Gluten Free Favourites – August 2016

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August has been a lovely month – my first month of self-employment! This has also coincided with some lovely weather every now and again so I’ve spent some time working (and relaxing!) in the garden, and we’ve had a couple of nice days out too. Food wise we’ve been having quite a lot of great Simply Cook meals, some Tyga curries, and I’ve been experimenting with some of the goodies I got from the Morrisons Free From event 🙂

Gluten free favourites – August 2016

Gosh! Chickpea, Courgette and Moroccan Spiced Bakes topped with Harissa Peppers – I hadn’t come across this brand until the free from event I went to as Morrisons HQ, and I’m so glad I have now. These are vegan and free of all 14 main allergens, and really tasty, especially the harissa spiced ones. You can get these from some Tesco stores and I believe they are coming to other stores soon (there’s a handy store locator on their website).

Tesco Free From Strawberry and Vanilla Cones – these are just fabulous. We’ve had them before and enjoyed them, but it wasn’t until we tried a competitor’s product that we appreciated just how good these are. The ice cream is lovely and creamy (despite being dairy free!) and the cone stays crisp. They get the thumbs up from everyone, well apart from fussy brothers who complain about the bottom having unexpected strawberry syrup as well as chocolate.

Twice as Nice Bakery Teff Cookies – these are sort of secret as they’re a new product, but they’re so fantastic that I just had to share in my monthly favourites. I’ll be honest, I had to ask Laura at Twice as Nice what teff was and why it’s so great, but once I’d tried the cookie I was sold. So much so I bought another to take home for my partner to try (I’m the greatest girlfriend ever). He agreed; they’re awesome. The flavour is great, but it’s more the texture that surprised me. They hold together really well, but still have that wondrous cookie-ness to them. They’re also vegan but you wouldn’t know it. Fabulous! I didn’t get a photo but Sarah Leanne at Growing Butterfly (who was the inspiration behind the cookies!) posted one on Instagram.

Barnacles Chip Shop – when you’ve had a lovely day in the sunshine and you’re by the seaside there’s nothing better than fish and chips on the seafront. Normally this would be a no no for coeliacs, but fortunately more and more chip shops are offering gluten free options. Barnacles in Llandudno has been offering it for a while and there is such a great selection. I’ll be writing a blog post soon but in the meantime I wanted to mention it in my favourites as the fish, chips and curry sauce I had were amazing.

Genius gluten free pancakes – these were given to me at the Morrisons free from event and to be honest I wasn’t that excited, but they’re brilliant. I simply toasted them for a few minutes and then spread Nutella on them. Such a nice weekend breakfast. It may have been the GBBO effect but they reminded me of jaffa cakes – just needed some marmalade and I would have been sorted!

Veggie enchiladas – I’ve been experimenting with some Newburn Bakehouse products I was sent to try and made some veggie enchiladas with the seeded wraps. I filled them with mixed pepper rice, refried beans, chilli powder and spring onions, and cooked them in salsa, yoghurt and cheese. Really easy to make but filling and delicious!

What have you been loving in August? Any recommendations?

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Gluten Free Favourites – July 2016

Aug3

According to my photos from the last month, July involved a lot of eating out! I had some conferences and work events, as well as a few lunchtime and evening meals out to celebrate (I left my job at the end of July and am now freelancing). Here’s a selection of the things I’ve loved in July…

Gluten free favourites – July 2016

Leon – I can’t believe Leon hasn’t featured in my monthly favourites yet; I adore Leon! For those who don’t know, Leon is a growing chain of fast food restaurants offering ‘healthier’ choices. Most are in London, but they are expanding and there is one in Birmingham New Street station. The allergens are clearly marked on the menu and many of the options are gluten free. I usually have a rice box with brown rice, coleslaw, plus whatever main choice I fancy. During July I visited Leon three times (twice in London, once in Birmingham), and had the sweet potato falafel, and Sicilian chicken meatballs – these were amazing so I had them twice! Leon also have gluten free cakes (from Honeybuns) – the lemon ginger crunch is really good.

