam.

The one down side is that it takes a little while to cook, and you need to watch it at certain points. It’s like a foetus, it needs a lot of attention while its cooking but as soon as its ready its a joy! Slightly graphic image there, I do apologise! One of the most high maintenance things about this jam, and others is that when its simmering you have to skim off any scum that comes to the surface. This happens a lot at first and then dies down. You’ll end up with a bowl of chilli scum which tastes great but wont set and would make your jam frothy if you left it in! Its easy to skim the jam, just use a table spoon and gently glide it over the surface, taking the scum away from the bubbling jam.

Once its had a good simmer, you have to cook it ferociously for around 15 minutes. Health warning, DO NOT TOUCH THE JAM AT THIS POINT. It might look super yummy and you might want a cheeky taste but at this point the jam is super hot and you will burn your tongue. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. When the jam is bubbling you want it to look like lava. For it to bubble properly, you need a really large pan. In hindsight I probably didn’t use a big enough pan and so I couldn’t let it boil too much because it would’ve boiled all over my cooker! So a big pan, no touching and skimming the scum are my three top tips when making this jam!

So, as usual the recipe card can be found below! I really want to know what your using this chilli jam to go with, I weirdly think it might be nice on a gooey dark chocolate brownie but I need to pluck up the courage to give it a try, maybe chilli jam and chocolate brownie is a step too far! What do you think?

Happy Jamming!!

My IBS and Me x

One of my favourite flavours is lemon. Just thing about all the great lemony treats in the world, lemon meringue pie, lemon drizzle, lemon sorbet, lemon shortbread, lemon and poppy seed muffins…need I continue? One of the problems with all these lemon filled treats however is that they’re filled with dairy and gluten and for us Low Fodmappers that really sucks. However, making your own lemon curd is a step in the right direction, spoon it onto a gluten and dairy free sponge, use it for the filling of your lemon meringue pies or if you’re after the easiest lemon fix, just spread some of the curd onto some toasted gluten free bread. DELICIOUS!

You may think that making a lemon curd would be really difficult and massively complicated but there isn’t much to it, in fact you can make it in three easy steps! You don’t need fancy equipment either, just a pan, a bowl (Not a plastic one because it will melt) and a jar to put the yummy goodness into at the end. See, I told you this was easy.

Ingredients wise you only need 4 ingredients…Lemons, eggs, sugar and dairy free butter. I use the VioLife Olive Butter Dairy Free Spread. I’m sure other dairy free spreads would work, including the other Violife spreads. I haven’t trialled them myself, so let me know how they work out!

As always, the recipe card is below! I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do! Let me know how you’re using your lemon curd!

My IBS and ME x

Lemon Drizzle is a family favourite in my house. However I thought it was about time, this old classic got a Low Fodmap revamp. I’m talking hits of limoncello, Fresh Lemon Curd and a sweet buttercream! Delicious, but don’t just take my word for it.

The cake itself is a basic dairy and gluten free cake. The trick to good low fodmap sponge is an extra egg to conventional recipes. I use 5 eggs, 250g butter, sugar and flour. Now this is a lemon cake so make sure you add plenty of lemon zest. The buttercream is made using icing sugar, lemon curd, limoncello and dairy free butter. I’m not a great lover of measuring out icing sugar because its messy and some people have a sweeter tooth than others. Therefore, its all about judgement. Add the wet ingredients and then keep adding the icing sugar until your happy with the sweetness and the consistency.

Now, this was my first time making completely low fodmap sponge, but I have previously made gluten free sponges that were flat, crumbly and just not right. Some people overcome this with xantham gum, however I found that just adding the extra egg which helps to bind all the ingredients together way more effective! The family were so shocked when I told them it was gluten and dairy free! They were very impressed and it meant we could all enjoy something that wasn’t going to make me ill, or that everyone else thought tasted like cardboard. Does anyone else’s family hate the way free from food tastes and always joke that eating paper is more appealing? I’m just relieved that for once they actually thought something low fodmap and sweet was yummy! My family really are harsh critics!

As you can see the sponges don’t look too different to wheat and dairy filled sponges. Please ignore the lines in the middle photo, the oven racks made slight indents on the cakes! So once you’ve got two sponge cakes, and you’ve made the buttercream using the lemon curd and limoncello you get to do the best bit. This is the drizzle element of most lemon drizzles, but in this cake its all about the booze. Use a tablespoon to gently spoon the limoncello over the cake, don’t overdo it! three table spoons per cake is plenty, too much and it’ll blow everyone’s heads off! Once you’ve got the limoncello nicely and evenly absorbed into the sponge place a layer of buttercream on one cake and then top with the other sponge. Then place another layer of buttercream on the top before putting a few blobs of lemon curd on top. Use a cocktail stick to gently swirl the curd into the buttercream to create a pretty swirl effect. Then all that’s left to do is cut a slice and tuck in!

I’ve attached the full recipe card below! Let me know how it tastes and what your friends and family think!

Happy Baking,

My IBS and Me x

Stuck on breakfast ideas? Bored of brunch? Low on Low fodmap snacks? Three problems and one solution. The humble frittata. A Spanish blend of eggs, potato and whatever veggies you fancy. Delicious.

Not only is it yummy, but frittatas are naturally low in fodmaps and they’re quick, easy and cheap to make. I recon you could easily make a frittata that will last you 4 breakfasts for around £2 maximum. Let’s face it there is nothing fancy about egg and potato mixed with leftover veg. But when it tastes this good, you don’t have to use fancy ingredients.

So tips for the method; firstly cube the potato! I know this isn’t traditional, you often find Spanish frittatas contain sliced potatoes but for ease of cooking I’d definitely go for cubes!

