My other half has recently been diagnosed with Coeliac Disease after been unwell for some time. Now we understand the basics of it all and now have to be very careful with what she eats and how we cook/prepare food, etc.

As STW seems to be a hive of all knowledge, thought I would see if you lot can offer any real world advice as far as living with Coeliacs goes. Anything from recipes, places to buy ingredients, etc would be appreciated.

My niece has recently been diagnosed, we spent 2 weeks with them on holiday and the biggest thing I realised was that any small exposure is bad, e.g. crumbs from the chopping board or even using the knife you have buttered your toast with in the jam.

They had a good strategy in place so different snacks when the other kids had crisps or whatever. Nothing could stop her sad face watching her brother enjoying a Nutella crepe though 🙁

All supermarkets now have free from section.

Learn to read the ingredients, and I find that Sainsbury allergy section is clearest (imho) *fyi 3 types of the sainsburys std sausages are gf – toulouse,?? pls check allergy section on back of packet)

India food *curry/vege side dishes is often ok (not nan etc etc)
Thai red/green curry ditto
Chicken kebab with no pitta
Join the Coeliac society and you get freebies/menus etc etc
Lots of ‘better breads’ now – Genius, Warburtons etc etc
If you ask and you get the glazed look then play safe, but some places will respond by altering dishes to suit (Thank you The Roxy, Girvan and several others)
*There are now soy sauces that are GF
Some pub chains mark menu GF – ?Weatherspooons, La tasca etc etc)

Get several pairs of the black etc toaster bags (ebay other sources available) and you can share a toaster (*they will if asked use them in some B&B etc if you take your own bread – tell owner the bag gets king hot so take care)

we do rice, spuds, polenta etc etc(*can be used to make pizza base apparently) and there are an increasing no of coeliac recioes

Start here and register for the magazine and food directory.

Bit of a long shot, but if you live around Chester I can give you some local info.

We cook quite a lot of GF food, cos mother in law is coeliac. Mostly normal recipes that are GF, not special GF ones.

Dove’s Farm gluten free flour appears to be what we use for cake. Oh and they do GF baking powder, which I guess means that baking powder isn’t GF. Can get it any old health food shop and most supermarkets. We don’t use specialist GF cook books, but do mark in books whether a recipe worked GF or not, as some don’t (I think light sponges don’t work). Cakes that have lots of other things in like ground almonds or something and not much flour can be pretty much indistinguishable, other ones vary.

Curry is great, most Indian food is gluten free except where obviously not (breads, pancakes, that sort of thing).

Risotto (make sure you have gluten free stock powder if using).

Soy sauce has gluten in, except for a few specific ones (Japanese Tamari is the easiest one to get), check the label when you buy it, and don’t go out to restaurants for Chinese. I think Thai is also bad.

Oh, and from experience of living in a house with a coeliac and 2 vegans, don’t try and cook vegan gluten free cake except for a dark chocolate fridge cake.

My Mother-In-Law has it and as above, the slightest exposure to wheat can cause her issues. I think they have their own margarine etc. so they get no cross-contamination from crumbs etc….

But, I think different people do have different sensitivities.

I think she gets a lot of her stuff from a brand called ‘Genius’ I think. And Tesco sell a range of stuff called ‘Mrs Crimbles’ or something equally twee.

I am pretty sure as well that they go to regular Coeliac fairs where people selling Coeliac foods peddle their wares. I think they are quite useful as they help you find out what products are out there.

Most restaurants are surprisingly clued up about it now & lots even have ‘gluten-free’ menus if you ask. Or they can leave out a certain bit of a meal if it contains gluten…..

Check out Paleo cookbooks – very helpful.

Lots of good news to cheer you up. First is that it’s the only autoimmune disease with a known trigger – gluten – so if you eliminate the gluten the symptoms go away.
The coeliac society is worth joining to get their food list and magazine.
There are now loads of nice foods in supermarkets ‘free-from’ sections, they can be a bit expensive but the quality has improved dramatically.
Eating out can be a pain, but pizza express and pizza hut now do GF bases which are good. More places are getting clued up, but you’ll still get the occasional blank look or don’t care attitude.
Finally, there’s a very nice cafe in Caernafon near the castle that does GF crepes, highly recommended 🙂

Did gluten intolerance exist before the Chorleywood process was invented?

