Out and About

Dale and I seem to have been out and about rather a lot during the past fortnight! Dales passion for microbreweries (yawn!!) has led to all sorts of trips to parts of London I didn't even know existed! It comes to something when a boy from the  Welsh Valleys knows more about "The big smoke" than me (a born and bred Londoner!!)! Anyway, yesterday saw us being able to combine my love of GF food and Dales boozy interest as we took a trip to the Foodies Festival at The Old Truman Brewary, just behind Spitalfields market. 

I was interested to know what GF selection would be on offer....the answer.....not that much!! There were a few items that just happened to be GF but no representation of a "GF only" company at all which I thought was quite surprising! Nevertheless, I picked up these

which are dangerously addictive! Great, bold flavours but....beware.....some flavours have a "produced in a factory that handles..." warning, so just double check before purchasing! (www.manomasa.co.uk)

These lovely little fudge bars were a no brainer for my sweet tooth

the only trouble was I couldn't decide which flavours to buy! I've only cracked open the strawberry and balsamic so far but...let's just say....I don't think they will be hanging around for long! Delicious!! (www.thewonkykitchen.com)

Frustratingly, I also paid £2 for one brownie which was ok but nothing to rave about! I won't name and shame the company as that's a bit mean but I know Dale makes a mean GF brownie and I'm yet to buy one that beats it! Just wish we had the confidence to set up and sell them.....would be great to see if we could! Any advice from anyone doing it would be appreciated!!

Outside of The Old Truman Brewary is a food market. My little GF heart skipped a beat when I noticed an Arepa stall! (@Arepazobros)

All Arepas are labelled as GF and this was just as good as my previous Arepa experience!

Corn bread, chicken, beans, guacamole, cheese and plantain! Wow! Dale and I ate our dinner before we realised it was only 4.30!! Oops! 

I always enjoy a trip to Broadway Market (www.broadwaymarket.co.uk) at London Fields and there's usually something new and GF to try! Last weekend I had a lovely warming veggie curry from (www.gujaratirasoi.com)

I thought Dale was just taking the photo of the food lol! I'd have smiled more if I'd have known!!! Anyway, dodgy pic aside, the curry was fab, just the thing for these chilly Autumnal days!

Speaking of chilly days I've been seriously craving some hot choc! I'm currently having a battle with Starbucks as I am trying to find out if their hot choc is GF! An easy enough question you would think.....wrong!! They have now informed me about their lattes, ALL their food but still not their hot choc arghhhh! Thank goodness for

Montezuma's have a shop at Spitalfields Market! (www.montezumas.co.uk) Not everything is GF but check the labels and you'll be pleasantly surprised! This mint hot choc is like drinking an After Eight! Mmmmmmmm! 

Now, has anyone eaten in Prezzo (www.prezzorestaurants.co.uk) recently? GF plus point....there are GF options on the Christmas menu woohoooo! They offer a 2 and 3 course festive menu special HOWEVER GF peeps can only have 2 courses cos there's no GF pudding!!! I know!!! How can that be??! Pudding is the best bit right?! Anyway, after getting over the pudding strops I ordered a Bianca pizza that had goats cheese, beetroot, butternut squash etc on it

BUT I could not get my knife through the base! I've had Prezzo pizza many times so just wondered if they had changed their base? I seriously couldn't do a thing with it! Thank goodness I was with a good friend who was suitably entertained by the mess I was making! Please take note.....this is NOT first date food!! 

Well, as always, I wish you all a lovely fortnight! Xx (@lizprice79)

Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude.....to gain pleasure from someone elses mis fortune! Last week my scadenfredeous (ok, I made that one up!!) experience came in the shape of two Udi's (www.udisglutenfree.co.uk) sliced white loaves! Yep, that's right, I'm easily pleased! The unfortunate thing.....my friend from work had purchased said loaves for her "egg free" son only to get get home to find a sticker stating the bread was no longer egg free! Annoying for her but fortunate for me coz they came my way!

I gave the loave some vigorous testing! Toast.....

Ham sarnie for lunch......

.....and I'm pleased to report I'm seriously impressed! Can't believe I haven't tried this before, especially as I'm fan of their bagels! Most impressive thing was that it lasted really well, I didn't freeze it for a few days and it was still as good as new! White bread is not the healthiest of choices, I know,  but for those occasional situations where only white bread will do....this is your guy!

I'm such a sucker for a special offer, in fact I am am advertisers dream! So, I was well and truly sucked in to entering a competition to win a Freego (www.freego.com) hamper. After entering the competition I got sent a voucher for money off my first Freego order, sooo...can you see where this is going?! 

Here's my order...!!

For those of you who don't know Freego is a cool little company who deliver a range of Freefrom products direct to your door. The phrase "kid in a sweet shop" comes to mind and I quicky cranked up a large bill! Well done to the Freego advertising department lol! Super impressed with the products on offer, the delivery time and the packaging. Lots of things that I hadn't seen before! Haven't tried everything yet but here's the low down so far.....

My faves by far have to be these

Yep, I know they're meant for kids but they are great! (www.smooze.co.uk) I'm particularly loving the "simply coconut" flavour, they are so sweet and creamy it's hard to believe there's no nasties in them! Really hit the spot after dinner when you want something sweet but you know another choc ice isn't a good idea!

We needed new pasta so I ordered a couple of brands. Have only tried this one (www.dialcos.it) so far but it's nice, made with corn flour and rice flour and.... it kinda tastes like pasta so I guess that's good!? Little tip .....Cook for longer than than the 8-9 mins stated....there's "Al dente" and there's "not cooked", so I'd give it a bit longer!

