The Gluten Free Diet 
​by Sue Levesley 

I was in pain and discomfort for years
I would eat you and burst into tears
You’d make it hard for me to poo
oh that’s far too much information Sue
For I am on a gluten free diet

The choices have vastly improved
although the bread falls apart with you removed
The cafe’s bake cakes
allowing us to make less mistakes
I’m getting used to this gluten free diet 

Some think it makes me lose weight
they just don’t seem to be able to relate
I’m not on it for fun
but I’ve been well since I begun
The day I started the gluten free diet

So what does it mean?
Is it due to a defected old gene?
For me it’s an intolerance
and it does make a difference
I am staying on this gluten free diet

For coeliacs it’s vital
a disease with a title
not even a slither
of you to consider
There’s no option but a gluten free diet

Yes we are able to cope
and more research gives us some hope
When we choose to leave you out 
there is literally no doubt
Life is better on a gluten free diet

Some say maybe not
I want to eat the whole lot
Just a piece of you will do
Oh no I’ll never go to the loo
I must stick to the gluten free diet

It’s not always easy
when I eat you I feel queasy
So I’m going to be strong
yes I know where I belong
It is on….

The gluten free diet

I hope you had a great St Patricks Day and night. 

I do miss a tipple of the old black stuff, a beautiful pint of Guinness, not just on St Patricks Day but all year round really.

It was one of my favourites and I must admit I've got used to not having any beer and just sticking to wine, cider or spirits as recommended. I'm not a huge drinker, I'm not very good at it now for some reason, seem to get very tipsy very easily and don't welcome the hangovers anymore. It did get me thinking though, if us free from peeps fancy a beer, can we have one? If so, what is available?

Most standard beers may not contain wheat but do contain gluten due to some of the ingredients used in the brewing process and this makes it impossible for anyone who is diagnosed with coeliac disease or a gluten intolerance to drink. I know! No beer!! There is good news though, there are quite a few gluten free options for this kind of brew.

​Daura Gluten free Beer is available at most supermarkets (pack of 4 330ml bottles)
Tesco are offering it at £5.25 at the moment 
Asda £6.10
Sainsbury's £5.50
Morrisons £5.96

Tesco's and Morrisons also have Brewdog Vagabond Gluten Free Pale Ale £1.99 a 330ml bottle (Tesco) £1.72 (Morrisons)

Sainsbury's also stock: 
Green's Supreme Golden Ale £1.75 per 330ml bottle
Green's Premium Pilsner £1.75 per 330ml bottle

So what about purchasing a gluten free stout especially if you are requiring the traditional St Patricks Day experience. 

Best of British Beer have Monty's Dark Secret which is a a rich full bodied oatmeal stout full of chocolate and coffee flavours. For a case of 12 500ml bottles it is priced at £32.95 (free delivery on 2 or more cases) For more details go to :
www.bestofbritishbeer.co.uk/buy-beer-cases/beers-by-brewery-k-o/monty-s-brewery/dark-secret-case.html

The Gluten Free Beer Store have Greens Dubbel “ A classic Dubbel with a subtle hint of dark sugar and toffee flavours offering a traditional Belgian bouquet" - priced at £3.10 for a 330ml bottle. Again they do offer a free delivery on 24 bottles or more but you can mix an order. For more details go to: 
glutenfreebeerstore.co.uk/collections/new-arrivals/products/greens-dubbel-7-330ml

CAMRA - Campaign for Real Ale have a really good fact sheet regarding gluten free beer, this is available from:
www.camra.org.uk/factsheets/-/asset_publisher/tsssSmaAGkUE/content/gluten-free-beers

From personal experience I haven't tasted a wide range of gluten free beers so I have gathered information for you from the internet. Prices are up to date at the time of posting. There are many more than those I have featured. I may experiment a little, oh yes, let my hair down, all for research you understand and update sometime in the future but if you have tried any gluten free beers and want to leave a comment that would be great.

For now drink responsibly if that is possible and join me back here for Autism Support Saturday. 

Thanks for reading. 

It is British Pie Week and I did partake in this lovely tradition. Very naughty as it was not very Slimming World friendly, in fact when I worked out the syns I nearly choked on my fat free yogurt for dessert. You see I thought the yogurt would make all the bad syns go away from the pie but no, it doesn't work that way. It's a bit like ordering a Diet Coke with a large, mega, maxed McDonalds meal, kind of defeats the object. I always work out my syns for a particular food after I've eaten it, rather than working them out before and faced with the dilemma of 'to eat or not to eat'. It's too late if you eat it straight away. 

