Last weekend Rory and Karen visited the Allergy and Free From show London 2019. It was a pretty crazy ride from start to finish, with the two of them clocking up a combined 52k steps on the Saturday.

Rory: It’s an absolute pleasure going to events like this. We see lots of old friends and make some new friends too. At this show in particular, we connected with some truly great brands, and the fantastically enthusiastic people behind them.

Karen: The networking at these events is huge. It’s so good to catch up with everyone in the allergy and free from world again. It was brilliant to meet Callum finally and see Nat from Intolerant Gourmand, to see Christine Bailey in the Freee kitchen and chat to the ladies at the Free From Food Awards. I also got a chance to catch up with the fab bloggers, Rebecca (Glutarama) and Becky (Gluten Free Cup of Tea) and also to meet people properly like Sarah Howells (The Gluten Free Blogger). I was really honoured to meet new inspirational people like Natasha’s father, Nadim. Following the tragic death of Natasha when she unknowingly ate sesame in a Pret sandwich. Their family and Natasha’s Army are making it their absolute mission to make big changes to allergy processes to try and protect lives of others that have anaphylaxis to food. They have made great waves straight away and have succeeded in getting Natasha’s Law passed. Well done all – it is such a massive achievement.

It was also fab to find out about new products – for me, this is especially the ones that are dairy and gluten free. I just love a good back story and this place never fails to amaze me with them. There are so many people that refuse to sit down and put up with things – they want to make big changes for reasons close to their heart.

Rory: One thing I found strange was it seems that as bloggers or (as our name tags read ‘Influencers’) we have developed a bit of a USP…. as people who like to have a little drink. Now, you can’t blame us, we leave our kids at home and for one precious weekend – we have the ability to become teenagers again, so unsurprisingly, we go a bit wild. There was a big realisation regarding this when Safer Eating’s friend, Becky Excel, introduced Karen to her boyfriend as, “The Northern girl I was telling you about, who always has a story related to drinking.” I get the feeling that the mould has been cast.

Fortunately, there tadalafil super active amerikabulteni.com are a number of ways the problem of erection can be solved. It also contains browse these guys tadalafil online mastercard plant estrogen, which mimics the effect of female hormones. For example, if the man wakes in the middle of viagra online pharmacies the street. Studies actually show that most men past the age of forty will have a couple of difficulties with their erections. http://amerikabulteni.com/tag/jon-huntsman/ purchase cheap levitra

Rory: The show gave me a first for two reasons – at 32 years of age, I had… my FIRST Chocolate Bar! Yes, in a wrapper and everything. I still haven’t got over it. You may not think this is a big deal, but it’s BLOODY HUGE!!!!! Seriously, thanks to the guys at NOMO, who create chocky bars that I believe are free from the top 14 allergies (trust me, there will be a blog post to follow on this one). And I didn’t just stop at my first bar… I then proceeded to have my fifth, sixth and seventh bar. The team there were really lovely too and recognised me every time I came back. So much so, they kept giving me additional free ones… they have certainly cemented a life-long fan.

Karen: I found my first pretend KP choc dips from Schar and they are dairy free and gluten free. Absolutely delicious. My mini-coeliacs were so chuffed when I got home with them. Other great finds were gluten and dairy-free pretend Magnums (MiiRO Icecreams), some amazing bread from Promise, some lovely ginger tea (Lost Tea) and some fab new free-from products from Co-op. We also found a company called Play in Choc who make little toys with chocolate in them. Fantastic. It all adds to making children and adults feel less awkward and normalises fre- from a little.

Rory: One slightly disappointing thing was I didn’t get an invite to a secret event going on at the show, but Karen did, and so while this was going on I wandered around on my tod and met an amazing massage therapist who not only gave me a wonderfully relaxing massage, but he also cured my hangover.

Karen: Overall, we had an absolutely fantastic time. I always come away from these events feeling very inspired to continue the hard work with Safer Eating. And also of course, a massive haul of free-from food. I have no idea how I managed to get this lot back to Leeds on the train with a heavy case – pure determination I reckon. Thanks Allergy and Free From Show. I’ll be back!