We all know I'm a rice cake fan and if they can come chocolate coated all the better!

These were good, probably not my fave choc rice cakes as the milk chocolate still tasted quite bitter to me (that's probably due to it being a good quality chocolate for a more refined chocolate eating palate than my own!!). Neverthess, not unpleasant and if you like fancy chocolate these could be for you. (www.elementsnacks.com)

Next was a little gamble

Ooooo I really didn't like these! (www.itsu.com) I couldn't even convince Dale to eat them! However, in their defence, we are not fishy / sushi kinda people. These definitely had a salty, seaside taste to them and did absolutely nothing for me! But if fish, sushi or any other acqatic animal floats your boat then these could be for you!

Most exciting purchase has to go to these (www.piacerimediterranei.it)

I haven't tried them yet but they have made my mum a very happy lady! Christmas 2014 will see the traditional family trifle being made with GF lady fingers! Oh yes, spongeless trifle has had its day!!! Watch out for early 2015 blog post with a full review!!!

As much as I would like to end with that nail biting cliff hanger, I do just want to share one last thing with you. Not ordered from Freego (more Freego items in future blog posts- I can only eat so quickly!!) but bought from the fabulous Cookies and Scream in Camden! (www.cookiesandscream.com) Yes, I've blogged about them before but come on, they're worth shouting (or screaming?!) about!! Dale brought me 2 treats home from his trip to Camden

This may well have an official name but apparently it's a brownie with a cookie in the middle! Oh yes, it really exists, a brookie or a crownie or whatever it is.......I don't need to say anymore than....wow! I'm sure you can guess how amazing it was! As for the second treat it didn't last long enough to have its picture taken but if I tell you it was the biggest, chocolatyist, most gooey cookie you've seen you'll understand why I didn't hang around to take the pic! Cookies and Scream I love you! 

Have a fab fortnight everyone! Xx (@lizprice79)

Tinned Carrots and Cheese Slices

Tinned carrots and cheese slices......pretty much sums up my diet over the last week! We have been in  Mallorca for Half Term and my diet probably reflects the quality of the hotel rather than the culinary Mallorcan delights that are on offer! Please, if you are heading off to sunnier climes for the winter please don't let me put you off...in fact read my last blog post on Mallorca, it'll be far more helpful! This year we were lazy.....we did nothing.....went no where.....just lounged and read! So, read on for a survival guide to lazy eating while on holiday.....

Firstly, as all good Coeliacs do, I travelled with a stash.... a stash as big my small baggage allowance allowed! My stash of goodies (necessities) included

9 bars (9bar.com)

Aero and Fudge Bars

Kallo Corn Cakes ( Yep, I went "all out" and ditched my usual rice cakes!) (www.kallo.com)

And finally Lovemore Jammy Wheels (www.lovemorefoods.com)

My stash served me well...I rationed out the choc and made the biscuits last alllllll week.......impressive I know!! These biscuits btw are fab, just like the real McCoy, the only prob is that they are so small....even more impressive that I made that last the week eh?! These little gems were found in Waitrose amd I'd definitely recommend!

So, we were half board in the Son Baulo hotel in Ca'n Picafort. Breakfast was pretty easy....eggs, bacon....tomatoes all ok!

Lunch.....that's where the corn cakes (and cheese slices!!) came in! I bought the little Spa shop out of cheese slices lol! Cheap and easy lunch...not fancy I admit but in a small town where most things were shut "for the season" or the remaining places served up any number of pre photographed burgers, pizza, pasta  amd paninni's etc I stuck with my corn cakes!

Dinner, now that was interesting! Had a rather hair raising experience on the first night when the "what I thought was tortilla" turned out to be quiche!!  Disaster! Despite checking with the chef if the "tortilla" was "sin gluten" I still ate 2 bites before I realised it was most definitely not sin gluten!!! After raised voices and unhappiness between an angry Welshman (Dale) and an equally angry Spanish waiter, we finally made ourselves understood and calm resumed! Thankfully my stomach also remained calm!! From there on in I was guided around by aforementioned waiter with an allergy ringbinder! It seems they were pretty on the ball after all....it just depended who you asked?!?! Hmmmmm.......anyway, gf dinner usually consisted of grilled meat and tinned carrots?! I think my tan could be more to do with my diet than the sun! Not amazing cuisine but still, at least it was safe!

Picked up a couple of random gf items on a shelf in a little supermarket.....all in amongst regular stuff so you really do have to look for it in the smaller stores!

These took the place of the corn cakes once they had run out! Very similar texture to those old Salt and Vinegar Chipsticks....do you remember them? These were an ok substitute but they stuck to your lip as you ate them in a rather unflattering manner!

These weren't great to be honest! Thought I was on familiar ground with chocolate covered rice cakes but these were very salty rice cakes with very bitter dark choc! Not a combination I'm keen to repeat!

Nevertheless, most branded ice creams are well labelled....YEY! Also, strangely enough, crisps are really well labelled too......not much help for me with my "potato weiredness" but thought I would share!

Anyway, I may not have had the best diet over the last week but I had a lovely hol, oh go on then, I'll throw in a holiday pic...

Weather was fab, beach was lovely, books were great and batteries are definitely recharged!

Nevertheless, I was quick to hit Costa in the arrivals area of Gatwick to buy one of these for the journey home

Not sure if I was just thrilled to have something other than cheese and tinned veg but this was delicious! Great basil flavour coming through and the wrap holds together really well! It's very similar to a Newburn Bakehouse wrap....does anyone know if it is?

Well, I have a few hours of freedom left before the new term begins and I'm off to make the most of them! Have a great fortnight! X (@lizprice79)