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?

Promise bread in Tescos and sainsburys is lovely. Good decent sized slices and no holes in it. It is by far the best gluten free bread I have ever had

Holidays have definitely been the biggest adjustment for me. I'm not really a planner and really miss being able to pop somewhere for coffee and cake, or lunch without doing a tonne of research beforehand. Not helped by the fact that some places are listed as having gluten free options and those options turn out to be the drinks menu!

I've just discovered the Schar GF frozen rolls and they are gorgeous! But why oh why can I only get them in Sainsbury's? I don't have one local to me and have yet to find them in any other supermarket. So pissed off also that Costa have such a limited choice for coeliacs.
On a more positive note, however, really happy with the Lounges, Cosy Clubs and have recently discovered a cool little place in Shrewsbury which is exclusively GF!!!

This is very timely as I've seen some utter twuntery toward coeliacs on SM today. I was told that coeliac disease is something that only affects attention seeking women (try telling my 25 year old DS that), the poster said he didn't care that I have coeliac disease and that I only posted to get attention. For context it was a thread asking for people's worst meal out experiences. Then there's the "how do you know if someone is gluten free?....don't worry they'll tell you" Yeah, you're so funny mocking people's medical condition. Ha ha you. I got glutened a couple of weeks ago when I let my guard down at a work buffet that was catered by a different company to usual. The usual one is always spot on. Unfortunately the majority prefer the new company and it's likely they will use them for future events 😫. So just another disappointment then. See also Burger King. I always hoped to go travelling having missed out when I was younger. Now I'm not so sure. I could end up either starving or ill. I think it adds a layer of consciousness about food that people who can eat anything just don't get. Literally no cheat days, no spontaneous popping in for a sandwich or cake, planning days out and holidays like a military campaign so you can eat, missing out on celebrations because you can't eat the food, being judged as weird/picky/antisocial for not joining in or "fussing". Thankfully my family are good about it, my DS has sadly inherited coeliac disease (because it is a disease) too. I needed a rant tonight.

@DrCoconut my GP told me it is massively on the increase amongst over 50s too- not necessary coeliac, but definitely gluten intolerance- I can't help but wonder if this might be because of the amount of it in the average diet these days- all those sandwiches, pizzas, burgers, pasta, cakes , snacks, Greggs etc!! Apparently Italy had a big issue with it and it's a lot of pasta and pizza !!

My go to emergency packed snack in a box is rice cakes from Lidl with peanut butter and a banana, four of them in two sandwiches. It makes me feel less panicky about not finding anything to eat when I’m out.
I’m allergic to nightshades as well, potatoes, tomatoes etc, and it seems like all our foods revolve around bread and potatoes!
The rice cakes are my only processed food that I eat, most gf products contain potato starch. 😩

YABU, I don’t find being coeliac that hard, just carry snacks, call restaurants ahead and cook at home. There are far worse things to be. Yes, the price of the bread and pasta is extortionate, but I don’t find it hard day to day.

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.

Oh god this. The coeliac sufferers who think they are Nigella Lawson and will lecture you about how if you just cooked your own food from scratch, you wouldn't have any problems!! Fuck off Delia and let me eat my £4 chicken nuggets.

It's shit being coeliac.

Things that make me weep? Risotto at every bloody wedding or event.
And those bloody coconut macaroons!!!
Everyone (kindly!) buys them for me as a 'treat' I hate them!

The only upside is I'm incredibly slim.
Probably because all gf food is half the size of regular food 😂

I haven’t eaten gluten for nearly 20 years and honestly it’s no big deal 🤷‍♀️

The only special GF foods I eat are bread and pasta. Everything else is just normal food. Pretty much all cheeses are GF, so are eggs, deli meats, all fruit and veg, all plain meat and quite a lot of sausages and meatballs too, rice and potato, loads of jars of sauces, jams and spreads such as Nutella, quite a few chocolate bars and crisps and sweets, pretty much all wines and spirits. Eating out is a pain in the arse but I often take a picnic or just eat at home.

I’m totally over being upset about it. It’s been decades since I ate gluten. It doesn’t bother me when everyone else except me is eating - even if I wasn’t gluten free I’d be watching my weight and not eating for that reason, so the situation wouldn’t really be any different.

We read that too, and DD was excited as she as a trip planned. However a friend just got back from a trip and said she had a horrible time trying to find anything GF. Most restuarants were bewildered by the question or just said no they didn't have anything. So now we're worried and confused by the reviews that said Italy was great for providing GF foods. Please let us know if you can how your DD fares. TIA

Another Coeliac here. I find that since vegan and vegetarian diets have become so popular that menus indicate what is suitable for them and are forgetting about gluten free.
Eg, A cafe near me used to state on their board which ice creams are gf. Now it's been changed to which is vegetarian and vegan. No mention of gf, have to ask now, which l get fed up with doing.

