Caitriona Redmond

Thrifty Tasty Bites

Category Archives: Gluten Free

14 Mar

Impossible Brownies Recipe

This recipe is called impossible brownies because it shouldn’t work. It really shouldn’t! Brownies are traditionally made with butter, eggs, flour, and refined sugar, but these brownies have none of this stuff and instead are packed full of fibre and vegetable protein.

The beetroot and chickpeas give the brownies a squishy texture even after they’ve been baked, and because there is no dairy or eggs, they will keep for up to 5 days in a dry sealed container. Let’s not fool ourselves here though, they’re not going to last that long. Read More →

16 Jul

Simple Chicken Traybake

The beauty of this simple chicken traybake is that once it’s assembled you just bake it in the oven and wait while the delicious smells fill the house. Read More →

27 Mar

Vegetarian Bean Chilli With Rice – Recipe

I’ve done the research on this recipe and have a Slimming World, Weight Watchers, and calorie count so that if you decide to make this vegetarian bean chilli with rice you’ll know exactly what you’re dealing with.

You will want to allow 100g of cooked white rice per person to add to the meal; this is included in the meal value calculations. The chilli will keep in a sealed box in the fridge for about 3 days, or freezes for up to 3 months if well insulated. Vegetarian Bean Chilli With Rice - Wholesome IrelandCalories Per Serving: 132

Weight Watchers Pro Points Per Serving: 4

Slimming World Information: Syn-Free

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11 Sep

Sugar-free Flapjacks

“An é seo folláin?”/”Is this wholesome?” My 5-year-old requires absolute honesty when we go shopping together. He won’t buy anything unless it’s “folláin” (the Irish word for wholesome). As I call out items from the list and he wanders around the supermarket; he’ll pick up items, and check the wholesome factor. It wasn’t always like this. A couple of years ago I wouldn’t have been able to walk the gauntlet that is the biscuit aisle, or the chocolate aisle, without picking up biscuits and treats. Now products that don’t pass his test get put back and he meanders on, scrutinising the shelves.

If I don’t buy the sweet treats then we don’t eat them. I confess that I find this exceptionally difficult at about 8pm when I make my last cup of tea of the day and crave something to dunk. I feel like I should reward myself for making it to the end of the day with the same number of children that I started out with. Every now and again the 2-year-old asks for some chocolate but he’s easily distracted with a square of bread and jam. You see it’s not that we don’t eat sugar, we just don’t eat as much as we used to.

The stand mixer has recently been relegated from the kitchen and I’ve stopped baking cakes every week. Read More →

04 Jul

Eton Mess

There are days that I love nothing more than working in the kitchen on “oven watch”. These type of days are when I’m not stuck at my computer for hours on end, and the sun isn’t splitting the stones. Lately though, with the sunny weather and my two boys being that bit older all they want to do is to play out in the front garden with the big boys.

That’s all great, except we have an open garden system where we live and that means we don’t have gates that I can close to keep the boys safe and the road is very close to the house. So if the boys want to play outside then I have to be out with them. It kind of cramps my style when it comes to desserts and I’ve been revisiting some old no-cook favourites over the past couple of weeks.

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24 Jun

Take 1 Chicken, Meal 2 of 3

This is the second in a series of 3 blog posts where I’m sharing recipes for a family of 5 for under 63c per portion, based on 1 roast chicken. For the shopping list, and first recipe, check out my first post from Sunday evening “Take 1 Chicken, Meal 1 of 3“.

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22 Jun

Take 1 Chicken, Meal 1 of 3

I have this thing about roast chicken. Maybe it’s something from my childhood but the smell of a roasting chicken in the oven makes me feel like a Bisto kid when I walk into a house. It’s the ultimate Sunday roast for me, and I normally cook it once or twice a fortnight. Most people don’t realise how frugal a roast chicken can be, maybe because they throw away the carcass after the main event (the roast dinner) or perhaps because they just see the initial cost of buying a chicken. Have you figured out that if you’re careful a roast chook will last for 3 meals?

You can expect to pay between €3-€5 for a whole medium chicken in supermarkets and butchers. If you are careful about how you treat the chicken, you will be able to eke out your meal and be left with very little food waste as a bonus. The vegetables mentioned here are only suggestions; make the most of the offers available where you shop, and buy what’s in season. Using value ranges in the shops at the moment, the list of ingredients below will cost you under €9.50. Considering you will get 2 main meals and 1 lunch for 5 people from these ingredients that will cost you under €0.63 per portion.

So here’s the plan. Purchase the items on the shopping list below; and over the next week, I’ll share the 3 meals that you’ll get from 1 roast chicken.  Read More →

11 Jun

Fish And Chips

Fish and chips; not the most thrifty meal if you go to the local chipper, nor is it the most healthy either. Don’t get me wrong, there is a certain allure of a brown paper bag laden with piping hot chips, salt and vinegar every now and again. If you’re feeding a family that sort of meal is saved for a treat.

This meal is a healthier,  version of classic fish and chips. It makes the most of cheap cuts of white fish that you can pick up for far less than cod or haddock in your fishmonger or in the supermarket. For bonus points I’ve sneakily found a way to hide some veg in the dish. Fish And Chips - Caitriona Redmond - Wholesome Ireland

Fish And Chips (Serves a family of 5) Read More →

04 Mar

Gluten Free Bargains In Lidl

I do try to eat a lower gluten diet than most. Simply because it doesn’t always agree with me.  Still, it is expensive to eat certain things if you’re on a gluten-free diet and Lidl have some gluten-free bargains this week that are well worth a look. Read More →

23 Feb

Steamed Cod With Spinach

Every Friday, we get fish in Howth. If the fishing has been good then we’ll get enough for a few meals over the weekend. If not, then it’s simply a white fish for one meal. 52 weeks of the year we eat fish at least once a week.

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10 Feb

Warm Prawn Salad

There’s an hour before bedtime. We call it crazy-hour in this house. This evening it was marked by the two boys running around in circles, shouting and giggling. All I can do is watch and embrace the madness. As himself doesn’t get home until close to bedtime it can be hard to try to eat a full dinner while the crazy-hour is underway. I try to eat my main meal during the day with the boys and then have a lighter supper after they go to bed. That’s the idea behind this warm prawn salad. Read More →

08 Jan

Spice Crusted Potatoes

I’ve reached that point in January where my body just craves healthy food. I think it’s down to the need to feel well and boost vital nutrients in the body. I realise that I normally blog on a sweet-savoury rotation but I’ve not been baking much recently. I’ll try my best to squeeze something sweet in soon I promise! Read More →

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