Coeliac On The Map: Cardiff

As I am writing this blog whilst situated in Cardiff, I thought it was about time I did some exploring to find what the city has to offer for us Coeliac's.
Obviously a lot of my posts where I have been out and about shopping or eating have been situated in Cardiff, but a lot of the places I talk about can be found in many other cities too.
For example, as Cardiff is a capital city there is obviously all the big name restaurants flying around who have gluten-free menus, and some I have already managed to write about/review (and am waiting until some money miraculously appears in my bank before I can go out and review any more).
SO now what I want to do is dig deeper into the heart of the city and see if there are any unexpected or 'exclusive to Cardiff' places offering gluten-free goodies, which could be especially helpful if any of you reading are also living in this glorious city!
And Voila!
Thanks to a family visit and a very wonderful recommendation from my big sister, I have my first post ready and waiting because we ended up going to a little place called 'The Plan'.
The Plan can be found in one of Cardiff's beautiful Arcades called 'Morgan Arcade' and looks like this:

(image curtosy of gourmetgorro.blogspot.com)

It is a quaint little cafe and I highly recommend a visit for anybody new to Cardiff because it is situated perfectly; nicely tucked away so that you can escape the city buzz and get some awesome views of the arcade whilst you're at it, like this one that we had:

It also boasts some awesome home-made Welsh coffee:

I can't do the setting of the place justice by words alone and also didn't really get chance/felt a bit odd going round taking a hundred photos of the place so please just promise me you'll visit there!
Anyway, on to the gluten free food.
For a small place, The Plan has a pretty big menu! And more importantly a lot of gluten free options! Take a look:

 It may be hard to tell from this small photo (apologies for my awful phone camera quality too) but there are a lot of 'no wheat' symbols dotted around!
Also interesting to see on the menu was this little note:

Like I have mentioned before, it is always reassuring to see eating establishments acknowledge cross-contamination. Seeing as it is outlined on their menu, I thought I would call over a member of staff before ordering and quietly mention that I have an intolerance to gluten rather than my gluten-avoidance being a choice. We spoke about the note on the menu and I asked what could be done about cross-contamination, especially as I was hoping to order a gluten-free toastie and therefore had reservations about whether the same toaster would be used for my bread as the normal bread. The man I spoke to was very informative and reassuring and even made the effort to inform the kitchen staff of my issue. He later returned to me to say that effort would be made to reduce cross-contamination as much as possible for my order. That was good enough for me so I went ahead and ordered a gluten-free bean and cheese toastie!

It was a lovely dish, garnished with a side salad and even a few crisps! (which I obviously checked were gluten free also). I can't for the life of me remember what gluten free bread they used (duh) but whatever it was I DO remember it being really good! 

So 10/10 for The Plan! Not only is it a gorgeous little place but they are gluten-free friendly and full of helpful staff. What more could a Coeliac want?!

Amy

Review Of The New: B Free

It seems to be happening more and more these days, I'll go into a supermarket and find a load of new things in the free from section. It's amazing! Keep it up please!
As great as it is, its also a terrible temptress into me spending money I don't have, so for now I have had to pull the reins in and haven't been able to buy much of the things I am seeing *sad face*.
One thing I saw however and sent a picture straight to my sister with a caption something along the lines of 'OHMYGODWEHAVETOTRYTHISNOW' was this:

This is this new Mexican fajita kit by 'B Free'.
Luckily/unsurprisingly my sister shared the same excited thoughts as me, so she bought a pack and invited me over to try it out, yum!
On the pack you can see what this includes:

I took some pictures of our fajita making experience to share with you:
First of all we were super impressed that the wraps included in the kit were the full sized B Free wraps.

