When I was first diagnosed with coeliac disease ten years ago, I felt hungry. Hungry and a bit lonely. I’d never heard of this thing the gastro guy had just given me after staring into my stomach. It drew blank looks from family and friends too. Sealy-what?
Free-from food wasn’t getting the column inches or shelf space it is now. I was clueless. All I knew was it meant I couldn’t eat Pret a Manger cheese croissants every morning. So my life was over, basically.
I’m not very adventurous in the kitchen, unless you’re talking about cocktails, in which case, pass the rum, strawberry ice cream and Philadelphia. So my new diet saw me saying no to a load of stuff and trying to smile through the fifth baked bean baked potato of the week (nice one, staff canteen).
Fast-forward a few years and it’s not so miserable and lonely being on a doctor’s orders diet. I’m now in the fortunate position of having three brilliant friends in the same boat. One, who was diagnosed with coeliac disease – plus dairy and FODMAP issues – a few years after me and is super clued-up on the free-from front. She is the oracle.
Another, who was always plagued by allergies but has now embraced the power of food to heal and is a regular free-from witch in the kitchen. And is always happy to feed me.
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So the food gods are finally smiling on me, not by serving up some miracle cure but by dishing out mates who “get it”. They don’t need lecturing on cross-contamination. They get the same thrill finding new products or ones with reduced stickers.
We send each other links to new places and offers and look out for stuff that is hard to get hold of (good gluten-free scones are currently top of my list, replacing mince pies). They don’t get bored with free-from food chat, either, because they know it takes over your life.
But even if you don’t have great mates in the flesh with similar issues, there’s that new thing called the internet. Forums are screaming with people like us, reaching out, sharing photos of their birthday cake masterpieces, recipes, stories, warnings. And there are go-to foodie characters to follow as well, with their own stories.
I’m a big fan of The Itchy Conundrum on Instagram – aka Stephanie – who also has food allergies. After years of being plied with steroids for her eczema and dermatitis, she’s “cured” herself with free-from food and it has turned her life around. Her foodie photos are incredible and so inspiring. They make me want to put down my Seabrook sharer pack. (Almost.)
So social media has opened up a new world of free-from friends, too. Although I still prefer the ones you can pop round to see for homemade chocolate and banana cake.
By Kay Harrison – coeliac cake connoisseur