M and S cafe used to be quite good, but not so good now. Can still get a soup with a wrapped gf roll. I used to buy the gf scones occasionally but l refuse to now as they have got hideously expensive, l actually made some!

Ocado stock the Schar frozen bread rolls a PP mentioned. I agree they are good.

Archeron, I'm glad it doesn't bother you at all, but I guess it depends on your pre-existing lifestyle/food habits.

I was diagnosed while at university, and it was irritating and awkward to have to turn into a bit of an arsehole about guarding my toaster or my stuff in the shared fridge, say no if people said "Hey off, we're ordering a pizza tonight, you in?", never join in with shared cooking, stand there with nothing if we all stopped off at the kebab van on the way home after a night out, try to make others feel comfortable about eating their lunch in a cafe while I sat there with just a coffee, have no reason to go down to the canteen every day with all the random social encounters and organic relationship development that entails, turn down food again and again…

Sharing food with others has an important symbolic and social function in most human cultures. It's meaningful when you offer food to someone, accept food from them, share food with them. When you're unable to easily and fluidly participate in that, and you set yourself apart, it makes comfortably connecting with people harder, even if they know intellectually that you have no choice, because it's meaningful to not accept and not break bread with people too. I actually don't find it upsetting to just have a drink when everyone else is getting brunch, but it can often make others uncomfortable when someone in a group isn't having anything.

Also, I really miss Quavers and the bread is shit.

@Foxymoxy68 Could you please tell me the name of the GF place in Shrewsbury I would love to take my mum 😊 😋

I am breastfeeding a 3 month old baby with cows milk protein allergy, so have to act as if I also have the same allergy

Have been contaminated twice by family members so far who don't get that I can't use the same spoons / baking trays / may contain milk is still a no go / just because it says lactose free does not make it safe for baby / yes processed chicken often contains milk / no I can't just get a mcdonalds or dominoes with you, even the vegan option, because cross contamination

Now having to take my own food and explain without being rude that I cannot risk another 3 nights of baby screaming in pain, vomiting and rashes.

I have fast learned to trust nobody with allergens - no matter how well meaning they are they often just dont understand, if it isn't made in your own kitchen by your own hands (or those of an allergy sufferer) you are best just assuming it's not safe

Oh yes, went to a Bills in London and it was excellent!

Yes! My son has dairy, soya and nut allergies. The amount of dairy free alternatives that contain soya or nuts is unreal. I'm so grateful it's not gluten or anaphylactic.

Also the laziness/ineptitude in hospitality is shocking. A lot of places react like an allergy is being fussy. No! My child will be ill if he eats it. Please take it seriously.

And at school, holiday club, events we often have to bring our own when everyone else is catered for (and no reduction in price)

And don't get me started on Easter..........

Yes I did the same and learnt the hard way not to trust that people know what they are talking about when they say 'it's dairy free.' Also the amount of chocolates I got bought at Xmas. 🙄

I bf until ds was about 14m. we tried neocate formula for when i returned to work as I worried I couldn't express enough but he hated it. So I just made do. Work gave me an extra 30 min break to pump at work which helped. It's a tough time figuring it all out with a newborn, hope you are both doing okay. Fingers crossed your lo outgrows their allergy.

Dd likes Easter because the dairy milk egg is safe, just not the bars which comes with it. But she misses dairy milk the rest of the time.

The only upside is I'm incredibly slim.
Probably because all gf food is half the size of regular food

Yes, I struggle to keep weight on if I go away where I'm not catering for myself as so often the gluten free options are the low calorie options or half the size.

I'm lactose intolerant and my pet peeve is the vanishing of lactose free anythings, all replaced with vegan soya or nut products. I'm also low Fodmap and intolerant to soya and seemly most vegan/plant things. I miss yoghurt. And am bad at making my own.

I’ve recently completed the fodmap diet and found i’m intolerant to onions & garlic which appear to be hidden in everything I like to eat!

Me too! Onion and garlic are in so many things. Also bloody chicory/inulin. Think it's added as a filler to some processed stuff.
My DS10 also has gluten sensitivity, and DS12 has sensory issues so is a very fussy eater! We're a nightmare to eat out with so most of the time I don't bother.

My MIL seems to like asking us round for lunch which is always a ballache as we have to explain each time what we can/can't have as she forgets and we often end up taking our own stuff which seems to cause offence!

Cost of gf bread is painful. DS10 only likes the schar white loaf of which you get about 8 slices for £3 and they are all midget sized!

Found my people!

is it an allergy or intolerance? No! It’s an autoimmune disease actually!!!!

Sick of GF pizza, coconut macaroons, chocolate brownies and yes, risotto! Good job I like jacket potatoes.

Read that the rise in CD is linked to increased diagnosis obviously but wheat is genetically modified and sprayed with all sorts. The wheat we have now is nothing like that grown 100 years ago.

the M and S gf macaroni cheese is good though!