In my last blog post, I talked about my diagnosis of coeliac disease (The road to a coeliac diagnosis). When I chat to anyone about it, most people ask me how I cope when there are so many things that I can’t eat and drink now – I have to admit, at first it was pretty tough, but it was very short-lived. Once you start feeling better and realise how awful gluten made you feel, then you don’t want to touch it EVER again.

I was lucky in that when I was diagnosed, things were really hotting up on the free-from front. The supermarket aisles were already pretty big and they have continued to grow and grow over the years. There is very little that I miss now – I can get the majority of things. And if I can’t, I make it my mission to learn how to cook/bake it, or work out where I can get hold of an alternative. All of our recipes are gluten-free, so take a gander.

This is a syndrome that is usually treated viagra online india safely and effectively. But is there a need to introduce low cost Kamagra medicines in to the market? Here is a list of some of the issues cialis tabs http://appalachianmagazine.com/2016/page/18/ that plague the men from all over the world. Police, firefighters and other emergency workers also wear patches to buy cialis help fellow officers or civilians quickly identify them. It here levitra sales online also relieves you from stress and ensures hormonal balance.

Obviously, Safer Eating has made things much easier for me as I end up attending amazing events like the Allergy and Free From Shows and Food Matters Live and being a judge for the fantastic Free From Food Awards and Eating Out Awards. Amazing opportunities that are so much fun, but give me a constant introduction to lovely new products.

Both of my kids have also got coeliac disease, so gluten-free at home is just the norm. Again, they have both totally taken it in their stride and got on with it. It is very rare that it bothers them at all really. Like me, my 4 year old is also dairy-free and that makes it a bit more tricky as this excludes most desserts when we’re out and about and she often can’t have things her friends and sister have. Saying that though, even the ice cream van in our local park now stocks vegan and gluten free cones and vegan Mr Whippy -who knew that was a thing?!!! Thank you so much Mr Ice Cream Man – I am so happy my kids can enjoy the simple pleasure of an ice cream on a sunny day now.

I was diagnosed with coeliac disease in 2012 and to be honest it was a massive shock to the system. My best mate Kay had it and kept telling me to get tested, but I just didn’t believe it would be coeliac as so many doctors had told me it wasn’t and I had totally different symptoms from Kay.

I had symptoms for 22 years before I found out. Crazy huh?! Kay had symptoms for about 4 weeks before she landed a brilliant doctor who investigated her symptoms properly and immediately.

Here, the term emotional freedom may signify your trust to the viagra buy usa partner. Eat pears and apples as it helps in faster canada viagra no prescription dissolving and results. One time when the reason of male barrenness is figured out, the treatment could be received so as to focus on the influencing reason and some other contributing variables. continue reading that levitra 60 mg This herbal bulk generic viagra oil penetrates deeper into the inner tissues and nerves.

I have quite a list of what I was told was wrong with me before diagnosis. The big focus is the one that people get fobbed off with the most I guess, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). I was told this by more doctors than I can remember, but my absolute favourite has to be when I was told that my severe symptoms (that I had listed for 2 months with a food diary) were down to the fact that I rushed about too much by a gastroenterologist.

Anyway, luckily, I have a brilliant dietitian as a friend and he talked me into going back to the docs to ask about getting a tTG test (IgA Tissue transglutaminase antibody test) – this is a blood test that shows that coeliacs have antibodies in their system that are wrongly produced when they eat gluten. I did and the results showed that my results were ‘highly suggestive for coeliac disease.’

For adults, after you have had a blood test, you usually also get an endoscopy (camera down into your stomach and intestines) and they take a biopsy to see how damaged the lining of the intestines is. When I had it done, it confirmed that I was indeed a coeliac.

That’s probably enough about my diagnosis, but I thought it would be helpful if any of you are thinking you may have symptoms. Please see this page if you want to know more about the symptoms.

Coeliac Awareness Week this year is all about trying to find those who are undiagnosed, those people who unknowingly have coeliac disease. A whopping 1 in 4 people with coeliac were previously diagnosed with IBS. So, if you have any concerns at all – it is well worth getting tested. Honestly, you can make such a huge difference to your life.

