Coeliacs (and Others) Assemble!

[NeverDropYourMooncup]

Inspired by another thread where somebody wants their dietary needs/wishes catered for (and for some posters, to permanently restrict the diet of other people whether they like it or not), I thought maybe those of us who have absolutely bugger all choice about the matter for medical reasons might want to vent, suggest decent foods that aren't just made of sadness and disappointment - or simply plan to take over the world?

I'm pissed off. Been feeling rough recently whilst waiting for my biologics delivery, skin crawling, horrible pain - and found that my happy discovery of Tesco's Free From Snacks, including Cheese Flavour Balls and Bacon Rashers - specifically labelled Gluten Free - contain, guess what? That's right. Fucking Gluten.

https://www.coeliac.org.uk/information-and-support/your-gluten-free-hub/food-and-drink-information/food-alerts/tesco-recalls-free-from-snacks-because-of-undeclared-gluten/

you can get a refund if you haven't actually eaten the bastard things yet. Anything if you have eaten them? Of course not.

This follows close on from Eat Real Gluten Free Lentil chips where the manufacturer gave the wrong batch numbers as being contaminated first time round. And of course, they are sold under different names for some supermarkets.

And the Gosh falafels (vegan, by the way) and pakoras the month before.

And Suma lentil soup, and Alpro Rice Milk, and all the other things you're supposed to be grateful for paying an ridiculously high price for in exchange for something vaguely resembling food....

It would be far easier if gluten/avenin/etc were just banned for everybody, wouldn't it?

There are only so many jacket potatoes and homemade chips (because you can't trust oven chips, 95% of which are dusted in wheat to make them crunchier and browner) one person can consume before they get a tensy bit bored...

Who's with me? What shall we call ourselves?

How about the Coeliac and Allergy Liberation Front?

There is much to rage about being coeliac, BUT can I just mention how delightful it is when you do find an eatery who GET IT! I've been on holiday to Cornwall and we found a little cafe in Newquay, they had so much GF and made GF pasties, cakes and scones - and on their menu they state "Everything GF prepped in a separate room" and telling them I'm coeliac was just like a normal thing for them! Plus, the food was delicious!
Also went to a pub/restaurant who did lots of GF and when I asked for GF, the waitress said "Is that intolerance or coeliac?" And instantly you feel reassured when you know a place just understands what a coeliac needs. Also had ice cream in a waffle cone! Cornwall has lots of options, and I was safe with everything!

"Is that intolerance or coeliac?

I don't think I've ever been asked that, it's always "is that an intolerance or an allergy" and I have to grit my teeth and say it's an allergy.

I've only been asked whether it's an intolerance or preference. In my case, I can have a little bit of milk but too much and (not anaphylaxis) my breathing is affected.

The best pasta I've tried is the brown rice penne from Waitrose. Despite the cooking I structions, it takes forever to cook so it's easy to keep it Al dente and stir it into the sauce with it it disintegrating. It's often sold out, mind. I've learned to buy extra when I see it.

I think it's a rare gem to find these places - I also find Cosy Clubs are good, and the Lounges chain/franchise places. I'm always asked if I'm coeliac there!

@MetalDog "The thing I miss most are the treaty baked goods (how I long for something decent with cinnamon)"

Have you tried Tesco GF Cinnamon Whirls? Delicious after 20 sec in the microwave. I'm also a fan of M&S GF Spiced Iced Buns.

I'm new to GF, and at the moment I'm just experimenting to see if a GF diet makes me feel any better. It seems to be helping, but it's hard to keep up with it if not at home, so I do feel the pain (literally) of those of you who HAVE to be GF all the time.

GF bread is horrible and I'm thinking of making my own, but if anyone else does this, is it even any better? Or do you end up with the weird sweet tasting cakey texture?

When they ask if it's intolerance/coeliac I always say coeliac even though I'm not because I don't see what difference it should make, some intolerant people are really sensitive. I do see a lot of intolerant people on fb say they can do xyz as "just intolerant" but that's not my experience at all. An attack is completely debilitating so I'm very strict.

Yes @prettygreenteacup! The holes, why are there always bustard holes!?

I think oats are 1.70 in Tesco and Sainsbury's. I have them every day.

I second Cosy Club as being very good about gluten and lactose. I've tried five different ones across the UK and all were great.

M&S gf hot cross buns are really good.

Being unable to eat gluten AND lactose makes life even harder!

I live in Cornwall, and in Newquay a few years ago. We have a fully GF restaurant were I am now, and there are some fab places in Newquay. You're right about being asked about intolerance or celiac too, Wildwood in Plymouth is very good about it, and were brutally honest when I asked for pasta once, that they wouldn't recommend it due to the GF pasta!

I'm very lucky that I'm not coeliac - but my intolerance to gluten has got to the stage where if I have some, I'm ill for the week - so I am very strictly gf. This hasn't gone down well alongside the fact that I've been vegetarian since I was 6, am lactose intolerant (on the milder side of this luckily) and violently allergic to chocolate. I hate it that nearly all of the GF sweet treats have chocolate in them!

But it's not an allergy, Coeliacs is an autoimmune disease.

My favourite reaction was being told in a cafe after explaining I was coeliac and having a gluten free main course that I couldn't have an ice cream because it had milk in it. 🙄

Being coeliacs sucks, it is expensive and restricting and I hate it.

I have some favourite places to eat out but it does get a bit repetitive. Dishoom in Manchester is good and there is a fab bistro 5 mins from me which has a coeliac chef so they "get it" and there is lots of choice for a vegetarian.

