Glutenvrij Girl in Amsterdam!

Wow! Dale and I have just returned from a lovely holiday in Amsterdam! It's a beautiful and incredibly interesting city and best of all......they understand gluten free! You WILL be able to eat in Amsterdam and by eat I mean not just "get by" eating but eating WELL, you could go so far as to say there is 'Dam good food!! (See what I did eh?!)

As always we fully researched GF friendly places, so we were armed with a hit list of suitable dining establishments! However, it soon became apparent that other places would be quite accommodating and the initial "am I gonna starve on holiday panic?" soon subsided! 

I would like to thank glutenfreeamsterdam.blogspot.nl for providing a helpful and informative blog. I visited a few of the restaurants mentioned on here. I also downloaded the free "Gluten Free Restaurant Card" from the Apple App Store. I seriously can't believe I haven't used this app before, it's a great resource! However, I must admit that the Dutch speak such excellent English my new flashy app was not necessary!

So here are my recommendations organised into Lunch and Dinner! (Breakfast was mainly fruit, rice cakes or 9bars  www.9bar.com which I took with me!) 

Lunch

First of all make friends with Albert Heijn!

A supermarket chain that is everywhere in Amsterdam.....not a bank as I first thought!?! You will find a small GF section in most branches (bread, crackers, biscuits etc) that may well be a life line for "lunch on the go". Also, some of their own brand items are clearly marked "glutenvrij" with a cross grain symbol! This was meant I could enjoy my take-away tapas for dinner on my first night without worry!

Ps....the seeded crackers are great! Quite hard work to chew but really filling so only ate 2 a day! Great value for money.....I'm a cheap date lol!!

Now before you get too excited about my next picture please read my *warning*! 

Bagels and Beans (www.bagelsbeans.nl) are a bagel chain that you will find dotted throughout the city. I ate there at the beginning of the week and as I had heard such good things about their GF bagels I didn't think to question them. The bagel was great, look....

BUT on a second visit it became apparent that there are cross contamination issues with the spreads (butter and cream cheese). Thankfully, I wasn't ill but I decided (with a heavy heart) not to eat there again. I guess it depends how you stand on cross contamination but it's worth bearing in mind before you get too carried away with the lovely looking bagel!

Similarly, Pancakes Amsterdam (www.pancakesamsterdam.com) offer GF pancakes. Admittedly, I couldn't bring myself to enquire about cross contamination. I appreciate this makes me sound a little slack and I don't normally take chances but it was a pancake.....on my holiday......with whipped cream (AND STRAWBERRIES!!) and I had read reviews from other Coeliacs, sooooo I decided I needed to stop worrying and plunge in

I enjoyed every bit and was suitably (and naively!) oblivious to how it was made!!

*TIME OUT!*...... While I am travelling it often dawns on me how neurotic you can become about eating out. Of course I don't want to get ill, of course I don't want to cause long term and irrepairable damage to my gut but I also don't want to live the rest of my life in the 4 walls of my anti gluten flat! Eating out, where food is prepared out of my sight, is always going to pose some sort of risk. Dale regularly tears his hair out as I umm and ahh about what might cause least cross contamination risk on the menu but let's face it, unless I'm going to prepare it myself.........you get the gist?! Anyway, ramblings over .....and.....breathe......on with the show!

Dinner

Lieve Belgisch (www.restaurantlieve.nl) is an interesting little restaurant!

You immediately get ushered into a little waiting area at the back of the restaurant where a member of staff comes to "explain the menus" to you?! Yep, you have a choice of 3 "dining experiences" (at 3 prices!!). You can opt for the sharing menu (most expensive), the 4 course slightly fancy dining experience and then the Family Feel (chepest!) experience! According to your choice you get a specified menu (all had GF choices!) and your table is set up according to your choice! We opted for the 3 courses for €20, Family Feel ambience! That basically meant we had a wipe clean table cloth with chintzy patterns, kitchen roll for napkins and knives and forks in a jug! I'm being mean....it was actually done very well and to be honest I wasn't really interested in the luxurious purple table cloths and pearl napkin rings of the few who chose to dine in the same restaurant for more money! 

They had a separate GF menu and the food was delicious, great value for €20!

My starter was a trio of tomatoes with a cottage cheese flan

and my main was John Dory with rocket and sweet potato mash

(It really wasn't as green and slimy as it looks in the pic...honestly!!)

Pudding was sorbet...you don't need to see a pic of that do you?!

Big thumbs up to this place.....a slightly odd idea but great food at a pretty good price!

