#wheatfreewookiee

[darthvader666uk]

Master of Label Reading

After being near 2 years Gluten Free, reading a label on any food as become second nature.  Even if it is free from, I automatically read those ingredients.

What do we look for?  Well These are the main ones:

Wheat

Barley

Rye

Oats (as they are not all certified gluten free)

Malt

The one that got me for a while was the Malt Vinegar.  Absolutely forgot that was made of Barley and killed me on more than one occasion.

What about those packets, that the ingredents dont contain anythese but has a warning of May Contain Gluten or Made in a factory that handles gluten etc. Do you chance them?  I have once or twice in a controlled environment (the safety of my own home of course) and usually they are OK so they go on my safe list for the future!

What Other things have other people encountered?

[darthvader666uk]

A Toby Carvery Gluten Nightmare!

Weather it is in the UK or abroad, one thing that can be annoying is eating out.  So when we decide to eat somewhere, A little research goes into the place such as Trip Adviser (I always use this anywhere new) and looking at a restaurants main website.  My Girlfriend fancied a Sunday dinner and noticed that Toby Carvery has a gluten free food now available.  Since I had to go Gluten Free, I missed a good Sunday dinner and we thought to give it a try.

Our closest Toby Carvery is the one in Bridgend and decided to go there for lunch as we were out and about.  We got there and advised the guy on the desk that I had a Gluten Allergy and had to make sure that I couldn’t have anything with Wheat / Gluten in.  He advised us on the Meat, All the Potatoes, Carrots and the Veggie Gravy was Gluten free and gave me a nutrition folder (seems to be a classic sign of the staff not understanding the situation in most places I have been) so I could double check the food.  After looking at the folder, I confirmed with him that he was correct and those were fine.

We got sat at our table and as usual, went up for the food. Unknown at the time it appeared that the guy serving the meat, gave my girlfriend (who was behind me) a Yorkshire pudding but using the same utensil as he used to give me the meat.  Same went for the utensils when handling the potatoes as it seemed that they were in the same area as the stuffing.  Also, the Veggie gravy was right next to the normal gravy which could also lead to contamination.

Though I had some faith in the place as why would they offer Gluten Free?  Well, after nearly 15 minutes of eating my food, I had been glutened however this time; it seemed a lot stronger than usual.

Within about 20 minutes I had excessive sweating, massive headache over the right eye (this seem to be the place it hurts once Glutened), foggy vision, stomach cramps and for the first time I struggled to breath and had a massive rashes across my arms and face.

This sucked!

Luckily my girlfriend is always on form for this type of thing and within minutes she had paid (yep, they made us pay for something I couldn’t eat) and over to Tesco to get some Antihistamine.

Why Antihistamine? Well this is the third attack I have used them and it seemed to decrease the amount of time I recover from the attack?  Coincidence? Maybe however I managed to get out of the attack within roughly 2 hours.  A lot quicker than mild attacks that could last a few hours.

What was the next Step?  My girlfriend was on it and contacted them directly on their Facebook page as I was unable to do anything for a while.  They replied back and now we have a complained raised.

I hope from my experience more restrictions can be done so that other suffers will not have the same process.

[darthvader666uk]

Snackly Box Reviewed: May 2015

This review is slightly late but its worth it. Just over 3 weeks ago my girlfriend sent me a link to Snackly which offers a monthly snack box, similar to Graze box but specifically aiming it at people like myself who are Gluten Free.

So, what did we have in the box?  Well there was a mixture of 6 different items to which I never seen before.  I had:

Honeybuns Mini cake slice – Snowy Hills

Darling Spuds – Crushed Natural Sea Salt Crisps

Ceeba – Coconut Brittle

Plamil Organics – Organic Orange Chocolate with Cranberries

Fudge Kitchen – White Chocolate & Raspberry Gourmet Butter Fudge

Peace of Cake London- Gingerbread Bites

Honeybuns Mini cake slice

Im not usually a fan of anything lemon related however this slice was very very nice and it wasn’t an overpowering taste of lemon which I think the hint of ginger helped with that.  One of the things that I nhave noticed the most about going gluten free is the lack of “cake like” texture most cakes have when having wheat in the however, this felt like a real cake.

Would I buy Honeybuns Mini cake Slice? YES!

Darling Spuds Crushed Natural Sea Salt Crisps

To me these looked like the Kettle Chips to which I have seen in most supermarkets and even a similar colour to them too.  These were nice crisps but they brought nothing unique to the tablet though, as the gluten free logo is prominently displayed on the front, I would be more tempted to grab these over anything else.

