Expanded free from range at Morrisons

Great to see more gluten free products in the Morrisons free from range.

As someone with Coeliac Disease I'm always on the hunt for new and interesting gluten and wheat free food and drink. So I was very pleased to see that Morrisons have really gone to town on their expanded range of Free From products.

Look at that, just look at that. What a sight. What a delight

Yowzers! There are plenty of pie options in the fridge at Morrisons in Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire. This time I bought a very nice No-G Chicken, Bacon and Leek Pie for my dinner, and a Lemon Pie for Emily to try. I had a nibble to and it was marvellous. I've also got a Morello Cherry and Chocolate Tart in the fridge. We've also tried some of the products in the Great Food range before and they are very good too. We'll have to try the Pure products in the future

There is also some new gluten and wheat free bread from Newburn Bakehouse now in stock at Morrisons, including a sourdough loaf

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac

Links:
- Morrisons
- No-G
- Great Food
- Newburn Bakehouse

A gluten free burger in a gluten free brioche-style bun!

We're always on the lookout for new and interesting gluten free food and we made a great discovery at Waitrose in Lutterworth, Leicestershire at the weekend when we spotted the packs of brioche style buns made by Just: Gluten Free Bakery!

What a find!

For dinner tonight we cooked up some gluten free burgers from the Co-Operative and put them in the brioche buns. They were delicious.

A fine burger, topped with bacon and cheese and stuffed in a nice brioche style bun. The free from Onion Rings from Tesco were great too. Note the healthy items on the plate

Check out the links below for more info on Just: Gluten Free Bakery.

Links:
- Just: Gluten Free Bakery website
- Just: Gluten Free Bakery on Twitter
- Just: Gluten Free Bakery on Facebook

Related blog posts:

- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac

Gluten free at 2 Oxford Place in Leeds

Dining out at 2 Oxford Place in Leeds.

2 Oxford Place gets the double-thumbs up from me

Ever since I heard that a 100% gluten free restaurant was opening in Leeds I had been excited to visit. Luckily we got to eat there on Friday. It was certainly well worth the wait.

The kitchen at The Oxford Place is totally gluten free so I was able to dine without fear of cross-contamination. And even better, I was able to order without having to explain I have Coeliac Disease. I haven't done that for well over six months and it's certainly not a regular occurrence!

Delicious food, great drinks, excellent service, 100% gluten free - 2 Oxford Place is brilliant

We'd arrived in Leeds on Thursday but unfortunately found ourselves at 2 Oxford Place between the afternoon and evening opening times.

With my hunger built and a great looking menu I really wanted to treat myself, so when we returned on Friday we went all out, and ordered a grilled cheese sandwich to start. I then had a huge portion of haddock, chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce for my main course.

One of my favourite meals. And something I don't get to eat all that often

Even though we were quite full of delicious food and drink (we opted for Prossecco, wine and cocktails - although there are gluten free beers available) we had to treat ourselves to dessert. And what a dessert it was!

Look at that Assiette!

The last time we'd had a meal out together in a 100% gluten free restaurant was at The Galley in Plymouth in June last year. On that occasion we were blown away by the dessert. And the dessert we were served at 2 Oxford Place over six months later amazed us again. The Assiette of Puddings to share at 2 Oxford Place included crème brulee, chocolate brownie, cake truffles, and mini pavlovas.

We're still eating some of the dessert after having had to take it away!

We really enjoyed the whole experience of eating at 2 Oxford Place. The food, service and venue are all brilliant and we would definitely eat there again.

Check out the The Oxford Place website for further details, menus and opening times.

Links:
- The Oxford Place website

Related blog posts:
- Gluten free
- Coeliac

Happy Easter

The first Free From Easter Eggs of the season have made an appearance.

While doing a little bit of a top-up shop on New Year's Eve I spotted that Sainsbury's are very well stocked on Easter Eggs already!

If you're quick you can also pick up a box of gluten free Mince Pies for 70p and Nakd Christmas Pud bars for 25p

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac

Links:
- Sainsbury's website
- Sainsbury's Free From

Gluten free at Honest Burgers in London

A great meal out at Honest Burgers on Pentonville Road.

Even though I have Coeliac Disease I do enjoy eating foods. While living on a strict gluten free diet can be hard going at times I find that I am able to eat a varied diet, albeit mostly on shop bought and made from scratch meals. Not necessarily a bad thing.

What I do miss, and something that impacts on Emily, is the ability to dine out easily. There are so few places offering gluten free meals that are safe and suitable for people with Coeliac Disease.

