I first wrote about this place in March and you can view my post here:
i-found-some-peace-and-quiet.html It is the World Peace cafe situated at the Tara Kadampa Meditation Centre in Etwall Derbyshire. I do love this place as its not only very peaceful as the name suggests but is so accommodating with their free from menu. You are catered for whether you are gluten free, vegetarian, vegan and dairy free. I had a lovely jacket potato with cheese and caramelised onion with salad on the side. My niece was catered very well with her vegan meal too consisting of a falafel salad. We had teas and coffees and just relaxed in the comfort of such a nice and friendly place which oozes such a calming atmosphere, you don't want to leave. The food was delicious and I can totally recommend it if you are a little restricted with your diet.. There is cake too so you can go for a snack or have a full meal., it's totally up to you. If you would like more information and to check out their menu you can find their website here at: www.tarakmc.org Thank you for joining me today, our last Free From Friday for 2017, it will be back in 2018 with more regarding the 'Free From' diet. Please pop back tomorrow for Autism Support Saturday. for now.....take care.
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There is so much choice this Christmas for gluten free'ers I'm glad to say. All the Christmas essentials seem to be covered and more. I picked up some gluten free cocktail sausages from Aldi which are gluten free and they also have pigs in blankets too. As a nice novelty feature on your snack or buffet table you can have these great Tree Shaped Turkey & Stuffing Flavour Tortilla Chips also from Aldi which not only taste fab, they just look so cute.
Tesco have a great range of Mince Pies, Christmas Puddings, they have a Salted Caramel Pudding for those who don't like traditional puddings, like me. I have one of these for Christmas Day so I'll let you know what it's like. There are Yorkshire Puddings, Triple Chocolate Cookies, Shortbread, Pastry Cases and even a Christmas Jumper Cake. The other supermarkets do have a range of Christmas products, Sainsburys comes very close, Morrison’s has an excellent range (see my Facebook page) but I just think Tesco have pushed it to the max this year. There are a good range of products in the frozen aisle too with tasty desserts such as chocolate eclairs and profiteroles as well as the classic Almondy Daim Chocolate Cake which you know if you are on gluten free diet is THE essential pud and I could actually consume a whole one in one sitting if pushed. Love that stuff. If you have the time there are also plenty of good recipes for puddings and cakes, pastry is so easy to make but can be bought as well if you want to semi bake. I buy the flaky pastry as it's far too much hard work to make it. I've watched enough Bake Off to know that ain't happening in this house. Chopped chunks of butter and folding a million times more than any origami activity, lets face it if your rubbish at putting a king size duvet cover on your king size duvet, you are not going to make flaky pastry. I'm going to my parents for Christmas Day and my dad, at the ripe age of 87 is barbecuing, yes I said barbecuing. I think we may be the only British family who barbecue on Christmas Day. My mum isn't keen on turkey and she's had enough over the years of cooking it, my dad loves to barbecue and the kids are fussy with food so they love their sausages and beef burgers to eat. We add a few traditional bits and bobs in there like a few sprouts and the pigs in blankets but it's so much more relaxed and easier. I get to have my gluten free food so everyone is happy and that's what Christmas should be about - Peace! So however you are spending your day there are plenty of Free From options, gluten free, vegetarian and vegan so enjoy and please let me know what you have enjoyed over the festive period, I'd love to know what everyone else enjoys too. Just leave a comment below. Thanks for reading today, join me tomorrow for Autism Support Saturday but for now..... Take care. Cheesecake is one of my favourite desserts and if it is on a menu somewhere while eating out I'm always disappointed if its not gluten free. It is one of those refreshing puds because which can be chocolated up or kept on the light side with fruit.
As always with gluten free products it is possible to have them when baked by yourself, using ingredients you are familiar with but sometimes as I've said in previous posts, you need something quick and easy. So I tried this cheesecake from Tesco and it was really nice. It is in the freezer section along with other delights such as profiteroles and eclairs, oh the temptation but it's good there is now a wider range. It tastes just the same a any other cheesecake or as I say the 'leaded' versions. In fact it actually tastes nicer, the biscuit base doesn't seem so heavy when gluten free so you don't get that bloated feeling after eating it. This little wonder from Tesco is a baked vanilla cheesecake made with full fat soft cheese on a gluten free biscuit base, topped with blackcurrants and whole raspberries with a raspberry and blackcurrant sauce and priced at £4. There are other products available elsewhere such as: M&S New York Made Without Wheat Cheesecakes (pk 2) £3.50 Asda Lemon Dairy Free and Gluten Free Cheesecake £2.99 Sainsbury's Free from Vanilla Cheesecake £2.00 which gives you a few to try and me to try too. Oh damn the things you have to do! If you do have time have a go at making a homemade one, there are a lot of really good recipes. I might have a go and post again about the experience so watch this space. For now though thank you for reading today and I'm off to sample more puddings, well it's that time of the year when life is all about a good pudding. Next week I may feature what is available out there to include with your Christmas dinner so join me again. Keep well and I will be back tomorrow for Autism Support Saturday Bye for now. I've been wanting to visit this place for ages and so after a Rock Choir performance last weekend I took the plunge. So glad I did as it was lovely. So many pyclets or pikelets, so little time.