I was diagnosed with Ceoliac Disease almost five years ago; firstly, don’t worry about this, your OH will find such a difference to their life once the gluten and wheat has been cut out that what at first seems a palaver will all be worth it for the pain and discomfort relief that it brings about. All of the major supermarkets have a Free From section. Trial and error has taught me that one isn’t better than the other, instead I buy different things from different supermarkets (for example, Tesco’s g-free porridge is far superior to any of the other supermarkets’ offerings IMHO). Just remember when you shop that you put nothing on your trolley before checking the ingredients. And don’t forget that ‘gluten free’ isn’t enough, it also needs to be wheat.
There are gluten free options of lots of types of foods but be aware that they don’t taste the same as the stuff that’s made with gluten; bread and pasta in particular is a taste I’ve yet to get used to, but the bland taste if some gluten free things is far better than the discomfort caused by their gluten-stuffed alternatives. And lots of dishes are naturally gluten free such as rice.
There are dozens of recipe books available, although if you’re used to cooking from scratch you need common sense more than Jamie or Gordon.
In the kitchen make sure all surfaces including chopping boards are crumb free – I have my own chopping board, and if possible keep things like butter/ jam/ peanut butter etc are kept seperately from any that may be touched by contaminated knives. Again, I have my own jars and the OH has her’s.
Finally, contact the Ceoliac UK Society who publish a list of ‘safe’ foods and brands. They’re a great source of info (and reassurance). You’ll be amazed at the amount of foods that contain gluten but seem totally harmless such as soy sauce, brown sauce and even mustard.
Oh, absolutely finally, take great care in restaurants and cages, for example chips, completely gluten free in themselves, when cooked in oil in which breaded fish has been cooked means the chips are contaminated.
Apologies for the length of this post; as you can see, it’s a lot to get used to, but the Ceoliac Society are great and there to help. Good luck!

Meant ‘cafes’ not ‘cages’. Stupid new phone…

Tesco’s g-free porridge is far superior to any of the other supermarkets’ offerings IMHO).

That’s interesting. I’ve been eating H & B’s g-f porridge and am absolutely sick of mouthfuls of husks. Doesn’t taste brilliant either so will look out for Tesco’s.

C Girl; just for info, I find the Tesco’s stuff palatable even as granola. Perfect post-ride fuelling. Enjoy!

Thank you bex, that’s good to hear. 🙂

It is a pain in the bum frankly but totally doable, and much better today than in the past. Great advice up there, so, instead of more of the same here’s some advice on stuff.

Genius Bread and Yes You Can bread are great- Genius seeded if you want a white-ish, Yes You Can or Genius for brown. Nobody does a really good white loaf IMO. Genius rolls, accept no substitute. Warburtons rolls are useless, they fall apart, but the bread’s good if you want real-bread texture and handling and don’t care that it tastes of NOTHING. Cooking bread basically.

Dove’s Farm pasta is ace, needs very little special handling, most gf pastas are decent these days but they tend to be a bit slimy, which means washing them off with boiling water.

Tesco and Asda often have a freezer GF section, which is ace. Asda do good GF pizzas too (Dietary Specials I think) Ironically the only problem is they’re a bit stingy on the toppings!

Tesco probably have the best GF selection- their own brand biscuits and cakes are mostly high quality, they do a very passable if rather heavy naan bread, they sell warburton’s excellent fruit loaf and muffins, and their cherry bakewells are ace (though could use more filling!) Marks and Spencers do a brilliant chocolate cake but it’s often hard to find.

Oats… Oats is a tricky subject, because for years they were verboten but these days pure oats- that is oats prepared in a wheat free enviroment- are often considered safe. But still avenin intolerance is considered allied to gluten intolerance.

Flour… Glutafin do a range called Select, which aren’t 100% Gluten Free but have a sufficiently tiny amount of wheat that they’re considered coeliac-safe. Codex Glutanicus is not what this is actually called but I can’t help but think of it like this. Anyway, it is fantastic- the “multi purpose” makes the best dough by miles, the best bread, the best cakes… Can be had on prescription too.