These are also sold separately on their own and I highly recommend them. You can get a pack of 6 of these for either £3.50 in Tesco or £2.80 in Asda - you make that decision yourself... anyway, I love them. They are soft and more importantly really flexible so they don't break when you wrap them; I use them for lunches all the time! So, back to the fajita kit, we were half expecting the wraps inside the kit to be small so its was definitely a pleasant surprise to get full sized ones!
The kit also comes with its own seasoning and salsa packets. They come in a double pack which you can separate which is really handy because it means you can use some now and save some for another time (because lets be honest, there is going to be another time!)
We used one seasoning packet but opted for another, larger salsa packet that my sister already had in her cupboard, purely based on preference and the amount of people it had to feed!

The only other change we made to what the kit suggests is we used minced meat instead of chicken as our filling. I took some step-by-step pictures whilst I was 'manning the pan' :

                                                             Step 1: Browning the mince

Step 2: Adding chopped peppers and onions

Step 3: (I tried to get an action shot of me adding

the fajita seasoning, but I am no professional

photographer so this will have to do):

On the side lines we started arranging other exciting, tasty things to go into our fajitas. Here is our selection of condiments and fillings:

And here is everything laid out on the table when it was ready:

Now for the fun to begin!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Ok so if you've read any of my previous posts you already know I LOVE Mexican food so my opinion is biased when I say I really enjoyed this meal! However from a none Mexican-obsessed point of view, this fajita kit is still great! I mean, it costs either £4.75 or £5.50 which is more than double the price of your average fajita kit by Old El Paso and the likes sooo it is an investment to say the least. But what's new?! If you have been Coeliac for a while, like me, you're already used to (and infuriated by) the fact that gluten free food is extortionately priced. It's up to you to make the decision to buy the ingredients to make fajita's separately or go for this kit by B-Free. For me, it's just really refreshing to see gluten free kits like these in the supermarkets and I suppose that's purely because of the novelty that goes with it. Being able to pick something fun up like this and feel 'normal' is what sold it for me but at the same time I won't be affording to do it again any time soon. So there are pros and cons but overall it's another exciting development in what is looking like a bright future on the 'Free From' Aisle.

Amy

Coeliac Life Hack Number Two

Yes, I am back with more terrible advice for a healthy lifestyle but when you see what this post is about I think a few of you will forgive me.
The credit for this life hack has to go to my Coeliac sister Lucie as it was her idea to do it first before introducing it to me! And she gets more than a round of applause for this one as it was nothing short of genius.
WE HAD A SUBWAY.
Like all the other fast food places, since being diagnosed I had completely written Subway off, especially seeing as their speciality is sandwiches. We have been waiting and waiting for them to jump on the Dominos/Pizza Hut bandwagon and introduce gluten free options but it doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. So for the mean time we have this nifty little life hack which I have an inkling you are going to enjoy.
It's pretty simple, and maybe quite obvious, we just took our own gluten free bread.
Some of you might be thinking, why didn't you do that years ago? And yes I suppose this isn't exactly ground breaking intelligence and more just common sense but I was never sure how successful it was actually going to be. The main reason for this is because it has taken a while for decent gluten free bread to come along. For a long time we were simply awaiting a successful bread and butter so we can have some toast for breakfast; our minds weren't exactly venturing as far as the dreams of Subway's. But we are in a different place now and we are lucky enough that there are a lot of really really good gluten free loaves available now by various companies, not to mention variations such as wraps, flat breads, rolls, buns and baguettes. The latter being what we would need for a Subway.
The other reason that it has taken me a while to attempt the Subway life hack is because you are running a much greater cross-contamination risk here. Due to the nature of the deli, there is a lot of handling of the food so it is much easier for crumbs to spread etc.
And finally, it is all well and good replacing the bread for a gluten free sandwich but then you still have no idea if the fillings are gluten free because Subway have no need to display this information.

SO all this in mind, lets talk about how our first gluten free Subway experience panned out.