Very happy to see that Rockfish say anything on their menu can be made gluten free as well - it'll be handy to be able to eat something when visiting family!

@Feministwoman cost club and Bills both good and have separate GF menu

This won't be much help to people looking for ready-made food, but please can I recomment buckwheat? (It's not a cereal - it's related to rhubarb. And is GF. ) It's readily and cheaply available from wholefood shops. Buckwheat flour - aka sarrasain grain in France - makes really excellent pancakes. Use your usual pancake recipe - dairy not necessary - just buckwheat flour, egg (or egg substitute) and water. You can add dried yeast and leave them overnight in the fridge if you like them puffy, like blinis. Fry them in a pan lightly greased with olive oil. Takes just a couple of minutes. I had some for lunch today with cheese, marinated green olives (really cheap - buy a jar of plain olives from Lidl and add your own oil/garlic/dried herbs) and shredded lettuce. My DH had his with butter and sour cherry jam. But they'd go with anything from stewed fruit and yoghurt to grated cheese and chopped spring onions and mayonnaise.

Boiled buckwheat grains (just 10 mins) served with olive-oil fried mushrooms and onions and chopped kale and any fresh herbs you have to hand is also excellent. If you have coriander, add lime or lemon juice, as well as salt and lots and lots of black pepper.

In the same way, simple wholefood quinoa - GF and very easy to cook - can be mixed with fried/baked veg of your choice plus fresh herbs. I also like to add chopped nuts and cooked white beans (v cheap) . Again, with olive oil and lemon/apple cider vinegar/fresh herbs just mixed together and poured over..

That's my point. You ask for something gluten free and they ask if it's an intolerance or an allergy. But if someone's asking that question, saying well actually it's an auto immune disease is pointless, hence saying allergy even when I know it's wrong as from a food prep perspective they need to treat it as though it is an allergy.

This won't be much help to people looking for ready-made food, but please can I recomment buckwheat?

@nameXname - a lot of buckwheat is cross contaminated, I struggled to find any suitable.

Most have labels like this (this is doves farm)

Might as well say 'May Contain Poison. Do you feel lucky today?'.

I'm coeliac and diabetic, and agree with what others are saying about the difficulties when there's more than one thing to consider. For example, I can buy GF biscuits, and I can buy sugar free biscuits, but I can't buy GF and sugar free biscuits. I can make my own biscuits, but how many normal people can honestly say they'd voluntarily do that more than twice a decade, unless they were baking with kids? Or if places have one thing that's GF, it's often a brownie, which I can't eat. I used to have to avoid tyramine too, which made it even harder.

What really irks me when I come across it is forced positivity around coeliac disease. When I joined Coeliac UK after diagnosis (and don't get me started on them removing things from their GF food checker that seem unsafe from the label but which they've checked with the manufacturer are okay, like some own-brand cereals), I'd get emails like "You've now been GF for six months, the diet is starting to be a habit and so much easier for you now, and you'll be reaping the benefits of feeling so much happier and healthier!"

No, the diet is still a pain in the arse, I'm discovering new inconveniences and lifestyle restrictions with every passing week, and I don't feel any better physically. Oh, except for the fact that now I'm GF, I occasionally get explosive symptoms from an inadvertent glutening.

Or people saying things like "Getting diagnosed as coeliac was the best thing that ever happened to me! It gave me the push I need to start cooking all my own meals and snacks from fresh, wholesome ingredients, and now I'm so much healthier and run marathons in my spare time! It might seem overwhelming at first but you'll find out that it's a blessing in disguise." Fuck off.

I buy mine from wholefood shops. The current lot (flour) is from BuyWholefoodsOnline. It says that it is packed in premises where sesame, gluten-containing foods etc are handled, but I honestly have had no bad reaction to it. Perhaps I'm just lucky. Without inspecting their factory, however,it's hard to judge how big the risk might be.

Shipton Mill mentions a similar environment but says that it tries to ensure non-contamination:
https://www.rattonpantry.co.uk/products/shipton-mill-gluten-free-buckwheat-flour

This company 'guarntees' its buckwheat to be GF, but also says that its factory is not:
https://www.healthysupplies.co.uk/organic-buckwheat-groats-sussex.html

Amazon has this, which claims to be GF: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Buckwheat-Heat-Treated-Nutrients-Preserved-Organically/dp/B0797ZH26V

There are several others. I honestly don't know whether they dare not make the 'GF claim' in case they are later found liable, or what.

If you have a friendly wholefood shop, it might be an idea to talk to them. (My apologies if you have thought of this already.

@off I so agree with you. I'm fairly sure I'm not coeliac but was advised by GP to give it a year because of the various neuro issues I had post covid and sugar and gluten seemed to set off migraines and other issues. Coincided with being diagnosed pre diabetic, so seemed worth doing. I do find though it can get a bit tedious and now if I even have an odd bit I get explosive results!!

@Feministwoman I love the HCB from M&S but god they give me the worst, crippling stomach pains, I had to stop buying them.
Waitrose Tortilla Chips also set me off although M&S ones are fine.
The fresh pasta in Waitrose Dell Ugo(?) is pretty good.

I'm fairly new to coeliacs ( after months of agony and generally feeling rubbish) but life it so much harder now. Especially as a vegetarian who it turns out can't eat dairy either. Have a once in a lifetime holiday planned for October and I've got from excited to disappointed. I'm literally trying my best but seem to accidentally eat gluten all the time, everything I ate today should of been safe but I've obviously messed up somewhere. I don't know how people do it? ☹️