Munch Man

Spotting 'Pac-Man' on a sandwich shop sign in Burnley.

Pac-Man is always munching

We've also seen the video-game character pop up on shop signs in Preston, Ipswich, Nottingham and Bristol.

Gluten free Christmas sandwiches

The hunt for an almost elusive festive sandwich.

As a recipient of the British Sandwich Association's enewsletter I recently completed an online survey about sandwiches, in doing so I was entered into a prize draw in which I won a £5 luncheon voucher.

The very first Luncheon Voucher I've ever seen. A gift from the British Sandwich Association

With this new found wealth I began to think what I could buy with it. As someone with Coeliac Disease my choices of safe lunches to eat while out and about are very limited. Some supermarkets and coffee shop chains have gluten and wheat free options, albeit not with the most exciting of ingredients (think basic ham, cheese, egg, chicken with very little added to them, apart from a bit of salad).

As the festive season was upon us it got me thinking about whether any brand had produced a 'Christmas sandwich'.

I put out a tweet to the big players that I knew normally have gluten free sandwiches / free from sections to see if they were tapping into the Coeliac Pound this year.

I tweeted Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose, M&S, the Co-Op, Pret, Starbucks and Costa and I'm happy to report that most replied. Unfortunately all but one of those that came back to me were not selling a gluten free Christmas sandwich. But they did make a point to say that my suggestion had been noted.

A Turkey, Bacon & Cranberry Gluten Free Wrap in Costa

The one place I could sate my hunger for a Christmas sanger was at Costa, as they were stocking a festive gluten free Turkey, Bacon and Cranberry wrap.

A combo of Christmas treats from Costa

After work on Christmas Eve Emily and I popped into the two branches of Costa in The Mall Luton to see if we could find a gluten free wrap. Unfortunately they didn't have any in the St George's Square branch, but we were in luck at the other shop.

The gluten free Turkey, Bacon and Cranberry Wrap from Costa was good. As was the Christmas Cake slice. Both were well priced and in-line with other products for people on 'normal' diets. That's a nice touch

Unfortunately Costa doesn't accept Luncheon Vouchers (but I've heard that some supermarkets and restaurants do) so we had to spend real cash money for my gluten free wrap and cake. I wonder if the British Sandwich Association will notice that 'spike' in sales from my Coeliac pound being spent - it's a rare occasion for me to be able to buy gluten free food from a takeaway or restaurant in Luton. It's worth noting that because I could eat, Emily decided to purchase a sandwich and cake too - I wonder how many manufacturers and retailers consider the impact selling gluten free products (or not) has on their bottom line?

Thanks go to my fellow gluten free blogger Kevin Gollop of Gluten Free By The Sea who also let me know that Costa and Starbucks were doing the Turkey wraps.

Fingers crossed there will be more interesting gluten and wheat free sandwich options for Coeliacs in 2015.

Related blog posts:
- Coeliac
- Gluten Free

Links:
- British Sandwich Association
- Costa
- Gluten Free By The Sea

A blogger's gluten free sandwich

Using Green's Gluten Free Dark Ale Mustard.

While at the 2014 Allergy and Free From Show I visited the Green's gluten free beers stand and as well as sampling a couple of the their beers I hadn't had in a while I was also given a special jar of Green's Dark Ale Mustard!

Green's gluten free Dark Ale Mustard

I asked for some suggestions on Twitter and Green's came back with ideas for Marks & Spencer gluten free sausages (a good idea as I like the M&S gluten free range), a scotch egg (another great idea, perhaps one from Hotch Potch Eggs who I met at the show), or any salad & ham (less of the salad, more of the ham!).

Fellow gluten free blogger Gemma at Coeliac and Me suggested said she'd be making some honey & mustard salad dressing. Sounds nice.

Emily cooks up some cracking gluten free food, a specialty of which is a great dish of honey and mustard crusted pork, which we'll use the Dark Ale Mustard for the next time.

In the interim and feeling hungry after a busy day I used the Green's mustard in a beef sandwich. Very tasty it was too.

A late lunch of a beef and ale mustard sandwich (made with Genius Gluten Free bread) and the obligatory Pom-Bear snacks on the side (these are the newish Zoo Friends variety and are 'really cheesy')

The mustard is made by Cumberland Mustard using Green's Dark Ale.

Check out the Green's Gluten Free Beers website for details of the full range, stockists and how to order online.

Related blog posts:
- The Allergy and Free From Show 2014 at Olympia
- Gluten Free Ales, Beers and Lagers

Link:
- Green's Gluten Free Beers