I love the combo of ginger and apple so was excited to see how the ice cream would work out. As with the raw ice creams I have made so far the main base is nuts (cashew nuts)

Other ice cream links: Booja Booja Ice Cream | Home made vegan ice cream | Vanilla Booja Booja

For the basis of the ice cream you need a ratio of 1:1 nuts and water, and the key to the ice cream is how the nuts are processed.

Raw ice cream recipe

In a blender place a large mug of cashew nuts (about 200g), then pulse initially to break up the nuts. After a few pulses put the blender on constant for a few minutes. The nuts slowly break down so that they end up in tiny pieces so that when pressed with your finger they are almost paste like. This is when they are ready, if you are not sure then blender for longer as more pulsing will ensure the ice cream is not bitty.

This is the point when you can flavor the ice cream. So for apple and ginger ice cream I juiced three apples and an inch of ginger in my Lequip Juicer, taste the juice and add more apple of ginger as needed, I like mine with a ginger kick.

In a jug add a mug of filtered water  (same volume of water as nuts) and the ginger/apple mix. Whilst blending the nuts slowly slowly add the flavoured water to the mixture – the slower the better. After a about a third of the water the mixture will change to almost cream like, and then become more watery as the rest of the water is added. Once 1/2 the water is added give the mixture a stir with a spatula to make sure everything is combined and then carry on blending and adding the water until all the liquid is added.

Once the nuts and water are blended you can add two big squeezes of Agave Nectar and a tsp cinnamon (for extra spice) then blended to combine. At this stage taste to check for sweetness and flavouring  as one point to bear in mind is once the mixture freezes the tastes are weaker so over flavour slightly at this stage, else the mixture can end up tasting just of cashew nut.

Once the mixture is ready, place in a bowl and in the freezer for 10 mins. This puts it at a good temperature before you add it to your ice cream maker. After 10 mins remove from the freezer and place in your ice cream maker mine takes 30 to 40 mins, the ice cream will be a Mr whippy style. I like to have a sampling at this stage and then add the ice cream to a few small tupperware containers (each being the size for one large portion), this way you can easily get them out of the freezer as individual portions to slightly defrost (say 10 mins) before eating and they are less likely to go icey.

That’s it my apple and ginger raw ice cream recipe – love to know what you think! Sorry no photo but my camera is on the blink.

Raw oat bar ingredients – makes two small bars:

• Cup of oats
• Tsp of almond butter or other nut butter
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger powder or raw ginger (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp of nuts ( I used hazelnuts)
• 4 pieces of tinned pineapple and a tbsp of  juice
• Agave nectar squeeze optional (1 tsp)

Place the oats, nuts, cinnamon, and ginger  into a food processor and blitz until broken up. Add your nut butter, agave nectar (optional) and pineapple pieces to the food processor and blitz again. Slowly add the pineapple juice to mixture and keep blending until the mixture starts to combine. It should be a dry dough like texture so that you can mould it into a bar shape.

Once the mixture is ready, remove from the food processor and mould into a bar shape – pop in the fridge for a few mins to chill. That’s it the raw oat bar is ready to rock and roll.

This raw oat bar recipe is very flexible, I wanted to make a bar with no dried fruit, but you could use soaked dates instead of the pineapple, milk instead of the juice, banana instead of pineapple and all sorts of seed/nut combination. Give it a try and let me know you raw oat bar version and what you think.

Pefkect Granola contains – Jumbo Oats, Golden Linseeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Pecan Nuts, agave nectar  and Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil.

Now at £4.99 a pop Perfekt Granola is a bit pricey however it’s pretty tasty and you can  make it last longer using a few spoonfuls spice up some of the usual breakfast cereal suspects. I had my Perfekt Granola this morning with some puffed oats, a few extra seeds with a splash of oatly and I have to say the taste was pretty special, so look out for the special box next time you need some cereal.

Rude Health’s new addition

The range of oat-based cereals, mueslis and granolas on the supermarket shelves has boomed in recent years, much to the delight of the health-concious foodie!

You might already have come across their Early Bird muesli range but now Rude Health are leading the way in the wholesome cereal market with the launch of puffed oats.  

Oats are a fantastic start to the day as they have a low glycaemic index, meaning that they will help to stabilise blood sugar and keep you full for longer. They also provide beta-glucan, a type of soluble fibre that helps to lower cholesterol.

