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

Sydney gluten free expo

Is gluten intolerance a real condition?

This was one of the topics debated at the gluten free expo in Sydney, and Dr Robert Anderson, the man leading development of the coeliac vaccine, took to the stage to address this sensitive issue.

The gluten intolerant now far outnumber those with coeliac disease, but according to Dr Anderson finding a true diagnosis for either condition is far from straightforward.

I won’t go into too much of the science here, suffice it to say that he believes coeliac disease is being underdiagnosed by the medical communiy owing to over-reliance on things like preliminary blood tests which may give false negatives – as well as the less common issue of biopsies that can miss damage in the small intestines.

He says a gene, blood test and biopsy (where evidence of coeliac disease exists) are all required to build up an accurate diagnosis. (The coeliac society now has a diagnostic flow chart that is designed to steer prospective sufferers on a path of investigation that will prevent such misdiagnoses and I will write more on this at a later date).

This brings us to the other side of the equation – gluten intolerance. Dr Anderson believes that most cases of gluten intolerance in the wider society have been confused with fructose malabsorbtion. Read the rest of this entry »

Before I get down to some more of the nitty gritty issues that arose from the Gluten Free Expo last weekend, I thought it might be helpful for those who couldn’t make it to get a little run-down of some of the new products at the show.

Cakes and bread led the charge as usual – but there was also some very interesting additions with the number of suppliers to this market growing ever larger.

Lets begin with new kids on the block, Vitarium, who have been releasing products at a rate of knots. In coming months you will see a bunch of new cake mixes including low fat versions of  chocolate cake and muffins, multi-purpose cake mix and muffins, and some
crumpets. They are excited about the arrival of a new natural sweetner called Natvia helps to keep the calorie count down (we shall be investigating this further down the track).

Simply Wize recently brought a new bread mix to the supermarket shelves – now they have added Nocchi to their range. I bought some today and will be testing it out for lunch.

The makers of our favourite frozen convenience foods, Bayview – who brought us chicken nuggets and fish bites and a bunch of other tasty kids favourites – are preparing to launch a line of calimari. They are still deciding whether it will be salt and pepper calimari or plain (one would be for the grownups and the other for kids – so I guess from a selfish perspective I know which I would prefer!).

Melindas already sells a range of sumptuous sounding cakes and puddings in the cute pink packaging. Now she has added Risotto Cakes and Lemoncurd Cakes to her collection. I have one of each and can’t wait to try them. Read the rest of this entry »

As one of our Facebook followers commented, gluten free sweet treats are pretty easy to pull together at home. It is the creation of tasty savouries where new inspiration is most welcome.

For this reason, one of the highlights of the gluten free expo for me was the Diego’s stand. They make gluten free corn tortillas which are sold in Coles, IGA, BiLo and Foodland – and are also sold by Woolies under the Select brand.

But what was really great was that they were demonstrating were some brilliant new ways to use them. Though regretfully I did not get to their official cooking demo, I came away from their stall with two great new ideas to add to my arsenal of kid-friendly carbohydrates.

In the absence of specific instructions, I decided to put these to the test at home:

1. Yummy tortilla triangles:

They used a flat sandwich maker to make it. They sprayed the tortilla with oil, spread it with red pesto and added diced ham and cheese and folded it half. They then toasted it (the toasting irons need to touch to get the right effect). After it was cooked they sliced it into portions. Read the rest of this entry »

There is more to say about the Sydney Gluten Free expo than I can possibly put into one blog post so please stay tuned over the next few weeks as we report on the many new products, write about some of the experts’ opinions and more importantly review some of the wonderful new products we got out hands on at the show. Here’s a quick summary and a taste of some of the things we will be reporting on here in coming weeks:

Coeliac Vaccination: we’ll give an update on where the vaccine development is at – plus write up some of the (possibly controversial) thoughts about Coeliac disease v gluten intolerance from the man who is leading the research, Dr Robert Anderson.

Lots of brand redesigns and product launches: Prepare for the battle of the cake and bread mixes as some of our favourite brands expand their product ranges substantially.

Bakeries open their doors: A bunch of bakeries are springing up all over town with fresh and gorgeous gluten free baked fare. Read the rest of this entry »

gluten free expo fare

Fellow Sydneysiders, it’s almost time to pull out your walking shoes and an extra-large shopping bag because the Gluten Free Expo is coming to town on the 6th and 7th of August.

It’s no secret that we at GFF absolutely adore a gluten-free shopping shindig. It gives us (and our wee ones) a chance to sample a staggering quantity of delicious sweetmeats and sniff out new products that might make our lives easier when they hit the shelves.

We also try to grab the chance to lobby manufacturers and distributors about what we would like to see in the future, and quizz them on the small print of their ingredient lists.

Homebush’s Sydney Olympic park will play host to the annual fest organised by the NSW Coeliac Society and organisers say the expo is not just about showcasing the latest gluten free fare.  It has also lined up a bunch of authors, medical professionals and chefs to conduct live demos and presentations. Read the rest of this entry »

a typical expo haul

We just love gluten free shows here on the GFF blog. We usually come home clutching dozens of product samples and with oodles of new food ideas swimming around in our heads.

We also manage to consume quite a lot of cake at these events.

