Posted by glutenfr | Posted in New products, parties, treats | Posted on 13-08-2012
Tags: convenience food, New products, treats
In only eleven more sleeps the Gluten Free Expo will descend on Sydney Olympic Park. We love this annual event which is supported by Coeliac NSW and ACT because it is FREE, because it plays host to some very interesting talks and demos – and because it is chock-full of yummy samples.
WHEN: 4pm – 8pm Friday August 24, 9am – 5pm Saturday August 25
WHERE: 1 Showground Road, Sydney Showground – Sydney Olympic Park
Meanwhile, here’s a round-up of some of the cool new products we’ve stumbled on or been sent recently…
CountryLife revamps its range
Before and after: CountryLife’s new Low Gi loaf (right)
Those familiar gluten-free loaves suddenly looked completely different in our local supermarket this afternoon as CountryLife appeared to have introduced new packaging and updated recipes for its range of gluten free breads.
Our favourites have always been the gluten-free white, multigrain and Low GI – the latter of which was dairy free. Now all of these loaves seem to be marketed as dairy free (hooray!) and I bought the new low GI version (pictured) – and guess what – it was delicious!!!
It is much more like everyday bread in texture and taste which we’d all have agree is a fabulous development. But now the bad news… to replace the dairy, CountryLife has appears to have added almond meal (previously in the Low GI loaf) to more of their gluten free bread varieties – which is fine for most people – but obviously a big concern for those with nut allergies or for taking food to nut-free environments as you’ll find in an increasing number of schools.
[Since spotting the loaves on the aisles I have been trying to verify how many of their loaves now contain almond meal via their website - but they still seem to be displaying info for the old range there. My co-blogger Mandy said the white and multigrain say on the packet that almonds are listed as “may be present” - so while that certainly sounds unsuitable for anyone with nut allergies, I'm not exactly sure how this fits in to schools where nut products are not allowed - but you are allowed to bring products which: "may contain traces of nuts"].
The bakery also appears to have added the anti-mould preservative 282 to its loaves which a number of people have reported problems with – especially when exposed to it on a daily basis. (You can read more about that here on the Fed Up food intolerance website.) This preservative is most often found in wraps – but a few ordinary shop wheat loaves use it too – though many have phased it out.
So while we love the taste of the new bread – we are disappointed about the addition of 282 – as we don’t tolerate it well and may have to avoid our favourite loaf in future anyway because of the nut issue at school. We’ll be looking to catch up with CountryLife at the Gluten Free Expo to see if they have any preservative or nut-free products on offer – and we plan to post more on this topic soon. In the meantime, let us know what you think.
Treat alert
Springhill – the makers of one of our favourite bread mixes (The Real bread mix) – has done it again with a selection of treats you don’t even need to declare as gluten free to wheat eating friends and family.
As you can see I am using the pictures the company supplied. We did get sent some samples which I fully intended to photograph… but once those packets opened we couldn’t stop ourselves from gobbling them all up.
Their new selection includes rocky road, chocolate brownies and florentines. I can’t say which ones I liked best because they were all so darn yummy. These have been made exclusively for Coles ($4.99 per packet) so watch out for them in their health food (!) aisle.
(I have been keeping my eyes peeled – but no sightings yet – so let us know if you see them.)
Non peanut butter
Okay so peanut butter is not exactly loaded with gluten – but this gluten-free peanut butter-like spread from Eskal rates a mention, not only because it is completely nut-free – a boon for those with allergies – but it’s also delicious!
I’m a bit of a peanut butter fan so I agreed to trial this product, which is made from sunflower seeds, and I love it. I have the smooth and crunchy varieties and they make a great afternoon snack on a gluten-free crisp bread.
Lunchbox download
And lastly, here’s another small plug for our own new ‘Easy gluten-free lunchbox’ recipe download ($3.95). I know it is a bit cheeky mentioning it here in our own new products section – but it is a new product of sorts that we have been working hard on – and of which we are quite proud.
