I went out last night for a meal and as I looked down the menu I started feeling a bit worried and disappointed as there didn't seem anything clearly labelled as gluten free. It's then I start to wish that I was somewhere where I knew there would be gluten free food even if it was just have that sense of familiarity.

This pub did used to have quite an extensive Gluten Free menu as I have reviewed them before but obviously there had been a change. There used to be clearly labelled gluten free buns with burgers and pasta too so I thought oh this will be ok.

After a while looking at the menu I have to start to work out myself which options would be the best to eat. I thought with my choice that I really couldn't go wrong but then I was to be told that the dish wasn't available as the lamb cutlets had been sold.

Oh not good.....I could almost start to imagine that now sold lamb and had visions of it sitting on my plate so now I had to choose again. I wasn't sure I had a second option so here I go......I'm going for.........a curry yes thats will be ok but I'm going to just check and ask if it's gluten free. I wasn't going to have naan bread that was obvious but yes good news it was gluten free. Yes!! Success. It was blooming gorgeous as well.

So my message is that even though food isn't clearly labelled on the menu always ask the staff what is gluten free as most establishments will be happy to tell you. I always used to be a worried about asking but now I do a lot more. I don't want to feel poorly and it is also the job of the waiting staff to tell you anything about dietary requirements after all they don't want you to be poorly either. 

Some menus are better than others and there is an element of excitement when I do see gluten free written down. Another menu I came across recently had a G for gluten free then they would have a different symbol for a dish that could be altered to your own requirements which I think is a great idea. The menu is only a guide anyway so always ask!

Hope this helps a little but please tell me what menus you have found good or bad and what would the perfect menu look like to you?

Thanks for reading today, join me for more tomorrow when it's time for Autism Support Saturday but for now take care.

I tend to think of Free From foods to mainly include gluten free, dairy free, meat free but I tend to leave out the sugar free aspect sometimes. That is probably because I'm a bit of a sugar addict so it's probably a case of not wanting to talk about because I'm under the impression that it's not a problem.

It is a problem for a lot of us though isn't it? Sugar is like a drug.....it's addictive and so hard to wean yourself off it. I gave up smoking a couple years ago now and that was difficult especially when the cravings rear their ugly head but I am starting to feel the same with sugar.

I've been dieting along time and when I get my head around it and get in the zone I can cut down on my sugar intake quite a bit and have been successful as the weight has come off. When I get a craving for sugary stuff though there is no stopping me at all. I can't seem to fight it. I've tried drinking water to fill myself up or tried to eat fruit as an alternative but I still want chocolate or that slice of cake. If that temptation is in front of me I really have to build that willpower up so much to resist it.

I know I can do because I have done it like I say and when I do cut it out it not only feels good but the cravings do subside just like smoking. The cravings for a cigarette or few and far between now and I can't actually believe that I did smoke. I have just got to get there with sugar.

I can't give it up completely and I don't think it's good to do that anyway. The daily allowance isn't a lot at no more than 30g a day for an adult ( equivalent to seven sugar cubes). It is possible to cut down though by swapping sugar in hot drinks to sweeteners and cutting out the biscuits, crisps, chocolate and cake. All the things I love, I do use a sweetener in my brew but then there is a lot of negative publicity about artificial sweeteners  too. Maybe it's good to try and cut it out altogether......I may try. 

I'm not sure whether there is more temptation around now days or whether we just don't move around like we did years ago. A lot of us sit at desks all day while working, the kids don't play outside as much as they used to and we exercise less. If we turned all that around maybe the nation would start getting slimmer.

It is difficult but not impossible. I'm going to keep trying to cut down and not only lose some more pounds in weight but improve my general health and hopefully save my teeth too. It's scary to think a can of Cola can have as many as nine sugar cubes so that goes over the average adult daily allowance No wonder we now have a sugar tax which I can't help thinking is a great idea.

​Let me know if you struggle with sugar and have you conquered the addiction to the sweet stuff? What techniques have you used? What foods do you use to replace sugary foods? Lets help each other.

