Monday, 24 August 2015

Maybe It's Because I'm A Londoner!

Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner, that I love London sooooooooo tra la la! Couldn't help a little opening sing song but I do really love London- the hustle and bustle, the busyness, the "no making eye contact on the tube / stand to the right on the escalator" un-written rules, the architecture, the theatre and.....oh.....the food!! Us Gluten Free-ers don't do too badly here in the big smoke. So, with summer hol time on my hands I've been out and about! Consider this weeks post a "travel slash food blog"!

Mum and I had the pleasure of going to Regents Park Open Air Theatre a couple of weeks ago. If you haven't been, you really should, it's lovely. I packed a mac and umbrella.....typically the sun shone and we got sun burnt! Oh well! We ate a picnic in the park before hand and I got to sample a Waitrose GF chicken salad sandwich


It was lovely to have a choice (chicken or cheese), however these do seem to be the bog standard GF sandwich choices wherever you go! Nevertheless, the bread was good and I loved the seeds on top. I also (finally) got round to trying The Coconut Collaborative yog (www.coconutco.co.uk)


I must confess I was a little reluctant after my Coyo disappointment but these were very different. Very creamy and I particularly like the layer of passion fruit at the bottom. I found the plain one a little sharp and would probably add a dash of honey to that one. I now regularly pick these up in Waitrose and Sainsbury's and have even got Mum hooked on them too!

I was thrilled to find the famous Bad Brownie (www.badbrownie.co.uk) peeps at Broadway Market! Obviously, I sampled their salted caramel GF brownie!


Oh my....these are good! I completely get what all the fuss is about. There are quite pricey at £3.50 a brownie but wow it was worth it! The GF version was kept well away from the regular ones and had a separate  cake cutter. Guess what....?! 3 days later I was shopping at Brent Cross.....guess who was there.....Bad Brownie.....arghhh!! I think I may be addicted....I must confess......I ate another!!!! Again, the GF brownies were sealed in a seperate box behind the counter! BUT my addiction gets worse because I also bought this...


....which I am currently slathering on anything that stays still long enough! Amazing on ice cream but even more amazing on a spoon straight from the jar......oooops! 

Ok, we all know how fab Leon is (www.leonrestaurants.co.uk) and I don't want to make their heads any bigger but they really are amazing! So much GF choice! I finally decided on a chicken and chorizo hot box mmmmmm


So, I mentioned Brent Cross, it'd be rude not to mention Lakeside right?! (My name is Elizabeth Price and I'm a shopaholic.....who is also a salted caramel fan!). I was excited to see that Gino D'acampo has a pasta bar which cooks GF pasta woohoooo! (www.mypastabar.co.uk). The GF sauces were a little limited but still, it was nice to have a pasta dish on the go.


Situated up in the food court, it made a nice change. The pasta held together well and the sauce was tasty. It was cooked to order in fresh water.

I was also pleased to see that Pret a Manger (www.pret.com) have finally got a GF sweet treat to sustain weary coeliac shoppers!


Added bonus...it had caramel on it!!

Dale took me on a mystery day out last week! We ended up walking over the O2! What a surprise! 


Can really recommend.....great views of lovely London from the top! Next we went for GF hot dogs at Top Dog (www.top-dog.com) woop!


We got a little confused by the wording on the website which is a bit mis leading. We have since spoken to them about it and they have reassured us they will be changing it. The website states all the hot dogs are GF, which we took to mean all the varieties on the menu would be ok. However, what they actually meant was that all the hot dog sausages were GF. Some toppings were ok but by the time we had discussed website wording I opted for a plain pork dog in a GF bun with sweet potato fries. It was delicious and the bun was great! I was stuffed! I look forward to returning when we have worked out what toppings I can have! I would like to say that the staff were really helpful and checked lots of things  for us, they were very keen to keep me safe...which is always a good thing in my book!!

I met my friend from work last week and we went to Bang Bang (www.bangbangcanteen.co.uk) on Warren Street. It's a Vietnamese restaurant which seems to be pretty allergy aware. We enquired about GF options as well as nut free options. We got an immediate response saying over 90% of the menu is GF and no peanuts are used on site. Result! We both ordered a brisket pho


and it was delicious! I made my debut into the chopstick eating world and all I can say is that it wasn't pretty! Thank goodness we are good friends! As I was wiping the soup from my chin and picking bits out of my hair, I was very glad I wasn't on a first date! (Too proud to ask for a fork?!)

Finally, I took the plunge and purchased one of these


I'm a big baby when it comes to drinking gross tasting things (especially if they are thick...bluergh??!). I have been experimenting lots but any tips for nice tasting, non thick smoothies (that don't involve ice cream, chocolate or salted caramel!!!) would be greatly appreciated!

Have a great fortnight everyone! Xx (@lizprice79)














Sunday, 9 August 2015

Hurrah for Quinoa & Going Loca for Tapioca!

Quinoa....a gluten free-ers best friend! Buoyed up by my recent quinoa based products, I decided to go the whole hog and replace my rice with plain quinoa for dinner last week! Bluergh! It turns out that I'm not a fan of neat quinoa!!! However, here are some cleverly disguised quinoa products that I have been enjoying!

Dee's Quinoa Pot (www.deeswholefoods.co.uk)


Stocked up on Dee's at the Allergy Show and ironically you can now buy them from Holland and Barrett! Ho hum, least I'm well stocked now! Really liked this, love Moroccan flavours and this didn't fail. Quick blitz in the microwave (which you all know is my favourite type of cooking?!) and it was a great, speedy, meal on the go!

During my last "Cheeky Nando's", I noticed they are now doing a quinoa salad which gets the GF seal of approval! Tasty and filling! A nice change from the usual Nando's offerings!


Continuing with my love of "ping ping", micro meals! I am a great Kirsty's fan! (Www.kirstys.co.uk). I bought this in Sainsbury's as I am trying not to eat so much rice. I hadn't realised that this also has rice in it but at least it's mixed in with the quinoa. Nice, quick and tasty ready meal which doesn't bloat as much as some other carb heavy dishes.



I really like these Qunioa bars found in Holland and Barrett but I have 2 problems with them. They are (in my opinion!!) hugely over priced at about £1.49 per bar!! My second issue is that it seems you can only buy them on Hollamd and Barrett. When I looked online they had awful reviews and lots of places had stopped stocking them! What do I know eh?! I really enjoyed them and they are perfect for putting in your bag for days out etc! 



Eat Real (www.eatreal.co.uk) Quinoa Chips are great, particualry as I don't eat much potato, so crisps are a thing of the past for me! I picked these up in the pound shop but I have seen them in quite a few health food stores. They have a crisp like texture and the flavour is amazing (just don't go on a hot date straight after, the garlic is quite overpowering!! )


And finally......I have saved the best for last! Come, if you will, on a journey away from quinoa towards the Coeliacs next best friend....tapioca! 

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure to finally sample the culinary delights from Feed Me Primal (www.feedmeprimal.co.uk) at the Schoolyard Market (Broadway Market). I had read many a tweet raving about the gluten free joys that Feed Me Primal have to offer! Let's just say I wasn't disappointed!!


Watching the tapioca flour being sieved onto the griddle and then magically turning into a wrap is quite amazing! I opted for the spinach, tomato and feta filling and it was delicious! So glad to have finally sampled something from Feed Me Primal and I'm sure it won't be my last visit! 

Well, that's all from me! Have a great fortnight! Xx @lizprice79