Allergy awareness week UK and dairy-free vanilla ice cream recipe

Our lives revolve around food. Everyday life, events, special occasions, simple get together with friends almost certainly is going to involve food and drink. Unfortunately,  it is not so simple if you are a food allergy sufferer. It can be a mission  reading  all labels, endless special requests at restaurants and warnings to family and
friends before gatherings. The impact on social life can be quite daunting.
Once a medical curiosity, now a days food intolerance and allergies are taken more seriously. With the advance of science, diagnoses and testings have increased dramatically. Allergies and intolerance can vary from nuts, dairy, gluten, wheat, eggs, seeds, fish, fruits to any particular ingredient or produce and in different levels.
Supermarkets  chains and health shops have come a long way. Majority have a free-from section with lots of ready made meals to lovely non-diary chocolate treats.

Allergy awareness Etiquette 

If you have a food allergy or intolerance…

Tell people as much as possible with right level of detail, but don’t expect them to turn into an expert overnight. Bring your own food with you- strange but better safe than sorry and it actually shows consideration. You won’t be putting an extra burden on your host. Don’t make a scene, specially in a restaurant, be polite and precise, if they don’t know what’s in a dish, don’t eat it.

If you know someone else has a food sensitivity…

Ask for information, take it seriously, find out the level of intolerance, don’t put yourself under unnecessary stress, make sure that they have at least one dish they can eat.
Celebrate, negative attention is unhelpful.  I found out that everything has a replacement!

 

Some years ago I decided to go on a complete detox after a very festive Christmas and New Year celebrations. I cut out all dairy, wheat, gluten and alcohol from my diet during three months. I never felt better in my whole life. By replacing  products like milk, wheat flour,  for  other ingredients I found an effortless way to sidestep them. I didn’t loose weight, but my skin was clear and smooth like porcelain.  My  hair was  extra silky and shinny , my nails was very strong and my eyes sparkled !  I felt like a completely new person, I had a glow about me. Friends would come up to me and ask if I had any cosmetic work done.  My mind was clear. I didn’t stress and I knew the answers to everything.  I would wake up at 5am and get through the day  with lots of energy and  enthusiasm.  By  8pm was I so tired, my eyes so heavy it would close and I couldn’t fight to stay wake. No alcohol  taking allowed either. I remember  one evening I had a small glass of white wine, I felt sick. I carried  on  with the detox.  Eventually, I invited a friend for lunch at mine and the whole meal was free from diary, wheat and gluten, she didn’t noticed it.  On the third month I decided that it was time to end the detox and slowly, very slowly I introduced diary, wheat, gluten back into my everyday meals.  I ended it because I am not an allergy sufferer and  as far as I know I am not intolerant to any food.  I missed my social life.  That was my experience, every one reacts differently to certain diets.
Below:  couple of simple and  friendly baking experiences I wanted to share to help anyone who is either a sufferer or who knows someone who is. Another recipe: Pao de Queijo – Brazilian cheese breads are gluten-free
dairy free vanilla ice cream

dairy free vanilla ice cream

Vanilla ice cream – diary free recipe

Makes:
approx. 650ml

Ingredients

1 & ½  cup soya milk (300ml), if allergic to soya
use almond milk

3 tspoons of vanilla extract or real vanilla pod
4 large organic egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar (90gr)
1 & ½ cups dairy free cream, I used Oatly(  (300ml)

Method:

1. Add the soya milk to a pan over low heat till almost simmering, add 3 tspoon vanilla extract, reserve

2.in a bowl beat the egg yolks and the sugar till the sugar has dissolved.

3.add the slightly warm soya milk on to the egg mixture, stirring all the time.

4.transfer to a clean pan and stir over very low heat, without letting it boil, the mixture will thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon.

5.strain through a sieve

6.stir in the diary free cream thoroughly. If you have an ice cream machine, follow the instructions, if not…

7.place in the covered container and freeze for one hour, beat the ice cream and place in the freezer, repeat this process twice more and freeze overnight.

dairy free vanilla ice cream

dairy free vanilla ice cream

Adding flavouring:

rose water:

2 tablespoons of rose water to stage 6.

Tip: don’t add to much as it will taste soapy.

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