gluten free familyA mum's blog about gluten-free living in Australia

Happy New Year! We here at Gluten Free Family may have downed tools these last few weeks, but we haven’t completely frittered our idle moments. Our days out and about, traveling here and there, have provided some inspiriaton.

We have a few new gluten free projects in the pipeline this year (as a result we won’t be blogging quite as regularly) so watch this space.

We have also pulled together a gluten free holiday survival guide. We know how tricky things can be when you are away from your own familiar cupboards and your regular retailers — and it’s tempting to fall off the wagon — especially at this time of year.

So here are the tips we’ve collected in the weeks and years past — and please feel free to share yours! Read the rest of this entry »

Yes the yummy Christmas season is here again and we at GFF love the festive ambience — but the relentless parade of parties does make it a tricky time of year for the gluten-free.

I’m hoping this year will be a little different, though, because I will be hosting the festive dinner in my home for for the first time in years. That means I get to banish all things gluten from the Christmas menu.

This does not mean, however, that I will be skimping on the good bits. No indeed, we are doing the whole festive, cold-climate affair — right down to the steamed Christmas pudding and fake snowflakes on the windows. Even Santa will be munching on gluten free shortbread once he heaves his way through the catflap. Read the rest of this entry »

Healthy Feast's legendary lemon meringue

It’s the sort of news no gluten free blogger ever wants to deliver: a favourite bakery has quietly shut up shop.

Healthy Feast, makers of arguably the best spread of gourmet gluten-free baked goods in Australia, is no more. The Leichardt-based shop front has closed its doors and there will be no more appearances at local food markets. Read the rest of this entry »

Coles pops up frequently on this blog as a strong player in the gluten free market — so I was disappointed when it recently went missing in action on another food issue that is close to my heart.

In the gluten free market, we applaud Coles for resisting the path taken by other retailers who push their own self-branded merchandise — potentially stifling innovative new products — in a bid to corner the market. As a result, its shelves, in our view, contain the best selection of products. Read the rest of this entry »

Gluten free pizza - one of the major food groups for the gluten intolerant.

I know it’s controversial, but we’ve never been tested for coeliac disease. We gave up gluten following an elimination diet that involved removing lots of different things from our diet and then introducing them back in.

Guess what was causing the most trouble? When we quit the gluten, my son’s behavior improved and my eczema completely disappeared. Read the rest of this entry »

It dawned on me recently that the typical Gluten Free Family reader is female — yet coeliac disease is not a gender-specific condition.

I decided it was time to try and figure out what was going on and it turns out that it’s no coincidence. Men are slipping through the cracks when it comes to getting their gluten problems diagnosed, according to an Australian gastroenterologist, Dr Bob Anderson. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been working my way through some of Coles new freezer range of gluten free products. A while back I reported on the new Bellyhoo pies which come in fruit varieties as well as beef with veg or beef burgundy. And more recently I have had a couple of tries of the Tutto Pasta meat lasagne (I haven’t tried their vegetarian lasagne or cannelloni yet).

Now it turned out that a few of our readers were not as enthusaistic about the Bellyhoo pie range as I was. Some said the filling was a little sparse and dry for their taste. So I recently gave them another go (this time the beef burgundy instead of beef and veg) and I still rather liked them.

Even more important is that my little boy likes them – I think it’s because the pastry is quite tender and tasty. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t get out much? Then I’ve got some tips to share from Sue Black who spoke at the Gluten-Free Expo back in August on the topic of The Social Coeliac.

I’ve been meaning to jot down the highlights of her presentation for a while. Her advice is particularly applicable to those with Coeliac Disease who are concerned about making a fuss in social situations: Read the rest of this entry »

Snack fatigue. That little phrase completely sums up our relationship with the vast array of gluten free snacks on the market.

What our little boy embraces with passionate intensity one week is often declared inedible the next, leaving my cupboard littered with half-eaten packets of yesterday’s favourites – which I hang on to in vain hope that they will swing back in favour one day.

You may argue that we pander too much, and he should just eat what is in front of him – but as every parent knows, it is quite difficult to argue with an untouched lunchbox. And so we tackle it a bit like we used to deal with his toy box when he was two.  We rotate often. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s often said that you shouldn’t remove gluten from your diet unless you really have to. But where does that leave you in a household where half of you react to gluten and half of you don’t?

On one hand, you don’t want to deprive everyone of the flavour, texture, nutrition and fibre content of gluteny grains, (the latter’s a risk if you stick to unadventurous alternatives like rice and spuds—and I’ll own up to this).

On the other hand, if you’re not into a la carte-style meal prep, and want to avoid gluten envy, you’ll need to find some common ground at the dining table. Read the rest of this entry »