Here you will find delicious meals that are easy to cook using easily sourced ingredients and that are suitable for the dietary needs of all your friends and guests.
In creating the site I have drawn extensively on my background in cooking and nutrition; and on my more recent involvement in the visual arts.
For me the kitchen is a place where I enjoy the simple pleasures of life, where I relax and do what I love doing, cooking. It is a place where I can be creative in a manner which facilitates shared pleasures and time with others.
I grew up in a family where food was central to our lives. Daily, it brought us together as a family in the evening; and it marked the celebratory events of the calendar.
My maternal grandfather had a dairy and apple orchard. We spent many hours on the farm, just 45 minutes from the town where I grew up. Most memorable was making apple cider every autumn, an extended family-event.
My mother carried on the ‘grow your own’ tradition. When we were kids, she made fantastic grain bread, yoghurt and harvested honey from semi-wild bees in the garden. She has always had a large vegetable garden; and, with most of her children now living far away, she supplies the neighbourhood with baskets of eggs, vegetables, nuts and fruit. All this was a part of life in rural Tasmania, a community that continues to nurture a ‘wholesome’ approach to food or, in my own words EatBright.
My other major food influence was my father’s sister, aunt Ellen. She was a fabulous cook, baking the best “chocolate cake” (my adaptation is Fodmap, Gluten Free, Vegetarian) and turning the humble egg into the most delicious scrambled eggs.
All this taught me how fresh, high quality ingredients can so simply create a feast.
These experiences led me to University, where I studied Nutrition and Dietetics. I went on to work in the health service and in private practice as a dietitian in Australia and, later, in the UK. I also ran a small catering business and cooked for a summer art school before pursuing art studies in London.
I presently live in London where the cultural and culinary diversity has built on my earlier influences. And we have a home in Zambia, which allows me to draw further inspiration from Africa.
Why this blog?
I have a few minor ‘diet issues’. I am lactose intolerant (ie I avoid milk); and I am what I call ‘Fodmap-ish’ (eg I limit my wheat intake – see “Hints & Tips/Diet Information” for an explanation); and I have a sensitivity to sulphites (a preservative used in many commercial products). I manage these with relative ease at home; but it becomes more difficult when I am out and about. I have found that many restaurants, hotels and holiday destinations do not know how to cater for diets, to the point where even an interesting and varied vegetarian diet is difficult to provide for a couple of days.
This blog evolved to take the worry out of diet cooking by illustrating how simple it is to cook a range of delicious healthy food for all, whatever their food choice.
BrowsersGrazers is about what you CAN eat and/or serve, not what you must avoid.
Who is it for?
Why the name of the blog?
Where do I get my recipes?
More About the Recipes
To make it easy to identify recipes suitable for specific diets, I have developed a unique coding system, a simple guide to use when you are searching for recipes, eg DF Dairy Free, GF Gluten Free, Vg Vegan. Each recipe is coded to indicate the diets it is suitable for, eg Ginger Apple Muffins DF EF GF LF NF V Vg indicates a recipe suitable fors Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Low Fat, Nut Free, Vegetarian and Vegan diets. To search for recipes by diet type go to“Diets”; and you can read more about the diets at “Hints & Tips/Diet Information”.
My Recipes:
– are delicious, healthy, tried and tested, and suitable for many diets;
– use fresh, seasonal ingredients where possible;
– are based on widely available ingredients;
– utilise cooking styles from around the world;
– employ simple preparation and cooking techniques; and
– excite the senses through the use of herbs and spices, rather than fats, salts or sugars.
Cooking for Special Diets
When cooking for a particular diet I recommended you discuss with your guest their particular needs (see disclaimer below). Although diets are specific, people’s interpretation and application of them varies widely. A few questions may save a lot of time, embarrassment and possible illness. More information is available at “Hints & Tips/Diet Information”.
In the kitchen, be wary not to substitute inappropriate ingredients; read more on food labelling (see “Hints & Tips/Food Labelling”); and avoid cross contamination.
Using my recipes
If you share my recipes more widely, please credit the source and link with the relevant URL.
Using my pictures
DISCLAIMER:
Dietary requirements for special diets are specific to each individual and this website is a general guide. As such, I shall not be liable for any claim made arising from the provision of dietary foods.
I have endeavoured to provide accuracy with information at the time of writing. For this to be appropriate you must discuss and understand the requirements of your guest, be specific about the ingredients used, avoid cross-contamination and always read (and understand) food labels. Without trying to terrify you, providing the ‘wrong’ food can, in some situations, be very dangerous, even life threatening. Even less severe reactions can be debilitating.
As you endeavour to provide diet meals you should ensure that all food/catering staff have an understanding of dietary restrictions and are aware of each guest’s particular needs.
If you are unsure of the choices you are making and relevant safety provisions in the kitchen, you should seek expert advice. One source of valuable diet information will be your local dietitian or the national dietetic association. More information is available at
http://www.internationaldietetics.org/NDAs.aspx.
Links to other websites are not an endorsement of the information or recipes or the site’s owners (or their products/services); nor do I receive any benefits for referencing them.
The inclusion of a link is because, at the time of publishing, the content was relevant to BrowsersGrazers. However, I take no responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided and I am not recommending its application.
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