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?

Hi, I'm so glad to have found this thread and have been busily screenshotting all the useful information on GF options. I'm completely new to all of this so feeling a bit overwhelmed having spent about 2 hours studying labels in Morrisons on Monday, and came away with some GF bread, pasta and granola.

I've developed dermatitis herpetiformis and have some gut issues and joint inflammation, so no idea if I'm just intolerant or coeliac.

I'm ok at home, I love eggs, potatoes, veg, meat, avocado's etc. Had delicious scrambled egg and smoked salmon on GF toast for dinner. Eating out however , which we do a lot, looks like a minefield. Even just a coffee and cake stop. Having a pub lunch with our adult DD tomorrow and I really don't want to be a picky party pooper. Is fish and chips ok to eat? Would it be ok to take my own GF bread and ask them to make me a ham sandwich or something? Do people do that?

I'll be watching this thread with interest as I start my GF journey. At least lots of chocolates are GF, and alcohol, so all is not lost!

@TheJRTwontLetMeBe fish and chips probably not ok. The fish will be battered I assume? The chips may also not be gf or may be put in a fryer which non gf has been in and then isn’t safe.

dd has never taken bread anywhere (apart from McDonald’s) . So we would always check menus before going somewhere. In a pub you might be limited to jacket potato or salad. Curry or chilli is a possibility. Steak and chips depending on the chips. You need to quiz them about cross contamination before ordering. Good luck.

Plus gf bread is generally rubbish. Ok toasted but Dd wouldn’t eat a sandwich out of choice. There are some bread rolls which are better, think it’s warburtons.

Sorry about this.

No, you can't have fish and chips. The chips will likely be cooked in the same fryer as the fish, could well be coated in flour to make them browner and crispier, and the same fryer will be used to cook everything they sell that comes covered in gluten/breadcrumbs. The fish batter will contain gluten and the fish will be dipped in flour prior to being battered.
You can't trust somebody to make you a sandwich, as it'll be contaminated with crumbs in the butter, on the board, on the knives, etc.
Unless they specifically serve labelled gluten free stuff and confirm it is all prepackaged and/or prepared entirely separately, it's going to be contaminated.
Lots of people take it as a personal affront/faddy eating that deserves to be ignored.
Others think it means you want a vegan meal. Even though they're two entirely different things and a lot of vegan foods rely upon gluten.

Buy some gluten free snack bars and keep several in your bag at all times, as there is no guarantee you will be able to find something to eat.

Gradually, you'll get used to the checking, but the initial cutting out period basically means no, you can't have it, whatever it is.

Don’t know how I missed this thread. I’ve just come back fro a week in Amsterdam. Sandwiches in lots of places were no problem, in fact in the local sandwich shop I got two torpedo rolls ( I saved one for later),they always refreshed/toasted it, my Dd bought me gf stroopwafels, I had gf pancakes (they wouldn’t serve me anything but plain ones because of cc) and a wide choice of gf beers. And then we got back here.

@NeverDropYourMooncup

Depends on the fish and chip shop, ours offers gluten free batter every day and on Wednesdays they have a dedicated fryer suitable for coeliacs. I'm gluten intolerant as opposed to coeliac so gf in the standard fryer is fine for me.

I only make my own potato wedges at home though as I avoid upf's as much as possible. We eat brown rice most days out of choice, so tasty with most meals

Sending greetings to fellow sufferers. I am coeliac with a pancreas issue (pancreatic insufficiency) and colitis. I follow a moderate fodmap diet as this stops my gut from going into overdrive.

I'm looking for sympathy - went to an event last night which unknown to me involved food. There was nothing at all for me to eat and when I didn't eat anything I was accused of being difficult by one if the other club members, another one did an eye roll. It caught me unawares because I usually avoid catered events or take something with me. and I even cried about it this morning and have decided to leave the club. It's one of many times when I've been told "you are too particular about it and it puts other people off!"😞

I wouldn't cut out gluten until you have had a blood test and follow up tests for coeliac. You need to be eating gluten every day before they test you. Enjoy eating out for a few more weeks.