Eating Out: Gourmet Burger Kitchen

OK, OK so I know I said I will be posting about my 'healthy' gluten free diet and lifestyle but it just so happens that all the exciting gluten free food is also all the naughty stuff! And I just so happen to have done a lot of 'exploring' in this area...
Hey, I got a lot of nice food taken away from me, I deserve to indulge now and again when the opportunity arises! ;)
SO! Gourmet Burger Kitchen:
My sister ate here a while back because they're burger patties have always been 100% beef, but back then the only gluten free option was having a 'naked burger' where the meat comes without the bun, with the option of a lettuce wrap instead.
But nooow *drum roll* they have gluten free burger buns! Woohoo!
I have wanted to try GBK's burgers forever*
*not literally forever but considering my excitement we can forgive a little over exaggeration
So as soon as I heard about their brand spanking new gluten free options I decided I HAD to go!
I wanted to have a look on their website first to see what sort of things were going to be on offer for me but to my disappointment they didn't have the gluten free menu available online. A bit silly I thought BUT what I did find instead was a certain big shiny advertisement:

YES PLEASE!
Before I could even begin to worry about how much this meal was going to cost my boyfriend, we've got ourselves a meal for a tenner. Sorted. We booked a table.
And so it begins, with the menu:

What's nice about it is that its exactly the same as the 'normal' menu, printed on the same kind of hard sheet with the same layout. I MUCH prefer this than being handed just a scrap of paper or even worse having the restaurants entire A4 folder of allergen information plonked on your lap. Instead, here I was made to feel just like everybody else, if not even a little spoilt! Its much nicer having a whole separate menu with just gluten free options rather than having to sift through the normal menu being teased by all the other dishes you can't have.
So, what did I have? Well I'm spoilt for choice! Even on the gluten free menu there are a range of both beef and chicken burgers with all sorts of fillings.
The only down side is that the fries weren't gluten free :( but it did say this on the menu:

This impressed me because I can't tell you how many times and in how many places I've had to ask whether I can eat the chips and even then not been given a very reassuring answer. So even though it was bad news it was also refreshing to have the answer right in front of me!
In the end I went for a classic cheese burger. Alright so maybe I'm a little boring but I did add an extra grilled mushroom if that helps?!
The food arrived fairly quickly, and it was gone even quicker!

Look at those buns!
I was really impressed with the gluten free burger bun, in particular the size because I'm used to gluten free versions of things being smaller (Dominos I'm looking at you!) But my burger was the same size as the normal one! Like they advertise, the bun was also really soft however I still couldn't escape leaving a crumbling mess on my plate. Gluten free bread does seem to have the tendency to break easily and I don't think my juicy mushroom helped!
So the important question: Do I recommend it?
Hell yes.
I've even already been back since with my Mom! What was that I was saying about healthy eating?...
It is quite an expensive meal if you aren't lucky enough to grab a voucher like we were, so I'd suggest trying to find a deal beforehand but at the same time its not like the food isn't worth the money! The hint is in the name, the burgers really are 'gourmet'.
And in my eyes grtting to eat a gourmet gluten free burger is priceless !
Amy

"Jimma Dinners" Part One

One thing I can count on when coping with my Coeliac Disease is the support from my family. They're all AMAZING. Not only do I have my Coeliac partner in crime my sister Lucie, my Mom always cooking my favourite meals and taking me on those infamous Chip Stop trips but whilst I'm living in Cardiff I also have my big sister Jemma and brother-in-law Jim who quite frankly need to open their own bloody restaurant. I'm extremely lucky that they live down the road from me and even luckier that every week they cook me some incredible gluten free meals.
The more regular these became we had a play on their names and we have termed these weekly meals my "Jimma Dinners". They deserved a post so here is the first of many!

After our trip to Vegas, which was for none other than their wedding and has a post coming soon, I was pining after gluten free burgers. So one week Jimma surprised me with their own take on the classic American 'In 'N Out' Burger, their gluten free version: 'Jim 'N Out' !