Restaurant Haesje Claes (www.haesjeclaes.nl)

A Dutch retstaurant...had to be done! They had a separate GF menu and even had GF beer! I was pleased to see the traditional dish of Stamppot appeared on the GF menu so quickly opted for that...when Rome! (Oh, ok, you know what I mean!)

Not pretty but fairly tasty! Pickles, smoked sausage, bacon and mash with carrots and swede. Not sure I will be rushing to eat this on a regular basis but I enjoyed it! Dale ordered the original gluten version and his came with a meatball too! Oh well, I was happy with my meatball-less dish! 

La Place (www.laplace.com) 

Excuse the shifty looking tourist in the picture, it's Dale! It's a bit like Where's Wally isn't it?! 

La Place are a chain dotted about and there is also one at Schipol airport which is worth knowing. Designed in a cafeteria kinda way, you take your tray to different stations and they food is cooked in front of you while you wait. Food is generally labelled quite well and even though things like pizza and stir fries are out of the question, the steaks, chicken, soups, fruit salads and smoothies are all good. A lot of the salads are GF too, I just made sure I chose ones far away from the pasta /cous cous dishes!

Glazed ham on with chicory, tomatoes and mushrooms. I also sampled a few of the smoothies for breakfast! Worth a visit as it's quite quick and handy if you're out and about!

Cafe Klos (no website but lots of reviews on Trip Advisor!)

This place came recommended by some friends. It's quite small and very popular! We arrived at 6.00 and had to go on a waiting list for half an hour! Never fear though as they send you to the pub over the road to wait!

This is a bbq / steak restaurant and the portions ar massive! They don't have a separate GF menu but they do have allergy info if you ask for it! I went for the smoked ribs...

....I've never seen so much meat in all my life! This certainly isn't the place for veggies! Apparently, you can ask for a "ladies portion" (smaller!!) but it seems this is a hidden secret as it is not mentioned on the menu! Nevertheless, I made a fair attempt before admitting defeat! Great ribs, very tasty but I'm not in any great rush for ribs again soon! Carnivorous Dale was very, very happy!

I noticed a couple of other places while we were out walking but didn't get to visit them, however, I thought they were worth a mention!

If you can find the Esprit clothes shop they have a cafe attached. The menu outside had several items marked as GF and I noticed they used Rebel Kitchen mylk if you're dairy free!

I also spotted this shop

www.vegabond.nl 

A great little shop, had quite a large GF section with some brands I find difficult to get at home! Just wished I discovered it earlier on in the holiday!

Finally, this may also be of interest 

www.detuinen.nl

Very much like Holland and Barrett with a pretty good GF section! I was excited to see GF stroopwafel but was restrained enough not to purchase!

Well, as you can see I didn't go hungry, I didn't even have a girly meltdown in the middle of the street (as has become the norm on recent hols when tired and hungry!!) I ate well and the Dutch get a massive GF thumbs up! We had a great time and can't wait to go back.....surely that's the best review!?

Have a great fortnight everyone!  X (@lizprice79)

Eat My Words

Happy Easter! I hope you are all having a lovely day and are enjoying some Free From chocolate! Having finally broken up from school I seized the moment and decided to put my "free time" to good use.....I took some tentative steps into the kitchen and looked what happened!

In a bid to become a little more healthy, I started out by making Hemsley and Hemsley's Paradise Bars.......think Bounty Bars with a healthier twist! After sourcing all the raw cocounutty ingredients I was beginning to think it might have been cheaper to purchase my own Tropical Island! However, inspired by the lovely bars Helen (fabulouslyfreefrom.wordpress.com) created, I soldiered on and produced these......with a Liz Price (aka. messy!) twist!!

I got the recipe from http://www.getthegloss.com/article/guilt-free-pleasures-hemsley-and-hemsley-paradise-bars-recipe

Probably not what the Hemsley's had in in mind but hey ho! They solidified well.....

and despite much huffing and puffing along the lines of "waste of time"/ "cheaper to buy a Bounty Bar"/ "why do things I make NEVER work out" ......I'll eat my words and will actually make these again! Delicious and worth all the stressing!

Next on my GF baking hit list were Creme Egg brownies, gotta be done at Easter, right?! This is most certainly NOT a Hemsley and Hemsley approved recipe!! Recipe from http://www.themummyblogger.co.uk/cadburys-creme-egg-brownies/

Rich, sickly and gooey! If you use the recipe on my link be warned...they need at least an hour to cook not the 20ish mins specified! Still, worked out well and proved a hit with my willing guinea pigs at church this morning!

Finally, for pudding today Mum and Dad were lucky enough to taste my last creation of the week....chocolate orange polenta cake! My most successful baking experience of the week (see, I'm getting better!!) Thanks to http://www.deliciousandglutenfree.com/2013/03/chocolate-orange-polenta-cake.html?m=1 for the recipe!

