Udi’s Gluten Free – more than just mince pies

Finding out more about the new range of Udi’s gluten free food.

While shopping in the Dunstable branch of Tesco Emily and I spotted a new range of food in the Free From section of the supermarket.

A selection of the range of Udi's Gluten Free food that I've tried so far

The brand was Udi’s and recently launched in the UK. It’s been going strong in the USA since 1994.

One of the products in Udi’s range of gluten free food are the Rich n’ Fruity Mince Pies. This year I had my first mince pie of the festive season a little later than in 2012, but since that first mince pie in October I’ve bought (and scoffed) at least four more boxes!

The first of Udi's products I tried were the Mince Pies - back in October! Very festive.

On that shopping trip we also bought packs of the Udi’s Ancient Grain crisps – in both Jalapeno Cheddar and Aged Cheddar flavours.

Udi's Ancient Grain crisps also come in a very tasty Aged Cheddar flavour

After seeing “My first gluten free Mince Pie of the festive season” blog post the team at Udi’s got in touch to send me a hamper of their range, which was very much appreciated.

When I received the box of goodies from Udi’s the first product that caught my eye was the Chocolate Chip & Toffee Flavoured Muffins. And they tasted as good as they sound.

One of my favourites among the Udi's range - the Chocolate Chip & Toffee Flavoured Muffins

Next to be tried, though not on the same day, were the Cinnamon & Raisin Bagels. While not a fan of bagels (I've always found them to be very dry, and haven't eaten one since I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease) I found the Udi's ones to be very nice. They were helped by not being plain ones and as the packet says, they taste great toasted.

The Cinnamon & Raisin Bagels. The best I've tried.

Next out of the bag were the Toaster Pastries. These caught both me and Emily's eyes and brought back memories of pop tarts!

The most interesting of the Udi's range are the retro Toaster Pastries!

As we don't own a toaster we simply put them under the grill for a few minutes to heat them up to that perfect molten lava level before allowing them to cool a bit.

Emily is a fan of the Strawberry Flavoured ones, while I liked the Apple Cinnamon ones more, but would be equally happy with either for a breakfast treat.

The products Udi's sent through to me, and those we've seen in-store are just a selection of the range they are bringing to the UK.

Emily also recently bought a pack of the soft white Classic Finger Rolls and we’re going to use them with some frankfurters we found that were gluten free while shopping in Aldi last week.

Looking at Udi’s US website it’ll be interesting to see if the small and large Tortillas they offer will also be an item they’ll be bringing to these shore as we're big fans of Mexican food!

Check out the Udi’s website for details of the full range and to sign-up for the email newsletter. 

Related blog posts:

- My first gluten free Mince Pie of the festive season

- Gluten Free

- Coeliac

Links:

- Udi's Gluten Free UK

- Udi's Gluten Free UK on Twitter
- Udi's Gluten Free UK on Facebook

- Udi’s Gluten Free USA

- Udi’s Gluten Free USA on Twitter

- Coeliac UK

Gluten Free Pork Crackling!

Awfully Posh Snacks launch Gluten Free Pork Crackling! 

As a Coeliac of some five years I sometimes still hanker after items of food I used to be able to eat when I was ‘normal’. One of the snacks I’ve fancied having on more than one occasion is Pork Scratchings/Crackling. Not the healthiest of foods, but a very nice accompaniment to an alcoholic beverage (now normally Cider, unless I’m lucky to have found a Gluten Free beer, ale or lager).

When you’ve got Coeliac Disease a simple act such as buying a bag of crisps, a sandwich, or a chocolate bar is a pain. You either have to study the labels intently which is annoying and will always remind you of the fact you are a Coeliac, or you opt for the same old item of food – I like to have a variety.

So when I read an article in the Daily Mirror about the launch of Awfully Posh Pork Crackling and that it was also OK for Coeliacs I was especially pleased as it was a type of food I hadn’t eaten for over five years!