The baguette we used was from the company Livwell and can be purchased on this website: http://www.livwellfoods.co.uk/products_140g_baguette.php OR if you have a prescription set up, it may also be available to you that way (which is how my sister got her hands on ours!)
We simply went in and asked first off if they were able to create a sandwich for us using bread that we had brought in ourselves. Expectedly, the staff member was slightly hesitant and consulted their manager first but they responded enthusiastically, asking us whether it was a gluten intolerance that we had and then even foreseeing that a new clean knife was used to cut our baguette! Impressive. As far as the rest of the sandwich making goes, I was consciously overlooking for any potential cross-contamination. For example I panicked slightly when the sandwich was being put in the oven/toaster but then noticed that it is on a clean sheet of wrap/paper which touches the oven shelf, not the sandwich itself, so that was fine. The baguette itself withstood the test tremendously, it did not crumble or break at all and it was really soft! Perfect.
As for the fillings, we pretty much just went with our gut and chose things we know are naturally gluten free. My sister did say however that she has asked staff in the past about the ingredients of the fillings where she found out for example that we can't eat the meatballs (boo!) so I'm sure there are ways you can find out about them all so you know for sure.
We had a 'Subway Melt' which consists of ham, chicken, bacon and then cheese and salad if you want them. I did notice some crumbs in the cheese but the girl must have sensed my panic (or just been aware of the risk) and she chose slices which were clean, phew! The one thing we did inquire about were the sauces, as more often than not a sauce will contain gluten. The manager handed over to us a folder containing a full list of ingredients and allergen information for all of their sauces, so thank you to him for being awesome. Luckily there was no queue when we went in so we were able to stand and scrutinise the ingredients without causing any fuss, however as Subway can get really busy, if you were thinking of getting a gluten free sandwich there it might be worth making a separate visit beforehand where you go and speak to the manager aside from the busy deli counter and check out what is available. Then when you eventually go to place your gf order it's done as swiftly as possible so you can enjoy it more! Reading ingredients is known to take the edge off a bit...
Unfortunately we were unable to have some of the sauces we wanted to but we did manage to add BBQ sauce!
And voilà! Here are our first (of many!) gluten free Subway sandwiches:

They were delicious! I highly recommend doing this.
We had one foot-long (well, however long the Livwell baguette is) and cut it in half to share which filled me up plenty! This cost us £3.99 which considering what you pay for gluten free food is actually reasonable (especially if you get the baguette on prescription!) and as I have said before, the novelty of getting to enjoy all these things when I thought I never would again is priceless!
Amy

Monthly Favourite: DOUGHNUTS

YES YOU READ CORRECTLY.
THE WAIT IS OVER.
GLUTEN FREE DOUGHNUTS FINALLY EXIST.
Ok before I go on I just need to mention that I have an ongoing debate in my mind about how to actually spell doughnuts!? I've always gone for 'doughnuts' (as I have used in this post) but now I keep seeing the spelling 'donuts' everywhere?! If you have any serious issue with my choice of spelling then I am sorry but somebody needs to hurry up and decide which one is right?!
ANYWAY back to the point:
I think I started this blog at the perfect time because in the last few months SO much exciting food has been introduced to the gluten free world. And now somebody, who can only be described as a culinary genius, has finally blessed us all with gluten free doughnuts.
Once again I am lucky enough that my sister, otherwise known as my Coeliac partner in crime, bought us some to sample!
I have the best sisters ever, right?!
So I have tasted the food of the Gods and my oh my, they were heavenly indeed.
We can all agree, this has been a long time coming. I have been teased on several occasions by rumours such that Krispy Kreme were launching gluten free doughnuts but every time I was only lead to disappointment and to be frank, that is just not a nice trick to play on a Coeliac.
Food is the way to our hearts after all, don't break them.
But alas we need wallow no more! Gluten free doughnuts are a thing of the now.
Here's a couple of them that we had:

