It's National Hot Dog Month!

July is THE month to celebrate Hot Dogs.

A tweet from Schar gluten-free alerted me to the fact that July is National Hot Dog Month - so I'd like to wish everyone a happy one.

With a Hot Dog Man at the Santa Fe Fun Park in Swanage, Dorset (site of our 600th Crazy Golf course visit)

Check out my other Hot Dog-related blog posts.

Links:
- #NationalHotDogMonth
- Schar Gluten-Free website
- National Hot Dog and Sausage Council website

Related blog posts:
- Hot Dog
- Sausages
- Gluten Free

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

Made Without Wheat Mini Pork Pies from M&S

New Made Without Wheat Mini Pork Pies from M&S.

On our recent travels we'd spotted some empty shelves in M&S with a price tag for 'New Made Without Wheat Mini Pork Pies' and while in Clacton-on-Sea on Saturday we managed to actually find some. And very good they were too.

The mini pork pies were a nice addition to the picnic we had in the sunken rose garden in Clacton

Related blog posts:

- Gluten free

- Coeliac
- M&S
- Clacton-on-Sea

Links:
- Marks & Spencer website
- Marks & Spencer Made Without Wheat page

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

Gluten free food from Gilbert's Kosher Foods

Trying some gluten free food from Gilbert's Kosher Foods.

I'm always looking for new food and drink to make my strict gluten free diet more interesting, so I was pleased to see a new section at Tesco in Dunstable. Many of the Kosher products in the refridgerated section are also gluten free (as well as dairy free). And very good they are too.

Mr Freed's Small Fish Balls are very nice!

The Blooms Vienna beef sausages make for great hot dogs

Check out the Gilbert's Kosher Foods website for more information on the products available.

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

Links:
- Gilbert's Kosher Foods
- Tesco Free From
- Coeliac UK

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

Gluten free Primula dips

As a big fan of snacks and nachos it's great to see Primula have Nacho Cheese Dips that are gluten free.

Primula's dips have a new look - the cheese dip has a macho nacho man. I've had the Nacho Cheese Dip before. It's great, and something I've really missed being able to have since diagnosis as a Coeliac 

Looking on the Primula website the other dips in the range are also gluten free. Other Primula products are gluten free too.

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

Link:
- Primula

Gluten free from New Zealand and Australia

Emily recently returned from our antipodes and brought me back some great gluten free goodies.

Bakeworks gluten free Triple Chocolate Cookies

Ernest Adams gluten free Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Kez's gluten free Vienna Eclair biscuits

The gluten free biscuits were all bought from a Countdown supermarket at the Westfield Albany shopping centre in Auckland, New Zealand.

While at the Southgate Melbourne shopping mall Emily also noted that there were 24 places offering gluten free options for diners!

Searching for dining options in the Southgate Melbourne mall Emily found 24 gluten free choices

On her trip to Spain earlier this year I also got a lot of interesting gluten free snack and treats.

It's always brilliant finding (and eating) different gluten free food as the strict and lifelong gluten free diet can get a bit samey.

Links:
- Bakeworks
- Ernest Adams
- Kez's
- Coeliac New Zealand
- Coeliac Australia

Related blog posts
- New Zealand
- Australia
- Gluten Free

- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac
- Coeliac Awareness Week in Australia
- Sin Gluten

Special May Days

Details of special awareness and celebration days for Coeliac Disease, Miniature Golf and Golf in May 2015.

During last year's Coeliac Awareness Week I was Mini Golfing Gluten Free at Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, Kent

What a month May is! There are lots of special 'days' and 'weeks' and the whole month is both Celiac Awareness Month in the USA and Canada, and National Golf Month here in the UK.

Sunday 3 May (Sonntag 3 Mai) is Minigolf Tag (Day) in Austria.

Saturday 9 is National Miniature Golf Day (a quasi-official US holiday).

The 11 to 17 May is Coeliac UK's annual Coeliac Awareness Week. It's also the Coeliac Society of Ireland's Coeliac Awareness Week.