Thank you for reading today. If you would like some useful information about sugaring our diet then go to the NHS Change 4 Life website here 
www.nhs.uk/change4life/food-facts/sugar

There is even details about a useful app there too which you can use to scan certain food products and find out how much sugar it contains. 

Join me tomorrow for Autism Support Saturday but for now......

Take care. 

Wow I saw these potato snacks in Aldi this week and got so excited. I love Bourbon, I like barbecue flavoured things and I love crisps. Part of me said nooooooooo Sue from the Brew, do not buy these as they are no good for the waistline and you'll have to count millions of points on ya Slimming World. The devil took over me and oh they fell in my trolley. 

Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey Potato Chips are absolutely gorgeous and they are gluten free. I'll be honest they haven't lasted long and this was a 120g bag, that's how yummy they really are. The barbecue flavour kind of takes over a bit but there is a whiskey tang to them which definitely works. Burts also produced some Guinness flavoured crisps too a while back but they did contain barley which always falls into a grey area in the gluten free world. Some people can tolerate some can't.

There are a few other crisps in the Burts range which are gluten free so take a look. There website has all the nutritional advice you need and you can find that here at www.burtschips.com

For those on Slimming World you are looking at 6.5 syns for 25g of all  varieties of Burts Hand Fried Potato Chips so maybe save them for a treat or a low syn day. 

These were as I say available in Aldi so check out your local store. Let me know what you think of them. I'm off to go and clear the shelves at our local store so I will catch you tomorrow for Autism Support Saturday. 

Take care until then.

Oh my goodness I have finally found a loaf of bread that is just amazing. I know I've posted about bread before, I've made some myself and moaned about the quality of some of the gluten free loaves available but this is the best!!

It is produced by Warburtons and is from their Artisan range. This Tiger Bloomer was just great. it's sooooo tasty. It doesn't fall apart.....no big holes in it and it is the closet thing to the 'real thing' I have tasted. I'm so excited about this because I think bread is one of the most disappointing aspects of a being on a gluten free diet. I have honestly missed a big doorstep sandwich and fresh tasting bread. I made a gluten free fish finger sandwich with this and it passed the test with a huge 10 out of 10.

It's pricey like the rest of the gluten free foods but I don't mind paying the extra for a decent loaf. You can slice it yourself so just cut thinner slices to make it last longer. It toasts well and you will not know the difference between this and the gluteny stuff. Well maybe the size.....it is a bit smaller but then the best things come in smaller sizes and it fits in my toaster.

Go try it now....I really don't think you will be disappointed. I'm definitely hooked now. If you have tried it what did you think? Let me know, I would be interested to know what everyone else thinks.

Thank you for reading and letting me get excited about bread.....I know I need to get out more but it's important I tell you as you may be crying over a pathetic brittle loaf and now you can have something wonderful.

Take care.....oh and feel free to join me tomorrow for Autism Support Saturday.

It's National Fish and Chip day today
you can cook them in loads of different ways
But here on a Friday we like them gluten free
stops you from having tummy trouble if your anything like me

I don't want to be trumping after a plateful of chips
my cod might even be seen pursing it's lips
If it had a nose and it's fins were long, it would shield from the smell
I know it's already dead but that would just be hell

To get our fish and chips we usually have a special day
but I think us gluten free'ers would like them anytime if we had our say
They have to be cooked in their own personal fryer
otherwise they'll pick up the gluten we don't really require

It's complicated for a chippy you see
to produce fish and chips for you and for me
I bet on this annual National Day
gluten free fish and chips are not available in any way

You could of course cook them yourselves
so all is not lost, get them spuds from the shelf
It's really easy you don't have to fry
just shove them in the oven - go on give it a try

It's the only way you're gonna get them gluten free
unless your chippy's 'Free From' day is today you see
Tough isn't it being on a funny different diet?
No fish and chips? I predict a riot!!!

🐟🍟🐟

Thank you for reading today.
Join me again tomorrow for
Autism Support Saturday
for now though....

Take care
​xx