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?
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