This year, Coeliac UK are asking you to help educate people in the catering sector about Coeliac Disease and how they can help you to dine safely- what a great excuse for a meal out! Remember to feed back any useful information you gather to Coeliac UK. Or you could attend one of the many events being held across the country, just click here to see if there is one near you.

Alternatively, why not just invite your friends round, pop the kettle on, bring out the biscuits and create a delicious Glutafin Victoria Sponge? It’s a great chance to catch up!

Competition

To celebrate Coeliac UK awareness week, we are giving away a fantastic Glutafin biscuit variety box- stuffed full of delicious gluten free biscuits such as Digestives and Shortbread. To win, all you have to do is answer the question below and email your answer to nicola.dark@glutafin.co.uk All correct answers will go into a draw which will be drawn at 4pm today (the 10^th of May). Remember to include your name and address in your email- good luck!

Question: This delicious Black Forest Gateau can be made with Glutafin Select Multipurpose White Mix. But what is the secret ingredient that makes it so moist?

The Glutafin office had a nice surprise last week when the Food Matters FreeFrom Food Awards were held and we won 2 awards!

Glutafin Select Multipurpose White Mix won a highly commended award in the ‘Pizza bases and pizza base mixes, pastry and pastry mixes’ category.

Glutafin Biscuits also won a highly commended award in the ‘Sweet biscuits and cookies’ category.

We are really chuffed with these awards and they have been proudly displayed in our office!

Glutafin Mini Crackers are the perfect snack for when you’re on the go. Available in handy 175g packets, you can easily take a packet with you to work or smother them with your favourite toppings at home. Similar to a ritz biscuit, the mini cracker is a convenient, crispy and satisfying bite-size snack.

Glutafin Gluten Free Wheat Free 4 Fibre Rolls are equally delicious straight out the pack as they are fresh from the oven! They have added linseed and sunflower seeds to a deliciously different malted taste- and added fibre too!

If you haven’t tried them yet then just give our team a call on freephone 0800 988 2470 and ask for a sample.

Glutafin Mini Crackers (353-5515)

Glutafin Gluten Free Wheat Free 4 Fibre Rolls (344-3652)

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Oven temperature: 180 C / Gas mark 4

Makes: 18 large cup cakes

Ingredients

Cake:

• 110g/4oz Butter (softened)
• 225g/8oz Caster sugar
• 50g/2oz White chocolate
• 200g/7oz Glutafin Select Multipurpose White Mix
•  2 Medium eggs
• 1 x 5ml tsp Gluten free baking powder
• 1 x 5ml tsp Xanthan gum (optional)
• 1 x 5ml tsp Natural extract of vanilla
• 150ml/5 fl oz Soured cream 

Icing:

• 225g/8oz Butter (soft)
• 450g/16oz Icing sugar (sieved)
• 1 x 5ml tsp Natural extract of vanilla

To decorate:

• 50g/2oz White and Milk chocolate buttons

Method

1. Whisk butter and sugar together with an electric whisk until light and fluffy.
2. Melt the white chocolate very gently on a low power microwave setting for 1 minute or until just liquid. (Keep checking as white chocolate easily overheats and burns).
3. Add the melted chocolate and the remaining cake ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar and whisk for 1 minute until combined.
4. Spoon cake batter into muffin cases resting in muffin trays. Bake until golden and the mixture is just firm to the touch. Leave to cool and prepare icing.
5. Beat icing ingredients together until light and fluffy. Either smooth onto cooled cup cakes or pipe into a spiral. Top with chocolate buttons or suitable decorations. 

If you’re not in the mood for cupcakes, click here for more Easter recipes.

To celebrate the fact that Easter is almost upon us, we are giving away a delicious Thorntons gluten free Easter egg! All you need to do is find a hidden Easter egg which is somewhere on our website! The Easter Egg you are looking for looks like this:

Click on the link to start hunting! http://www.glutafin.co.uk/

The first person to email us with the exact page that they found the Easter Egg on will win the chocolate egg! Runners up will win a sample of one of Glutafin’s newest product additions! Email: Glutenfree@glutafin.co.uk with the page you found the egg on, your name and address.

Here is a clue to give you a head start:

‘Take me to the park, take me to work, 

Such convenience is an eggcellent perk,

Simply crack on with your day

Snacking the Glutafin way’

Good luck!

It’s St Patricks’ Day today- a time of eating, drinking and being merry! Since before the 1600’s, St Patricks’ Day has been celebrated all over the world, but did you know…

1. The Chicago River is dyed green each year to celebrate the day
2. The colour originally associated with St Patrick’s Day was blue
3. According to legend, Saint Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish people
4. Aged 16, St Patrick was kidnapped and taken to Ireland to be a slave
5. St Patricks’ Day became an official holiday in Ireland in 1903

To join in with all the celebration, why not cook up some tasty Irish treats? These Lemon and Raisin Drop Scones are a deliciously different breakfast idea, or can be eaten as a snack or biscuit! Or if time is an issue, dine Irish style on tasty corned beef sandwiches made with Glutafin Select Fresh White Bread. Alternatively get experimental with Glutafin Pizza Bases by topping with a traditional Irish dinner- corned beef and cabbage!