Eating out- find places you enjoy and trust, make sure they know it. Wok and Wine in Edinburgh have my custom forever. Thai and indian food should be pretty safe, but it’s worth having a word. Italian, well, lots of italian restaurants will cook with gf ingredients but it doesn’t necessarily mean a good outcome to be quite honest. No wonder, GF stuff isn’t exactly hard to cook with but it’s different, so they need experience with it to get good results.

Above all don’t be afraid to ask!

May I recommend this bread, it’s the best I’ve tasted:

http://www.warburtons.co.uk/products/gluten-free

Edit: Waitrose sell it.

M and S do really nice GF fishcakes and also ‘breaded’ cod. On the same theme I just found a local Chester chippy that does GF fish and chips – happy days! 🙂 http://www.fishandchipsatwestongrove.co.uk/

The best bread by a mile is BFree (not to be confused with BeFree) but is only available in Ireland. I tried tracking it down in the UK and ASDA were supposed to be stocking it but I can’t find it online. In fact Ireland is a great holiday destination for Coeliacs as around 1% of the population needs a GF diet so everything is geared up for it.

And not forgetting the important stuff – Sainsbury’s beer is ace, almost the real thing!

+1 for Marks & Spencers 🙂 They not only have a reasonable range of gluten free food, they also label all of their food very clearly so you can easily identify whether it contains gluten or other allergens too.

My wife was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance (less severe than Coeliac disease) about 4 months ago and we’ve found that it’s not only expensive but also makes life very difficult, especially when the rest of the family still wants to have non-gluten free foods. We’ve allocated a seperate cupboard for the gluten free food and have separate butter too. Thankfully we all love Indian food so that’s one night a week we can all eat the same thing together though.

Both my kids were diagnosed with Coeliacs 18months ago and I chose to follow the Gluten free diet also to see if it helped with other things which it seems to have to a certain extent.

Most important thing to remember that your fruit / veg / fresh meats are all naturally gluten free so like others have said all you’re trying to elimiate is the breads and pastas we bulk our meals out with. There are Gluten free versions available but simply swapping to rice / potatoes avoids the excessive cost of a “speciality” gluten free product.

I have the added complication of being allergic to Eggs which is a big constituent in gluten free bread products so really struggle to get and kind of breads or rolls. Best i’ve had to date is Yes You Can bread altho it appears to have dissappeared off the shelves lately, or Warbutons wraps are really nice if a bit pricey.

Thing to watch is sauces, seasonings and coatings on things that might contain gluten somewhere. Make sure you pay attention to the labels, you’ll get to know soon enough what your typical shop is and what you can / cant have. Be aware for “new recipes”, caught me out a couple of times in the past.

Certainly not easy eating out particularly with young kids but more and more places do GF menus now, Pizza Hut/Pizza Express & Dominos all offer GF bases as, TGIs do a GF menu but its really just the same menu with the Gluten element removed. Like giving you Fajhitas with no tortilla wraps which is a bit of a cop out in my view.

All in its not all that bad once you get used to it, if you can switch from Gluten containing foods to naturally GF foods it’s much cheaper than just going down the route of buying replacement GF foods.

Oh and Tescos own brand Cornflakes & Rice Crispies are GF according to Coealic UK although they’ll still stock a GF version at 4x the price. Blitzed cornflakes make a nice crumb coating for fried fish, or BBQ Doritos for a BBQ flavour coating on chicken nuggets.

Tescos own brand Cornflakes & Rice Crispies are GF according to Coealic UK

Interesting, last time i looked they had barley malt extract in them.

In fact Ireland is a great holiday destination for Coeliacs as around 1% of the population needs a GF diet so everything is geared up for it.

Don’t suppose you have any links for this please? I’m curious as to why! 🙂

as around 1% of the population needs a GF

This applies to the UK too

First thing the consultant asked me when the tests came back positive, was I Irish.

Haven’t got any links CG but based on what the consultant asked me and the availability of GF in Dublin it leads me to believe the numbers in Ireland are much higher than the UK.

EDIT: just google “coeliac disease prevalence in Ireland” and there are plenty of links.

An ex gf was Coeliac and veggie. Actually found it an interesting challenge to cook! Rice dishes of many types are good. I’m quite happy with my risottos now! 🙂

Rachel

Thanks for all the info so far, very helpful as usual! Why have google when you have STW!