Get this folks, they have gluten free options and I went for two Welsh Rarebit ones which included free range eggs and their secret cheese blend. I wasn't disappointed, it tasted really yummy and just had the right amount of mustard to keep me warm on a cold day. There are many delicious options to choose from on the menu such as: Smoked Salmon and Horseradish Sauce Stilton, Honey and Walnuts Goats Cheese, Chorizo and Sweet Red Pepper Strawberry Jam or Nutella Just Butter Pyclet Pizzetta with sun-dried tomato and artichokes and also a Derbyshire Oatcake full of melted cheese and cured smoked ham to just name a few, there are specials available so enough to keep you going and work yourself through. You can order takeaway too, I took home some plain gluten free pyclets to eat later, brilliant! You really must go and have a taste, they are situated in the Market Hall Derby (Unit 1). If you go in the entrance from the Market Place (opposite the Assembly Rooms or where the Guildhall entrance is then you will see them as you go into the Market Hall on the left hand side. You can have a brew too, there are a selection of drinks available so what you waiting for? If you would like any more information go to their website at www.pycletparlour.co.uk and they have a Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/thederbypycletparlour/ I'm going again so that's how good it is, just don't tell Slimming World.. Thanks for reading today, please pop back tomorrow for Autism Support Saturday but for now..... Take care. I find the best way to get a good gluten free chip is to cook it from the potato itself. Homemade chips are so tasty and you don't have to worry about any additives as you know exactly what ingredients you are using. I make my own chips a lot as with Slimming World it helps cut down on the syns. It's really easy and involves just chopping up potatoes in chip shapes, I par boil them for about five minutes and then chuck them on a baking tray with some seasoning and oven bake them. Job done. What happens though if that all seems a bit of a faff and you want to skip the chopping bit and the par boil stage and just go for some frozen chips straight out of the freezer and into the oven. Sometimes life is a bit busy and even on a diet you might be able to forfeit some points or syns. Well the good news is that there are quite a few supermarket varieties of the good traditional chip that are gluten free and available for your convenience. Obviously always check the ingredients on the pack and stay away from the brands which use flour to coat the chips. McCain are a well known brand, can be found in most supermarkets and have an extensive range of gluten free chips including:: The Gluten Free Home Chip The Original Oven Chip Triple Cooked Gastro Chips Skin On Rustic Chips Tesco have Thin and Crispy chips Sweet Potato Chips Salt and Pepper Crinkle Chips Homestyle Straight Cut Chips Homestyle Crinkle Cut Chips Crinkle Cut Chips Steak Oven Cut Chips Straight Cut Oven Chips Their Everyday Value 3 Way Cook chips are a bargain at 99p for 1.5kg and they also stock the McCain range and Aunt Bessies Vegetable Chips. Aldi are always good for price and I've found the quality to be good as well, they have; Champion Straight Chips Crinkle Cut Chips French Fries There is a brilliant list of all their gluten free products here at: www.cdn.aldi-digital.co.uk which I found quite useful. It is nineteen pages long but really informative. Sainsburys stock the McCain range and also Aunt Bessies which include: Homestyle Chips Homestyle Crinkle Cut Chips Asda have Smart Price Chips which are also priced at 99p for 1.5kg and they have: Steak Cut Chips Crinkle Cut Chips Straight Cut Chips less than 3% Fat Family Homestyle Chips they also stock the McCain and Aunt Bessies range like most of the supermarkets. So quite a few to choose from really, more than I thought. I really did think that we were more limited than this. I think I'm always going to keep a bag in for busy days. If you are on Slimming World here is a run down of frozen chips and their syns: I hope that helps with not only choosing some chips and keeping to your diet. Fish and chip takeaways tend to have gluten free nights so check with your favourite local chippy and also always ask at restaurants about the chips, some are gluten free some are not. A lot of places now state on the menu whether chips are gluten free but it's always best to check.
Thank you for reading today, if you would like any advice or support regarding Autism then pop by for my Autism Support Saturday feature tomorrow. For now though take care. |
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