This coming weekend (15th and 16th) it is Brisbane’s turn to host the Irrisistable Gluten Free Food Show (other cities will have their turn later in the year) and we have five double passes to give away to our readers.

For the unitiated, the show is being held at the Brisbane Convention Centre and will feature loads of food stands from retailers looking to spread the gluten free word on their products, as well as live cooking demos.

Educational sessions from health and nutrition experts are also scheduled as well as presentations from cooking pros like Dr Sue Shepherd of Gluten Freedom fame (and author of numerous gluten free cookery books). Celebrity guest Janella Purcell (from the Biggest Loser) will also be dropping in.

Grownups must pay $15 for a ticket and its $12 for kids aged 12-16. Family tickets are also available for $40 – or if you are feeling lucky you could enter our competition for a free double pass.

All you have to do is send us the name of this blog as well as your name and contact details (which we promise not to use for any other purpose than to pass on to the show’s ticketing team) to mail@glutenfreefamily.com.au. The first five replies will win a double pass each which can be collected on the door at the show.

UPDATE: COMPETITION NOW CLOSED.

LH

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Our haul from the last Sydney Expo

Gluten free expos are a high point on the calendar for us here at GFF. I know, I know, we really ought to get out more but that’s a topic for another post.

Anyway, I am sure we are not the only ones who get excited about these wondrous events, what with all the free samples, the discounts, the cooking demos, the hot new products and of course all of those cupcakes.

So I’ve googled like mad to pull together a roundup of all the upcoming events I could find. If you hear of any more, let us know!

March 13 and 14  Gluten Free Food & Allergy Expo, Perth Convention Exhibition Centre

May 15 and 16 Irresistible Gluten Free Food Show, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre

August 6 and 7 2010 Gluten Free Expo, Sydney Olympic Park

October 2 and 3 Irresistible Gluten Free Food Show, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

October 31 2010 Gluten Free Food Expo, The Commerce Building, RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane [updated]

November 20 and 21 Irresistible Gluten Free Food Show, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre Royal Hall of Industries, Moore Park [updated]

MB

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My haul

[15/11/09]   Being walloped at the entry gate for $18 seems a bit rich when you are on a glorified shopping trip, which is how I have come to regard the annual Gluten Free Expo in Sydney. It is where I come to stock up on those ‘hard to find’ items that I can’t buy from a regular shop nearby. Fortunately I nearly always manage to stumble across something that has the potential to make my life easier which helps to justify the cost.

This year the standout product range for me was the new gluten free crumbed fish and chicken nuggets from Bayview. Its does not sound like gourmet fare, I admit, but my pretensions for haute cuisine have been somewhat tempered by the more urgent requirements to nourish an astonishingly picky gluten-free toddler.

Another imperitive is that these goods must be on a shop shelf somewhere within a 10k radius as I simply don’t have the time to coordinate lots of individual internet food purchases. The good news from Bayview was that we would see these in some Coles from the 26th of November (maybe some IGAs too – but I don’t recall exact details). Bring on the fishfingers!

The second piece of splendid convenience food news was that my recent find of some awesome Pastry Pantry rough puff pastry sheets (for those previously impossible-to-make sausage rolls) was not an isolated incident, and it is supposed to be available now in my local Coles supermarket. I am yet to test this out with an actual field trip (yes I have been disappointed on this count before) but I do have that upbeat feeling that the times they are a changing and that we anti-glutenites are no longer expected to live out our lives pie-free.

For the price sensitive among us (and who isn’t when it comes to gluten-free foodstuffs) the good news on the pasta front is that Orgran is marketing a new brand of pasta (in a family size packet no less) that could present a lower-cost option for an important staple if the supermarkets can be convinced to stock it. Look out for the Buontempo brand in the regular pasta shelves instead of the specialty section as apparently its being targeted to more to mainstream consumers looking to ditch gluten.

Gluten-free pancakes have always been a bit of a sore spot in our household. It dosnt matter how many gallons of maple syrup you drown them in, they still feel dense and devoid of the springy magic associated with their wheaten cousins. An exhibitor called Vitarium reckons after months of putting its best brains to the challenge, it has come up with a very respectable pancake mix. I now have a sample bag in my cupboard to test out so more pancake news coming soon.

While attempting to dodge (quite unsuccessfully) the usual array of delicious cakes and biscuits for sampling, I noticed there were so many more lolly stalls than I recall from last year. I picked up a few cute impulse buys like Christmas gingerbreads and colourful sprinkles for cakes, and I also sniffed out a new bread mix which I will put to the test in coming weeks (it drew my attention because it was still moderately springy and edible even apparently four or five days after baking – which seems a modern miracle to me).

I also managed to get hold of a box of Freelicious crackers (these are the most jatz-like gluten free biscuits I have found) but alas I havn’t yet spotted these in any large supermarket so I may have to wait till the next Gluten free show to stock up again.

A lack of alluring expo bargains, and a slightly less interesting seminar line up from last year did not detract too much from a fairly fruitful day, and it was as encouraging as ever to hear of more and more new products making it onto supermarket shelves. And yet there are still so many tempting specialty products that don’t seem to get a look in – and if you don’t live near a Coles or IGA I think it must be quite awkward for anyone even just trying to stock up on the basics. ( A topic worthy of a blog post all of its own . . . )

Happy eating.

LH