Gluten Free Pizza at Amalfi White – we visited friends who live in Melbourne (the one near Derby, UK, not the one in Australia) in July, and went for a meal at Amalfi White. They have a gluten free menu with quite a lot of variety, and staff are very knowledgeable. I chose the Italiano wood fired pizza which was quite honestly one of the most amazing topping combinations I’ve ever had – it had chicken, pancetta, bolognese, goat’s cheese, red chilli, and basil pesto. It sounds like far too much for one pizza but it’s so good. I did have to take half of it home as it was massive but it really was amazing!

Cheshire Farm Ice Cream – I went to a food festival in July and although I wasn’t expecting there to be a lot of gluten free food, I was disappointed at how little there was I could try. One highlight however was Cheshire Farm Ice Cream who had a van with loads of different flavoured ice creams, many of which were gluten free. The staff were really clued up and had a full list of allergens, and were very aware of cross contamination issues too. I was able to have my ice cream in a tub rather than a cone (though apparently they do provide gluten free cones at their farm!). I chose one scoop of honeycomb ice cream and one scoop of sticky toffee pudding ice cream (which I was amazed was gluten free!). The sticky toffee pudding was quite possible the best ice cream I have ever tasted. I’ll definitely be seeking this out again!

Harissa-Spiced Chicken Burger – the last few times we’ve eaten at Cappello Lounge my partner has had the Harissa-Spiced Chicken Burger so not wanting to copy, I’ve tried other things. The most recent time we visited however I took the plunge and chose to go for the gluten free version of the Harissa-Spiced Chicken Burger. I’ve been missing out! The chicken was really succulent and the flavours amazing – it has red pepper mayo and pimento soft cheese and is just lovely. I adore the fries there too so all in all an excellent meal! I’ve previously reviewed Cappello Lounge and would highly recommend the Loungers chain for gluten free.

What have you been loving in July? Any recommendations?

Gluten Free Favourites – June 2016

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Summer is always a fairly travel-heavy time of year for me as it’s conference season, and this year has been no exception. In June I headed to Philadelphia for the Special Library Association Conference (where I gave a talk on my leadership journey over afternoon tea – all terribly British!). I’ve also been to a conference in one of my favourite UK cities; Manchester. Both of those have influenced my favourites for the month!

Gluten Free Favourites – June 2016

Hershey Special Dark Chocolate – I’m not generally a fan of US chocolate, but whilst I was there I went on a post-conference trip to Hershey and did a chocolate taste test. It took a bit of quick detective work whilst I was there but fortunately all the ones we tried were gluten free. I was pleasantly surprised that I actually really liked the Hershey Special Dark Chocolate. It’s not as bitter as dark chocolate I’ve had before, and is lovely and smooth (whereas the Hershey milk chocolate I really don’t like!). You only need a tiny piece or two to satisfy a chocolate craving. I’m not sure if we get these Hershey bars over here but I’ll certainly look out for them in future.

Sahale Nuts – another find from the US, this time something I stumbled upon in a convenience store across the street from my hotel. I was looking for gluten free snacks I could carry with me and found these snack sized packs of nuts. I tried the Pomegranate Vanilla Flavoured Cashews first and absolutely loved them, and on my next visit I picked up the same again and the Honey Almond Glazed Mix. I liked them both but the Pomegranate Vanilla Flavoured Cashews are my favourite. Sahale are sadly tricky to find in the UK but I’m hoping to see if any other brands have similar products. Do you have any recommendations of snack sized packs of flavoured nuts?

Dough Pizza Kitchen – If you’re ever visiting Manchester (UK) you have to go to Dough. Even if you’re not gluten free you should, but it’s brilliant for coeliacs (and those who are dairy free too). Dough is an independent Italian restaurant serving pizza (surprise!), pasta, gnocchi, and more. I went out for dinner there when I arrived for my conference, and had Sweet Potato Bites to start, Gnocchi for main, and Chocolate Brownie Sundae for dessert (which was massive – I couldn’t manage it all!). I’ve had the gluten free pizza from there before which is also excellent. Highly recommend visiting Dough.

Simply Cook – We’ve been cooking from scratch a bit more this month, but with my travel schedule it’s quite tricky to plan to always have the right ingredients in without them going out of date! Simply Cook makes this so easy – you only need a few key ingredients for each meal as the spices/pastes/mixes etc. are provided for you. The meals are always quick to cook (usually around 20-30 minutes), and we’ve loved every one we’ve tried so far. We currently have a monthly gluten free subscription, but have also recommended it to family and friends who don’t need the gluten free options. It really does deserve its own blog post but in the meantime if you’d like to try Simply Cook, you can use this referral link to get your first box for £1.