This next picture speaks for itself, it was SO YUMMY! I never wanted it to end!

The buns were Genius, the burger patties were home made from beef mince and the chips were Sainsbury's own French fries (which cost like £1, bargain!)

Another thing I've been pining after pretty much since diagnosis is IKEA hot dogs. I mean not only is it a genius idea to have a hot dog stand right before the exit of your shop, luring in tired IKEA expeditionists, hungry from their trek through the furnishing wilderness BUT, THEY ARE SO DAMN TASTY! Nothing quite compares and I swear some people go to IKEA for the sole purpose of having one of those hot dogs!
So one evening, prior to Jimma Dinner, we took our own trip there and found that in their shop freezers (because they also have their own supermarket now) that you can buy THE hot dog sausages AND they are gluten free! I'm delighted.
Teamed up with a 'Free From' baguette from Asda, these beauties were born... and... very short lived!

OK so the Jim's don't always fill me with American food, they're actually probably the reason I've remained healthy during University, so in my next Jimma Dinners post I will include the healthier meals they have treated me to!
But for now I shall leave you all as I'm sure you're in the middle of changing your current plans and finding your ways to your nearest IKEAs!
Bon Apetit!
Amy

Hair Washing Woes

For the last three/nearly four years I have been sticking to a strict gluten free diet. Although this means avoiding a tonne of food it's manageable because there are plenty alternatives. However recently I discovered it's not just certain foods I have to avoid.
I have previously read that some beauty products might contain gluten, in particular lipsticks/lip glosses and as this is a product you put on your mouth I definitely try to avoid them or at least check the ingredients before using. However even more annoyingly it seems that apparently people also like to stick wheat in shampoo. Don't ask me why! It's just there. Like an unwanted guest that turns up at a really bad time when it really isn't necessary for them to be there in the first place.
So, yeah, wheat in shampoo, lets talk about that. Unfortunately I found out the hard way. I was staying at my partner's house and somehow I forgot to take my shampoo with me into the shower. Now, nobody likes the freezing cold dash across the landing getting water everywhere and oops my boyfriend's Mom just saw me naked, so I just used what was already there. Looking back, I wish I had taken the risky run because what was already there was this: (L'Oreal Paris Elvive, Full Restore 5)

And what 'this' contains is this:

But of course, I didn't even think to check at the time because like I said, why the hell would there even be wheat in shampoo in the first place?!
So totally oblivious to the ingredients, I used the wheat infested shampoo.
It's not like I ate it (because, why would you?) so surely it had no affect on me, right?
WRONG.
For the next few days I had a horrendously itchy scalp which then blistered and became a scabby, itchy scalp which I clearly forgot about in my sleep so then became a very sore, scabby, itchy scalp and... I realise this is starting to sound gross so I'm going to stop.
Basically it wasn't pretty and I was gutted. It's really frustrating when you try so hard every day to be so careful and strict with everything you eat and then something like this happens which you didn't even think to check. And now I have to go around reading shampoo before I can use it? Annoying! Also that L'Oreal stuff is actually really good so I'm also a bit miffed that I can't use it anymore.
In the end, after a few washes with 'safe' shampoo, my scalp did start to heal itself and after a week was back to normal, phew!
So for any Coeliacs reading, albeit it might not have the same affect on everybody, I strongly suggest you avoid this shampoo (or any others in the range) and also to make sure to check the ingredients of everything else you use, just in case. As annoying as that may be it's also better to be safe than sorry! :)
Happy washing,
Amy

Eating Out: ASK Italian

For a couple of nights last week I stayed with my sister Lucie. She also has Coeliac Disease and so it's safe to say that when we are together we do a lot of eating! It's fun to explore new gluten free food together so whilst I was there she decided she would take me out for a meal, lush!
I find that when eating out, the majority of restaurants with the best gluten free menu's are Italians, which is great, who doesn't love pizza?! I've tried almost all of them (I think) but one I hadn't tried yet was ASK. SO, we did what we had to do and we went there!