They are a proper doughnut size, no scrimping was done here and they are really fluffy! I wish I could describe to you how they tasted but the English vocabulary just doesn't have enough superlatives to do them justice. Lets just say they really did not disappoint. Even the smell (you know, we all know the warm doughnut smell) was just how I remembered it! Admittedly these don't look as sugary as the pictures on the website, and they probably weren't, but if that is an issue there's no issue with sprinkling a bit more sugar on yourself!
If you are interested (and why wouldn't you be?!) my sister bought them from here: http://www.glutenfree-direct.co.uk/feel-free/frozen/feel-free-donuts. If they become available from anywhere else I shall update this post but for now this is the website I'm aware of. I'll also put a direct link to the whole website because they have a lot more awesome food up for grabs: http://www.glutenfree-direct.co.uk/.
I've only come across plain doughnuts for now, but it had been around four years since my last doughnut full stop so I'm not going to be picky just yet (then again if the future holds jam doughnuts, then its a future I am very much looking forward to!)
Bon Apetit!

Coeliac Life Hack

So one of the hardest things to come to terms with when you have a food allergy or intolerance is no longer being able to feel 'normal'. Maybe you always feel like 'the awkward one' when eating out or you're just generally fed up of missing out on eating experiences that you used to have.
So I'm going to share with you something that I discovered which I would say is a pretty good coeliac life hack.
This one in particular may only appeal to a niche reader because I am a student which means I'm still relatively young and irresponsible so fast food is still a big part of my life. Let's just get this out the way before anymore build up: this post is about McDonald's.
Fast food is the hardest thing to come by as a coeliac, it pretty much doeent exist BUT I have found a sneaky little way around this particular eating place (sorry, I couldn't bring myself to refer to McDonalds as a restraunt).
For me, what I missed most was my double cheeseburgers, so after intensive research I was delighted to find out that McDonalds burger patties are made from 100% beef. I'm not saying theyre made from top of the range meat nor am I oblivious to the fact that they are filled with a load of unhealthy crap BUT my point is, they don't contain any wheat so that is a win in my eyes. What was then even more wonderful to discover is that its not too frowned upon to go into McDonalds and ask for said double cheeseburger to be served to you without the bun. Admittedly this request hasn't come without a few raised eyebrows and puzzled looks but overall the staff have been totally comprehensive and treat it as though they get asked it all the time. The burger comes served to you in a box or closed lid tray and 9 times out of 10 with a plastic knife and fork too.
I order mine with chips, as these are also gluten free and confirmation of this can be found on McDonald's nutritional information menu if you ask for one.
In fact look at one anyway, now you know you can eat a burger there why not go all out and see what else you could add to your bill!
Like I said as I'm still an avid fast food eater this has been great for me especially when friends suggest going there and I can't lie no night out felt complete without the 4am stumble through the golden arches so having that back in my life is fab.
I hope this information changes your lives for the better too, if not then I sincerely apologise for the bad influence and impending weight loss plan.

"Jimma Dinners" Part Two

My stomach has never been so happy.
My sister and brother in law went and did it again with an absolutely fantastic gluten free meal that I NEED to share with you.
Don your sombreros and crack out the tequila, were having Mexican.
Let's be honest, these guys knew what they were doing when it came to food, there are so many amazing dishes to be had and the best part of it is, most authentic Mexican food uses corn instead of wheat!
So the Jim's, being awesome human beings, decided to utterly spoil me and buy some soft corn flour tortillas from Wholefoods in London, so that when I next came round we could have tacos!
It was a hell of a feast to say the least, complete with amusing chalk board menu gag:

And just take a look at that spread!

We had slow cooked pulled chicken with chipotle seasoning, picante, a range of sauces including salsa, guacamole, nacho cheese and sour cream, lettuice, grated cheese and even a fresh slice of lime each.
Here are some of my creations (albeit rather messy ones, but that's half the fun!):

I'm only a beginner so my tacos are far from aesthetically pleasing but the important thing is they tasted incredible!
All in all it was an absolutely fab meal. Soooo tasty and super filling.
I hadn't had tacos before this for at least a year and that was only because me and my sister were lucky enough to find a place in American that served corn flour tortillas whilst we were on holiday there! So its great to know that the meal is actually easily achievable a lot closer to home.
Thank you Jimma!