Would I buy Darling Spuds Crushed Natural Sea Salt Crisps? Yes! but As long as they were cheaper than the competitors.

Ceeba Coconut Brittle

This one was a little strange.  I have never been a fan of any brittle goods so I chose this one first to eat.  With a Burned coconut taste, it wasn’t too bad and it didn’t crack your teeth unlike other brittle products I have seen in the past however, like alot of other gluten free products, this crumble and disintegrated as soon as you bit into it.   Nonetheless, it was tasty and I would pick another one up.

Would I buy Ceeba Coconut Brittle? YES!

Plamil Organics Organic Orange Chocolate with Cranberries

When I see fruit and Chocolate I don’t usually go straight for it as I am not a fan of fruit in general.  This chocolate bar, however, was a pleasant surprised.  It tasted like a luxury version of a Terry’s Chocolate orange and I could have eated a good few.  The cranberries were actually a nice addition and added nicely to the taste.

Would I buy Plamil Organics Organic Orange Chocolate with Cranberries? YES!

Fudge Kitchen White Chocolate & Raspberry Gourmet Butter Fudge

Without a doubt the best item in the box this month.  It was soft, gewy, messy and just awesome.  The white chocolate went perfect with the raspberry and it was very nice to taste fudge once more since going gluten free.

Would I buy Fudge Kitchen White Chocolate & Raspberry Gourmet Butter Fudge? YES! YES! YES!

Peace of Cake London Gingerbread Bites

ginger biscuits are not always my first choice of a long list of biscuits before going gluten free but these little bites were just right.  A very good texture making like normal biscuits are this didn’t crumble to oblivion and with only a hint of ginger makes these biscuits very tasty.

Would I buy Peace of Cake London Gingerbread Bites? YES!

Pick of the week

With the really nice selection on offer, they were all good but for me, the pick of the week goes to Fudge Kitchen White Chocolate & Raspberry Gourmet Butter Fudge as this was just superb.

Now, roll on next month for the next box!

If you want to show some love, why not enter DARTA36WC when ordering your Snackly Box

[darthvader666uk]

Frankie and Bennys attempt at a Gluten Breakfast

On the weekend while we were at McArthur Glen in Bridgend, we decided to go get breakfast and checked if Frankie and Benny’s attempt at a Gluten Breakfast was any good.  They do not have a specific gluten free breakfast menu but they did have a separate gluten free regular menu but the bonus that I had in this Frankie and Benny’s was that the manager was a Celiac.  That helped a lot as she advised what I could and couldn’t eat on the menu.

What I did find that there wasn’t a huge selection to choose from which basically consisted of eggs, bacon and beans.  Not something you want to pay £5+ for so I ended up having a start from the gluten free menu which was potato skins and extra bacon.  Very nice but its something of a common thing that most gluten suffers will do and that’s make a best out of a situation as there might not be many options.

Though the staff were fantastic and made sure that I had not been glutened.

[darthvader666uk]

The surprise of the Glutened pint glass

On Friday I went to the Goldfinger gig at The Globe in Cardiff.  In all gigs I have been to, I pretty much drink water as I get sweaty real quick and need to keep up my water intake.  What I usually have is a pint of tap water as its free and gets you the water you need.  Most gigs seems to have plastic disposable glasses but some places have the thicker plastic ones or even those flimsy ones.

The cups that were used looked to be the classic disposable pint cups but, after having my second pint of tap water, I found that I had a slight gluten attack.  Its possible they were re-suing the cups again as they were pretty good quality and the attack wasn’t as bad as the Toby Carvey nightmare but it was enough for me to have a bad stomach, stomach cramps, headache and fuzziness.  Have you ever tried to have a Number 2 at a Gig? Wasn’t fun :/

I cant blame the club as I should have thought about the use of cups in a club and that it would be used for Beer etc. and neither does the club advertise its gluten free.

Nevertheless , going forward, I MUST ensure I have bottle water in the future to stop this happening again and something else to think about while out and about.

Even though I was glutened, It was an awesome gig and had a bunch of fun and I will be going to more gigs at The Globe as it is a nice intimate location for bands.

On the plus side, I found some pretty cool gluten free pint glasses over at Cafe Press that I might have to get for the house.

[darthvader666uk]

Snackly Box Reviewed: June 2015

The new June Snackly box arrived this week and after the success of the last box, I was eager to try this one out and see what goodies I had.

