Gluten Free – How hard can it be?!
When Amélie was first diagnosed it all seemed fairly straight forward, just follow a gluten free diet, great, how hard could that be?! Oh dear, were we in for a shock! Shopping was no longer just buying your usual ingredients with a few treats now and then, oh no, shopping now entailed first, finding the Free‐from aisle, which believe me in some shops is not as easy at it sounds. Secondly, reading the ingredients list, whether it says Gluten Free or not (you can never be too careful) and lastly, will Amélie actually like it!
I was amazed that whenever I read the list of ingredients on the majority of gluten free products there would usually be a high content of sugar. We soon realized this was to try and add flavour to quite bluntly, what were bland and cardboard like products. Not only that, but they were and still are, incredibly expensive. Amélie was only 2 yrs old when she was diagnosed, this means that she doesn’t know the taste of the equivalent gluten containing products, we do and we are not prepared to just accept them.
After having Billy, our second child, I took some time off work, so, I used some of this time to join Facebook and Twitter and try and find other fellow Coeliacs and recipes. Wow! I found a whole new world, a very understanding and supportive world. I’ve found websites which contain some fantastic, easy recipes and information on different ingredients, essential to the coeliac diet and ones I had never heard of before. I can chat to people, ask questions and get answers. Also, I have found Coeliac bakers, chefs, and small businesses which provide delicious tasting gluten free products.(see Cakes the Biscuit) Their standards are high and their food is wonderful. Amélie will be able to understand and appreciate the true flavour of food.
Take a look at the Coeliac Links page for the websites and blogs I particularly like. I will be adding more as I find them. Enjoy – thanks for reading.