Heb Glwten Girl in Wales!

So, the joy of half term is nearly over and the count down to the big summer hols has already begun! Dale and I spent the final half term of the year catching up with family and exploring Dale's homeland!

We began our explorations with a little detour off the M4 to Windsor! (Necessary risk assessment trip prior to taking our Year 2's to the castle...the work of a school teacher is never done!!) After a lovely trip around the castle we seized the opportunity to try out Bella Italia (www.bellaitalia.co.uk). I haven't eaten here since my gluten filled days and was pleasantly surprised by the GF choice on offer.....pizza, pasta, grills etc Obviously, I went for the pizza!

I'm quite familiar with the Prezzo / Pizza Express pizza options and it was nice to have a different selection of toppings! Tasty with a pretty good crust. Would like to go back to sample some of the pasta dishes next!

On our first gloomy, misty, rainy, summers day in South Wales we decided to seek refuge at the McArthur Glen shopping centre. After reading lots of good things about Ed's Easy Diner (www.edseasydiner.com) on Twitter I was keen to drown my summer sorrows and fill up on some stodge! First impressions were good! I was presented with a separate GF menu that was colourful and laminated (no tatty bits of photocopied paper here!!). The menu gave lots of choice and I excitedly went  for the hotdog (with GF bun...oh yes!!). However, I'm sad to report the reality was not quite as exciting as the dream.

My hot dog didn't fit into the the GF bun!!! Instead, it perched rather precariously on top of the slightly anaemic bun. After making a very un glamorous attempt at biting into it, I gave up and used my knife and fork (much to Dale's embarrassment!). The bun was doughy, chewy and probably a little undercooked....the sausage was ok! I ended up leaving most of the roll which was hugely disappointing. Nevertheless, I consoled myself with a gigantic milkshake which was actually rather delicious!

As the mist cleared, we drove to Tenby and Saundersfoot. I wasn't overwhelmed by the GF choices but I would like to mention Sue's Pantry in Saundersfoot. 

They have amazing cakes in the window and not surprisingly seem to be extremely popular! Inside, they had a small selection of GF cakes, all individually wrapped for that extra piece of mind!

After eating a Tesco's reduced tuna salad on the seafront (while Dale tucked into fish and chips!!) this provided a welcomed treat! 

As we arrived in Breacon I was met by this sign

It would have been rude not to visit Giglio's (@gigliosbreacon) after they had gone out of their way to advertise their GF delights! The menu made it clear that Gluten Free-ers would always be made welcome and there was a good selection of soups, sandwiches, cakes, salads and main courses all with the GF seal of approval!

My salad came with GF mayo and GF seeded bread and was great! It's those little touches that make all the difference right?! We were so impressed we shared a slice of chocolate cake for pudding!! Dale could hardly wait!!

What I particularly liked about Giglio's was that there was one option.....if you wanted chocolate cake then you had the GF cake, if you wanted apple pie you had the GF pie. There was no secret stash of dusty old GF items, dragged out when someone dared to ask for them! Their food was GF and they were proud about it and clearly confident of the taste! Well done Giglio's, if only more places could be like you! 

The sun actually shone on Wednesday.....at last! Back to the seaside we went and this time we hit The Mumbles in Swansea. I am pleased to report that Joe's ice cream (www.joes-ice cream.com) couldn't have been more helpful! Heaven forbid a trip to the coast should be ice creamless and I had heard Joe's was THE place to head for! Thankfully, they did not let me down!

They happily checked through their allergy file and advised me of suitable flavours (the vanilla, their trademark, was amazing!!). They didn't even bat an eyelid when we asked if they could wash the scoop before using it! Fab! I was tempted to go back for more!

Thankfully, after a stroll along the pier I found space for some lunch! The Kitchen Table, (www.thekitchentablecafe.co.uk) advertise GF food outside and their menu is clearly labelled.

The outside is quite deceiving.....once you step inside you discover a 2 levelled, cute, slightly chintzy tea shop with a great menu selection. I went for the spiced chickpea burger

which was really tasty. I particularly liked the side salad with the pickle and seed combo which made a nice change. Definitely worth a look if you're in The Mumbles area!