Via Twitter I found out that Awfully Posh Pork Crackling is available at branches of Waitrose and online at Waitrose and Amazon. Not having a Waitrose in Luton and no other need to travel to my nearest branches in Harpenden or Hitchin I had to wait until last weekend and a revisit to Ipswich where we’d heard that a new Waitrose store had opened.

The Awfully Posh Pork Crackling on the shelf in Waitrose

We had to hunt around a few different aisles and sections of the store, but eventually found the Awfully Posh Pork Crackling in the Free From section itself, rather than with other snacks. This is a good thing for Coeliacs/people on a Gluten Free diet, but it means that people looking for a Pork Crackling snack in the conventional snack section may miss out!

There are currently two flavours of the Awfully Posh Pork Crackling snacks available. One is Anglesey Sea Salt and the other is Scorchingly Hot Chilli. I bought both, but have so far only tried the Anglesey Sea Salt flavour. I bought two bags of the Anglesey Sea Salt flavour and have scoffed them both. The packs are crammed with Pork Crackling, are well priced and most importantly they are delicious.

Tentatively tucking into my first Pork Scratching in five years

The Awfully Posh Pork Crackling can also be found in Whole Foods Markets, Cook shops, Harrods and Harvey Nichols. Fingers crossed Awfully Posh Snacks will be stocked in pubs and bars in the future, I know I’d definitely scoff them if I saw them for sale alongside other pub staples such as crisps and nuts.

Related Blog Posts:

- Gluten Free Ales, Beers and Lagers

- Gluten Free & Coeliac related Blog Posts on The Ham & Egger Files

- Gluten Free Fish & Chips that we've found on our travels

- Great Gluten Free Tea Rooms

Links:

- Awfully Posh Snacks

- Awfully Posh Snacks on Twitter

- The Awfully Posh Snack Company on Facebook

For more information about Coeliac Disease please visit the Coeliac UK website.

Meeting Worthing's Mr Seafood

A visit to the new seafood stall on Worthing’s seafront.

One of the great things about me and Emily’s travels around the UK’s seasides is that we get to buy some lovely seafood. We’re very often in Hastings, East Sussex for minigolf competitions and we always make sure to visit The Net Shop Jellied Eel Bar on Rock-A-Nore Road for the excellent Oysters they serve there.

My latest trip to the coast for the BMGA British Masters minigolf tournament took me to Worthing, West Sussex, where I had heard via the very useful Splash Point Mini Golf Twitter account that there was a new seafood seller located next to the pier.

Mr Seafood's stall next to Worthing Pier

Mr. Seafood was a very nice chap and has a good selection of seafood on offer, including Oysters, Prawns, Crayfish Tails and more. He’s also on Twitter (@_mrseafood) and has posted some humorous updates including this one that made me chuckle.

We’ve visited 170 seaside resorts and towns to date, but not nearly enough of them have seafood stalls like Worthing and Hastings. We have had great seafood at Osborne Brothers in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, and its neighbouring town Southend-on-Sea has some good seafood stalls too.

Oddly, the other place we’ve always found to have great seafood is in Las Vegas where we’ve eaten excellent Oysters at Big Al's Oyster Bar at The Orleans Hotel & Casino and the Penazzi Oyster Bar in Harrah’s Hotel & Casino.

Related Blog Post:

- Gluten Free and Coeliac/Celiac Friendly Places to Eat in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Inventing a New Game with Food Allergens

Discovering a dodgy looking condiment.

While dining in a pub restaurant in Seahouses, Northumberland I discovered a condiment packet of 'generic' Mint Sauce.

I was very surprised to see that, while lacking an ingredients list, it had a comprehensive list of allergens it may contain!?

The 'Mint Sauce' that is best avoided if you have an allergy/intolerance

The Salad Cream, Mayonnaise and Tomato Sauce (or Tomato Ketchup - what's the difference?) weren't much better on the ingredients/allergen front!

