Going away for weekend with food intolerances

I have been away over the years but I have to say, one of the best places I've been to for eating with food intolerances is Dunford House, Nr Midhurst in W Sussex. I was there last weekend for a writing retreat, and they are so helpful and accommodating with coping with my food intolerances.  Here is what I eat for the main meals over the weekend.

On the Friday evening we had chicken breast with new potatoes and veggies. Here is what it looked like:

For breakfast, I had gluten free toast each day.

For Saturday lunch I had gluten free pasta with veggies (tomato and red onion), which was yummy.  Here it is:

 

For dinner we had roast butternut squash risotto (free from dinner). I'd not had risotto rice before but I really liked it because it was crunchy. It was filling so I didn't eat all of it.

 

For dessert I had fresh strawberries. Other days I had fruit salad but didn't eat all of that because most of it was apple which I can't eat. Sunday dessert I was given strawberries, banana and an orange. I gave the orange away but eat the rest.

Sunday lunch I had Moroccan veggie tagine. I didn't take a photo of this one. I couldn't eat all of it because it was too spicy for me. I had to have water with it, then was given some bread which helped. For dinner we had beef bourgnon (prob spelt wrongly) and mashed potato with veggies. All dairy and gluten free, of course.

I remember having this last year and enjoyed it again. All food provided I believe is locally sourced, so we eat in season.

As well as all these meals, there was cake and crisps. I managed to eat some cakes because the organiser kindly baked a dairy and gluten free one for me. So, a lot was eaten and I put on 2 and a half pounds in weight. Most of that has gone now. Roll on next year.



How to get money off from Dietary Specials

Several weeks ago I applied to get money off vouchers from Dietary Special foods. In the last couple of weeks I have received two vouchers for £4 off. Hurrah. I eat their gluten-free breadsticks and rice cakes, so I will be buying more of those with the vouchers. Here is how you can get these vouchers. You have to register with them on their website http://www.dsglutenfree.com/. They will email you confirmation of registration, then you have to wait weeks for the guide and vouchers to come through.

So, if you eat any of their foods, it is well worth it to register and get money off. You can save a bit of cash, esp as I know that a lot of free from foods are expensive.

Do food intolerance tests work?

I have had three different types of food intolerance tests done over the years, inc one the last couple of weeks, and I still don't know for sure. The first one I had done in Holland and Barrett's years ago and was an electrode test. Don't know how reliable that one was. Several years ago I had the pin prick test done twice, and I think that was a bit more reliable as it did come up with the fact I am intolerant to dairy. Recently I had a hair analysis test done. I'm even more unsure about that one. It came up with I am intolerant to wheat, which my body had told me was the case, but it also came up with that I am intolerant to yeast and things with yeast in like Marmite. This I'm not sure about even though I had been eating a bit of Marmite recently and all my gluten-free bread foods have yeast in, too. Also, it didn't come up with dairy, but ice cream and not butter, and I know for sure butter makes me ill. I know that I am intolerant to gluten, as foods with it in gives me stomach pains. So, what do I believe? Don't know anymore. What do you think? Have you had a food intolerance test that has made you wonder about it? Let me know.

A dairy and gluten free Easter

Like everyone else, I did have chocolate Easter eggs for Easter, I also had hot cross buns, but they were all dairy and gluten free versions.

My mum had a job getting the hot cross buns. Sainsbury's didn't have any when we went last week, so she had to go to Tescos, and only found them hidden and upside down. She bought one pack, and we had one each, slightly grilled, with sunflower spread on. Yummy. Here is what Mum bought:

 

 

I was OK with the hot cross buns, although the cinnamon taste did repeat on me.

For the eggs, we bought them from Holland and Barrett's because they were doing special offers. The first offer was to buy one get one half price, so we did. Then we found that on the back of the receipt was another offer to get another egg half price. So, Mum bought another one, and got the same offer on the receipt that time, so bought another egg a day or so later. We ended up with two eggs each, sharing the individual chocolates between us with the last two. Here are the eggs that we bought.

 



They are both Choices chocolate. The left one had choc caramel cups in and the right one had choc discs in. The first two eggs we ate were the one with the discs in. They are made mainly from rice flour and rice syrup, and I wondered afterwards if that was why I had to visit a certain small room a few times a day when I ate them. Am now thinking that I can't eat processed/refined rice, but can only eat wholegrain and brown varieties. We shall see.

Results of my mini-elimination diet

So, I have been an a mini-elimination diet over the last 2 weeks, eating only Free From toast for breakfast and not having any rice milk with porridge. Here are the results - no stomach pains at all, except for when I got anxious about seeing the GP. I shall try having millet porridge with rice milk again later next week when I am not going out that day or doing anything like cleaning. That will probably be Thursday. We shall see what happens.

I have been eating rice and rice cakes, both of which are wholegrain. So, I am wondering if it is just the refined and processed version of rice I can't take now. I have read a reply to a letter from someone who wrote up about this to a gluten-free magazine, and the reply was that it could be the refined version that causes intolerances. We shall see if I get pains again next week. Will let you know. If I do get pains, then I have already bought goat's milk and try that.

Eating out gluten-free

On Thursday I went to the London SCBWI Brunch at the Fleet Street Bakery (behind Holborn station). I've been there before, and last time I did I had a spicy soup. This time they had something different. It wasn't marked up on the board as gluten free but they had to check with the kitchen staff. It should have been up on the board, due to the new regulations that came about in December where all eating places should have marked on their menus if foods are gluten free. Anyway, this is what I had to eat for lunch, which was kindly paid for by Miriam Craig the organiser, due to me forgetting to take any money with me (first time I've done that):

It was quinoa with beansprouts and radishes. It came with sweetcorn and lots of green leaves, neither of which I ate because I can't. I've not eaten quinoa (pronounced keenwa) grains before, only as flakes for breakfast in a porridge. I really liked it, and it didn't disagree with me, which was a bonus.

Not sure what they will have next I go in May, but I will make sure they have marked on their board if it is gluten free or not.

Rice Dream special offer

I have decided that as well as posting about gluten and dairy free foods that I eat now, how I make it and what it looks like, I shall post about special offers I see as I am out and about. Here is the first one.

I don't know how long it will last for, but Sainsbury's are currently doing Rice Dream milk as buy 5 for 4. This is a saving of £1.39 as you get one free. As both my mum and I have this milk now, we bought the 5 today as part of our weekly shop.

We buy the one above because it has calcium in it, too. This is good for us as neither of us now eats dairy as we're both intolerant to dairy, esp me.

So, if you have this milk, pop along to your nearest Sainsbury's and stock up on it whilst the offer lasts. We will.