That's why until yesterday evening the last time I'd eaten a meal outside of my flat was on the 21st September. Almost three months ago!

I've had Coeliac Disease since 2008 and I'm still adventurous in my eating habits, so it's really disappointing that we've not been able to find anywhere suitable to have a breakfast, lunch or dinner on our travels.

So, it was brilliant that last night I got to go out for a meal with Emily and my brother Christopher.

The last place I'd dined out was Honest Burgers on Pentonville Road in London when Emily and I had an Oktoberfest Burger for lunch on Miniature Golf Day. And we returned to try the new special burger on the menu - the XMAS BURGER.

A proper Christmas dinner. Don't forget the beer

It was delicious.

And filling.

Especially when you factor in the tasty Rosemary Fries that come with each burger.

Plus the sides we ordered too - coleslaw, salad, two portions of onion rings (they are massive) and a portion of chicken wings. It was a real feast, served by knowledgeable staff in a nice venue and location.

The Christmas Special Burger consists of a beef burger, smoked bacon, deep fried brie (it's breaded in gluten free crumb and poppy seeds and deep fried in clean oil), cranberry sauce and rocket.

It was honestly a very tasty burger. I love the theming the team at Honest Burgers add to their specials too

We ordered so much food I had the meat sweats, not helped by the very insulating Christmas jumper I was wearing. In fact I had to strip down to my t-shirt in order to finish the food. It was nice to be full and bloated by excess, rather than the discomfort, pain and illness caused by eating gluten!

The only gripe I have about Honest Burgers is that they charge you an extra £1 to get a gluten free bun. A small price to pay I suppose to ensure that you don't get cross-contaminated, but still a tax of sorts on those afflicted by Coeliac Disease.

Apart from that I cannot wait for my next meal out. Let's hope it's not another three months until I feel safe enough to venture out for some food.

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- A gluten free meal at Honest Burgers in London

Links:
- Honest Burgers website
- Honest Burgers on Twitter
- Honest Burgers on Facebook

New look from Green's Gluten Free Beer

A gluten free beer update from Green's.

I haven't blogged about gluten free stuff for a little while - it's not been intentional, but life as a busy coeliac hasn't left me with much time of late. And it's not like my Coeliac Disease is going away any time soon so there'll be plenty of time for me to post on one of my favourite subjects.

The prompt for this blog post was the receipt of a box of gluten free beer from Green's! It was a very pleasant surprise. I'm looking forward to drinking them over the Christmas period.

The Green's range - visit the Green's website for more info on the eight gluten free beers

I've tried the beers before and at the first Herts & Beds Coeliac Food Fayre I attended I enjoyed sampling the wide-range Green's produce. It's always nice to have a choice.

Green's tell me they'll be closed over the Christmas break, but if you're in need of a fix of some more booze over the festive season you can still get hold of bottles at Ocado, Sainsbury's and Pizza Express.

Check out the Green's website for more info. You can buy the full range of Green's gluten free beers in their online shop.

I've blogged about gluten free beer, ale and lager a fair bit before (I am a fan of a tipple) - and a few years ago I got some of Green's beer flavoured mustard! Check out the links below for more gluten free related blog posts.

Links:
- Green's website
- Green's online shop
- Green's on Twitter
- Green's on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Gluten free
- Coeliac
- Gluten free beer

Schär gluten free

There are many funny things about being a Coeliac, not least being called a 'Celery', 'Celeriac' or even a 'Solero'.

When I checked my post this morning I didn't expect to be given a new first name on a mailer from Schär Gluten Free!?

I'm used to having a wide range of spellings for my surname - but 'Richard' is normally straightforward

I know I'm good at making up Italian sounding words for foodstuffs, but 'Riamo' takes the biscuit.

Schär used to be known as DS Gluten Free and I've been buying their products since I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in 2008. At the recent Beds & Mid Herts Coeliac Group Food Fair I added my name to the Schar UK mailing list - my handwriting must've been terrible.

The offending mailer and some of the tasty Schar Milk Chocolate Nobbles that are currently residing in my cupboard

Find out more about Schar UK's products on their website. I'm a big fan of their Chocolate Fingers - I find it impossible to not eat a whole box at a time!

Related blog posts:
- Funny things about being a Coeliac
- Gluten free
- Coeliac
- Schar

Link:
- Schar UK website

Note:
- According to a quick search on the internet 'riamo' is a "first-person singular present indicative of 'riamare'". Riamare means 'to return the love of another' or 'to love again'.