There’s a new grain making a stir in the free-from world. Only teff isn’t so new, really, it’s an ancient gluten-free grain from Ethiopia. And Lovegrass is leading the way with its tasty teff products. 

LOVEGRASS – THE COMPANY

I first discovered Lovegrass at Food Matters Live 2018, where I had the pleasure of meeting its MD. Yonas was brought up in an Ethiopian farming village and moved to London to become a city banker. But he turned his back on the trading room floor to spread the word on teff and wake us up to Ethiopia’s top, versatile grain. Lovegrass has a team of passionate teff experts who are all about sustainability and improving life for Ethiopian farmers. Top customer service too.

TEFF GRAIN

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Teff – also known as William’s lovegrass – has been used in Ethiopia for centuries. It is a healthy flour alternative, and many an Ethiopian athlete swears by it. I first heard about it from Mina (WildcraftBakery) when she was presenting at the Allergy Show North. She was raving about the health benefits – they use it in their Leeds gluten-free bakery. Teff is naturally gluten-free and packed with fibre and although it is the smallest grain it is a nutritional giant – high in protein, calcium, iron, magnesium and copper. Lovegrass says it is good for your bones, gut and muscle development. Plus it contains prebiotics. It’s not like your usual flour texture, either. It’s more like poppy seed – but still has flour power. It’s great for making things like biscuits, cakes, risotto and waffles.

THE TESTS

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

The first thing I made with teff were Yorkshire puddings, using teff white flour. The lumps whisked out quickly and the mixture was beautifully smooth … I let out an actual ‘wow’. My kids said the Yorkshire puds tasted better than the normal GF ones I make, which was a result. My four-year-old mini Giles Coren declared, “Yorkshire puddings are my favourite food in the whole world.” They tasted slightly nutty but the authentic Yorkshire pud flavour remained. And they were a different texture as well – layered and soft inside with a crispy outside. They also rose well. A winning Ethiopian-Yorkshire fusion.

• 

• 

CAKE

My husband and kids made me the cake for my birthday, so my expectations were low (ha ha), but the cake rose to order. It was more dense than normal so I reckon it would work best with a mixture of GF self-raising flour and teff flour. And me making it.

PASTA

• 

• 

We all loved the pasta – it tastes like the main brands of GF pasta, but perhaps a little lighter and the only ingredient is teff flour, no weird extras. It definitely feels healthier to eat. Even the white teff pasta is slightly brown as it is in its natural form. But my picky four-year-old Amalie needed a tad more convincing as she is only interested in ‘yellow’ pasta twirls.

PANCAKE AND WAFFLE MIX

• 

• 

Lovegrass also sells teff pancake and waffle mixes, to make life easier in the kitchen – just add milk or a plant alternative. I attempted a big pancake (as in full frying pan size), which didn’t turn out brilliantly, but when I actually followed the instructions and made small pancakes with the correct amount of oil, they were terrific. Be warned, if the heat is too high or if you’re not generous enough with the oil, the pancakes can stick. I can also blame my rubbish frying pan for my early failures. For big pancakes, use a teff mix and normal gluten-free flour mix. Roughly half and half worked well for me.

• 

• 

• 

Again, with the waffles, use enough oil/dairy-free spread to prevent sticking. You get slightly heavier pancakes and waffles, but they taste the business and you feel less guilt and more smug eating them, knowing the grain is better for you. In my humble opinion, they also seem to fill you up for longer. Winner.

COOKIES

I whipped up the chocolate cookies on the Lovegrass website. They were easy to make – I opted for the teff brown flour. You can use the flour interchangeably, but the white flour packet says to use it to bake cakes, muffins, flat-breads or to thicken sauces. The brown flour is also great for baking cakes and breads. The cookies weigh more than normal but they still taste light and fluffy. My husband thinks they are a little cakey but I reckon that can only be a good thing. And they are so, so chocolatey. Yum! Thumbs up from tricky and non-tricky eaters alike. 

• 

• 

• 

A CHILD’S VIEW

Megan, my six-year-old, wanted to tell us what she thought too, so she wrote this for us… “I loved the pancakes, waffals, cookies and yourksher pudings made with teff flouer. The pancakes were so fat it was like I already had two pancakes. The cookies were so chocolatey my little sister says shedosen’t like the cookies but she does like every thing else.Theyourksher pudings went great with the gravy.The wafallsstuck to the wafall maker but when Mummy put more oil on they didn’t stick.”

