#glutenfree

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Is the most infuriating thing for a coeliac to see?

Mar 12, 2018
1 min

Is the most infuriating thing for a coeliac to see?

Most of the time I love seeing a GF symbol. It saves me reading through a ton of ingredients and makes my supermarket run just that little bit shorter. But I've never come across this before: the GF symbol followed by a 'may contain gluten' disclaimer. WHAT THE?!!! Seriously? And it turns out it's not (yet) illegal. According to the Food Standards Agency, it's simply 'best practice' not to use a 'may contain' statement. Click here to read more (but be warned: you may find you

Ten things every coeliac needs in the cupboard

Mar 6, 2018
2 min

Ten things every coeliac needs in the cupboard

Ever wondered what you're going to eat? You know, at practically every meal. Sometimes as a coeliac it's really annoying being hungry, especially if you're in your own home and fancy a quick snack. So what can you do? It's not like you can have a 'normal' lifestyle back. You know, one where you eat whatever you fancy and don't have to double-check all the ingredients first. My advice? Get a set of staples for a naturally gluten-free coeliac cupboard, that's what. I've put one

You won't believe this 1 change in gluten-free biscuits!

Feb 6, 2018
2 min

You won't believe this 1 change in gluten-free biscuits!

Ignore the photo on the right for a moment. I'd like to take you back in time. Back to the dark ages when mobile phones could only make phone calls and cameras required purchasing a film. It's the 1990s. Are you with me? Then I'll begin... As a newly diagnosed coeliac, I was keen to see what was out there in the way of gluten-free substitutes. Apart from an extortionate price, the most glaringly obvious difference was that biscuits and cakes contained a shedload more fat and

Would you risk it for a biscuit?

Jan 31, 2018
1 min

Would you risk it for a biscuit?

If you've been coeliac for a while you'll know some of the top tips on how to avoid spending half your salary on gluten-free food. One of them includes avoiding the freefrom aisle for naturally gluten-free products (like pesto and mayonnaise). And today's Bristol Metro seems to agree (the following is a tweet thanks to a coeliac chap called David). It's quite shocking to see how much the price difference is. (That pesto I just mentioned was a whole pound cheaper in the normal

The truth about gluten-free food prescriptions

Jan 9, 2018
3 min

The truth about gluten-free food prescriptions

I'm not quite sure where all the fuss started. Was it The Daily Mail's huge blunder? They later apologised but if you've forgotten, in August 2015 they stated £116million was being spent on the NHS giving donuts and biscuits to people on prescription. Coeliac UK hastily corrected them to £26million (and pointed out that doctors can only prescribe staple foods like bread). But clearly the misinformed are still out there. Only yesterday I got this response from a tweet I put ou

Mummy's little gluten-free puddings

Dec 15, 2017
2 min

Mummy's little gluten-free puddings

Just over a couple of years ago I only had to think about myself as a Coeliac. And then came along my two gorgeous gluten-free puddings. I don't know if they'll be Coeliac yet and I must admit, I'd be sad if they were. I've got fond memories of my childhood and they often involve food - getting a slice of cake in a goody bag at a birthday party, going for a Chinese and sharing dishes, or simply going to school camp and seeing who had room for "thirds". I got coeliac disease w

The gluten-free options are in!

Dec 4, 2017
2 min

The gluten-free options are in!

Last time I blogged I went to a café with no gluten-free options. Three days later, I got an apologetic e-mail and reassurance that gluten-free food was usually available. In fact, the reason they'd run out was, they told me, because it sells so quickly. Hurrah! I thought, and quickly headed off to the same café in Kingswood (Boswell's) to see what yummy treats I could devour. I wasn't disappointed. No fewer than four different snacks were available and all in sealed wrappers

The cafe with no gluten-free options

Nov 10, 2017
2 min

The cafe with no gluten-free options

Today I felt like I'd been in a time machine. I went into Boswells, a café with lots of cakes on display, and there were no gluten-free options. There were fresh cakes, wrapped biscuits, toasted teacakes and so on, but nothing I could enjoy. The staff were apologetic but completely baffled about the gluten-free request. Surely I couldn't be the only person needing gluten-free food, I thought. And then I remembered the nineties. When I got coeliac disease, there was very littl

Just Give Me A Jacket Potato!

Oct 18, 2017
1 min

Just Give Me A Jacket Potato!

I must be one of the only Coeliacs who loves jacket potatoes. Seriously. I love them. I love the taste and I love their versatility (tuna & mayo/cheese & beans/chilli con carne...the list goes on). But most of all, I love that in their nakedness they are absolutely, definitely, one hundred per cent gluten-free. The symptoms I get if I eat gluten are so awful I'd never risk eating something that might pose a problem for me. And of that gluten I only need the tiniest amount for

Will my baby have coeliac disease?

Sep 25, 2017
2 min

Will my baby have coeliac disease?