I know I’ve called this a red pepper and spinach frittata but you can use any veg you want, add in some chorizo or pancetta if you fancy increasing the protein. On the nutrition front, it’s worthwhile pointing out that this meal is a great way to get veg into your diet. This recipe uses 3/5 a day and if you’re having that for breakfast you’re only 2 more portions away from the daily goal of 5 portions of fruit or veg. The other bonus of this dish, it’s filling and eggs are a good source of protein. This means it’s a great brekkie choice, and it’ll keep you going till lunchtime!

You can eat this frittata breakfast, noon or night and that’s why it’s so fab. Pair it with a salad and you’ve got yourself a meal for the family! You can even it cold as a nice snack when you’re on the go!

So onwards with the recipe! I’ve added another recipe card, hope you enjoy this one as much as I do!

Happy Cooking!

MyIBSandMe x

This recipe always makes me smile. Making fishcakes brings back so many fond memories from when I was younger. Me and my mum would spend some time together making these, creating mess and also something tasty and full of goodness.

I use a mixture of cod and smoked haddock in these fishcakes but you can mix and match the fish as you like. Prawns and cod, crab, salmon and chilli! Literally go to town on the combos! The ingredients themselves are fairly basic, as is the process which is why I was making these with my mum from such a young age. So if you’re a novice cook, or you want to try and get your kids engaged in cooking! This is a great start.

So let’s start with a few tips to make these fishcakes extra yummy! Sometimes fishcakes can be mushy and that doesn’t really appeal to me. The best way to prevent this is to roughly mash the potatoes without any milk, cream or butter. This helps to prevent sloppy fishcakes and I think finding small pieces is quite nice and adds to the overall taste/texture.

The other key thing to remember is don’t make the fish too small. I cut the fish into cubes before poaching and then, once drained I spoon them into the potato and gently fold. The fish will naturally flake but it won’t completely disintegrate. This helps to keep a nice flavour as you’ll get good fish content and you’ll be able to see the fish too – As you can see above with the bite of haddock which are a darker yellow and the cod which is white.

When you get around to dusting the fishcakes with flour, don’t go overboard! The best thing to do is to place one side of the fishcake in the flour and then gently toss the fishcake from one hand to the other until it’s all gently coated in flour. Then dip it into the egg. You need even coverage of egg as this ensures that the breadcrumbs stick. However make sure the egg is whisked well because you don’t want lumps of egg white on the side of your fishcake! For the breadcrumbs I blitz up half a loaf of the Schär Gluten free wholesome loaf. It makes great crumbs that always turn a lovely golden brown in the oven. Make sure you cover the fishcakes well, and turn them half way through cooking so that they’re golden all over!

If you don’t like getting your hands dirty, getting the kids to do the flour, egg and breadcrumbs is great! They think it’s fun and messy and you can just watch them do the hard work! Also by getting kids involved in cooking foods, they’re more likely to eat them! This is great with recipes that include fish as we all know that omega 3 is great for the developing brain!

I’ve done another recipe card for you all, print it off and slide it into your recipe collection or just use it on your phone/tablet to help you create these delicious and perfect for Friday’s, fishcakes.

When I was thinking about what recipe I wanted to publish as my first on here, this instantly came to mind. These brownies were my go to for so many years when I was growing up. However, when I was diagnosed with IBS eating them was off the cards. Their normally full of dairy, gluten and sugar which makes them a huge trigger food for all us Low FODMAP lovers. I have managed (after two years) to perfect them and make them completely safe for all of us following the Low fodmap diet.

It’s actually quite a simple recipe, and it doesn’t use fancy foods that you’ve never heard of before. However there are a few ingredients that you need to watch out for. Firstly, we need cocoa powder (and a fair bit of it) so make sure you’re buying one that is gluten and dairy free. In my mind the more chocolate content the better. Surprisingly, I get my cocoa powder from Aldi. It’s probably one of the cheapest on the market but it does the job. The other bonus, is that it’s quite a large container in comparison to some brands, meaning there’s plenty of powder to make these brownies again and again

The other ingredient worthwhile noting is the orange chocolate. As you can see, I get mine from Morrisons. It’s free from gluten and milk, making it perfect for all of us on the Low Fodmap diet and it really does make all the difference. I haven’t seen any other orange flavoured free from chocolates on the market, but if you find any do let me know. The other option is using different flavours. I recently found a dark chocolate bar in Lidl with some Raspberry’s in and it was wonderful. Mint is another good combination, I’d just leave out the extra orange zest that this recipe calls for.

Now the ingredients are sorted, Lets move on to technique. You do not need to be a Michelin star chef or the winner of the Great British Bake Off to make these brownies. But you do need to know some of the lingo. In the recipe you need to whisk the eggs and the sugar so that they are; pale, fluffy and doubled in volume. For you advanced bakers, this might seem basic but get it wrong and your brownies will end up thin, doughy and damn right disgusting. The volume of the eggs is what keeps these lovely brownies so gooey and substantial. So for those of you that don’t know this is two photos of the egg mixture. The one on the left is the eggs and sugar right at the start of mixing. The photo on the right is the same eggs and sugar mix, after whisking for 5-6 minutes on high speed. As you can see, they’re much paler, lighter and have increased in terms of volume.

Other than getting the eggs right, this really is a fool proof dish. Just remember that when you get the brownies out of the oven, you let them cool before cutting. They should be gooey and so, if your knife is lightly coated in the mixture do not panic. They are cooked, they’re just perfectly baked and you’ve mastered the recipe. If the mixture seems a bit cakey and not gooey, it could mean they are slightly over baked. Just knock 5 minutes off the cooking time, next time you make them. Regardless of texture, I am 100% sure these will taste great.