PACKAGING

Fab, practical packaging – they are resealable, so none spills out, meaning a clean, neat cupboard for once, without a blizzard of GF flour.

THE VERDICT

Teff has quickly transitioned into a staple ingredient in my store cupboard. I’ve already used two bags of flour and one bag of the waffle and pancake mix. The real positives of Lovegrass for me are: less rubbish in the ingredients list, taste, packaging and ethos of the company. You heard it here first – this is the new, healthy, hipster grain on the market. Move over quinoa!

AWARD-WINNING

It is also a very good friend to our heart as it effectively lowers cialis sale the risk of cardiovascular disease-and may not realize it. Strictly speaking, an aphrodisiac is any substance that, when applied to a human, is supposed to increase cheapest viagra prices or decrease the dosage of the pill as it gets dissolved in few minutes when kept in mouth. If you live levitra generic in a region that has no seal of approval. That will lead to azoospermia and best viagra for women cause infertility in women.

Lovegrass only launched in 2018 but is already picking up awards left right and centre… a Sial Paris Innovation Award and also the Better-For-You Product of The Year award at 2018 Food Matters Live. No doubt in part thanks to the passion and drive in the Lovegrass team. They were also short-listed for the Free From Food Awards Best Product from a Start Up and the Innovation Award, bagging awards for both (bronze and silver). Well done, Lovegrass.

GET YOUR HANDS ON THE PRODUCTS

Lovegrass goodies are available to buy in Planet Organic, Wholefoods, Selfridges, As Nature Intended, High Mood Foods and also on the Lovegrass website and Amazon. Ocado is due to stock them soon too. Look out for them in independent health food shops. On Amazon, the products are selling for between £3.99 and £4.49. So, they are pricier than comparable products, but it has travelled a long way… and many would say the health benefits are worth stumping out a bit more for.

The hunt for a grown-up free-from Easter Egg is over!

Cornish choc and fudge supremo Buttermilk has come up with these gluten, wheat and dairy-free beauties, in choc orange and choc honeycomb flavour.

Buttermilk has been making artisan treats for half a century and wisely made the move into the free-from market. And it’s really cracked it with these eggs… as well as looking classy, they taste the part – creamy but not too sweet and with none of that plastic naff taste you often have to settle for with a chocolate alternative. They’re vegan too.

Troubles uphold an erection and loss of erection. * Abuse of substances amerikabulteni.com generika cialis like excessive alcohol intake, smoking cigarettes, use of illegal drugs, such as cannabis, heroin or cocaine can cause ED as they make the blood flow worse. * Psychological conditions like depression, stress, unhappy relationships, anxiety, fatigue etc. contribute to libido and erectile dysfunction. * Injuries to the pelvis, also have the potential. These disorders are an extremely sensitive source of tension for men as this straightly influences his sexual life online levitra check that website now and his accomplice’s fulfillment and happiness. Continuously store levitra price it in a cool and dry spot, far from dampness, daylight, kids and pet. A water bath is used to increase the no prescription tadalafil contact between the ultrasound transducer and the skin.

Get your 185g Buttermilk Easter Eggs from Sainsburys now.

The medicines provided by these pharmacies are generics like overnight delivery cialis , Cheap Silagra, Kamagra Oral Jelly, Penegra, Kamagra etc. Counseling can be very effective when the doctor feels there may be a mental link cheapest sildenafil to the erectile dysfunction. The main reason is that this kind of inhibition can be a protection for cGMP which is essential in icks.org buy cialis maintaining sexual health. Now, try and recollect the first time you take it. super viagra online is notable for its long duration of action up to 36 hours.

This year, I was very honoured to be invited to judge two categories in the Free From Food Awards; superfoods and sport’s supplements, and store cupboard. I was totally amazed that I got to try absolutely everything. I have coeliac disease (gluten free) and lactose intolerance (dairy free) but also have to avoid fructose, so this was pretty incredible. That was a mere 42 items in total!!!!

