Starbucks Gluten Free Sandwich

I work in one of the most beautiful areas of London (in my opinion) -- St. Paul's Cathedral. I love the area! It is always buzzing with a mix of tourists and business men and women. With that combination of people there are tons of restaurants, fast food joints and small supermarkets everywhere!

So for lunchtime, people always have a choice of the type of cuisine they'd like to have, but for a coeliac it's not that easy. A standard lunch is a sandwich, wrap or panini. I've scoped out a lot of places around me and only one place does a gluten free sandwich and that is Starbucks. Every few weeks Starbucks changes up there gluten free sandwich. So far, they've had tunafish, Branston Pickle with mature cheddar cheese and my favorite so far -- the Starbucks gluten free roasted chicken pesto sandwich on good ole Genius bread. It is delicious and I highly recommend it. The filling tastes nice and fresh and the bread becomes quite soft because of the pesto filling. Also, it just feels so good to be able to go out and buy a sandwich. Though it is sad out of all the in such a buzzing area like St. Pauls that coeliacs only have a choice of one sandwich from on place! But hey, think about it this way... its better then nothing right?

P.S. If you work around the area and know of any places that does gluten free sandwiches, let me know!

Marks & Spencers Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Muffin

One day I was at Liverpool Street Station and had about 10 minutes to go before my train departed. I was craving some pecans, random I know. So I went into Marks & Spencers and stood in line because that’s where they usually keep the dried fruits and nuts. I was walking through and saw yummy mini donuts, little pieces of cake and then I saw a chocolate chip muffin in a different green packaging. I picked it up and saw that is was gluten free one! So I bought it J

This muffin is absolutely delicious. I cut into half and put some butter on it and microwave it for 30 seconds. It becomes so soft and tastes like a melty chocolate cake. I highly recommend it. Also, since I’m the only one in my family with celiac if I buy a big package of food it makes it hard for me to finish before it goes all hard and out of date. This is packed as an individual muffin so you can finish it easily.

I look at nutrition facts quite a bit, and processed gluten free food is high up there on the calorie and fat scale. This M&S muffin is no different. One muffin is 525 calories and has 29.4 grams of fat, but hey it’s all good in the hood. We can treat ourselves every once in awhile :-)

A Gluten Friendly Restaurant: Imli – Indian Tapas Restaurant, London

A few months back my husband and I went on our usual date night and on our walk to the tube station we noticed this Indian tapas restaurant called Imli. We stopped and took a look at the menu and most of the items were gluten free! I was ecstatic!

At that point, I had only got diagnosed a few weeks before. Seeing this restaurant made me really happy! So just last night my husband and I went there with two of our friends. The atmosphere is lovely and the place was packed on a Friday night.  I ordered a few of the gluten free dishes. The food was good, but it lacked the spices and the kick most Indian dishes have. Also, for the price the portions are very small.

We had a lovely night and finished all that was on the table, but it is very encouraging to see a bunch of GF signs near menu items. Give Imli a chance if you like mild Indian food.

Warburtons vs. Genius Gluten Free Bread

In my opinion, one of the most difficult things to get used to and begin to like is good ole bread. I’ve tried quite a few and my favorite so far is Genius Bread. Most gluten free breads need to be toasted to even be edible, but Genius bread you can actually enjoy as a normal cold sandwich.  The trick with a Genius sandwich is if you are taking it to work, or anywhere wrap it in plastic wrap. Its keep the bread even softer! 

In January 2011 the U.K.’s third biggest bread manufacture Warburtons released its line of gluten free products. Some products include bread, rolls, crumpets, etc. I was really excited to try out the Warburtons because its what the family uses. However, I was a bit disappointed. Warburtons taste delicious toasted, but is impossible to do anything else with. The bread breaks in half just when taking it out of the plastic bag!

I've tried other bread as well, but so far Genius is the closest to being normal bread. If you have yet to try Genius Bread you can even get a £1 off coupon. 

Life of a Coeliac

I was recently diagnosed with Coeliac Disease at the young age of 24 and boy was it a big shock. I absolutely LOVE food! Who doesn’t love it?! And little did I know, that food would go from being something I loved to almost a chore for me – planning ahead and deciding on meals, feeling so low when you go out to eat and can’t taste what everyone else is tasting and just go mad when you crave that something you can’t have anymore!

It is not easy having celiac, but at one point you realize, “OK I now have this lifestyle changing disease, there is nothing I can do about it, I can just moan and be upset but that won't make it go away. I just have to learn and deal with it.”  And once you realize this, it will only get better and easier.

So why start the blog? Well, I’ve been trying all sorts of products and wanted to help fellow celiacs because no one will understand you better than a celiac. Since I know its not easy, I thought it would be great to write a blog and let others know some of my favorites and not so favorites, from products off the shelves to restaurants!