Mastering a gluten-free Christmas + 2 recipes to try

Ten years ago, Sally and Bill Holland were preparing for a very different Christmas.

Bill, then 55, had not long been diagnosed with coeliac disease and Sally, who had a lifelong love of cooking, wasn’t sure what to put on the table.

“I really was at a loss. Christmas is usually the highlight of our culinary calendar but that year it fell flat. We didn’t have all the usual goodies and, with the gluten-free recipes I did attempt, I had limited success,” says Sally.

Fast forward to 2017 and their table will be laden with traditional Christmas fare, without a crumb of gluten in sight but tasting every bit as good as the ‘real deal’.

That is thanks to Sally’s persistence and determination to create recipes that everybody could enjoy, not just those on a gluten-free diet.

“Food brings people together, but when you have coeliac disease it can set you apart. I wanted to bridge the gap with delicious everyday recipes that we could share with family and friends,” says Sally.

And, having done just that, she then went on to write the Goodbye Gluten cookbook, so she could share the recipes with the wider gluten-free community.

What is unique about Sally’s book is that she created her own gluten-free flour mix, made from four inexpensive, easy-to-source ingredients, and then based all her recipes around it.

“Not all gluten-free flours are created equal. They can be a mix of a dozen or so different flours, with additives such as gums, sugar, raising agents, salt and even vitamins,” explains Sally.

“There is no guarantee that one flour will work across the board for all recipes. That’s why I created my own” Goodbye Gluten Flour Mix.

Drawing on skills she gained working in the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly Test Kitchen in the 1970s, under the late Tui Flower, Sally then tested and re-tested all her recipes until they were perfect.

“It’s safe to say there were a few batches that went down the wastemaster,” she laughs.

“But once I had the quantities right, I knew that by using the same flour mix, they would work every time.”

Sally says the gluten-free landscape has changed dramatically over the past decade, with lots more convenience foods now available, and cafes and restaurants catering for the gluten-free palate.

Coeliac New Zealand’s Dining Out Programme, a training and accreditation programme for the hospitality and catering industry to ensure gluten-free food is produced and served safely, is a wonderful advancement, she points out.

“When Bill was diagnosed, we were in our 50s, our two daughters had grown up and left home and we were enjoying a new phase in our lives as empty nesters. We were both ‘foodies’ who enjoyed dining out and travelling, so it came as shock to both of us that we would have to change the way we had always done things,” says Sally.

“A lot of fad diets have come and gone over the years, but we wanted to be able to continue to enjoy the food that we have always enjoyed.”

Sally says she is heartened by feedback from people who tell her that her recipes have restored their love of cooking and food.

“When someone tells you it’s the best date scone they’ve had in seven years, of that they can now join in dinner parties without having to sit in the corner with their own special portion, it just makes me so happy,” she says.

“Life is to be enjoyed, and food is to be enjoyed – and when you’re a foodie like me, the two are inseparable!”

Visit Goodby Gluten online

Try some of Sally’s favourite Christmas recipes

About coeliac disease

  • Coeliac disease is a permanent autoimmune disorder that causes a reaction to gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye and oats.
  • It is estimated that 60,000 to 70,000 New Zealanders have coeliac disease, however, up to 80 per cent of those are unaware they have the condition.
  • Untreated, coeliac disease can cause chronic poor health, osteoporosis, dental enamel defects and increased risk of gastrointestinal and oesophageal carcinoma.
  • Coeliac disease is treated by a life-long gluten-free diet.

 

We have a copy to giveaway to one lucky GrownUps member.
To enter simply find the competition post on our Facebook page and let us know which of Sally’s recipes would you like to try first.

The winner will be notified via email.

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