On the 22^nd January, I was at my wit’s end. I was still poorly with sinusitis (after weeks and weeks) and emailed Michelle and Cressida to warn them that I probably wasn’t going to make it down to do the Free From Food Award 2019 judging. I suddenly realised that it was the steroids I was taking that were making me really bad, so after consultation with my GP, I stopped taking them and managed to make it. Phew!! Not really sure what the best me was – a drowned rat like last year or slightly crazy on steroids!? I’ll let Michelle and Cressida be the judges for that one.

The store cupboard category is massive as it covers so much. I hadn’t even thought of half the things that were served. I had to miss the morning session and my first item to try was therefore pretty random – a teaspoon of gravy. Yum! But the products just kept a-coming. It was a crazy mixture which I guess is a good representation of most people’s store cupboards. I reckon the only thing that was missing that is in mine was ice cream cones. Maybe an entry to consider for next year folks.

We tried cookies, brownies, breads, pancakes, sauces, spice rubs, pestos, Yorkshire puddings, cakes and nut butters. Everyone’s tummies were feeling a bit odd after the mammoth judging session, but I pointed out that I think someone with a stomach made of steel would still feel a little weird after so many different foods in a short space of time. Hee hee.

I know nut butters being in the Free From Food Awards may raise some eyebrows. It is a really tricky one because nuts are a really good substitute for a lot of gluten and dairy free products and also appeal to vegan customers. But the other side of the story is that it means people who have a nut allergy can’t eat a lot of products in the free-from aisle. I would love to know your thoughts on this???

I was on a fantastic judging panel for the store cupboard session with Nina from Eat Allergy Safe, Nathalie from Intolerant Gourmand, Vicky from Free From Fairy, Sue from GF Beer Expert and Susanna Booth from Wide Circle Cooking. It was lovely to meet everyone properly and have some good chats. I think we managed to maintain about 90% professionalism too so I would say top marks for that. There is always a good mixture of judges for the blind-tasting and scores are made considering taste, quality, nutritional value, ingredients lists, what is described on the packaging, free-from claims and price (ie all bases).

There was such a wide variation in the breads. A few of them just took way too long to bake and Cressida and co in the kitchen had to experiment a bit – this obviously does not lead to ‘easy to cook’ products. We had some with a rather sad face… and the evil holey bread that drives so many of us coeliacs absolutely bonkers.

Some of the products looked a lot more like a normal loaf though and had a decent texture. There were also some that did not fall apart when you were eating them. Hallelujah!

The next day was a different kettle of fish entirely, although there wasn’t actually any fish (much to Boris’s dismay – Boris is Michelle’s cat pictured below). This was the superfoods and sport’s supplements session and I was on a judging panel with the lovely Sue and Nina again, and also Christine Bailey. This session was all about protein shakes, oils and chai health mixes. We tried all of the products in water and dairy-free milk, and some hot and cold.

Unfortunately I had to then run off after a quickly scoffed lunch (thanks Michelle and Cressida) to catch my train home. I am going to try my best to start liking gf beer and ale by next year so I can do that judging session. That one sounds like the most fun!!

Keep an eye out for who gets the gold awards and who is short-listed. And guess what… the shortlist will be out THIS very week! Keep an eye on the Free From Food Awards page to see who’s made it.

The winners will be announced on the 20th March at the Free From Food Awards Ceremony in London. I am going to head down and I can’t wait – March is going to be an exciting month.

January = the month of new beginnings, resolutions, health kick promises and alcohol abstinence. Oh, and its new label, Veganuary.

Once thought of as a wimpy lifestyle… Thug Kitchen, Wicked Healthy and Dirty Vegan (Matt Pritchard from Dirty Sanchez) have stormed the kitchen, thrown out the limp salads and educated us on the vegan way of life, which is not only good for you, but also the environment and your pennies.

My find of the month is Sweetpea Pantry’s grainy brainy pancake mix. The ingredients are gluten free and can be made vegan if you omit the egg and use dairy-free milk.

The pancakes were easy to cook and turned out perfectly. They are definitely not your average American-style pancake – they weren’t aerated, sugary or vanilla -infused. They have a really nice whole-wheat type taste to them, and although fluffy, have much more texture to them.