I sacrificed my diet just to tell you this lovely gluten free steak and ale pie was very delicious. It was purchased from Morrisons and priced at £2.47.
It's a tough job but someone has to do it. No I didn't mind honestly! It was packed with very tender steak in a tasty gravy and including the very important gluten free ale too. Yum Yum!!
www.morrisons.co.uk

There are other very nice pies available:

Sainsbury's have Deliciously Free From:
Steak and Gravy, Chicken and Gravy and Courgette, Feta and Spinach - £2.00
Too Good to be.....Pork Pie. £2.00
www.sainsburys.co.uk

Asda and Tesco stock the Genius Pies:
Chicken and Gravy, Steak, (Asda - £2.95) (Tesco - £3.50) pack 2
www.asda.com
www.tesco.com

Voakes Free from Pies - a great range of Dairy Free, Egg Free, Soya Free, Vegan and Vegetarian products to buy online.
www.voakesfreefrom.co.uk

British pie week was created through a campaign by Jus-Rol, the ready made pastry company originally but just took off and is now a regular annual celebration of the great British pie. 

If you do fancy making your own pies and experimenting with different fillings you can also purchase gluten free ready made pastry.

Tescos stock the Silly Yak Pastry Block for £1.75
Nature's Store Pastry Mix - £2.99
Jus-Rol Puff Pastry - £2.00

Asda have: 
Genius Puff Pastry - £2.45
Genius Shortcrust - £2.45
Jus-Rol Puff Pastry - £2.00

and Sainsbury's stock a Genius Puff Pastry and Shortcrust for £2.50

*prices vary and are taken from the websites and are current at the time of this post date.

I never make flaky puff pastry as it's such a ka'fuffle to make and why go to the bother when it's just available to buy and ready to roll? 

Remember pies are not just for this week but to be enjoyed all year round and you don't have to feel left out at all as there are so many choices now if you are on a gluten free diet. 

Thanks for reading and come back for more tomorrow with my Autism Support Saturday.

I took a trip to Morrisons the other day and I was really impressed by their ‘free from’ range. The pizza just screamed at me to buy it and I felt sorry for it sitting there with all its juicy pepperoni on display. So into the trolley it went, not the great meal idea for my slimming world but we all need a treat sometimes. Well I was pleasantly surprised as some gluten free pizzas I have tried have been a bit a bit, shall we say, resembling cardboard? This however was just soft and very tasty. The best one I’ve tried yet! Well done Morrisons and also congratulations on a great selection of ‘free from’ items. Some products are marked down in price so it pays to pop along and grab a bargain. 

I have found that making pizza dough has worked quite well, not as convenient but my kids quite liked joining in and making our own pizzas up, just like the big fast food establishments but I can’t swing my dough around like a fancy chef. That’s ok though it is quite quick and easy to make up without throwing it around, landing on the floor or up on the ceiling. I tend to just fix it quite securely onto a baking tray and pop my favourite toppings on.
I have used the following recipe for a Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella Gluten Free Pizza, you can find this one and more recipes at www.dovesfarm.co.uk

Ingredients

5 tbsps   Milk
½ tsp     Vinegar
1           Egg
225 g     Gluten Free White Bread Flour or
225 g     Gluten Free Brown Bread Flour
½ tsp      Salt
1 tbsp      Sugar
1 tbsp      Oil
4 tbsps    Tomato Puree
2 tsps.     Water
2 tsps.     Brown Sugar
2 tsps.     Basil
1.           Onion
2.Balls of Mozzarella
1 tsp       Quick Yeast

Method

Pre heat oven to temperature:
200°C/Fan180°C/400°F/Gas 6 

    1    Beat together the milk, vinegar and egg.
    2    In another bowl mix together flour, yeast, salt and sugar.
    3    Stir in the milk mixture.
    4    Mix in the oil.
    5    Knead well then cut the dough in half.
    6    Roll each into a ball of dough then flatten into a 20cm/8” circle.
    7    Place each on an oiled baking tray.
    8   Chop the onion finely and put it in a bowl with the tomato puree,      
          water, brown sugar and basil.
    9    Spread the onion and tomato mixture over the dough.
    10   Slice the mozzarella and lay this on top.
    11    Leave to rise for 20 minutes.
    12   Bake in a pre heated oven for 20/25 minutes.

Gluten Free ready made pizzas, pizza base mixes and plain pizza bases are available in most supermarkets now. Here are a selection:

Asda www.asda.com

Pizza Mix £1.20
Ready made Margherita  £2.00
Ready made Pepperoni   £2.00

Tesco www.tesco.com

Pizza base mix   £0.65
Free From ready made  Cheese & Tomato   £2.20
Free From ready made  Spicy Chicken       £3.00

Sainsbury's www.sainsburys.co.uk

Pizza base mix £0.55
Pizza bases (pack 2) £1.10

The Free From Pepperoni Pizza I tried was £3.00 from Morrisons www.morrisons.co.uk

*Prices are quoted from the websites of these supermarkets and are current at this time.

I have tried the Pizzas at Pizza Hut www.pizzahut.com and Dominos www.dominos.co.uk and found them to be very good.    
I find Pizza Express very expensive for all pizzas, not just Gluten Free and Papa Johns are yet to make a Gluten Free Base at this time as far as I know but do let me know if you hear of one available.

So I hope that gives you some information to go on, you really don't have to miss out on a yummy pizza so enjoy and don't forget to leave me some of your favourite recipes or ideas below in the comments.

Catch you tomorrow for Autism Support Saturday.