A bowl of Gluten Free Corn Flakes

This morning we have woken to pouring rain. It is much warmer in Whistler valley and spring is certainly in the air. Today I find myself thinking back to all those wonderful winter days, when we were up at the crack of dawn and chomping at the bit to go snowboard some fresh powder. Below an snippet from my journal about a typical day in my gluten free life…

“All the energy I need for a days snowboarding from a bowl of Gluten Free corn flakes topped with fresh banana, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and maple syrup.”

What a magical day! Except for the alarm going off a 6:45am that is..

This morning we woke to 30cm of fresh snow and perfect blue bird skies. You can feel the excitement building in the house as everyone rushes to get ready for first lifts. I start my morning with my energy fix of Gluten Free corn flakes topped with banana, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and maple syrup. It’s going to be a long day and I need all the energy I can get. We make it to Whistler and are fairly early in the Creekside line up. At 8:30 the gondola opens and we are bursting with excitement to get up the mountain.

We spend the morning carving up fresh lines in the open bowls, enjoying deep powder in the gladed tree runs and laughing at my terrible attempts to get air off some jumps. By mid morning we are beside ourselves with excitement at being one of the first groups down Whistler bowl and Shale slope. Few get to enjoy this long, fast, steep run in waist deep powder… aahh this is what living is all about!! After a few lines down Whistler we take off for a run through Khyber, managing to sneak more of that fresh snow everyone has been search for. It is magical out there. No one around, sun shining through the old growth forest of hundred year old pine trees and fresh snow twinkling in the sunlight… Whistler really is a winter Disneyland!

By midday it is time to head home and indulge in some delicious Gluten Free foods. All morning we have been discussing how great it would have been to have bacon and eggs for breakfast, so we decided to have them for lunch. A perfect treat to fill our bellies and prepare us for a well earned afternoon nap.

 

Roger’s Chocolates Gluten Free

I recently moved into a new apartment and to my delight my new flatmate worked for Roger’s Chocolates!

Although I am not a die hard chocolate fan I new I was not going to be able to resist the temptation of all these tasty delights, so I decided to email Roger’s and get the word on whether these delicious treats were gluten free?

Their response “The only chocolate we have that is not Gluten Free is the Peach Victoria Cream, there is trace amounts in the flavouring. All of the other chocolates we have are Gluten Free. The Bear Paws are Gluten Free.”

I had asked specifically about Bear Paw’s because they are my favourite, along with the white chocolate with almonds, and the chocolate coated strawberries (valentines day special).

So for all those in Canada, visit your local Roger’s Chocolates and spoil yourself this Easter… and for those who are not fortunate to have a Roger’s Chocolates locally, they do ship worldwide!

Enjoy!

 

Our Australian Summer Holiday

Well the time has come and our wonderful trip home to Australia has come to an end. It was a fantastic holiday catching up with all our family and friends.Here are some of the Gluten Free highlights ~ * Thai Food: Since living in North America one of the things I has miss most about Australia is Thai Food. We really have some of the best Thai in the world. It was great to go back to Kirribilli and eat at our local Thai restaurant – Spice Market. When James’ & I lived in Kirribilli we would go there once or twice a week. It is hands down the best Thai food I have ever had (and after traveling throughout Thailand that’s saying something). They are always accommodating of my Gluten free needs and the Thai Green, Yellow and Red curries are simply delicious!!! * Sausages: It wouldn’t be a trip to OZ without a few ’snags on the BBQ’. These are my favourite brands: The Peppercorn Company Gourmet Sausages, Woolworth’s Beef Sausages and David Jones’ Beef Sausages. * Muesli: Wow Australia has so many Gluten Free varieties to choose from I was barely able to get through them all before I left. Something we definitely need to import to Canada!

* Coffee and Treats: Every day look forward to my morning latte and with all the Gluten Free goodies in the cupboard, it was quite a treat.* Shopping: I really enjoy grocery shopping and seeing the variety of Gluten Free foods available at the supermarket & in specialty stores. It seamed everywhere I went there was a sign or a label for Gluten Free. The Australian Coeliac Society and Gluten Free Aussies have worked hard to increase the awareness of Coeliac Disease and coming home after 2 years away I can really notice the difference. Well Done! * The Wedding: James’ brother Tim & his beautiful wife Mandy were married at Bilgola Beach on a sunny Friday afternoon. It was a cocktail reception and Mandy had pre-arranged lots of Gluten Free goodies for me. I am so spoilt. * Mum’s Roast Dinner: Nobody cooks a roast dinner like my Mum! No matter how hard I try her Gluten Free gravy is always nicer than mine * Gluten Free Beer:While I was home I was able to try both Silly Yak & O’Brien’s Gluten Free beers. Both were delicious, but as with all Gluten Free beers it was liquid gold at $24.95 a 6pk. * Fish & Chips: There really is nothing like good old fashioned fish & chips wrapped in paper and eaten down by the water on a hot summers day with a Gluten Free beer in hand.

