With or Without You

Now I am no health-nut. I don’t exercise a million times a week, I eat chips (fries), I like alcohol. I honestly think the best diets contain a bit of everything; they are balanced. Every person should have a Big Mac every so often but they should also eat cherries and berries and apples and lettuce. When I was growing up however, I always had problems with my digestion. In my first year of uni I lived off a diet of pasta and bread and I put on about a stone of weight. A lot of that was from the amount of alcohol intake I had (I can’t lie), but it was also because I was putting a huge strain on my intestines and not even knowing it. The summer after my first year I lost the weight I had put on, because I was mainly at home and not eating pasta (my mum hates it). My whole life pasta has been my favourite food, I absolutely adore it. I could eat it every day, easily. But, a couple of years ago I had to go to the doctor because I was experiencing migraines and bad stomach problems (since I could remember), that were getting worse. It took them a while to figure what was going on, but in the end we realised it was an intolerence to gluten and dairy (Celiac's disease is a more serious form). What’s strange is that I honestly think, in some small way my body was trying to tell me to avoid these things already. I don’t like sandwiches, I’m not a huge cereal eater, I’ve never been one for crazy amounts of ice-cream and I don’t eat cheese. The only thing that my body shouldn’t have been consuming that I actually loved was pasta. Sometimes, you need to listen to what your body is trying to tell you.

Since then, my life has consisted of trying (and mostly failing) to find good tasting gluten-free and dairy free alternatives for my diet. The dairy wasn’t hard to give up. As I said, I’ve never been one for much dairy anyway, so the only changes I had to really make were to soya milk and dairy-free sunflower spread. The gluten thing was a lot harder to figure out – but only because of my hunt for pasta that tasted the same.


 

So, with that in mind I have decided to write a piece dedicated to show what I believe to be the best of the gluten-free  ( and some soya) products available out there.  You don’t have to take this as bible, and you can make your own gluten free bread and pizza bases with some flours and mixes also available out there, but this list is the best I’ve found so far of the pre-made products.

Waitrose

LOVE life, gluten free Belgian chocolate brownies

                Amazingly moist, and the perfect small bite size for something sweet after a meal. UPDATE: Sainsbury's gluten FREEfrom chocolate brownies are also rather tasty indeed!

LOVE life gluten free English muffins

                There’s only three in a pack (how strange), but theyre just as good as a normal muffin, toasted with Marmite!

LOVE life, gluten free white sliced loaf.

                This loaf was quite small in size, but tastes pretty damn close to the real thing. Stay away from Asda gluten free bread. You have been warned!

Sainsbury’s

Freefrom pasta range – Italian corn Fusilli

                All of this range is a great substitute for dried pasta – you won’t tell the difference!

Livwell

Gluten free crumpets

                Can be a little stiff, but are a nice replacement for breakfast.

Soya Products

Pure dairy free sunflower spread.

                I certainly can’t taste the difference and it’s also quite cheap to buy!

Alpro Chocolate Soya milk / Normal Soya milk in light

                I absolutely love the texture of the chocolate version. The normal is great too. DO NOT buy M&S Soya milk, it’s awful! I also HATE rice milk, so this was just great for me. 

In America

Chebe gluten free pizza base

                This base comes with herbs inbedded and is just YUMMY. Comes out the oven crisp and is so quick to make from the packet. HIGHLY recommended

Trader Joes Corn Pasta 

                When I found this I couldn’t believe it. It’s amazing and by far the best dried pasta substitute I’ve come across. I even brought three bags back to the UK with me. 

Chex  Honey Nut flavour cereal

                This selection of gluten free cereals is just great. My favourite is the honey-nut version, but there are three other versions.

Silk soy milk in Light (which can also be bought in chocolate)

                By far the best soy milk around. The light version is really creamy – I would suggest it over the normal. Tastes great. 

Now I’m not saying I’m an angel all the time. I still have a slice of pizza here and there (although I actually enjoy making a home-made gluten-free base) and my most favourite thing in the world is the Cold Stone cake batter ice-cream milkshake (Thank you America), but a lot of the time it is easier than you think to avoid these things. Domino’s have even brought out a gluten-free pizza base in America now! I’m still waiting for it to come to the UK while I’m stuck here (I will probably be back in America before it happens). The times they are a changing. Supermarkets now have huge sections dedicated to this stuff and it makes my life a whole lot easier when trying to find alternatives. The change to my well being is undeniable, I feel a million times better and I've even been lighter since. I've lost another half a stone (7lbs) in the past few months alone. The hunt for my most favourite pasta in gluten free (Spinach and Ricotta tortellini) still remains though. I came close in America when I found a frozen gluten free spinach ravioli, but it just wasn’t up to scratch. One day I will find it...one day.

Let me know if you are living with gluten intolerance (celiac's disease) and what you’ve found to be the best of the bunch!