I was wondering if spotting this sachet could create a new game - Intolerance Top Trumps, Allergy Snap or Aversion Bingo perhaps...?

Discovering a New Food Group!?

Dairy, Fruit, Vegetables, Grains and now Plastic!?

While perusing the ‘Canned Meat’ aisle in my local Sainsbury’s this evening I spotted a new type of food – Plastic Pork Luncheon Meat & Plastic Bacon Grill!?

Plastic Pork Luncheon Meat & Plastic Bacon Grill - mmmm

Tasty.

Links:

- Minigolf Myth #1 - Oliver Florence Hates Packet Ham

- Exploding a Minigolf Myth – Richard Gottfried Loves Packet Ham

- Baconnaise - everything should taste like bacon!!!

- Food Groups (not including 'Plastic') on Wikipedia

Gluten Free Reviews on Travel Gluten Free

On our travels around the UK and overseas Emily and I are always on the look out for places to eat out at Gluten Free.

As a Coeliac it is vital that I don't eat any food that would be unsafe, so options for dining can be quite limited. However, on our travels we've found some great places to eat at.

As well as tweeting about them when I find them and blogging about them here on The Ham & Egger Files, I also regularly submit reviews to the Travel Gluten Free website.

You can read my reviews on Travel Gluten Free at:
- Where to eat - UK, Restaurants
- Where to eat - UK, Chains
- Where to eat - UK, Stores
- Where to eat - North America, Restaurants
- Where to eat - North America, Chains
- Where to eat - North America, Stores
- Where to eat - Sweden, Restaurants
- Where to stay - UK

Links:
- Travel Gluten Free
- Coeliac UK - The leading charity working for people with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH). Their mission is to improve the lives of people with coeliac disease through support, campaigning and research.

Baconnaise - everything should taste like bacon!!!

While over in Sweden playing minigolf for Great Britain I discovered a great food innovation for sale - Baconnaise!

Absolutely genius, and very tasty!

Guinness World Record Attempt - Most Brussels Sprouts Eaten in a Minute!

Blog post about attempting a Guinness World Record for the Most Brussels Sprouts Eaten in a Minute. Held in Luton's indoor market in December 2009.


Today me and fellow Minigolfer Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd headed to Luton Indoor Market to compete in a Guinness World Record Attempt for "How many Brussels Sprouts can you eat in 1 minute."!

In my first attempt I managed to eat ten Brussels Sprouts in the one minute time-limit. This was followed up by a further ten in my second attempt - both tries sadly 22 shy of beating the current Guinness World Record of 31!

The method of eating the Brussels Sprouts is very strict and requires you to eat each Sprout one at a time using a cocktail stick. Your mouth must be clear before the next Sprout is eaten and must be shown to a judge before continuing.

I was the second competitor on the day to attempt to beat the current record and Brad was third up. Brad managed to eat 13 Brussels Sprouts in both of his attempts.

I didn't actually like Brussels Sprouts much before the attempt, but I'm actually looking forward to eating more on Christmas Day (though not competitively!).

Video of my Guinness World Record Attempt.


Video of Brad Shepherd's Guinness World Record Attempt.


Video of my Guinness World Record (Second) Attempt.


Photos from the event.








The event was organised by Town & Country Markets and all proceeds from the event went to the Luton & Dunstable Baby Intensive Care Unit and over £300 was raised. The Luton Market 'Best' Attempt was set at 17 Brussels Sprouts (although Market Manager Steve Cook managed to eat 12 in his attempt - and peeled 500 the night before!).

From l-r Organiser Dave Gibbs, Richard Gottfried, Brad Shepherd, Organiser Steve Cook.

The Brussels Sprouts Eating Record Attempt was the second Guinness World Record Attempt I have made this year. Back in May, me and Emily helped break the Guinness World Record for "The Largest Picnic across multiple venues". Eating Sprouts was my first individual attempt – what’s next...?