Inside you’ll find fun finger-friendly fare like sushi and skewers, and wherever possible we’ve attempted to supply shortcuts and guidance on the basics – like how to make a gluten-free sandwich taste great. (If you are wondering why we’ve put a small price tag on the download, it’s part of our philosophy to cover our running costs through revenue streams other than online advertising.)
But I will leave the review part up to one of our readers who recently downloaded it. Here is what they said:
“Thankyou – these ideas are fantastic! My 2 yr old son was diagnosed 7 weeks ago, and lunch is the meal that I am really struggling with…”
Lucy and Mandy
Or get our newletter . . .
I have been buying Country Life GF bread for years as its the only GF bread in my supermarket, but I’m allergic to nuts, so am SO disappointed I won’t be able to eat them now they have added almond meal. What now??
Hi Lisa – I didn’t have enough time to see if they also have a nut free loaf – but I will check it out and report back. I did try to look it up on their website but the new products don’t seem to have appeared there yet…
I can’t wait for the gluten free expo; there are always so many new foods to try and buy. I look forward to reading your recap of the show too.
We love it too!
Also extremely disappointed about the addition of 282 to the Country Life bread
with so many bakery chains removing it from their products, I am amazed they have added it, especially considering that Goodman Fielder is the manufacturer and they have removed it from many of their main products.
We can no longer buy it because if that, so I guess I’m back to baking my own gluten free bread.
Lisa – the gluten free/dairy free white loaf doesn’t list nuts as an ingredient BUT almonds are listed as “may be present” probably due to cross contamination, so I’d assume that cross contamination will be an issue across all their gluten free items now.
I’m a relative newcomer to GF diet and still having “issues” with my gut first thing of a morning so C.Life’s Multigrain bread (toasted) with a cuppa has been a saving grace so I’m most disappointed with the addition of 282 to the mix as I can’t tolerate it at all. Also it doesn’t toast very well, goes very hard.
It’s all very disappointing isn’t it
Very disappointed with the taste and texture of the new multi-grain
It was the only bread on the market that had that chewy texture of regular bread and that I liked without toasting. Glad I found this blog as I had no idea about the 282. What a shame, I guess it’s back to experimenting with making my own.
New Country Life bread disappointing in texture and tastes like cardboard. Will be searching for another brand.
Why do good things have to change?! Been buying the white and m/grain for years, best tasting gf bread on the market! The new recipe TASTES REVOLTING! horrible ‘twang’ to it and the texture is also horrible! So disappointing. Its back to rice cakes for me!
We haven’t tried the white or multigrain as yet (I’m unwilling to buy any bread with preservative 282 in it). We did taste the Low GI and found it really quite nice – but the loaf was very fresh and we didn’t try it out in the toaster.
We’re off to the Sydney GF expo next weekend – so we’ll hopefully find some samples to try.
They added SOY FLOUR to their new loaves (all of them too!)
Yes – this came up when we spoke to them at the show. It’s a big disappointment for us too.
My son seems to love the taste of the new white and multigrain loves. We haven’t tried the new Low Gi one yet but it and multigrain were his preferences in the past. Can anyone else tell me if they have any issues while eating it? My son keeps complaining of feeling sick part way through eating it and I am trying to source why as he really enjoys the taste?
Hi – is it just the new one that makes him feel sick?
Yes, the old one was perfectly fine. Again he said yesterday he had eaten about half and started to feel sick.
The tummy pains could be a reaction to the 282.
… could be – and they have also added soy which has given me tummy aches in the past too. Such a shame because it is/was such nice bread.
Hmm thanks for that. I don’t think it is pain so much as nausea. I’ll look into it.
I wondered why I was feeling funny not long after trying the new look country life bread- I thought I must be imagining things and then my friend who also is gluten free said today she is going off the bread as she has felt tired and not herself and has put it down to the preservative in it! I couldnt believe it when she pointed out this- I am now no longer going to be able to eat this bread as I am sensitive to preservatives and this 282 is obviously one- big thumbs down from me to country life- sorry but your meant to be appealing to health concious
Also noted that the sugar content of the Country life has increased by stacks! What a shame!