Or if cooking isn’t really your thing, spread some Irish charm by sending an e-card to your friends or ‘bluff your way to Irish’ by learning some Irish chat up lines to impress the punters in the pub!

Sláinte!

Spring is seen as a time of growth, renewal, and new life (both plant and animal) being born. The term is also used more generally as a metaphor for the start of better times, as in the Prague Spring.

So let’s take a leaf out of Czechoslovakia’s book and start Spring as we mean to go on- with delicious brand new Glutafin recipes that will put a spring in our step! Why not try your hand at making a scrumptious apple and raspberry crumble? Or maybe you fancy something savoury- try the chicken and mushroom pasta bake (recipes below).

Or to take advantage of seasonal fruit and vegetables, why not try your hand at our Rhubarb and Ginger Cheesecake Layer? Or a delicious Spinach and Ricotta Tart? Whatever you fancy, we’re sure to have something for you- just click here to browse our full recipe index.

Happy munching!

Glutafin Apple and Raspberry Crumble

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Oven temperature: 220 C / Gas mark 7

Makes: 1 crumble/6 portions

Ingredients

Filling:

• 4 Medium sized cooking apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
• 3 x 15ml tbsp Water
• 150g/5oz Raspberries
• 2 x 15ml tbsp Raspberry jam
• 50g/2oz Sugar

Crumble:

• 250g/9oz Glutafin Select Multipurpose White Mix
• 125g/4.5 oz Butter
• 25g/1oz Chopped almonds
• 25g/1oz Chopped hazelnuts
• 110g/4oz Demerara sugar

Method

1. Place prepared apple and water into a covered microwaveable container and microwave on full power for 3-4 minutes until the slices are just soft. Drain off the juices and combine apple with the raspberries, jam and sugar. Place in a medium sized ovenproof dish and leave until cold.
2. Prepare crumble. Rub the butter into the White Mix until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the chopped nuts and sugar and spoon over cooled prepared fruit. Push crumble mixture with the back of a dessert spoon to give a smooth top.
3. Cook until the topping is golden- the crumble with get crispier once it has been left to stand for 10 minutes.

Glutafin Chicken and Mushroom Pasta Bake

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Oven temperature: 220 C / Gas mark 7

Makes: 4 portions

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 175g/6oz Glutafin Penne Pasta
• 175g/6oz Cooked chicken (finely diced)
• 50g/2oz Butter
• 1 Clove garlic (crushed)
•  150g/5oz Chestnut mushrooms (finely diced)
• 50g/2oz Glutafin Select Multipurpose White Mix
• 600ml/ 1pt Milk
• 2 x 15ml tbsp Freshly chopped parsley
• 300ml/0.5 pt Half fat crème fraiche
• Generous pinch of ground black pepper and sea salt

Topping:

• 25g/1 oz Prepared breadcrumbs made from a Glutafin Loaf
•  50g/2oz Mozzarella cheese (grated)
•  Generous pinch of grated nutmeg

Method

1. Cook pasta in a large saucepan of fast boiling water until just tender. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.
2. Meanwhile prepare the sauce. Melt butter and add garlic and mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes over a gentle heat until softened. Stir in the White Mix with a wooden spoon. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly until the sauce has thickened and it is as simmering point. Remove from the heat and add the finely diced chicken, parsley and seasonings. Stir in the crème fraiche and cooked pasta. Spoon into a medium sized oven proof dish.
3. Top pasta mix with the breadcrumbs and cheese and season with the nutmeg. Oven bake until the top is crisp and the sauce is bubbling. Serve with a mixed salad and a stem of oven roasted baby tomatoes.

“As a Glutafin home economist every week is different. This week, my Monday started with the alarm going off at the ungodly hour of 5am! I had to be rapidly out of the house and on the road for an 8.30 start at a children’s coeliac clinic in Reading. I really enjoy children’s clinics as I can bake pretty little fairy cakes and help children understand their diet better.

Despite all the preparation I have to do for a clinic, often the most time-consuming part of the day is finding the way to the hospital, parking the car and finding the right department in the hospital! And all whilst laden down with all the Glutafin samples, literature and supporting paraphernalia required!

For this children’s clinic I displayed a range of Glutafin products including samples of our new Baguette. I had also prepared butterfly fairy cakes and fresh bread made with Glutafin Multipurpose White Mix (a gluten free version of plain flour). All the children who visited enjoyed sampling the foods and went away with goody bags (and the knowledge that they could still have their cake and eat it!). Many of the medical team in the department also enjoyed seeing what Glutafin had to offer and were enthusiastic about our Glutafin pens!