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Celiac Awareness Day 2015

Celiac Awareness Day is on 13 September.

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) is the group behind Celiac Awareness Day, taking place on Sunday 13 September.

Coeliac Disease (Celiac in the US and Canada) is a lifelong autoimmune disease caused by intolerance to gluten and the only treatment is to adhere to a strict lifelong gluten free diet.

In the UK it's estimated that 1 in 100 people have the condition, in the USA the figure is 1 in 133.

It's important to know and remember that Celiac/Coeliac is NOT an allergy, it's NOT a preference, it's NOT a fad, it's NOT a diet, it's NOT an intolerance, it's NOT a choice - it's an AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE.

I've been a Coeliac (and a Celiac when in the US) since May 2008

Visit the Celiac Central website for more information on their work and Celiac Awareness Day.

Check out my blog post about Celiac Awareness Day 2014.

In the UK, Coeliac Awareness Week is taking place from 11 to 17 May. For more information check out the Coeliac UK website and the Awareness Week page. Last year I was Minigolfing gluten free in Margate during Coeliac Awareness Week.

Related blog posts:
- Read my Gluten Free Journey blog on the Udi's gluten free website
- Celiac Awareness Day 2014
- Coeliac UK Awareness Week 2014 and the Gluten-free guarantee
- Minigolfing gluten free in Margate
- What a Day, Week and Month! (2013)

- Awareness Week: Coeliac Facts from Udi's Gluten Free

- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac

Links:
- National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) / Celiac Central
- Coeliac UK

The London Allergy and Free From Show 2015

A review of the The London Allergy and Free From Show 2015.

On Friday 3rd July I travelled to Olympia for the London Allergy and Free From Show. Last year was my first time visiting the event and I was interested to see what new products would be on show.

I was pleased to see some new gluten and wheat free ice creams available. On our recent two-week holiday around the south west coast of England I had only managed to find suitable ice cream tubs in two places! Fingers crossed the ice creams from Sweet Rebellion and Jollyum get stocked in more places as they were very tasty.

The Jollyum Ice Creams were very nice

Earlier this year Emily visited Spain and brought me back some Sin Gluten goodies and so it was nice to see the team from Esgir at the show with their range of five gluten and wheat free products that are suitable for Coeliacs. I was so impressed that I bought some of the products.

A good haul from Esgir. I bought one of each of the products that include gluten free croutons, crunchy crumbs and choco snack sticks

I spotted some new gluten free beers from exhibitors including Estrella Damm Daura (with their new Märzen variety), the Wellington Bomber Porter beer from Glebe Farm, Outlook by Stringer's, and Hepworth & Co. While Green's have updated and refreshed its branding. I also got to try CELIA Lager's new Dark variety. Very nice it was too.

The brand new Märzen gluten free beer from Estrella Damm Daura. It tasted great

CELIA Dark was very nice. Martin from CELIA tells me it's a great beer to accompany autumn and winter meals too

The updated branding on the Green's Gluten Free Beers range

I enjoyed the new Wellington Bomber Porter from Glebe Farm

Check out my compilation blog post on all the gluten free beers, ales and lagers I've found since I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease (the list currently stands at 89!).

Stringer's Outlook gluten free ale, one of the GF beers I'm yet to try

It was also good speaking with the team from Can I Eat There? and finding out more about their allergy and intolerance aware restaurant listings and review website.

I did feel that too many of the exhibitors at the event were trying to sell sell sell, rather than doing something a bit different to engage with the audience. The show offers from Esgir were very good, while many other stalls were selling at not much less than a supermarket price. Couple this with the fact that it was baking hot, and while in London people may not want to carry around lots of shopping (including raw meat, or frozen products) so it would be really nice to see the brands trying something new.

Another thought is that because the show is catering to so many different audiences (all with their own varied needs - some lifestyle, some medical) there will be some clashes. This was evident in some of the exhibitors who I know have products that are not suitable for Coeliacs due to manufacturing processes and/or potential cross-contamination - but are labelled as gluten and wheat free. I think that if you're going to offer gluten and wheat free you should go 100%. No half-measures. Granted, there are people with wheat intolerance and non-Coeliac Gluten Sensitivity etc. who may be fine after consuming these products, but there is a larger proportion who won't be. It leaves a Coeliac like myself with a bitter taste, to be tempted with GF & WF packaging, only to be let down when reading the small print.

As a 'veteran' Coeliac I check, double check and then check again before I take a bite or a sip of anything. Having been glutened on a number of occasions I know it's not worth the risk, so I hope some of the rookie Coeliacs at the show didn't make any errors, or get carried away, in their sampling.