Some great advice above. I’d like to add that ‘nigellas lemon polenta cake’ is one of the best cakes you will ever eat. GF or not!

Worth a google and a book mark!

(Although I add more lemon juice and icing sugar in the final stages for a moister cake!)

Another good cake book is honeybuns GF baking book

There’s no reason to avoid a nutella crepe,the Bretons cook galettes with buck wheat flour,which is AFAIK gluten free,and could happily be spread with nutella.

So good I had to post it twice.

I’m not sure your OHs opinion on sausages, but when I was diagnosed Coeliac the prospect of no more stuffed meat product filled me with a dread I couldn’t really describe. Well that and the no bread/beer thing, but that’s been covered…sooooo back to sausages…your local quality butcher will no doubt produce GF bangers(Finlay’s in Portobello since you ask)…if you don’t have a quality neighbourhood meat purveyor try M&S – all their sausages are GF(in fact if you ask at the customer service desk they will print you out their entire stock with every GF item highlighted – well the branch at Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh do) – or the Co-Op all their decent sausages are GF.

Another huge miss for me is a fish supper. Not a regular thing but sometimes I crave one, anyway there are some chippy’s who seem to grasp this and do GF nights( a separate batch of frying oil) and one in Oxgangs who permanently keep a fryer solely for GF batter!

I realise this all makes me sound like a fat get only interested in Edinburgh and its environs, but my point is your OH doesnt need to miss out…as someone has said, join the Coeliac society, look on forums local to you for recommendations and takeit from there!

Hi there,
Been coeliac for 26years now and can still remember the empty, depressing feeling when I was diagnosed.

I’ll keep things simple:
It’s all about substitution, not elimination.
Join the coeliac society immediately- fantastic support! Their website even gives you how to explain the dietary requirements in different languages for when you go on holiday!
My email is there for you if you need me (genuinely)
Enjoy the diet!…. It’s very healthy & will make her feel like a different person- in a good way of course!

It’s not as bad as it feels…. I promise!

Re sausages, quite a lot of GF sausages are a wee bit ****- full of herbs and other assorted green muck. Seems to be that since they’re a low-volume item they add stuff to make them more expensive. But Doherty’s Free From are proper, nowt but meat, fat and floor sweepings sausages.

PS, you know when sportsmen go on a GF diet for performance reasons- your Novak Djokovics and Gee Athertons- is there anyone else out there who’d have a proper belly laugh to themselves if they come off the diet in 5 years’ time and discover they’ve lost their wheat tolerance? Or am I just a bad person?

30 posts and not a single mention of picolax 😀

I’m not coeliac but the GF has been for 26 years….

I guess i’m sort of in your boat op, I’ve had to learn quite quickly as its quite easy to forget or overlook stuff. I suppose the bright side is your other half now knows whats wrong and can control it

You just need to be a bit more aware of whats in stuff. Someone up there ^^ said most indian food is gluten free…
I didn’t know some cheaper spices were bulked out with wheat for example
Just get used to reading labels. you’ll find it’s the named brand stuff that’s ok
Morrisons English mustard contains gluten Colman’s doesn’t for example
even crisps.. some brands flavors are ok, some contain gluten. So just because a brand seems ok a particular flavor might not be.

Fortunately we don’t have to do things like separate toasters but I’m getting used to thinking about whats been where.

Separate chopping boards are a good idea.
One small downside is the cost of some things, bread type products can be hilariously expensive..!

I’ve found i haven’t had to make huge changes to what I eat to fit in with a coeliac diet. In fact once you’re used to quickly checking labels out its really quite easy. You don’t have to miss out on anything really
We even got a recipe for gluten free yorkshire pudding batter, and i promise you they are better than the usual ones!!

You can get GF food on prescription from a normal pharmacy. You have to see your doc first and you get awarded points depending on age/sex/pregnant etc. Your local chemist/pharm will give you a very comprehensive list of the same foods as posters have listed here and the usual stuff from the big five supermarkets. You just select the amount that you want up to your points value. List it onto a big custom made prescription form and pay (if eligible) £7.65; the standard scrip charge. A couple of days later collect it from your pharm.

And have a look at Ocado´s GF range.