The GL Diet Cookbook: Over 150 tasty recipes for easy weight loss. Nigel Denby

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СКАЧАТЬ is an ancient relative of wheat, and anecdotally (not clinically proven) may be better tolerated than wheat by those with a wheat intolerance. Wholegrain spelt flour has a higher protein and fibre content than most wheat flours, and breads containing spelt have been tested as having a low to moderate GL.

       Wheat – 30g of wholewheat has a low GL of 8.

       Gram flour (chickpea flour) – chickpeas have a very low GL, so gram flour and foods containing it should have a lowish GL too.

      Why We Can’t Test Flours for Their GL

      Glycaemic testing involves volunteers eating an amount of a specific food that contains 50 grams of carbohydrates, three times! Eating that amount of flour is neither palatable nor advisable and, as you can imagine, volunteers are in short supply!

      This is why we can only test foods containing specific flours (such as bread containing spelt flour) which will give us the GL of a portion of spelt flour bread.

      Combining Flours – How to Get the Right Mix

      It’s the gluten in wheatflour that makes bread rise, and as many of the alternative flours don’t contain as much gluten, you will end up with a denser, heavier loaf, which is a good thing GL-wise, as light and fluffy tends to equal quickly digested and therefore high GL.

      By using alternative flours such as rye, spelt and buckwheat in a mixture with stoneground 100 per cent wholemeal wheatflour, you can create delicious bread variations, a little different in taste and texture from sliced white. Actually they taste far better!

      Oats are another great addition to try in the form of oat bran, oatmeal or porridge oats, which give bread a lovely texture. We’ve also used oatmeal with great success as a crunchy crumb coating for fish and meat.

      A generous handful of seeds such as linseeds, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds in your bread adds to the flavour and will also help lower the GL.

      Sourdough breads have a low GL in general, which is thought to be due to the acidic nature of the bread. Buckwheat flour makes great pancakes – you’ll find a recipe on page 110.

      Nut flours are very handy in baking, but not much good in bread. They are not as ‘sticky’ as normal flour (because they have no gluten) and you will find that the finished result will be a little more delicate, yet very tasty! Don’t forget that nuts are high in calories, and you shouldn’t be eating any more than a small handful a day.

      Remember that the more refined and processed a flour is, the higher the GL. The coarser the flour, and the more intact it is (i.e. it has not had all its nutritious parts refined away), the better it will be for you not only in terms of having a lower GL but also with regard to its nutritional content. That is why ‘stoneground’ wholemeal flour is better than ‘brown’ or ‘wholemeal’ flour. By using the stoneground method of processing, the grains stay more intact.

      Thickening

      In reality, a spoonful of refined cornflour or plain flour here and there wouldn’t be too bad if you don’t have anything else, but we have banished them from our kitchens and here is what we use in their place!

       Arrowroot – this is available in the baking section of most supermarkets. It’s a ground root, as the name suggests, and is great for thickening. There are instructions on the packet, but in general you just use it the same way you would cornflour (mixing with cold water to a smooth paste before adding to anything). As it has no taste or colour this is our thickener of choice for pretty much all sweet and savoury applications.

       Gram flour (chana dhal, besan or chickpea flour) – this is made from chickpeas and is a very popular ingredient in Indian cuisine, which makes a good savoury flour and thickener.

       Xanthan gum – this is an effective thickener although a bit fiddly. It needs a lot of whisking as per the packet instructions and does go lumpy very, very quickly! It’s not as easy to find or use as arrowroot.

       Buckwheat flour is a reasonable thickener, however don’t use in delicately flavoured foods as it has a stronger taste and so won’t work with everything.

       You can replace high-GL white flours with stoneground 100 per cent wholemeal flour in most recipes.

       Spelt flour is also a good thickener. Used exactly as per normal white flour, it’s great for soufflés and cheese sauces.

       Organic stock cubes and bouillon powder such as the Marigold and Kallo brands make great gravies, but we love them as warming savoury drinks too! Make sure you choose organic versions, as non-organic often have hydrogenated fats in them. You can also find low-salt varieties.

      A Gluten-free Diet?

      What is low GL AND gluten free? This is a bit tricky, as many gluten-free products do have a lot of high-GL ingredients and are heavily refined.

      Gluten-free corn pastas are generally high GL, so best avoided. However there are some lovely buckwheat (which is actually part of the rhubarb family!) and chickpea pastas available now (see our website for stockists).

      Chickpea (gram) flour is a brilliant gluten-free alternative for savoury dishes. It works well as a binder and thickener with strong savoury flavours.

      Spelt flour does contain a small amount of gluten.

      Soya flour can be used as a gluten-free flour substitute, however it does have a strong taste which is not palatable to everyone.

      Being allergic to wheat is not the same as being allergic to gluten, and so you may be able to eat rye, barley, spelt and oats if it is only wheat that causes you problems.

      If you have ANY food allergies or medical conditions you need to check with your doctor before you make any significant changes to your diet. Take this book with you and ask his or her advice before you start.

       Chapter 5 HOT HERBS AND SEXY SPICES

      We don’t add any salt to our recipes, as we all tend to consume far too much as it is. You will find black pepper and other fragrant herbs and spices in the recipes in this book, though, added for their taste, aroma and also, in some cases, their claimed health benefits.

      As we are all different in our likes and dislikes, the herbs and spices are very much optional, so don’t be put off a recipe if it has a herb or spice that you don’t like – just leave it out or add a different one!

      There are no hard-and-fast rules as far as we are concerned as to which herb or spice has to ‘be seen’ with a certain food. Experiment – you may be as surprised as we are what combos work really well and become future favourite dishes.

      Before we start with the recipes, we thought you might like a list of the most popular, easy-to-find herbs and spices, with some traditional uses plus some fresh ideas and combinations for you to try out. We also love a bit of history, and couldn’t resist adding bits here and there with some quaint little anecdotes – hope you don’t mind!

      The СКАЧАТЬ