The next food fair I'll be visiting is the Home Counties Gluten Free Food Fair organised by the Herts & Mid Beds Coeliac UK Volunteer Group. Hopefully there'll be lots of new and interesting gluten and wheat free products on show and to sample there.

To round off a very pleasant day in London Emily and I had another brilliant gluten free meal at Honest Burgers.

Check out the Allergy Show London website for more information on the event.

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac
- Home Counties Gluten Free Food Fair 2015
- The Allergy and Free From Show 2014 at Olympia
- Sin Gluten
- Gluten free beer

Links:
- Allergy Show London
- Coeliac UK

Voakes Free From gluten free pies

I recently made an order for some gluten and wheat free pies from Voakes Free From. I'm glad I did.

Three of the five Voakes pies I bought (pork, 'special' and game). Two were scoffed before I had an opportunity to take this photo

I first found out about Voakes at the 2013 Home Counties Gluten Free Food Fair where I sampled a few of their products. I really liked the Special Pie - Chicken, Pork and Stuffing topped!

Check out the Voakes Free From website for more information on the range of gluten & wheat free products they offer. In addition to the pies you can get pasties, quiches, sausage rolls, black pudding, pastry, pasties and sausage rolls. All of the products are gluten and wheat free, and some of the products are also dairy free, egg free, soya free, vegan and/or vegetarian.

Link:
- Voakes Free From website

Related blog posts:

- Gluten Free
- Coeliac

Fried Gluten

Fried Gluten in a Can

While shopping in Ipswich I spotted a couple of tins of 'Coeliac Kryptonite' lurking on a shelf.

Vegetarian Duck-Style Dish - made with fried gluten. Mmmmmm

It comes in Chicken-style flavour too

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, oats and barley. For people with Coeliac Disease gluten is a very dangerous substance that causes all manner of health problems. Check out the Coeliac UK website for more information on Coeliac Disease.

Related blog posts:
- Gluten - my Kryptonite
- Hmm, Some Bizarre Gluten & Gluten Free Shelf Stacking!
- Funny things about being a Coeliac
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac

Gluten Free in Plymouth

On our recent holiday in the South West of England we had a very nice time in Plymouth - especially as we were able to have a three-course meal together!

Ahead of our trip Emily and I had researched potential places to eat because dining out as a Coeliac can be a bl**dy nightmare. Thankfully we'd found at least two 100% gluten free places in Plymouth. One of which we'd booked a table at for dinner. We weren't disappointed.

A happy Coeliac diner

The Galley is the restaurant part of the The Maritime Inn in The Barbican area of Plymouth and the food there is brilliant.

The Crab Cakes were delicious

  

The meal was finished off with the Homemade Profiterole - it was MASSIVE!

Check out the menu online - all of the food is freshly prepared and there is NO gluten in the food or kitchen. This meant I was able to try some of Emily's meal too. The BBQ Chicken Wings were great.

The Galley gluten free restaurant in Plymouth gets the thumbs up from me

You can find The Galley at The Maritime Inn, 19 Southside Street, Barbican, Plymouth, PL1 2LD. The restaurant is open Tuesday to Sunday. Visit The Galley website for more information. The pub had a nice and friendly atmosphere and we enjoyed a few Gin & Tonics there after the meal.

We'd heard about The Galley from my fellow Coeliac Blogger Kevin Gollop's blog - Gluten Free by the Sea - the site is well worth a read and really good if you're heading down that way.

Earlier in the day I'd treated myself to a Chicken Pie and a Rocky Road Bar from The Ladybird Bakery in the Market. Another top tip from Kevin. I was well and truly stuffed by the end of the day - in a good way, which makes a change.

And elsewhere in the South West...

While we were away for a two week break I only managed to have nine hot meals. That's including breakfasts in the hotels and B&Bs we'd booked where breakfast was included (on these occasions I ordered the 'safe' option of boiled eggs - and even then my order was only right twice!?).

Other meals out included a very nice dinner at The Black Swan Inn in Swanage, a tasty late lunch in The Cobb Arms in Lyme Regis, takeaway fish & chips at Rockfish in Torquay and Brown's in Perranporth (and a horrific and eye-opening experience of how NOT to serve gluten free fish & chips in Dawlish - I didn't eat what I was served), and a meal out in Torquay (where I got glutened).

I did manage to find some gluten free pasties by Baked to Taste - in Dorset and Devon, but not in Cornwall!