Like most Italian restaurants offering gluten free food they had both pasta and pizza available:

 I originally chose to have a pizza but soon after got told that they had run out of gluten free pizza bases. Boo :( Now, this either means they don't stock enough of them, possibly assuming that not many people are in need OR maybe their gluten free pizza is so wonderful that all the local Coeliacs rushed there and ate them all before I got there! I hope it's the latter.
So on a second glance at the menu I decided to go for a pasta dish, despite the fact I'd already had carbonara for lunch that day! (ignore all the carbs in that sentence). Here's what it looked like:

My sister ordered a new gluten free dish they have on their menu, sounds (and looks) really good:

And did I like the food? Well, I'll let this picture do the talking:

Overall the experience was just fairly normal. No exceptional fuss was made over the fact we were ordering gluten free meals. Sometimes extra attention can be reassuring as you know you're definitely getting what you asked for but other times the fuss can be a bit embarrassing and in some cases patronising. So it was actually quite pleasant to have a normal eating experience!
I'm definitely going back again because I need to try that pizza!
Also next time I go I have to try their desserts because HOW AMAZING DOES THIS SOUND?!

It's always super exciting when restaurants offer gluten free desserts because this is quite rare. And lets be honest, we've all always got room for chocolate cake!

A Weighty Issue

Coeliac Disease affects different people in different ways. For those of you who have been intrigued enough to click on my 'What is Coeliac Disease?' tab, you'll know that it is a disease which attacks the digestive system in particular, thus making it difficult to digest food. This was where the disease got me.
   Now, I've always been skinny and I can already hear you, "Oh well lucky you", "No need to brag", but I'm talking about the wrong end of skinny. As a child especially, my physique was very small but it wasn't seen so much as a problem then because hey, I was only young and still growing. Maybe I was just a late starter, so it was looked at more as a 'we'll see where that goes' kind of thing and, well, it didn't really 'go'.
   As a teenager I started to notice myself how I just didn't seem to be putting any weight on and in high school this became a daunting thing because everyone around me was growing and maturing (if you know what I mean) and I still looked the same as I did when I was about 12. Not good.
I didn't necessarily feel ill around this time, I always had stomach aches after food but for some reason I thought this was completely normal (erm, wake up Amy!) so I never sought after any medical advice about my weight. I just came to terms with the fact that this was my body shape and that it might get better one day, I'd just have to be patient.
   Fast-forward to 2011 and as you know, I'm diagnosed with Coeliac Disease. This is where that diagnosis was a weird positive for me because I finally had an answer to all my body issues. At this time I was nearly 17 years old, about 5 ft 6 and weight under 7 stone, *gasps*. Almost immediately after diagnosis, I was referred to a specialist dietitian and thus began my journey of weight-gain.
It sounds ideal, right? Getting to eat all the food I want (gluten free of course), whenever I want, on purpose and not having to feel guilty about it! But it's been a lot less fun than that. Admittedly, eating loads of food is great but you have to be just as strict and dedicated as you do trying to lose weight and it can take its toll.
   About half way through my weight gaining process I noticed I started developing some psychological issues relating to the weight gain. I was so so desperate to finally gain weight that I became slightly obsessed. This got to the point where I would freak out at the idea of any sort of exercise. I'd somehow convinced myself that even if I walked half a mile down the street to Tesco, it would hinder my gaining weight and I'd have to eat three times as much that day because god forbid I did 5 minutes of walking. This quickly became unhealthy and before I knew it I'd stopped going places or doing anything. Any way without spending too much time in this doom and gloom, I eventually became aware of what I was doing and immediately reached out to my family who suggested I get back in touch with a dietitian for some more guided help.
So I did and, without boring you anymore, it worked and I re-started the process with a much healthier outlook and approach.
   Between then and now I have actually managed to put on over two stone (I'm not going to reveal my actual weight because, well, I don't feel we're at 'that stage' in our relationship yet) and more importantly I'm doing regular exercise like jogging and swimming and still maintaining the weight I want to be!
   Sorry for the huge post but I wanted to share this because it has been my biggest struggle/success that has come with Coeliac Disease, so it belonged on the blog really. Also other people may have similar weight issues when they first get diagnosed so I also wanted this to be a sort of motivational "you can do it!" story. I never thought I'd be at the weight I am and it feels bloody marvelous to say that I am.
SO KEEP GOING and for the love of god you CAN still walk to Tesco!
Amy