But, these solutions are extremely expensive order viagra cheap and could cause significant negative effects. generic viagra A high count in cholesterol can affect the blood flow to the testicles decreasing its chances of producing sufficient amount of testosterone. Precautions: Avoid large or fatty meals close to when order generic cialis try description now you intend to take the medicine* Alcohol will reduce the effectiveness of this medicine. NF Cure capsule provides a complete remedy for all these medicines is the same, they may vary in terms of time they cialis prescription http://amerikabulteni.com/2012/12/21/obama-disisleri-bakanligina-john-kerryi-aday-gosterdi/ take to become effective in the body.

To keep them vegan, I added one ‘flax egg’ (made up of 1 tbsp of flax seeds and 3 tbsp water) and 200ml of Koko coconut milk. I also added an extra pinch of bicarbonate of soda and a dash of cinnamon.

Top with blueberries and maple syrup, and you’ve got a winning weekend breakfast.

Sweetpea Pantry have lots of other baking mixes, and I will be taste testing more of them this year!

So, with January coming to an end, who else has tried out Veganuary? Has it worked for you?

With love,

(Your vegan) kitchen witch Jemma x

   

Since being forced down the gluten-free road ten years ago, Tesco has become my trusted friend. Its free-from aisle puts a grin on my face and probably several inches on my waist. Added bonus – the staff are always good for a checkout chat at my local one in Goole in Yorkshire. Which makes all the difference when you work from home and are starved of conversation.

Anyway, this Christmas, Tesco has served up some extra treasures. Although it is on the naughty list for one product.

Continue reading →

I first spotted Wildcraft Bakery at the Coeliac Fair in Pudsey last year and since then have seen them start to pop up on Facebook and Twitter more and more. I still hadn’t managed to get to the bakery yet though, despite living in Leeds where the bakery is (Unit 13, Penraevon Industrial Estate). The bakery is totally gluten free and the majority of items are also dairy free and they are going from strength to strength, despite Mina just recently giving birth to twins (huge congratulations Mina).

I met Mina (founder and development baker) and Sam (business manager) at the Free From Food Awards 2018 in April and vowed that I would pay them a visit. I was so lucky to be stood next to them when Wildcraft Bakery won a gold award for their buckwheat sourdough loaf. It was lovely to see their surprised and happy reactions and to congratulate them in person – it made an already brilliant night even better.

Earlier this year, I finally got my act together and went down the road to the bakery (it is actually less than 4 miles from my house so I did feel pretty guilty for how long it had taken me). I have got coeliac disease and lactose intolerance so Wildcraft Bakery is an absolute haven for me. I took my two mini-coeliacs with me who were very excited and I also roped in the Mason family as Rory (our marketing director) has multiple food allergies and they told us that they were happy to cater for him too.

Continue reading →

Confession time. Back in my care-free, gluteny years, I was a terrible beer snob. I went to real ale pubs and hung out with CAMRA members who had big beards before they were cool. These guys schooled me on “foaming, hoppy, nut brown ales” and sneered at lager drinkers.

I drank Harvey’s, Dark Star, Hobgoblin, Crossbuttock Ale, Blonde Bombshell, Hoptimus Prime… the dafter the name the better, really.

Then, 10 years ago, I found out I was coeliac. And I grieved for my old friend, beer, with all its barley loveliness. Continue reading →

One of the perks of my work here at Safer Eating is getting to test a mountain of amazing free-from food. And here’s something that has put a smile on my gob – Happy Snacks.

These guys have shaken up the snack market with their roasted fava peas and chickpeas in wondrous flavours. If I was a crisp, I’d be worried.

Continue reading →

Those of you that follow this blog will know well that we are huge fans of Willow Cottage Kitchen, the unbelievable cake shop based in the idyllic countryside village of Lymm. Karen and I have met the owners, Bob and Charlie, a few times now and we’ve always been really impressed with their care and consideration in catering for people with allergies as well as Charlie’s ability to make her wonderful creations also taste bloody good.

Charlie had informed me they were planning on sending me a cake, but I was unsure of when it would arrive, so it slipped my mind.

Continue reading →