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

Hey Aldi fans, it’s that time again. The discount supermarket’s popular Has no… gluten free range is back on the shelves. If you’re not familiar with the range, Aldi annually releases a range of gluten, wheat and dairy free products under this brand.

We describe them as popular, not because we’re on the Aldi payroll, but because our posts on this topic tend to go off. It’s not just the price that’s appealing, according to our readers. Apparently the products are pretty decent quality too. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a busy month for us at Gluten Free Family. Some of us have moved house, others have had our first taste of big school – but we still managed to stumble on some great new gluten-free products (when we weren’t stumbling over cardboard boxes or school bags). Watch this space in the next week or so for a full rundown.

First though, a quick heads-up about a competition being run by Melinda’s, the maker of all those yummy pink gluten-free packet mixes that you see in the supermarkets. If you buy two of her products before March 31, you can enter online to win a weekend escape worth almost $6,000. (I’m guessing they’ll have a pretty decent gluten free menu).  Two runners up each get an Apple iPad. (Melinda’s facebook fans get a triple entry).

Here’s a batch of Melinda’s walnut brownies that I whipped up a while back. Yum.

Mandy

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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 »

Vitarium has once again thrown down the gluten-free gauntlet. The GF food maker is calling for your best gluten free recipes in exchange for $10,000 in prizes.

The person who sends in the winning recipe will be in line for a cool $5,000 in cash and a further $5,000 or so in KitchenAid appliances and Vitarium product hampers will be dished out to runners up. Read the rest of this entry »

Yes it’s almost that time again! In just two weeks, the Gluten Free Expo 2011 will take Sydney Olympic Park by storm.  Okay, that may be overplaying it a bit, but we at GFF love this annual food fest!

These shows usually run over a weekend, but this year the Expo will run on Friday evening (4-8pm on August 26) and all day Saturday (9am-5pm on August 27).

Because it’s the only gluten free show going on in Sydney this year, we at GFF plan to really make the most of it. We will head into Homebush on Saturday morning with trolleys and bags at the ready, and a million questions for our favourite exhibitors. Read the rest of this entry »

Most people listen with interest, sometimes even fascination, when I describe my adventures with gluten—unless they are doctors, in which case they just think I’m a loon.

There are exceptions and I now have a great doctor for my nine year old son, who has Attention Deficit Disorder. I can’t bring myself to say ADHD (the correct term for his condition) because he’s not hyperactive—unless he has gluten.

Last weekend this doctor drew my attention to ground breaking research published in highly regarded medical journal, The Lancet, in February which found a significant link between food intolerances and ADHD, finally! Read the rest of this entry »

Most people don’t need to know their glucose syrup from their yeast extract—but we gluten avoiders tend to be a fairly fluent bunch when it comes to deciphering food labels.

Now a new iPhone app that can scan food labels could make gluten free grocery shopping expeditions easier. Read the rest of this entry »

Gluten is making waves on the international tennis circuit.  First the world number two, Novak Djokovic declared he was intolerant to the stuff and now German player, Sabine Lisicki says her gluten-eating days are over.

We are not told if it was tummy trouble or itchy rashes that spurred the move—but Djokovic has attributed a gluten free diet to his improved form on the court. Lisicki, on the other hand, blamed glitches in her new gluten free regime to a recent on-court collapse.

She wouldn’t be the first gluten avoider to run into energy problems. But hope could soon be at hand. It looks like the world’s researchers are finally starting to make some headway! Here’s a quick update on the latest trials: Read the rest of this entry »