When the milkshake cravings start and there isn't an Ed's Easy Diner around what do you do?! You welcome Joe Delucci's (www.joedeluccis.com) with wide open GF arms, that's what you do! Found in the middle of Cardiff shopping centre they advertise GF options. The staff were happy to help and were willing to wash their scoops before using them! Yey, milkshake itch scratched! But I drank it before I remembered to take a picture...oooops!!

Interestingly enough, after my week of poor diet and general over indulgence, I have felt better than I have done in ages! Ironically, despite more junk and carbs, I've had hardly any stomach issues.......maybe there is a lesson to be learned here......I clearly need more chocolate and ice cream in my diet!!!

Well, on that note I will go and mentally prepare myself for the start of the next (and last!!!!) half term! Have a great fortnight everyone! Xx (@lizprice79)

May The GF Force Be With You

As well as Coeliac Awareness week and Star Wars Day, May also marks my Coeliac "birthday".... 3 years and still standing (well, most of the time!!). At the risk of sounding overly melancholy, these occasions provoke moments of reflection. I would be lying if I said the last 3 years have been easy....they haven't! I'd also be lying if I said I've got it cracked now and I feel fab all of the time....I don't! But, guess what....it's all ok.....I feel a whole lot better than I did, I CAN still eat out and most importantly I CAN still eat cake! My baking skills are constantly improving, Dale has become resident GF expert in Sainsburys where he works and I have become FAR more open minded about eating things I wouldn't have even looked at before (I'm thinking "bone broth, cougetti, mackerel etc)....it's not all bad!

One of the things that constantly surprises me is the ease at which I can find tasty GF options here in the capital! (I appreciate it may not be so easy elsewhere!) Good quality GF items are in the rise in supermarkets, street food stalls and restaurants...exciting times!

Borough Market never disappoints. During my last visit, Ethiopian Flavours (@ethiofllavours) caught my eye! Their clear allergy labelling impressed me and reeled me in! I went for the chicken, spinach and spilt pea option all on a bed of rice (or flat bread for those gluten eaters among us!) a hefty portion at a bargain price. (Approx a fiver)

I must confess to leaving some as I had already purchased my pudding (obviously!!!) and wanted to make sure I had room for it! Most GF Londoners will already be familiar with the work of the Free From Bakehouse (www.thefreefrombakehouse.com) but they are always a firm favourite whenever I'm at Borough. This time I picked up a slice of Treacle Tart.....oh yes, you heard me right!!

Ok, so it didn't fit in the box very well, which I appreciate doesn't make for the best picture but oooooohhhhhhh I tasted soooo good! If you have a HUGE sweet tooth like me then this would be right up you GF street. To be honest it even beat me and I had to give up just before the end!!! Worth every calorific mouthful!

Marks and Spencer are proving to be little GF gems! They have quietly crept into the FreeFrom market without any huge song or dance. They have a lovely "Made without...." section in their stores but also sneak some GF stuff into their regular sections too.....scotch eggs.. ..quiche.... sausages ....burgers... tortilla chips! Their labelling is usually quite clear but you do have to search sometimes! I found this the other week

BREADED HAM!!!! I thought this was a joy of my past gluten eating life but NO! Thanks to M&S I can indulge in the ham of the breaded variety!

It's also worth checking out the freezer section. As well as the chilled breaded fish / chicken in the fridges they also have breaded frozen fish wich was really tasty (with my butternut squash chunky chips!!)

Also, in the regular section

Says it feeds two but I think that's debatable! We bought two packs on an offer and ate one each...

Maybe we are just gutsy but come on, that doesn't look that big does it?! Anyway, worth checking out.....no gluten containing ingredients listed on the package!

I finally managed to track down NO.G (www.toogoodtobeglutnfree.com) in Sainsburys. 

Ironically, after trying to track these little beauties down for ages and then umming and ahhing about which flavour to buy, it turns out I chose the one with pine nuts.....the pine nuts I can't eat!!! Frustrated and disappointed I took my life in my hands and painstaking picked out all of the pine nuts (and there were hundreds of them!) Not ideal and won't be buying this flavour again BUT I will be fully researching the other varieties because this was really good.......almost too good to be gluten free!! 