To continue on the Easter theme I would like to say a big GF wooohoooo to Sainsburys for their Hot Cross Buns! I haven't sampled many GF buns but why sample more when I hit perfection the first time! Fab!! I'm hoping they're not just seasonal?!! 

(Not pretty but makes up for it on Hot Cross Bunniness!!)

Soooooo, I took myself off to Broadway Market yesterday to buy some bones (bear with me, I'll get on to the bones!) It always pleases me to see GF foodie items on the rise in markets like this!

I was lucky enough to sample a tasty Johnny Cake from Boss Hoss Streetfood 

(www.bosshossstreetfood.com), made from corn and stuffed with bbq chicken and black beans (veggie options were available).

For pudding, I was spoilt for choice from eat'N'mess (www.eatnmesscakes.co.uk) but went for this naughty s'mores cheesecakey/ slice

I need to be getting back to Broadway Market ASAP, just too much to choose!

Anywaaaaaay, to finish let me tell you about the bones.......

I must apologise, wholeheartedly to my very dear friend (you know who you are!). When she told me she was making Hemsley and Hemsley's bone broth I laughed.... well actually, I scoffed!!! A month later and I'm eating my words (gluten free obviously!!!) After stumbling across some info online it became apparent that this bone broth malarkey is meant to aid digestion *ears prick up*!! The more I read, the more interested I became and before I knew it was was buying fancy, organic bones from Hill and Szrok (www.hillamdszrok.co.uk) during my market trip yesterday!

I used the following recipe http://www.hemsleyandhemsley.com/recipe/bone-broth/ and my bones have now been simmering in the slow cooker for just short of 24 hours (veggies look away now!)

So, what will it taste like? Will we manage to include the broth into our cooking for the week? And, most importantly, will it aid my dodgy digestion?! Watch this space......now that's a cliffhanger eh?!

Enjoy the rest of your Easter and have a great fortnight! Liz  xx (@lizprice79)

You Spin Me Right Round Baby...!

It's official....I think I've fallen in love! I FINALLY own my very own kitchen gadget and I love it!!! My spiralizer arrived last weekend. After much ummmming and ahhhhhing I took the leap and I certainly don't regret it......it's even got Dale eating more veg so that can't be bad eh?! I went for a Westmark model from Amazon and I think we've probably had out money's worth just this week! We have spiralized everything in sight and here are the results....

Courgetti- pan fried for a few mins with Loyd Grossman pasta sauce!

Stir fried courgette and carrot 

Sweet potato baked in the oven (with chicken carbonara!)

Butternut Squash baked in the oven (instead of mash lol!) with Sainsburys Taste the Difference Pork and Herb sausages

Now, we can't be accused of not giving the gadget a fair go can we!? We are both sold on it! My particular faves were the courgetti and the butternut squash but all combos were great! I've been struggling a bit recently with my stomach and have been trying to lay off pasta and rice to see if that helps.....hence the spiralizing!!! Here's hoping I start to see the benefits soon!

Anyway, enough of the spiralizing....

Other things that have been getting me into a spin recently (see what I did there!?!) are these 

These appeared on my desk at work the other week and it'd have been rude not to dig right in! As with all Skinny Metcalfe's (www.metcalfesskinny.com) these are dangerously addictive and go a long way to help relieve the 4.00pm munchies! They come in a range of flavours (I have sampled the cheese ones too) and can fully recommend! Keep the snacks coming Skinny Metcalfe's!

I made my bi annual venture into the kitchen last weekend and rustled up a little cheesecake for Mothers's Day! I would love to tell you it was calorie free as well as Gluten Free but that's sadly not the case! It was amazing even if I do say so myself! Found it on a random Facebook link which I can't seem to copy on to here! Nevertheless, it was a lethal combination of Philadelphia Cadbury Chocolate flavour, whipped cream and Aero Mint, you'll get the picture!!

Finally a little GF shout out to Buckle and Vaughan (www.buckleandvaughan.com) in Winchmore Hill. No GF menu but knowledgeable staff who were happy to advise (and an open kitchen so I could observe!!!!). 

Beautifully cooked chicken kebab and salad.....sadly not spiralized but hey, I can forgive them for that!

Well, on that note I will leave you for another fortnight! Get spiralizing people it's sooooo much fun! Have a great fortnight! (@lizprice79) xx

Amore

Altogether now.... "Wheeeeeeen the moon hits your eyeeeee like a big pizzaaaaa pie..... That's amore!" Go on, admit it it, you're gonna be singing that all day now aren't you?! 