There were some other places we noticed on the trip that had 'gluten free' options. But these were not safe for Coeliacs due to cross-contamination.

So it's absolutely marvellous when we find places that are really serious about serving safe (and tasty) gluten free food to people on strict and lifelong gluten free diets because of Coeliac Disease.

Links:
- Gluten Free by the Sea
- The Galley
- The Ladybird Bakery
- Coeliac UK

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac

The UK's first Gluten Free BBQ Meal Deal on Ocado

Special Gluten Free Barbecue Meal Deal announced by CELIA Lager.

The team at CELIA Lager have let me know about a new barbecue meal deal they've set up with some other gluten free brands.

Until the 30th June 2015 you can order the UK's first Gluten Free BBQ Meal Deal on Ocado.

For £15 you'll get 4 burgers, 4 buns and 4 bottles of beer. The price is a saving of over 20%.

Obviously I've tried CELIA Lager before (although I haven't had the new CELIA Dark yet) and I've eaten many Genius gluten free products, but I hadn't heard of Dee's or Muddy Boots until this deal.

Find out more about the offer at the Gluten Free Burger Meal Deal for £15 on the Ocado website, and the brands on the links below.

Emily and I are always looking for new gluten and wheat free brands and recently found some savoury treats on our holiday on the south west coast. When we came home we noticed that some of those products (and a few others) are on sale via Ocado. We'll be looking to do an order...

Links:
- CELIA Lager
- Genius
- Dee's
- Muddy Boots
- Ocado

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- CELIA Lager
- Genius Gluten Free

Home Counties Gluten Free Food Fair 2015

The Home Counties Gluten Free Food Fair 2015 will be taking place on Saturday 5th September.

Dozens of gluten free food businesses and hundreds of Coeliacs will be descending on The Weatherley Centre in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire for this year's Home Counties Gluten Free Food Fair on Saturday 5th September.

Poster for the Home Counties Gluten Free Food Fair taking place on Saturday 5th September

The 2015 event will take place from 10am until 2pm, with a £1 admission fee (that also includes entry into a prize draw).

The group organises a number of events throughout the year, and the last large food fair was in 2013. That event had 30 exhibitors and over 600 visitors.

As well as food and drink available to sample and purchase from many of the exhibitors there will also be refreshments for sale including gluten free fish and chips, sausage and chips, and fritters together with tea, coffee and other gluten free snacks.

If the 2013 event was anything to go by there will be more than enough visitors for the exhibitors to promote to. Other Coeliac Groups in the Home Counties and London areas will be advertising the event, and it will be advertised in Coeliac UK's Crossed Grain Magazine.

I enjoyed the 2013 event and it was nice to catch up with fellow members of the group. It was also great to find out about new gluten and wheat free food and drink (including beers). Most of the exhibitors were offering samples for eager Coeliacs to try out. Although I did notice that some of the exhibitors were not giving out any samples - this always seems strange to me as I like to try before I buy. And I've certainly bought my fair share of those gluten free products from brands that weren't stingy with their samples at the fair.

The Beds and Mid Herts Coeliac UK group has over 750 members in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and parts of Essex. I've been a member since shortly after my diagnosis in 2008 and have found the information in the newsletters to be useful. Attending a newly diagnosed Coeliacs event was very helpful in the early days of living life gluten free. I've also made some great friends from being a part of the group.

For more information check out the Coeliac UK Beds and Mid Herts local group page.

The 2015 Home Counties Gluten Free Food Fair will be held at The Weatherley Centre, Eagle Farm Road, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 8JH.

I'm always keen to find out about gluten and wheat free brands that are suitable for people with Coeliac Disease so please do get in touch if you know of any, or are a producer/supplier.

Links:
- Coeliac UK
- Coeliac UK local group page for Beds and Mid Herts

Related blog posts:
- Coeliac
- Gluten Free

Ocho Reales gluten free ale

I recently heard about Ocho Reales gluten free beer via MexImport on Twitter and I was very pleased to receive a couple of sample bottles.

The name was taken from the old currency 'Real de a ocho' - more commonly known as the Piece of Eight

Allergen information on the Ocho Reales gluten free Ale

I'm looking forward to trying them with a Mexican meal soon.

Check out the links below for more info.

Links:
- MexImport
- Ocho Reales

Related blog posts:
- Gluten free beer
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac

A special gluten free delivery from Udi's

It was very nice to recently receive a hamper of Udi's Gluten Free goodies.

The hamper included bagel chips, cake mix, soft baked cookies, muffins and more.