I would like to close with a little shout out to Dale! He is often the butt of my jokes on here but I am truly thankful for his passion for all things foodie! He happily tackles any GF challenge I throw his way and  constantly looks for ways to adapt regular recipes to GF versions when I'm craving something from the old days! However, I'm sure he would agree that he has met his true nemesis......a nemesis in the form of a GF Yorkshire pudding! Therefore, my final thanks goes to Isabel (www.isabelsfreefrom.co.uk)! Without her wonderful mix, I may never have eaten proper Yorkshire puds again!

Have a great fortnight! X (@lizprice79)

Feeling Chirpy!

As I walked around Pets at Home, it dawned on me that many of the items available in the bird food pick n' mix bins were not dis similar to what I had just spent a fortune on in Holland and Barrett! Maybe my Mum was right? With the amount of seed/ millet I've been eating, my singing voice should definitely have improved by now! I can certainly "out sing" most people on Take That Singstar but tuneful?!......doubtful! Nevertheless, my seed intake has increased and do you know what, I love them! I can't eat nuts, so seeds are the perfect alternative! So, lock up your budgies and read on....

My best, recent seed find has been in Lidl!

Now, you may be forgiven for thinking these are another popular GF brand as they look VERY similar! I'm all for offering my support to GF friendly businesses but I'm sorry, I'm a traitor, these were too much of a bargain to leave behind! I normally pay approx a fiver for a similar brand but these are £1.99 each! Amazing!

I was excited to receive this in the post from my Mother In Law

I didn't even know this book exisited but I was keen to try it out! Lo and behold there was a seed breakfast bar recipe.....BOOM!

Yey! Easy peasy! Even I managed to successfully make them! Perfect for break time munchies at school.....thank goodness for the Holland and Barrett penny sale which meant I could get stocked up on my seed collection! 

I was excited to see this in my local Marks and Spencer's

I'm always keen to try an oat free porridge and have been happily munching my way through the Sainsburys Freefrom version. To be honest this tastes very similar (despite not containing millet) but I particularly liked the fact that these are in individual sachets. This makes it much easier to store and could even be taken away when travelling!

I've also been feeling chirpy because Dale celebrated his birthday in the week! This resulted in the usual Price celebration of over indulging in excessive quantities of meat! I hung up my seed and quinoa fetish and channelled my inner cave woman as we headed to Dukes Brew And Que (www.dukesbrewandque.com) in Hackney! Featured on the "Food Junkies" TV programme, Dukes is THE place for BBQ / Ribs etc etc! I emailed prior to my visit about GF choices and quicky got a reply. I opted for the pork ribs (minus the gluten containing BBQ sauce!!)

If you're veggie......probably not the best place for you (although there were veggie options!). My ribs were great, tasty, soft, fell apart....everything you want from a good rib! Dale went for the beef rib which was scarily similar to an episode of the Flintstones! All was good. If you're up for a meat-athon I can recommend......not cheap but good for a treat!! 

Another cause for chirpiness was the unexpected arrival of a hamper of goodies from Udi's (www.udisglutenfree.co.uk). I like presents and foodie presents are even more exciting! I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone (thankfully not during my visit to Pets at Home....I think that's frowned upon!?). I gave the Udi's sponge mix a whirl and took them to church as Dales birthday cupcakes....woop,woop!

The mix was easy to use and came together well. I'm a little confused why you would want to use a mix, as surely the dry part of a sponge mix is just flour and sugar?! Nevertheless, if mixes are your thing this was easy! It was a bit annoying that the recipe was in cups so Google was my friend during this baking experience! They came out ok!!

Everyone at church was thrilled and were more than happy to sample! Personally I felt they could have been a bit sweeter. The consistency was a bit crumbly and resulted in lots of crumbs on the floor but it could have been because I baked them the day before? Nevertheless, I had to apologise to the people on the cleaning rota that week?!

I also managed to sample the white sandwich loaf....although never one to do as I'm told, I didn't make a sandwich with it! I did however, put it through the cheese on toast test and....

....it passed!!! Very nice! Thanks Udi's! I'll let you know how I get on with my other hamper items over the next few weeks!

Well, I'm off for some more millet and to practise my scales! Have a great fortnight! Xx @lizprice79)