Gluten Free Delights

Yes!!! Warburtons make Gluten Free Crumpets and they are not too bad, either. I toasted them and had them with a bit of spread and jam. Well done Mr Warburton, a nice alternative to the gluten free bread which tends to fall apart without the aid of the elasticity gluten provides, but these crumpets stay quite well glued together. I purchased these little babies today from Morrisons who have a price cut on some free from items at present and a packet of 4 cost £1.18, not bad eh? Usually you need a small fortune for free from food which I can't understand why, apart from the special conditions to manufacture but wouldn't it be nice if  the cost could be reduced.

My next delights are The Foodie Market's Chocolate Biscuit Bars from Aldi which are very similar to Rocky Biscuit Bars, nice biscuit surrounded in a thick layer of milk chocolate. They are gluten free and wheat free and for a pack of 5 they cost £1.29. I count them as a syn on Slimming World for 5 syns so not bad for the odd treat on those days I just can't do without chocolate, which is most days really.....oops did I type that out aloud? 

My final choice for this week is Celebrate Health Recipe Base Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry Sauce. This sauce is gluten free, dairy free, vegan friendly and nut free. I know what you're thinking, well whats in it'? Is there any ingredients left? Well yes I can say there are very tasty ingredients and I think it's one of the nicest sauces I've tasted. I purchased this from Tesco for £1.25 (175g pouch). It is probably a little more than you would pay for the equivalent by Blue Dragon and Tesco's own brand pouches priced at 50p but I think it's going to be a common issue that everything which is 'free from' is going to cost more. There are some of the other less expensive pouches of sauce which are free from some troublesome ingredients if you have got time to peruse the ingredients but I can certainly recommend this one.

After eliminating gluten from my diet I do feel so much better. it was a long process of trying to find what made me feel so uncomfortable and although I tested negative for Coeliac disease I settled for an intolerance. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition where the immune system mistakes substances found inside gluten as a threat to the body and attacks them, this can lead to a lot of gut related symptoms.
For me, I'm less tired, and don't suffer from so many headaches now but I certainly can tell when I have been 'gluten'd' as I get symptoms a few hours after eating. It isn't easy and it's by no means for fun or a dieting technique as a lot of gluten free food is actually added with extra calories and sugars to make up for the taste and texture lost compared to gluten alternatives. It's an expensive diet, you get very good at reading labels on food and investigating menus when eating out. 
The delight of going out to a place and finding 'free from' items on the menu is just so exciting, and you could actually 'high five' the establishment for providing food you can eat especially cake.

I will keep this weekly feature updated with food, places to eat out and I will try an include a variety of 'free from' dietary needs. Please feel free to leave any comments with ideas, or recommendations for food and places you may have tried and tested.

Bye for now and catch you for more next Friday.

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