After peering into my pram, occasionally people ask, "Will she have coeliac disease?" (This is sometimes accompanied by a slightly pitying look, as though it's the worst thing in the world. More on this later.) According to the stats, if a parent has coeliac disease there's a ten per cent chance their child will too. But I've got two children so that's two chances in ten. If I went on to have ten children then one of them would be Coeliac (statistically). Of course, if I did

An Embarrassing Problem When You're Pregnant With Coeliac Disease

Jul 24, 2017
1 min

An Embarrassing Problem When You're Pregnant With Coeliac Disease

A question posed on Netmums set me thinking today. It was from a mum-to-be who wanted to know if there was anyone else out there preggers with coeliac disease. It reminded me how few people there are you can turn to if you have an additional problem to being Coeliac. The mum on Netmums had quite a common Coeliac problem (adopts hushed voice): constipation. All she'd been told by the doctor was things she already knew: eat more fruit and veg, drink lots of water and get "natur

A Refreshing Gluten-Free Beauty Product

Jul 17, 2017
2 min

A Refreshing Gluten-Free Beauty Product

You've probably looked at the above title twice. Gluten-free? For the skin? Doesn't she know Coeliacs have to ingest gluten in order for it to cause problems? Well yes, but herein lies two issues: * Handling a gluten-containing product can then transfer onto food (e.g. your lunchtime sandwich) and let's face it, why would you wash your hands after applying a moisturiser or similar? ** This page isn't just for Coeliacs. There are plenty of people who need gluten-free skincare.

The Gluten-Free Facts (& Those That Aren't)

Jul 10, 2017
3 min

The Gluten-Free Facts (& Those That Aren't)

A little tweet popped up on my feed today (as tweets do). It was linked to another rant about going gluten-free (and the need not to). Unlike many rants, this one was rather more well-informed. Instead of a cursory glance towards coeliac disease, it actually had quite a comprehensive amount of information on Coeliacs and why we need to eat gluten-free food. If you'd like to have a little read (well, quite a big one - it's rather a long post) then click here to see it. Sadly,

Coeliacs: which would you rather?

Jul 3, 2017
1 min

Coeliacs: which would you rather?

It's an age-old game: choosing the lesser of two evils. But whenever someone asks if I'm tempted to eat gluten, I honestly can't think of much that's worse, and I'd probably accept several awful alternatives. It's not the only way to indicate to others how bad being glutened is (but it's a start). The other option, of course, is to ask them whether they'd consider being repeatedly punched in the stomach after each meal they ate. They'll probably look at you like you're insane

The rise of the Coeliac detective

Jun 26, 2017
3 min

The rise of the Coeliac detective

Last week I had two restaurant encounters that left me a little nervous. The first place told me they had gluten-free options. I went up to get my food and the server picked up tongs from a plate with sausages on it to go to the gluten-free plate. "Are those sausages gluten-free?" I asked. "They should be," she replied. "Are you sure?" I carried on. "Because if they aren't, please don't touch my gluten-free food with them." She then passed me a plate of sandwiches so I could

Is making your own gluten-free food worth it?

Jun 15, 2017
2 min

Is making your own gluten-free food worth it?

One of the great myths about gluten-free food is that it tastes disgusting. It can do, hence the (gluten-free) grain of truth in the myth, but that's usually because the person making it either doesn't know what they're doing or has taken a short-cut. But remedying this takes time, which many of us simply don't have. Besides, knowing gluten-free food will get better in the future doesn't help if you're eating mediocre food at the moment. There's often only one option: making

One amazing ingredient to swap right now for the perfect Sunday roast

Jun 5, 2017
2 min

One amazing ingredient to swap right now for the perfect Sunday roast

Restaurants, I'm talking to you. More specifically, the places that do great carveries. What do I want? An upgrade of the traditional Yorkshire pudding. A gluten-free treat to turn a weekly event into culinary heaven for Coeliacs like me. And what does it involve? Just one thing. Cornflour. All I'm asking is that you swap your regular flour for cornflour so that our plates don't feel barren at noon on a Sunday. A Yorkshire pudding is a thing of greatness. Crispy on the outsid

THE LAW ON GLUTEN-FREE PRODUCTS IN THE UK

Jan 19, 2017
1 min

THE LAW ON GLUTEN-FREE PRODUCTS IN THE UK

Read here if you want the lengthy, complicated world of the law vs gluten-free products. Carry on reading here if you’d prefer it was broken down into 3 simple points: In the UK there are foods that are marked as gluten-free and those that aren’t. That’s it. There aren’t any “very low gluten” products (like ones you might see in Australia). Yet. Gluten-free means lower than 20 parts per million. If you’re wondering why it’s not zero gluten, apparently, that’s not possible

THE RISE OF THE GLUTEN-FREE CAKE

Dec 25, 2016
3 min

THE RISE OF THE GLUTEN-FREE CAKE

Most people by now have heard of gluten. Or, at least, the freefrom aisle in the supermarket. It’s definitely made things a lot easier than ten years ago. What was it like at the turn of the 21st century? Hmmm. Music-wise, great. TV-wise, brilliant. Diet-wise? Not spectacular. At least, not if you were a Coeliac. I’ve had Coeliac Disease for over 15 years. It’s meant a significant lifestyle change and not just because I have to be careful when I eat. After all, if I