So, what did we have in the box?  Well there was a mixture of 6 different items to which I never seen before.  I had:

Lemon Butter Shortbread – Kent & Fraser

Salted Caramel Brownie – The Sweet Reason Company

Chickpea Crispbread – Easy Bean

Fruit & Nut Biscotti – Peace of Cake London

Nothing But. Apple & Fig Snack – Premium Snack Company

Anglesey Sea Salt Milk Chocolate Bar – Beechs Fine Chocolates

Lemon Butter Shortbread

From what I mentioned last week about Honeybuns Mini cake slice, Im not a huge fan of lemon and that could be because as a kid, my grandmother use to make lemon Madeira cake all the time (followed by stomach cramps, strange) but this has followed on from last week and this shortbread was very nice.  The lemon was not over powering and it was nice to finally eat some shortbread.

Would I buy Lemon Butter Shortbread? YES!

Salted Caramel Brownie

This was gewy, a mess and wow, wow, wow, one of the best and soft brownies I have ever had.  It doesn’t compete with the girl friends brownies of course but these were just awesome.  Not too much salt and alot of caramel to go along with the brownie itself.  Shame that you cant just buy one as the only way you are getting some of these is buying a box of them and the cheapest is £17.50.  This is the type of thing that you would give as a present (hint hint) or something of a special occasion.

Would I buy Salted Caramel Brownie? YES! YES! YES!

Chickpea Crispbread

So far, each box has had a “strange” snack included and this months its the Crispbread.  Before I had to go gluten free, I was never a crack or crispbread fan so like the Biscotti below, I would not have thought twice about it.  The chickpea base brought a strange texture which was in the middle of crispy and soft but, with the multi seeds on top (I like seeds and nuts) it was a ery tasty crispbread and maybe something I could take on my cinema trips every week.

Would I buy Chickpea Crispbread? YES!

Fruit & Nut Biscotti

I fairly sure I have only noticed this over the holiday season and it is always something that I never pay attention to as who wants fruit in sweet things right? Well, this one has proved me wrong as this was a very nice bit of Biscotti though it seemed to be a lot more crispy than the Chickpea crispbread. Netherless it was very tasty and something that I would certainly pick up again.

Would I buy Fruit & Nut Biscotti? YES! but before having this, I would not have thought twice about buying it.  Good job Peace of Cake London!

Nothing But. Apple & Fig Snack

I am not a fan of veggies and fruit and need a lot of convincing or a good way to get me to eat these things.  Like the Biscotti up above, I was hesitant at first but after eating it worked well.  The apple and fig snack however wasn’t great for me.  It was just dried, almost like a quaver style snack and while I dont mind figs, I found this snack to be a little sharpe and not fun.  Its a shame as I will give most things that are gluten friendly a go as the choices are limited, but I just didn’t like these.

Would I buy Nothing But. Apple & Fig Snack? NO!

Anglesey Sea Salt Milk Chocolate Bar

There are a good few chocolate bars out there that don’t contain wheat but this one actually says on the back that it is gluten free.  This always leaves me hope when a product is actually labelled with that or the new logo that has a wheat white a cross going through it, almost like the Ghostbuster sign.  I digress and this bar, without much prior knowledge, was very tasty.  In fact it was almost close becoming joint 1st but you know what, the brownie was lush (as us welsh would say).  The bar had a few hints of salt (which I’m not always a fan of) but went very well with the chocolate.

Would I buy Anglesey Sea Salt Milk Chocolate Bar? YES! YES!

Pick of the week

The pick of the week goes to Salted Caramel Brownie as this was just awesome.

Now, roll on next month for the next box!

If you want to show some love, why not enter DARTA36WC when ordering your Snackly Box

[darthvader666uk]

The Pelican in her Piety Gluten Free Friendly

Last Friday we wondered down to Ogmore By Sea after work just to get out of the house and have 5 from the weeks work.  On the way back we decided to go to the The Pelican in her Piety pub which not only did we see while driving past but the girlfriend also heard that they do a good selection of gluten free food.

Just like most places, I am always uncertain as to what they have to offer or that if might effect me but I was willing to give it a go as I would never know.

We went into the pub and asked if they did a gluten free menu and they said no but, all the gluten free dishes were on the specials board.  We went to the board and fair play, there were a good 5 dishes to choose from including, FISH AND CHIPS! Instantly I wanted this as I have not had this since finding out I was allergic to gluten last year.

How amazing does that look? It tasted fantastic too and really missed having some classic fish and chips.  I can only assume that one of the owners or regulars are allergic to gluten as the choices were simply outstanding.

Did I get glutened from eating it? Hell no, which is amazing and another sign of owners knowing how to do stay gluten free correctly.

Now on to desert and usually this is where there isnt much to have other than ice cream. Well, expect for 1 item, EVERYTHING else was gluten free.

It was amazing and could have easily ate another.