Home Cooking By The Boyfriend

Now I've already talked about some of the amazing things my family have done for me in the way of gluten free meals etc so it wouldn't be fair if I didn't mention my boyfriend too. He is really supportive and forever looking for ways to make me the meals I am missing the most.
So I thought I'd do a couple of posts about some of the meals he has made me or we have made together so that others who are missing out can have a go and enjoy them too!
I'll begin with this one first as it is one of the biggest and best meals he has ever made me:
a home made Chinese takeaway.
This was genuinely one of the hardest things to come to terms with when I got diagnosed. Never being able to eat my favourite things from a Chinese ever again? It doesn't even bare thinking about.
I've been too upset by the matter to consider having a go myself. I just couldn't see myself being able to make it the same and I'd probably mess it up or it would turn out a disappointment. But lucky for me my boyfriend had other plans.
Now, I don't have step by step pictures because he made it for me as a surprise and I was banned from the kitchen during the process. You can imagine how overwhelmed I was then to walk in the living room and see this displayed on the table!

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.
A full blown gluten free Chinese takeaway with all the trimmings.
We had:
Sweet and sour noodles,
Chicken balls in batter,
Prawns in batter,
Egg fried rice,
Spring rolls,
Chinese curry sauce,
(my personal highlight) Prawn toast,
And even a gluten free beer!
I could have cried with happiness... I didn't actually though... honest...
It all tasted incredible. Gluten free batter is one of the rarest things to come by so being able to eat those chicken balls and prawns was heaven.
And the prawn toast was better than any I had tasted before.
And if I'd been brave enough to try and make all of this myself at all in the last three years I would've found out that it really isn't that difficult.

I'll start with the best bit. The prawn toast. He used this recipe for it: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/966640/prawn-toast but obviously used Genius bread instead (any other gluten free brand of bread would be fine also). PLEASE try it. It tasted soooo good!

The batter was as plain and simple as any other; Doves Farm self raising flour, water (apparently sparkling or tonic water works better as it gives a crispier batter) and salt. THREE ingredients? I seriously don't know why I haven't tried to make gluten free batter it myself yet. I'll definitely be doing it more often now! And the methods/how to can be found literally anywhere online just swap the flour for gluten free!

The spring rolls were actually some I had as a gift from my sister Lucie, so she gets some credit in this too! She bought them online as you can too by following this link here! http://www.glutenfree-direct.co.uk/feel-free/frozen/feel-free-chicken-vegetable-spring-rolls

As for the sweet and sour noodles my boyfriend used rice noodles, which can be found in pretty much any super market but we had these ones. The sauce was Sainsbury's own sweet and sour sauce which is gluten free (thanks Sainsbury's!) as is the Chinese curry sauce he used which he also got from Sainsbury's but may be found elsewhere too.

The beer is 'Green's Premium Pilsner' which, YOU GUESSED IT, he also bought from Sainsbury's (I swear this blog ins't endorsed by them or something). If you were a fan of beer before diagnosis like myself, #lads, then I strongly recommend this one! Just, try and pretend its not overpriced...

And finally the egg fried rice was good old Uncle Ben's and lets be honest he never fails to deliver, that Uncle Ben.

And that's your lot!
A mighty gluten free Chinese takeaway feast.
Surprisingly easy to do and SO MUCH FUN TO EAT!

Honestly if you have doubts like I did about not being able to live up to the Chinese takeaway standard (I use that term loosely, but you know what I mean) then put them aside and just go for it. Or if you don't fancy the task yourself and are lucky enough to have a boyfriend/girlfriend/partner as awesome as mine then get them on board to try it for you!
You'll be pleasantly surprised... and.. really really full!
Amy