It wasn’t so long ago I’d feel dismayed at the supermarket checkout, and it wasn’t because the till would ring up a three figure number I couldn’t afford.
Well, not all the time, anyway.
My problem was with the dreaded selection of goodies that would be available next to me in the queue.
There’d be all sorts of things I couldn’t have – Twix bars, Kitkats, Liquorice Allsorts and so on. In other words, another reminder I was different from the people standing next to me.
And yet it’s so trivial. What does it matter that the goodies on offer at the till aren’t things I can enjoy? Surely it’s better not to be tempted at the checkout.
When you start noticing the little things are bothering you in life, it’s time to ask yourself a bigger question.
And the question for all Coeliacs is about denial. How many times can you put up with being excluded in life before it starts to wear you down?
So I was pleasantly surprised at my last shop to find that Asda have made a few changes at the checkouts: they’ve provided a selection of treats and some of them are a freefrom delight – i.e. gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free & vegan.
Given that there were only 5 products available, I thought this was pretty good, especially as I noticed the freefrom aisle had expanded even more.
It wasn’t so long ago that the freefrom aisle didn’t exist. It was more of a shelf with a rather miserable selection on offer.
But the Asda in Bedminster has just moved its freefrom selection – I assume – because this is what happens when you need to expand. All kinds of things were on offer from coconut flour to Andean superfruit and organic spirulina powder. I blinked in disbelief when I saw them (I was in Asda, after all). I’d always associated Asda with economy – come here for food that’s cheaper than elsewhere, not superfoods and raw goodness.
But it just goes to show that places can change, and that makes it a helluva lot easier for people like me. So thank you, Asda. I’m grateful.
Have you noticed changes when you shop? Do share your experience below!