Sooo, pizza! That's my theme for the fortnight! DIY, easy, gf pizza bases. The research has been tough but I've been happy to take on all the "pizza eating" to help you lovely readers out!

So, in third place..... DS Bonta d'Italia pizza bases! (www.dsglutenfree.com)

I was eager to try out the "improved recipe and larger size" as I used to get the originals on prescription. It seems the lovely people at Asda sold me a pack which went out of date over a month a go, so this is worth bearing in mind when you read the review! Nevertheless, not put off by out of date pizza we still gave it a whirl!

Looks good yeah? Tasted ok?! I liked the bigger size, yup, I'm gutsy we all know that and the originals were just too small for me! However, it still had a slightly chalky consistency and tasted really sweet. I ploughed on through like a trooper but Dale actually gave up!! It's not like him to turn down pizza lol!

In second place we have Udi's pizza base mix (www.udisglutenfree.co.uk). I was expecting good things, as I like all things bready from Udi's. It was a bit of a faff because it's not ready made and requires technical things like adding yeast, rising and kneading! Hence I gave it to Dale to organise! It worked quite well et voila!

You can see it has a more rustic crust and it was definitely not as sweet as the DS one. Much more "normal" in my opinion! But...I'm not sure if you can still buy it!? I bought it during the Tesco Lifestyle Food Fair last Summer and I haven't seen them since?! They might still be around??? If not check out first place.......

In first place we have Isabel's Pizza Base Mix (www.isabelsfreefrom.co.uk)

Those of you who have read my past posts will know I had an Isabel's disaster when I tried to tackle the base on my own! Not wanting to give up (as I had heard such good reviews), I bought another pack and gave it to Dale to sort out! Yes it requires some mixing and kneading but there is no need to leave it to rise so it's much quicker than the Udi's mix. 

Not as pretty and certainly more "rustic" this was by far the best base we tried! A crisp base without needing a circular saw to cut through it! Tasty and not sweet. A great pizza "just like mama used to make" to quote Isabel!

I am well aware there are many gf bases on the market now and I'm more than happy to continue my research! I have blogged about The Venice Bakery before (www.shop.venicebakery.co.uk), they are great for a ready made base but can only be bought online with p&p delivery costs which is a shame. Nevertheless, I will consider this to be work in progress and I'll let you know if I find any to beat Isabel's! 

So, sterotyically what Italian delicacy goes hand in hand with pizza? Ice cream right?! So here's a little frozen delight for you! 

I had long since given up the hope of wafer style accompaniments with my ice cream! They were becoming a sad and dim memory of my glutem filled past! UNTIL, the lovely people at Freego (www.freego.com) introduced me to Eskal (www.eskalfoods.com) and look what I found!

AND....

How exciting! The chocolate wafer rolls don't contain nuts either which is fab coz I thought they might be a Nutella style thing! Wrong! All was well! The cones are great too! I must admit they are a little pricey but for the sheer delight of having ice cream cones and wafers they were kinda worth it! Mmmmmm!

Ok, well I hope you're still crooning along to Dean Martin and Amore! Have a great fortnight everyone! Xx (@lizprice79)

Gluten Free Girl in Madrid

Now, before I throw myself into the culinary highs and lows of Madrid, I feel the need to explain something. Since being diagnosed with Coeliac Disease nearly 3 years ago I have been left with a few little foodie quirks! As if being GF and nut free wasn't bad enough eh?! I won't bore you with my eating habits now however, it is worth bearing in mind that I need to eat regularly otherwise I feel icky and I can't eat late otherwise......you guessed it.... I feel icky!! So, having explained that......on with the show!

After landing in Madrid in the early morning I was pretty ravenous by lunchtime! The good ol' Golden Arches of Maccy D's has never really floated my boat, even in my gluten eating days! However, it was pretty tempting after a long journey and a growling stomach! Seeing a cross grain symbol on the  door got me a little bit excited and then by the time I had explained my needs (using the Coelaic UK translation!) I was thrilled to discover that a GF bun was an option! 

I must confess to being a little nervous and I just couldn't face risking the fries as I know they are contraversial! I was impressed by the clear labelling on the ticket and was thrilled there was more GF choice here.....begging the question why can't we have GF buns in the UK? Nevertheless, I wasn't bowled over by the burger, it was every bit as uninspiring as I remember BUT it served a purpose and  no ickiness was felt!

Rather frustratingly the land of the Siesta and Mañana don't believe in early eating! The Spaniards clearly don't suffer indigestion / reflux etc and hurrah to them for that! Therefore, we found ourself eating in places we wouldn't necessarily have chosen just because they were open and catered for GF......don't judge! We just need to avoid the ickiness!!

