Posted by glutenfr | Posted in nutrition, Travel | Posted on 09-01-2012
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 »
Posted by glutenfr | Posted in kids, Lifestyle, parties, Travel | Posted on 25-10-2011
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 »
Posted by glutenfr | Posted in Lifestyle, Travel | Posted on 01-08-2011
Gluten-free Babycakes
Discovery: Navigating the delights of New York’s retail precinct and tourist circuit is more time consuming than you’d think!
Result: Not as much insight into gluten free living New York style as we hoped.
Conclusion: You need more than just a few days in the Big Apple to accurately log its gluten free credentials—but we still managed to make some casual observations as we bumbled our way around the tourist traps. Here they are: Read the rest of this entry »
Start spreading the news. We’re leaving on Tuesday.
It’s going to be our first official Gluten Free Family fact-finding mission to the Big Apple. (Okay its really a holiday).
But between shopping trips and sightseeing, we plan to suss out the gluten free US supermarket scene, hunt down the legendary Babycakes, and sip gluten free cosmopolitan cocktails.
We did a similar roundup on the gluten free scene in London last year, when Lucy braved the British summer to visit relatives.
This time the whole team (all two of us) will travel to New York, and we’ll report back on all that we find—and even post a few pics—in a week or two!
Lucy and Mandy
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Posted by glutenfr | Posted in News, Travel | Posted on 29-11-2010
Imagine my surprise when I found a box of gluten free Blissful Berry bikkies tucked into the conference bag on a recent work trip to Melbourne.
Of course this is not typical. The gluten free thing usually puts a bit of a dampener on trips away. My co-blogger Lucy has even vowed self-catering is the only way for her family.
The hospitality industry does seem to seriously lag behind the growing demand for these types of services.
But with food intolerances on the rise, this may soon be set to change. We received a media release recently about a Paris holiday package for families with special dietary needs. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by glutenfr | Posted in lunches, restaurants, Travel | Posted on 21-10-2010
Last week I regaled you with tales of supermarket aisles and vacuum packed bread in the UK, and I pondered the future of gluten free products here in Australia.
Now its time to discuss some of the other potholes we encountered on the road, oceans away from the comforts of our own sweet kitchen.
As always, the biggest trouble we had was with eating out. Hot chip fatigue set in early this trip as munchkin refused any type of potato foodstuffs that didn’t come heavily salted in a foil packet.
Britain proved especially challenging for us here because although the supermarkets offered a good selection of GF wares, very few cafes had any non wheat options whatsoever.
That’s a bit of a departure from our experience here in Sydney where a friand, muffin or an almond biccie can be found most decent coffee brewing establishments.
Then there were the restaurants and pubs which boasted little other than off-limits delights like scampi, beef and ale pie and sticky toffee pudding. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by glutenfr | Posted in bread, kids, Travel | Posted on 14-10-2010
Sainsbury's Free From range
I’ve just returned from a trip that sent me out of my culinary comfort zone and into unchartered territory: the gluten free food aisles of UK supermarkets.
I am happy to say we not only survived, but even thrived on this foreign soil.
I can also gladly report that all the important food categories were catered for: pasta, bread and jam tarts.
According to those in the know, Sainsbury offers the widest gluten free range which it has self branded as “Free From” and from there we procured some very nice pasta spirals that were exceptionally soft and palatable.
They also have a bread under the same label which I was very happy with indeed. It was a plain white bread loaf that is split in two and spread over two vacuum packs. Not only was it tasty as toast but a bit of gentle persuasion in the microwave rendered it suitable for sandwiches too which was an unexpected delight and added to our lunchtime repertoire substantially. It also was dairy free, which we appreciated very much. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by glutenfr | Posted in Lifestyle, Travel | Posted on 24-09-2010
gluten free travel
I am jetting off to the UK this very weekend, so it seems timely that I should talk about travel for the gluten free.
The first time we flew long haul we naively booked a gluten free meal for me and my son. We were treated to a fruit platter at every single meal. Guess what was for pudding? Yes – more fruit!
It was starvation provoking torture. Fortunately for us – we can bend a little on occasions such as these – and now we just have the normal meal, and just eat around the gluten (eating only the rice on the plate and salads, just to get a bit of savoury on the palate).
Those needing to manage allergies and coeliac disease do not have this luxury owing to the every present threat of cross contamination. So what can you do?
My advice is to book the gluten free meal, and ask the airline what that meal will comprise. (Don’t forget to reconfirm your dietary needs just before the flight and if you are coeliac ensure treatment is included in your travel insurance). Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by glutenfr | Posted in breakfast, restaurants, Travel | Posted on 27-07-2010
Back from another weekend away, and thanks to some handy self catering we managed not to fall of the gluten free wagon even once. Not knowingly at least.
Of course with kiddies in the car and a long stint on the freeway it becomes almost impossible to dodge the mighty Maccas when coming and going from our weekend hideaway – and we found ourselves driving through those golden arches on more than one occasion this weekend.
Gluten free food is not a traditional focus for hamburger restaurants, but the good thing with the big chains is that once you get to know their menu, you can at least have some type of assurances about what you are eating.
Lucky for us when we last checked, McDonalds french fries in Australia were officially gluten free (although it is worth noting that not all restaurant chips are) and we don’t seem to have any trouble with them at all. [UPDATE Sept 27 2012: A reader recently wrote in to say her son had reacted to chips recently - and she had discovered that not all McDonalds fry their chips in a dedicated vat. The company told her you need to check with each outlet individually to check on this - disappointing!!].
And while McDonalds bricks & mortar is not the simplest place to hunt down gluten free info, the company has published fairly comprehensive food sensitivity charts, ingredients and nutritional information on its website. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by glutenfr | Posted in GFCF, kids, nutrition, Travel | Posted on 13-07-2010
I think a lot about protein. It’s a sad admission I know, but hunting down tempting sources of this crucial food group not only eats up a lot of time but is also a source of angst when we are on the road.
You see we are not just gluten free. Our boy’s doctor says he must also avoid casein to maintain good health which makes him ‘GFCF’ and therefore unable to tolerate cheese, milk and yoghurt.
I admit we have the odd lapse. If we suspect there may be a little dairy in something we will often turn a blind eye when out on the road. But we draw the line at things like yoghurt pots and cheese sticks. The side effects are just too annoying for our poor little fella who gets a runny nose along with a bunch of other irritating symptoms.
So what do we do when we go out? We tried taking soy yoghurt pots but these seemed to have even more dramatic side effects, possibly from the food colouring or flavours added or even a reaction to soy. So now we just steer clear completely. Read the rest of this entry »