Delicious Alchemy Rice Flake Porridge – As much as I love yoghurt and granola, occasionally I like to have something different for breakfast. Just recently I’ve been really enjoying the Delicious Alchemy Rice Flake Porridge (made with either rice milk or almond milk) with some jam. Our local supermarket has loads of mini individual serving size jars of jam so I’ve been trying all the different flavours; my favourite so far is cherries and berries. The rice flake porridge is a great gluten free alternative to porridge and with a fruity jam it satisfies my sweet cravings.

What have you been loving in June? Any recommendations?

Gluten free favourites – May 2016

Jun1

Happy June! 🙂

In contrast to April when we enjoyed some new recipes, most of May was spent eating out, getting takeaway, or eating convenience food. It’s my birthday month and our anniversary month so we often use that as an excuse for a week or so but this month has seen us completely lose our mojo for cooking and rely on convenience foods for the vast majority of the month. My favourites are therefore mostly in this category though one is a home baking mix.

Gluten Free Favourites – May 2016 (Mrs Crimbles image from their website)

Mrs Crimbles Bakewell Slices – I absolutely love these! They’re been a favourite for a while now but I hadn’t had them for a long time so picked some up as a treat at the beginning of the month. They didn’t disappoint! The cake is lovely and moist and the base is nice and thin but crunchy. Many of our family and friends have had these with us and they’re just as popular with those who don’t have to follow a gluten free diet.

Delicious Alchemy Vanilla Sponge – As it was my birthday earlier this month, I thought I should make a cake and had a Delicious Alchemy Vanilla Sponge that they had kindly sent me to try. I made it with a friend the day before my birthday and we thoroughly enjoyed making it. The mix is really easy to make and the cake itself was delicious – very light and a great flavour. We filled it with traditional jam and buttercream. I shared some with family and friends and they all loved it. Again something that doesn’t need to just be for those of us who have to follow a gluten free diet.

Peaches Chinese Takeaway – You may have seen my recent blog post about Peaches but I’m so delighted to have found a local Chinese who can offer such a wide variety of gluten free options. I haven’t tried eating in yet but the takeaway is great and it’s so convenient! Our previous default takeaway was Domino’s, so it’s nice to be able to have another option.

Trek Original Oat Flapjacks – I’ve had the Cocoa Oat Trek flapjacks for a while as a useful on-the-go snack, but the Original Oat versions are available in multipacks in our local convenience store and they’re brilliant. I tend to bring things like this with me when I’m travelling in case I need an energy boost. Most flapjacks are delicious, but these are particularly good because they have soya crunchies in which add a lovely texture to them.

What have you been loving this month? Any recommendations?

Gluten free favourites – April 2016

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This month we’ve been enjoying getting back into the swing of things with cooking more meals from scratch (including some adventurous new meals from Madeleine Shaw’s Ready Steady Glow), and we’ve also enjoyed some new recipes and mixes from Simply Cook. I’m really enjoying cooking and eating some lovely fresh meals. But most of my favourites are of the sweet kind this month. Well you have to indulge every now and again don’t you?

Gluten Free Favourites – April 2016

Gluten free scones – right at the beginning of the month I had the pleasure of going for afternoon tea in Manchester and to my surprise found the place we visited had gluten free cakes and gluten free scones! I’m ashamed to say I’ve never had a scone before and now that I have I realise I’ve been missing out. I’m now having scones at every opportunity and may well have a go at making some of my own soon. Sadly I didn’t photograph the one that started this obsession but it was from Richmond Tea Rooms which I highly recommend in you’re in the Manchester area (they can offer a gluten free version of their afternoon tea too!).

Chocolate, Praline and Sea Salt Torte at Zizzi’s – I recently took myself to Zizzi’s whilst I was away at a conference and chose to eat there partly because I’d checked the menu online and seen this dessert (I can’t be the only who does this, am I?!). I enjoyed a risotto first, and then devoured the chocolate torte. It was amazingly rich and smooth, and had extra crunch from the honeycomb and sweetness from the ice cream (honey, sea salt and mascarpone). Delicious!