So, will I visit The Pelican in her Piety again? YES! YES! YES!

[darthvader666uk]

Urban Tap House Gluten Free Burgers

Sorry for the delay in post, I guess not a lot has happened to me in the Gluten Free world that was worth mentioning about until Last Saturday when the Girlfriend and I visited the Urban Tap House on Westgate Street in Cardiff.

We were off to the cinema and in the past I would always avoid eating before cinema, Gigs etc. as, well, I would be very Ill but as now I know I am allergic to Gluten, I no longer feel I should avoid eating before these things.

So having a look online we found that Urban Tap House offers Gluten Free Burgers and along with gluten free beer too.  Something I have not had since going gluten free.

As I was driving, I didn’t opt for a gluten free beer (but I know exactly to go when I do go out next time) but I ordered the The Classic which included Prime ground beef, melted Welsh cheddar and crispy bacon and of course, the gluten free bun.

At first I was not confident on the server as I was unsure if he 100% knew what I was on about when ordering a gluten free burger but, like everywhere else, I have to assume they do.

Along with gluten free fries, the burger came and and looked pretty good.  It was small but you kind of expect that being gluten free however, it was really nice and with a decent price tag of £8.95 is about the price you pay for the burger.

I was silly and did not take a photo but I will be hitting up Urban Tap House in the future on my weekly binge of cinema viewing.

[darthvader666uk]

Snackly Box Reviewed: July 2015

The July Snackly Box has arrived and has now become a monthly ritual waiting for the Post Person to deliver my goodies..  

Alot of people on the @LoveSnackly twitter feels this might be the best box yet? After my first look, I think they might be right.  I had:

Salted Caramel & Milk Chocolate Bar – Gnaw

Abricotini – Peace of Cake London

Handmade Traditional Butter Fudge – Melting Pot

Gluten Free Shortbread Rounds – Walkers

Smoked Almonds – Chika’s

Ashmore Cheese & Onion Crisps – Kent Crisps

Gnaw Salted Caramel & Milk Chocolate Bar

The Gnaw bar was very nice and the chocolate was smooth, there wasn’t too much of a hit of salt either as I am not usually a fan of salt.  TO be fair, sweet and chocolate’s have not always been a issue as this is the only food category that seems to have a good choice in gluten free.

Would I buy Salted Caramel & Milk Chocolate Bar by Gnaw? YES!

Abricotini by Peace of Cake London

These types of treats I don’t always get drawn to because the lake of chocolate (I love chocolate) but I was pleasantly surprised.  They were very nice and soft too as looking at them, I thought they would be crunchy.

Would I buy Abricotini by Peace of Cake London? YES!

Melting Pot Handmade Traditional Butter Fudge

It was rare to actually eat fudge as not many places are gluten free however, this butter fudge was different.  It didn’t feel like those cheap ones you get by the sea side but rather one that crumbled.  You could notice the butter in the fudge and it was really smooth and not overpowering.  It was very awesome.

Would I buy Handmade Traditional Butter Fudge from Melting Pot? YES! YES! YES!

Gluten Free Shortbread Rounds from Walkers

One thing that I did miss before releasing that gluten was the one that was making me ill was shortbread biscuits.  This was absolutely superb and i might have to pick up a box.

Would I buy Gluten Free Shortbread Rounds from Walkers? YES!

Chika’s Smoked Almonds

I love eating nuts especially during work but with these nuts, I was not too sure about the smoked side of it.  They were nice tasting (so much so I finished them in minutes) but I think I would have rather had roasted.

Would I buy Chika’s Smoked Almonds? YES!

Ashmore Cheese & Onion Crisps from Kent Crisps

Along with chocolate, Chrips are being made without wheat and one of the brands that have gone totally Gluten Free are Seabrook Crisps which have a wide range.  I like these crisps but there wasn’t much for them to stand out against the rest.

Would I buy Ashmore Cheese & Onion Crisps from Kent Crisps? YES! but only when on Offer.

Pick of the week

The pick of the week goes to Melting Pot Handmade Traditional Butter Fudge as this was just awesome.

Now, roll on next month for the next box!

If you want to show some love, why not enter DARTA36WC when ordering your Snackly Box

[darthvader666uk]

Gluten Free Blackpool

Before going anywhere new, I try to look around for any tips or help in regarding a new place.  Just like the trip to Amsterdam, I had a search around to see what was on offer and where I could go and in doing so found some fantastic blogs to which I used as reference (along with Trip Adviser) to eat safely in Amsterdam.  So when we decided to go the Blackpool, I did the same.  Unlike Amsterdam, Blackpool had very little in reference to any Gluten free blogs helping people safely eat.