* Meals with family and friends: I am always impressed at the effort my family & friends make to accommodate my Gluten Free needs. Some of the great dishes I was spoilt with were: Chili Lamb with grilled Halloumi & Baby Spinach, Lebanese Herbed bread, Roast Lamb, Penang Curry, Greek Spinach and Aubergine Pie, BBQ Snapper with Halloumi & Baked Pumpkin, Changs Noodle Salad, Potato Bake, Profiteroles, Eton mess, Raspberry Muffins, Shortbread, Lemon Polenta Cookies, the list goes on….

 

Freefrom: Woolworths Gluten Free Brand

In just a few short years the availability of Gluten Free foods in Australia has exploded. This is no more prevalent than in my local supermarket Woolworths. Not only are they stocking an extensive range of local Gluten Free brands but they now produce their own Gluten Free brand ‘Freefrom’. This is great news for Coeliacs. The more the Gluten Free market expands, the more choices Coeliacs will have and at much more affordable prices.

Currently the Freefrom range stocks:

- Double Choc Biscuits
- Golden Choc filled Biscuits
- Coconut Rough Biscuits
- Choc Crunch Biscuits
- Fruit Filled Shortbread Strawberry Flavour
- Savoury Chive and Onion Biscuits
- Orange and Poppy Seed Muffin Mix
- Choc-Chip Muffin Mix
- Choc Cake Mix
- Lemon Cake Mix
- Pizza Base Mix
- Cereal Cocoa Puffs

 

Parap Deli in Darwin, Australia

A friend of mine was recently visiting Darwin, Australia where she came across a great deli stocking lots of Gluten Free Food.
“Parap Fine Foods located in the Parap shopping village. It’s a really great deli/shop with everything under the sun including
a great gluten free section with pasta, sauces and muesli.”

Australia now has such a great variety of Gluten Free foods and it seems they are available in every corner of the country.Enjoy!

 

To Bread or Not to Bread

For years after I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease (2001) I never ate bread or any kind of Gluten Free substitute. I had tried gluten free breads the week after I was diagnosed & hated them so I never wanted to try again. It was not until years later when I was on my honeymoon in Thailand, I heard the lady sitting at the table opposite me trying to explain to the waiter she needed a gluten free breakfast. After the waiter left I offered her one of my Thai translated Gluten Free ID Cards. She was so excited as she had really been struggling to explain her situation to the Thai people. In exchange she offered me some Gluten Free bread she had brought with her from England. At first I declined explaining I didn’t eat bread any more (even Gluten Free options) but she assured me that Gluten Free bread had really improved and handed me 1/2 a loaf. I felt it would be ungrateful to decline and so I went up to the buffet, toasted a slice and loaded it with peanut butter (my favourite)… To my surprise it was actually pretty good.

A few days later I ended up with food poisoning from some questionable fried rice in Bangkok. Now rice was my staple diet while I was travelling in Thailand & after being so sick, I could not stand to look at it let alone eat it!! So for 5 days all I ate was Gluten Free toast plus some fruit. I don’t know what I would have done if that lady had not given me the Gluten Free bread, it turned out to be my saviour!
When I returned Australia I decided to give Gluten Free bread another chance and you know what it’s really is great. More & more brands are coming on the market & we now have lots variety to choose from. So give it a go, you just never know when you will need it!

 

Gluten Free Waffles with Fresh Berries

Just tried waffles for the first time in 5 years!

Gradually over the years after being diagnosed as a Coeliac, I have slowly started to introduce substituted foods back into my diet.

Today I decided to try waffles. I was able to get them at my local grocery store which was great. They were a little on the expensive
side, but then what Gluten Free food isn’t!

There were a couple of different brands to choose from but in the end I went with LifeStream Buckwheat Waffles with Real Berries.
They were delicious! Being that we are currently in Canada I saw it fit to smother them with Pure Organic Maple Sryup,
then topped them with my yummy self saucing berries.

All in all I would say it was a success!

Self Saucing Berry Recipe – http://www.gluten-free-living.net/recipes/self_saucing_berries.php
Stockist for LifeStream – http://www.naturespath.com/products/lifestream_r