Veggie Colin the Caterpillar Cherry Gums – I’ve had a bit of a thing for the M&S Phizzy Pig Tails for a while now, but at a recent conference a friend offered me a jelly caterpillar. I loved it and on my journey home got myself some of the cherry version. I adore sweets and these are particularly lovely. They’re quite moreish though so I struggle to make the bag last as long as it should!

Mini Moos Cheeky Orange Chocolate Bar – I’ve been trying more vegan products this month (I’m a meat eater at the moment but am reducing how much meat and dairy I have for a number of reasons). This chocolate bar is really good and you don’t feel like you’re missing out at all. I love the orange flavour and I wasn’t expecting the crispy rice bits but they’re great. Highly recommend (I tried the butterscotch too but personally prefer the orange).

M&S Made Without Wheat Blackcurrant Ripple Cake – a late discovery this one but it snuck in at the end of the month and definitely deserves its place in my monthly favourites. I’ll be honest – I mainly bought it because it looked pretty, but the flavour and texture are just amazing and in so glad I picked it up. My partner was particularly impressed with this one; he’s tried many gluten free cakes and it takes a lot to impress him but this one certainly did (it even cheered up a bad mood!). The sponge is lovely and moist and has blackcurrant jam in too, and then the topping is buttercream with jam swirls. It’s incredibly sweet but we both loved it.

What have you been loving this month? Any recommendations?

Gluten Free Favourites – March 2016

Mar31

So many things to share this month – it has been a good month for new gluten free discoveries and re-discoveries!

Gluten free favourites – March 2016

Stokie Sauce – Laura from Twice as Nice Bakery (see my previous review) told us about this sauce a little while ago and said she was hoping to stock it, so when I last picked up some gluten free oatcakes and saw it on the shelf I had to have some! It’s a really interesting sauce and not at all what I was expecting. It’s thinner in consistency than I thought it would be, and more spicy, but it does work well with oatcakes and I’d definitely recommend giving it a go if you’re in the area.

Gluten free pikelets – another local speciality! When I got my gluten free oatcakes from Twice as Nice I noticed these with them and thought I’d give them a go (they’re both from Weston Coyney Oatcakes). I’ll be honest, when I got home I was wondering if I might regret the purchase as I’m not usually a fan of fruit in things like this (I tried to like hot cross buns this year but just couldn’t!). The pikelets though – well that’s a different matter. There’s only a small amount of fruit and it really helps to sweeten them. I love them with plenty of butter – delicious!

Heck Chicken Italia Sausages – we’ve had these before but I was reminded just how excellent they were when we had them recently. We just had a really simple meal of the sausages, sweet potato mash, and some greens, and it was wonderful. I did try a bit with Stokie Sauce too and it complemented them really well! So much so in fact that I had an oatcake with one of these sausages, some mozarella, and Stokie Sauce – delicious! I love the flavour of these Heck sausages in particular, and they’re nice and smooth too.

Pizza Express Gluten Free Dough Balls – they’ve already had their own blog post so I won’t say too much more but they really are delicious and I can’t wait to go back for more!

Tesco Free From Dough Mix – I didn’t think it would be possible to find a pizza base mix we would enjoy as much as Isabel’s (see previous review) but this really surprised me. It’s easy to make and doesn’t need pre cooking (though does need to prove for half an hour or so). It makes a lovely pizza base with a crunchy crust but a softer middle – the best of both worlds. We’ve had it twice now and both really enjoyed it (yes, it even got the approval of my non-coeliac partner!). We still love the Isabel’s mix when we want something lighter so will probably alternate between the two.

Gianni’s Cheeky Monkey Ice Cream – After learning the leftover Ben And Jerry’s Phish Food had been eaten in secret without me, I came across this ice cream in Aldi which is very similar but less than half the price! It’s chocolate ice cream, with swirls of marshmallow and swirls of caramel sauce, and chocolate monkeys. I think I might actually even prefer this to the Ben and Jerry’s!

What have you been enjoying this month? Any recommendations?