When At Home...

So it's pretty good timing that I've started this blog whilst I'm staying at home rather than at university because, as you can expect from most students, I do most of my eating when I'm back at home!
What I'm going to tell you about is one of the best things about coming home (food-wise) for me, and this is the fact that not too far away from where I live is a fish and chip shop that have a Gluten Free menu! The first time I found out about this place I was over the moon, I thought I'd waved goodbye to a good old chippy for good! But no, thanks to the lovely people at Wolverhampton's, 'Chip Stop' I still get to indulge in what is quite frankly the dish us Brits do best.

On our first visit there we had a lovely chat to the guy who runs the place, who was telling us all about how some family members of his also have Coeliac Disease, and immediately it's reassuring to know that the people serving you know a lot about it.
It is on Tuesdays and Saturdays when this particular chip shop offer their Gluten Free menu because on these days they have a separate Gluten Free batter which means they are able to serve fish, chips, onion rings, you name it! Unfortunately sausage in batter is not an option but I half expected this because more often than not, sausages themselves contain Gluten already.
Any way, so every time I'm back home, my awesome Mom drives me down on a Tuesday to, well, stuff my face! Now it's not a short drive away, about 40 minutes actually, so what we do is take a tray, drink and knife and fork each and when we have bought our food we eat it in the car on our laps before driving back! Not everyone's desired dining experience but when I'm getting to eat Gluten Free fish and chips, I couldn't care less where I did it!
This is what I had this week when we went: small fish and chips (yes that is a small!), onion rings and large curry sauce:

It's also good to note that when I've been there I have noticed the preparation and packing areas are separate to the other food so as to avoid cross contamination. And when my food was given to me it was marked with a 'GF' (Gluten Free) as not to confuse it with other orders.

All in all I LOVE this place. I hope they long continue to serve their gf menu and to anybody in the Wolverhampton area (or even 40 minutes away like we are) GO CHECK THEM OUT!
Amy

Welcome

Hello :)

Welcome to my new blog 'Life in the 'Free From' Aisle'.
This is going to be all about how I get around living my daily life coping with Coeliac Disease.
I LOVE food and I'll be the first to admit that my favourite part of the day is when I get to have a big slap up meal for dinner, so getting diagnosed with Coeliac Disease was a big blow to me. It hasn't come without its struggles, and what some may describe as minor breakdowns in the middle of Sainsbury's... but lo and behold I've had the disease for just over three years now and in the last year or so I have finally come to terms with living life with a gluten-free diet and still being able to enjoy all kinds of my favourite foods! 
Now I am enjoying a healthy, gluten free diet and lifestyle I wanted to put my experiences including daily conquers, and sometimes struggles, on the internet to help others who are newly diagnosed or just want to learn more about it!
I'll be posting 'days in the life' (sort of a food-diary), home meals, experiences of eating out/restaurant reviews, food/brand reviews, monthly favourites in the world of 'free from' food and anything else which I think is worth being noted for those with Coeliac Disease.

I hope you enjoy/find this blog interesting and if not, I at least hope you find it a much more worthwhile read than my usual drivel on twitter.

Amy
xx