Puffed oats are available in Waitrose from the end of July (£1.60 per box). You will also find a range of other Rude Health cereals including organic and raisin-free muesli and a new puffed wheat cereal. Let us know what you think and if you find puffed oats available in any other shops.

When making the porridge just add a few teaspoons of dessicated coconut to the oats while cooking then top with an extra sprinkle of dessciated coconut once cooked. If you are in need of an extra treat replace 1/3 of the fluids (e.g water, soya milk, oatly) with coconut milk for a really creamy coconut porridge treat.

Wondering are oats gluten free? - follow the link.

Jordans Porridge Oats are British Conservation Grade Wholegrain Rolled Oats, high in fibre wholegrain goodness, naturally low GI for slow energy release (so great for those on a low GI diet), with no added salt or sugar, no artificial flavourings, colourings, preservatives or GM ingredients – just oats! Next time you pop to the shops hunt out a pack and try them for yourselves.

Herb Oatcakes ingredients:

Wholegrain Oats (74%), Pumpkin Seeds (12%), Palm Fruit Oil, Sunflower Oil, Tapioca Starch, Sea Salt, Raising Agent: Sodium Bicarbonate, Dried Thyme, Dried Rosemary, Dried Parsley.

The herb oatcakes have a texture which is between the standard rough and smooth oatckes with the herbs giving them a real depth of flavor. Great as a tasty snack with some houmous, a slice of chicken or even just on there own.

So are oats gluten free? Firstly, we need to clarify whether you have Coeliac Disease (i.e. a true allergy to gluten) or if you are gluten intolerant (i.e. you avoid wheat, rye and barley products for symptom relief of problems such as bloating, diarrhoea, etc.)  

Coeliac Disease

It is thought that completely pure, uncontaminated oats would be unlikely to trigger a reaction for most people with Coeliac Disease BUT (and this is a big but) during processing most oats and oat products on the market will be contaminated with gluten from wheat, rye or barley. The amount may be tiny but for someone with an allergy (which Coeliac Disease is) even a minute amount of gluten can cause bowel damage  and increased risk of health problems, even if symptoms are not obvious.

VERDICT:  Avoid oats unless advised otherwise by a doctor / specialist

Gluten Intolerance

If you don’t tolerate gluten in the diet but you do not have coeliac disease oats should be absolutely fine to include in your diet and can actually help with irritable bowel symptoms. Oats contain soluble fibre, which helps to soften stools and may ease bowel symptoms, whereas insoluble fibre (e.g bran, wheat) can be an irritant for some people.

VERDICT:  Oats are beneficial and should be included in the diet

I hope this answers the question of are oats gluten free?

Gluten free bircher

Using Gluten Free Porridge from Kelkin which is a mix of millet flakes and rice flakes, this provides the base of the Gluten Free Bircher.

For one serving you will need:

1/2 cup of Kelkin Gluten Free Porridge
1 cup juice ( I used pineapple juice )
1 tbsp dessicated coconut
Small handful of dried fruit and seeds
1/2 apple or pear, grated
2 tbsp of soya yogurt (or other yoghurt)
Slices of kiwi (or fruit of your choice)

Gluten Free Bircher Recipe:

Put the gluten free porridge flakes, coconut, and juice into a bowl. Mix together, cover and leave in the fridge to soak overnight. If you are making larger volumes you need twice as much juice to flakes.

In the morning stir the mixture and if needed add a small amout of juice to loosen. Grate the apple/pear and add to the mixture, then stir in the yogurt, dried fruit and seeds. Mix until all the ingredients are combined. Serve into individual bowls, add slices of your seasonal fruit and enjoy!

The ingredients can be adapted to suit your personal tastes – a whole array of dried fruits, nuts, seeds and fresh fruits can be used to create different flavours, I am really pleased with first Gluten Free Bircher attempt and the texture works much better than I expected, so if you need a gluten free tasty treat for your breakfast then give this ago.

Gluten Free Porridge Ingredients:

Rice Flakes
Millet Flakes
Guar Guar

I prepared my gluten porridge this morning with soya milk, it’s really warming like porridge but much lighter in texture and the way it hits your stomach.

So for people looking for a life without oats for breakfast Kelkin Gluten Free Porridge is a must have product.