The 16 May is International Coeliac Day. Visit the Association of European Coeliac Societies (AOECS) for more information.

Over the weekend of 16 and 17 May Hastings Adventure Golf will play host to the British Minigolf Association for the BMGA British Championships.

In New Zealand Coeliac Awareness Week is running from 18 to 24 May.

A happy Coeliac with his lunch. I had some special gluten free deliveries to the course from Annie's Larder while in Margate for the BMGA British Minigolf Championships last year

Check out the blog posts and links below for more info on the different things happening in the gluten free and minigolf worlds this month.

Related blog posts:
- Mini Golf Days in 2015
- May is National Golf Month
- UK Mini Golf Competitions in 2015
- Celiac Awareness Month 2015
- Coeliac Awareness Week 2015
- Minigolfing Gluten Free

Links:
- Coeliac UK
- National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) / Celiac Central
- Coeliac Society of Ireland
- Coeliac New Zealand
- National Golf Month
- Minigolf Tag
- British Minigolf Association
- World Minigolf Sport Federation
- Hastings Adventure Golf
- Read my Gluten Free Journey blog on the Udi's gluten free website

Celiac Awareness Month 2015

May is Celiac Awareness Month.

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) is supporting Celiac Awareness Month that will take place throughout May.

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 was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in May 2008

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.

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

In the USA Celiac Awareness Day is on Sunday 13 September. For more information visit the Celiac Central website and see my blog post about Celiac Awareness Day 2014.

Related blog posts:
- Coeliac Awareness Week 2015
- 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
- Read my Gluten Free Journey blog on the Udi's gluten free website

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

Mr Scratchings pork crackling

Finding some more gluten free pork crackling.

Mr Scratchings Hot & Fiery Pork Crackling are gluten free

I enjoy snacking (especially when having a tipple), but finding suitable nibbles can often be a problem. That's why I was very pleased to find that Mr Scratchings Hot & Fiery Pork Crackling are gluten free. I found them on sale for 85p a bag in Trembling Madness in York.

Gluten free pork crackling from Mr Scratchings

They are quite hot & fiery

Trembling Madness also has a section of gluten free beers. I bought a couple.

Related blog posts:
- Pork Crackling
- Pork Scratchings
- Gluten free beer
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac

Links:
- Mr Scratchings
- Trembling Madness
- Coeliac UK

Gluten Free Hot Dog Sausages at Asda

Spotting the gluten free hot dogs in the Asda Butcher's Selection range.

While shopping at Asda in Dunstable I noticed the new sausages and hot dogs in the Butcher's Selection range. I've been hunting for gluten free Frankfurters for ages so it was great to see.

There are a lot of gluten free hot dog sausages in the Butcher's Selection range at Asda. As well as Frankfurter Hot Dogs there are Hot Dogs in BBQ Pork, Spicy Cajun, Bratwurst, Hickory Smoked Cheese & Jalapeño, Pork, Mini Pork and Footlong varieties

Many of the hot dog toppings were also gluten free and were clearly marked as such. The American Mustard Mayo, Cheese Sauce, Currywurst, Smoked BBQ and Spicy Chilli Mayo toppings and sauces are gluten free

Visit the Butcher's Selection section of the Asda website for more information on the range.

I cooked up some of the Asda Frankfurters for dinner - here's the hot dog with bacon, mustard and onions on a warmed DS Ciabatta roll (they're the nicest rolls I've found to date). It went very well with a Vagabond gluten free beer

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Sausages
- Hot Dog

Links:
- Asda
- Coeliac UK

Gluten free Pretzels

Happy National Pretzel Day!

As today is National Pretzel Day here's a quick blog post about gluten free Pretzels I know of.

Gluten free Pretzels by DS Gluten Free

Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks by Barkat

As well as the Pretzel Sticks Barket make normal gluten free Pretzels.

I've found that Eskal Foods also sells Pretzels, and I've enjoyed scoffing the very nice milk chocolate coated Pretzels before too!

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

Links:
- DS Gluten Free
- Barkat Gluten Free
- Eskal Foods
- Coeliac UK