The Udi's Tiger Bloomer was Highly Commended in the Bread Category of the 2015 FreeFrom Food Awards

The Tiger Bloomer is very good - I had it to hold together a tasty filling of jerk pulled chicken and slaw that Emily cooked up. Sorry there's no photo as I'd got in late from a minigolf trip and wolfed it down!

Do check out my Gluten Free Journey blog on the Udi's website.

Udi's Gluten Free have been operating in the USA since 1994 and launched in the UK in 2013. Do visit the Udi's website for further details of their range and stockists near you.

Links:
- Udi's Gluten Free UK
- Udi's Gluten Free USA
- Udi's Gluten Free blog

Related blog posts:
- Udi's
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac

New Free From Cakes at Tesco

I noticed that Tesco has some new gluten and wheat free cakes in the Free From section!

Tesco's Free From range now includes Chocolate and Madeira Celebration Cakes

I'm looking forward to an occasion to try them out.

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac

Links:
- Tesco Free From
- Coeliac UK

Gluteen free?

While in Hastings for the British Minigolf Championships some of my friends and minigolf rivals kindly let me know that Trattoria Italiana on Pelham Crescent on the seafront had gluten free options.

When I went for a look I noticed a funny typo on the menu board!

Gluteen free!

My friend Marion spotted it too. She also asked if Gluteen was some sort of sub-category in the world of Coeliac Disease?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley and so appears in a lot of food and drink. If people with Coeliac Disease ingest gluten it causes the body's immune system reacts by damaging the lining of the small intestine. For more information about Coeliac Disease visit the Coeliac UK website.

I often see Gluten spelled 'Gluton'.

Last week was Coeliac Awareness Week in the UK, while this week it's Coeliac Awareness Week in New Zealand. The whole of May is Celiac Awareness Month in the USA and Canada.

During Coeliac Awareness Week I was once again minigolfing gluten free. Last year I played in the BMGA British Minigolf Championships at Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate, Kent. Check out my blog about the experience.

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac

Links:
- Coeliac UK

Gluten Free Week at M&S

It's great to see M&S celebrating 'Gluten Free Week' in the Luton Mall branch.

M&S's Gluten Free Week is running parallel to Coeliac Awareness Week - 11th to 17th May 2015

As I purchased so much of the gluten free 'Made Without Wheat' range (the gluten free beer was on offer and a chocolate loaf was reduced) the man serving me asked "What's the occasion?", so I told him about Coeliac Disease (albeit not ALL the gory details) and Coeliac Awareness Week.

Much of this gluten free beer, and one of those cakes, is now residing in my fridge and cupboard

Check out the Coeliac UK website for more information on Coeliac Disease. For Coeliac Awareness Week 2015 Coeliac UK is running a diagnosis campaign called 'Is it Coeliac Disease?'.

I'm a big fan of M&S and the gluten free food and drink they stock - not only in the Made Without Wheat section but across many of the other lines in store. More often than not I'll find something new they are doing that is gluten free, which makes shopping a treat not a chore.

The links below have more info on other Coeliac/Celiac days, weeks, and months - there are quite a few special days in May!

Related blog posts:

- Gluten free

- Coeliac
- M&S
- New Gluten Free Beer and Cakes at M&S
- Special May Days

Links:
- Marks & Spencer website
- Marks & Spencer Made Without Wheat page
- Link to a product list of M&S products that DO NOT contain GLUTEN
- Coeliac UK website
- Is it Coeliac Disease? online assessment from Coeliac UK
- The Mall Luton website

Gluten free at Yorkies in Skegness

While in Skegness for a weekend away at the seaside it was great to have some gluten free options for dining out. In advance of my trip I'd received tips about gluten free places on Twitter and Facebook and found that Yorkies Cafe in the town centre had a really good gluten free menu, with lots of options. It was so good I dined there twice.

On my first visit I had a burger and chips. It was brilliant. The chips were delicious. For my second meal I had a Sunday Dinner - a real rarity. It was especially good as nothing was missing from the plate. I had lamb, roast potatoes, boiled potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, a yorkshire pudding and gravy! A proper dinner

There are plenty of gluten free options at Yorkies. I was very impressed with the responses to my questions about the preparation and cooking of the gluten free food. It's always reassuring to have accurate and confident responses to your queries 

On both visits there were other diners choosing gluten free options. That was reassuring to see and hear. Yorkies is well worth a visit 

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac
- Skegness

Links:
- Coeliac UK
- Lincolnshire Coeliac Group