The rest of my week was varied and kept me on my toes! On a daily basis, I help with customer care calls, helping consumers with queries on baking breads and making recipes. I really enjoy speaking to customers as often I learn just as much from them as they do from me!

I have also been working on our Glutafin recipe cards. We have done some online research recently with our customers using Facebook to help us decide what recipe cards to work on next for our cookery demonstrations. My job involves creating the new recipes, testing them all out using the Glutafin mixes and then preparing them for photography which go onto the finished cards. So this week, I have been very busy cooking up tasty new recipes and trying out all kinds of new dishes. Watch this space!

The week ended on Saturday with a cookery demonstration at the Swansea Coeliac Society Group meeting in Neath, Wales. This involves a lot of preparation so that there are lots of tasty samples to try, so I am always very busy in the days leading up to a cookery demonstration. When the date for the meeting was booked we had not realised that the 6 Nations rugby match was on between Wales and Scotland on the same day! So I had to leave home extra early to avoid the queues of traffic around Cardiff heading to the Millennium stadium. Luckily I got there in time and those who chose to attend the demonstration thought it was very worthwhile.

A Sunday to recover after a whole new week of challenges! Watch this space for more blogs of a Glutafin home economist!”

However, here at Glutafin we have loads of tasty and easy to make recipes which are low in fat to help make that new year’s resolution a little easier to keep! Here are just a few of the dishes you can make:

• Lemon chicken and vegetable stir fry
• Spirals with beef and pepper stir fry
• Provencale Bean and Pasta Salad
• Spaghetti bolognaise
• And even a low fat cake! Glutafin’s whisked egg sponge cake

Just have a scroll through our recipe index for some inspiration and get cooking!

If you need a little push in the right direction, we have a great little healthy eating guide which you can get for free by calling us on 0800 988 2470 and requesting the ‘happy, healthy and gluten free’ guide. It has some great information to help you get your diet back on track, for example healthy snack ideas and a list of foods you should cut down on. Below is a quick guide to healthy eating , taken from the leaflet:

• Enjoy your food
• Remember, variety is the spice of life
• Don’t overeat
• Eat foods rich in starch and fibre to fill you up
• Add plenty of fruit and veg to your diet
• Keep fatty foods to a minimum
• Sugary foods and drinks should be thought of as a treat
• Don’t over-salt your food, and enjoy salty foods such as cheese, bacon or crisps in moderation
• If you drink, enjoy alcohol responsibly

Whilst trying to eat super healthy, us ladies are also trying to fit in some exercise where we can to help tone up those wobbly bits! It’s been hard though in recent weeks with the snow covered pavements and dark evenings so some of us have decided to take on a challenge to help spur us on.  Alison and Nicola (the Glutafin marketing assistants) have signed up to take part in The Playtex Moonwalk, which is a 26 mile power walk through London at midnight…in their bras! The looming challenge is proving great motivation for the girls to get out and about pounding the pavements! The Moonwalk is now full but there are lots of other challenges out there such as the Cancer Research UK 5k runs and 13 mile Sunwalks.

Why not join us by signing up for a challenge this year and raising some money for charity?

Race for life 5k runs (nationwide)

The Playtex Sunwalks (Bristol, Southampton and Newcastle)

Great North run

Trek Mount Kilimanjaro

London to Paris cycle ride

What better way to start a new blog than to let you into a little bit of backstage gossip! We have just finished shooting for our brand new advertising campaign which will be featured in February’s addition of Crossed Grain magazine and wanted to share with you some sneaky snaps we took backstage!

On a cold and snowy January morning the Glutafin team met at a beautiful rented house in Corsham, Wiltshire, where we started setting up for the photo shoot. Our models, make up artist and photography team arrived and we all got stuck in setting up the cameras, lighting and dressing the models! Our home economist, Kay arrived with lots of delicious Glutafin products to make tasty treats like spaghetti bolognaise and garlic bread (needless to say, we weren’t allowed to eat any of it!) and we all started to feel very peckish!

The image we were trying to create was very tricky and involved a process called ‘time lapse scene’. This is where an image appears to be one photograph but is actually several different scenes all placed in a sequence. The preparation had to be very precise and the set had to remain exactly the same throughout the course of the day- no mess and definitely no using the kettle to make a brew!

The photography continued for 12 hours, finally finishing at 8.15pm, resulting in 2 very tired child models and an exhausted camera crew. However, we are very pleased with the result and think it was well worth the 12 hour day, we hope you feel the same!

Look out for our new ads and leaflet in the next issue of Crossed Grain hitting your doormats soon!

We would love to hear what you think of our new ads too. Drop us an email at Glutenfree@glutafin.co.uk