Hopefully this guide could help other people while visiting Blackpool.

I wasn’t there long (our stay was from the 30th of July to the 1st of August) so technically we only had 1 full day to explore but we did find alot of information on the Thursday too.

After getting to Blackpool later in the afternoon, we had a time out before we had a wonder around to see the sights.  After getting off the tram at the North Pier, we heading across the road and towards the high street to find somewhere to eat.  After attempting to go to Nandos (I know they are always gluten free friendly) we decide to look at the menu for Bella Italia to see what options I had.

Instantly I wanted a Pizza as I have not been able to eat a decent one in ages.  As the starters had Garlic Pizza  bread I had to have this as starters too and it was something that the girlfriend and I could actually share.

The Waiter, Allister, was outstanding and ensured that everything was correct as ensured that there was no gluten cross contamination.  He was also very knowledgeable on allergies and made the whole experience a delight (unlike most places you are sat there with a binder open).

On to the mains and I had a Pollo Piccante Pizza and it actually looked and tasted like a real Italia based Pizza.

After demolishing the Pizza, I had to partake in desert and I had to have something from the Gelato Cart:

Without a doubt Bella Italia was not only a surprise but the best food of our short trip away.

Queens Promenade Hotel

The whole while we stayed at the hotel, we could not think why it was rated Number 2 hotel in Blackpool on Trip Adviser however, their breakfast were suburb.  I use to love a good cooked breakfast but since being allergic to gluten, its was a rare thing however, Queens Promenade Hotel offered a full English Gluten free breakfast.

Takeaways and Seaside Sweets

When you are by the seaside, you have to have fudge, stick of rock and fish & chips.  With Fudge, I was surprised to find the majority of makes and flavors didn’t contain wheat and that some used Corn Flower instead.  Like everything else, always double check the pack for Gluten.

Sticks of rock dont seem to contain an flower at all as they are mainly a bunch of E numbers but still, for a treat, we can eat these.

Fish and Chips was the one that I could eat as I could not find any gluten free chips.  This was a shame as everyone lost fish and chips by the sea side.

TIP:

Make sure you carry around 9bars, Naked Bars or Eat Natural bars as snacking around Blackpool is very limited.

[darthvader666uk]

How I found out I could no longer eat wheat

Trying to find out why I constantly had bad stomachs had been going on since I was a kid.  Now I am 31 and as you can imagine, that is a lot of years are eating out and going to the toilet within a matter of minutes (depending on what I eat) and followed by headaches and fogginess to see.  I had to miss out on meals before gigs and shows just because "I may Need to go" and going out slowly but surely became a constant struggle. I went to the doctors on 3 separated occasions over the years regarding this issue and as I had nothing more to add, each time they told me I had a gag reflex of the stomach hence why I was going to the toilet.

I always put it down to a bad diet as once I tried dieting such as South Beach Diet (No Carbs) I was a million times better but still I hadn't put two and two together as I didn't think about it.

About 3 months ago I was sat down with the Girlfriend and we eat a lasagne and garlic bread.  Fairly simple meal yet with 10 minutes of eating it, Toilet time!

So the next day I was talking to a colleague in work and for some unknown reasons (like most conversation) it came up and mentioned about this and every other time it happens.  This is when she suggested I could have an IBS problem as one of her friends had something Similar.

Now, I know IBS isn't a disease in itself but more that certain foods can trigger a bad stomach.  So I found the following link with good and bad foods and went through it over a period of 3 months with adding and taking away from the list:

http://www.ibsdiets.org/fodmap-diet/fodmap-food-list/

Within a week I had found that wheat was the cause of my symptoms.  I still played about with the list just to make sure while still avoiding wheat.

After 3 weeks, I eat something with wheat in just to make sure and BAM! hit me like a tone of bricks as I have not had wheat for a good period of time.

I kept up with the gluten free diet and have kept track of what has it and don't and a food list to start avoiding while out and about.  With this information, I went to the doctors again and this time, he agreed with me and looked like it was celiacs disease but needed blood test just to make sure before proceeding.

So this Thursday I will finally have my results back and hopefully will tell me that after all my years on this planet, I am intolerant of wheat.

[darthvader666uk]

Welcome to a Wheat Free Zone

I decided to write this blog from the journey on finding out that I can no longer eat wheat or Gluten onto how I am adapting to life without it.

Considering the majority of food that we eat every day that contains it, it is hard to avoid.  As simple as an OXO cube or Oyster sauce contains wheat or gluten and by accident (or just assuming) I have "glutened" myself and the classic symptoms appear and I thought I would raise some awareness and help as much as I can while I am going through the process.