After doing a bit of reading and getting some recommendations from celiaquitos (www.celiaquitos.com) online we tried Tommy Mels diner style restaurant (www.tommymels.com)

A reassuring menu and great labelling of food. As you can see, not a particularly exciting chicken burger but......it was safe and filled me up! Job done!

The VIPS chain is another safe bet (www.vips.es), they are dotted about the city and have a shop with a restaurant attached. The shop is useful for selling Tyrrell's crisps and Metcalfes Skinny popcorn so great for "on the go" snacks.

The menu is FACE approved which makes you feel  confident with the GF choices

I ordered the bbq chicken flatbread

It was ok, a bit artificial but made a change from burger! I just wished I had left room for pudding as the GF pancakes sounded fab!

Now, another little quirk of mine is I'm not good with too much GF bread.........oooops, a very bread heavy diet so far! Anyway, I was thrilled to try the Steak Burger Bar (www.steakburger.es)

Dale was more than happy to partake in a burger again but I was thrilled to have the option of of steak! I was even more excited to be met by a waiter who was also Coeliac and could advise me on the best options on the menu. Apparently, they have a separate fryer for the fries which is handy to know. My steak was amazing, cooked perfectly and well worth the visit.....the first place I can truly reccomend!

My second recommendation for dinner is El Arozzal (www.elarozzal.com). I had read online that this was THE place for Coeliacs to visit. After two failed attempts (it was closed both times!) we finally caught it open at lunchtime. The owners don't have a great deal of English but I dredged about in the dark recesses of my brain for my fail safe GCSE Spanish phrases! Mr Smith (my Spanish teacher) would have been proud! I managed to establish that I was a Coeliac, that we really would love a GF bread roll, that they have GF beer on offer and we would like a paella con carne para dos! Fab! 

Delicious paella in an authentic setting. Not cheap (€39 for paella, roll and water para dos!) but well worth it!!

New York Burger (Yep, burger again...Dale was thrilled!!) (www.newyorkburger.es) are quite active on Twitter and somehow made it into my little Twitter world! Seeing they catered for GF and were based in Madrid I was intrigued! Admittedly, I'd eaten more burgers (and bread!!!!) than I normally eat in months but I was keen to give them a go! Also, as we were eating there on our last day I wanted something filling to keep the ickiness away while travelling (remember...it's all about the ickiness!)

I'm liking the little GF flags that seem to be making a regular appearance on my food! The burger was good. The roll was quite small, which wasn't a problem for me (the breadaphobe) but for some it may have been disappointing, especially if a larger burger was ordered! Nevertheless, I was stuffed soooo job done!

General snacking and supermarkets were not that amazing. I found a limited selection of GF bread and biscuits in different supermarkets but none were that great or that easy to find. I generally ate big lunches and relied on GF cake / churros as a late afternoon snack! Yep, you heard me right cake and churros........read on my friends.....

If you have a big old sweet tooth like me then these two places are a MUST for your trip to Madrid!

Celicioso (www.celicioso.es) wow.....WOW!! I can't say more than that!!!! A gluten free bakery with sweet and savoury on offer.....needless to say I sampled a few items throughout the week! 

Banoffee cake- soft, moist, toffee, banana mmmmmm!

My all time fave....red velvet cake with thick, thick, hot chocolate

A white chocolate palmier- so sweet and sickly I was nearly beaten....but I did it! Hurrah!

Turkey roll....more bread argh!! Best GF crusty roll I've tasted though! Worth the bloating!!!

If you do manage to go, check out what else is on offer. It seemed there was more in the chilled cabinet than was on the menu and there were also secret churros that I couldn't see listed anywhere but many were happily tucking into them! Whatever, you have, you'll enjoy it, I promise!!

Finally...churros!! Gluten free churros and chocolate...oh yes!! Maestro Churrero, Plaza Jancinto Benavente 2, 28012 (just off Plaza Mayor).

I might look a little stunned but trust me, it's excitement!! GF churros are things I thought I could only dream about! The chocolate is amazing too......not for the savoury fans of the world but right up my street! I had read online that they use a separate fryer and this is clear when you order as they are prepared separately to the regular versions. The chocolate is GF too and you can even bring a packet of chocolate home (if you have room in your hand luggage....which I didn't #sadtimes)

So if you are off to Madrid you won't starve! If you like a burger, you will be super happy! If you don't need to eat at set times you will probably discover some more hidden gems I didn't have the chance to  find! But to conclude.....there is cake.....gooooooood cake (and churros!) and that can't be bad....can it?!

Have a great fortnight everyone xx (@lizprice79)