Gluten Free Favourites – February 2016

Feb29

February has flown by in a bit of a blur but it was a good month as we completed the sale of our house! We did some celebrating, mostly in the form of getting new phones and eating lots of yummy food. Which leads me onto my gluten free favourites for February…

Gluten free favourites – February 2016

Nutella – thanks to pancake day (where I tried the fabulous Isabel’s gluten free pancake mix) I was reminded how wonderful Nutella is. Then during a trip to Birmingham I had a Nutella milkshake from Ed’s Diner which was truly delicious. I’ve since been having it on toast, crackers, and in my own milkshake (I need to perfect the recipe still but anything with Nutella is is pretty amazing!). I even got a personalised jar for Valentine’s Day – that’s love for you 😍

Nature’s Path Nice & Nobbly Blueberry, Raspberry and Strawberry Granola – when I haven’t been having Nutella for breakfast, I’ve been back to my favourite of yoghurt and granola. My favourite gluten free granola is Nature’s Path Nice and Nobbly Granola with berries. It’s lovely and crunchy and sweet too. I find that some of the pieces are a little too large so tend to break them up a little first (not before scoffing one or two from the packet of course!). I love the granola so much I take small portions in sandwich bags away with me as a snack or to add to breakfast in hotels. I even have it in my profile photo for my Gluten Free Joeyanne Facebook page! For breakfast I love it with Rachel’s Organic yoghurt in either vanilla or cherry flavour – these are often on offer.

Schar Brown Ciabatta Rolls – I’ve been pretty impressed woth most of the Schar products I’ve tried so far and these are no exception. I work from home and quite often have soup for lunch; these are the perfect accompaniment – they’re easy to cook, have a nice texture, and the taste is great. Before diagnosis I preferred white bread but since being gluten free I’ve started to really enjoy the flavour of brown and wholegrain breads. I do also have some Schar panini rolls to try though so I’ll let you know if they’re good too.

Cadbury Daim Eggs – these little beauties started appearing on supermarket shelves shortly after Christmas which made me very happy indeed. They’re little individually wrapped Cadbury’s eggs with crunchy Daim pieces in. They’re a great little snack and good value too (usually it’s £1/pack and you get 8 in each pack). Many of the Easter chocolates from Cadbury’s are gluten free but these are my favourites, I even prefer them to Creme Eggs!

What have been your gluten free favourites this month?

Gluten Free Favourites – January 2016

Jan31

A quick round up of some of my favourite gluten free things I’ve been enjoying this month…

January Favourites

Schär Gluten Free Chocolate Fingers – I was fully prepared to be totally disappointed when I bought these over Christmas as a substitute for Cadbury’s version. I was definitely wrong! I really like both the chocolate and the shortbread biscuit in these, and they’re a little fatter than the Cadburys version which I like as you get more biscuit to your chocolate.

Marks and Spencer Pea Snaps – these baked crisps are really interesting. They have the texture of Wotsits, but are made from peas. I’ve tried the Peri Peri flavour and really like them. There’s also a Green Chilli, Lime and Coriander flavour which I plan to try.

Simply Cook – we’ve had quite a few Simply Cook meals this month and have really enjoyed them. Our favourite is the Jerk Chicken with Coconut Rice but we also really enjoyed the red pepper sweet potato mash. I love the convenience of these kits – lovely flavourful meals but you can adapt them to your preferences and budget (e.g. excluding ingredients you don’t like, using cheaper cuts of meat or substituting meat for veggies). Many of the meals are gluten free and are clearly marked on the website. If you’re interested in trying a box, this referral link gets you a box with 4 kits in for £1 (incl. p&p).

Delicious Alchemy – I ordered some items in the Delicious Alchemy sale and have really enjoyed both the Oaty Cookies (so easy to make and delicious!), and the brownie mix which we used to make a ridiculously sweet but very enjoyable Creme Egg Chocolate Brownie.

Twice as Nice Bakery – new fabulous local bakery that is 100% gluten free. I won’t say too much more for now as I have a review coming. It’s amazing though and highly worth a visit.

Cappello Lounge – another new fabulous local place which has a brilliant gluten free menu – I’ve been twice already. I’ll also be reviewing this soon.

What have been your favourites this month? I’d love to hear your recommendations.

Gluten Free Joeyanne

The trials and tribulations of a coeliac in the UK

Category Archives: favourites

Gluten Free Favourites – August 2016

Gluten Free Favourites – July 2016

Gluten Free Favourites – June 2016

Gluten free favourites – May 2016

Gluten free favourites – April 2016

Gluten Free Favourites – March 2016

Gluten Free Favourites – February 2016

Gluten Free Favourites – January 2016