Looking For Help

[athersgeo]

Given the various folks who read this, I know there are bound to be people who have good advice. Thus, the post.

A friend of my mother's has just been diagnosed with gluten intolerance and she's having some difficulty finding things like bread and crackers that don't taste utterly poisonous! So, what suggestions do people have? Are there any brands that taste decent?

Many thanks - and virtual chocolate and flowers for any help :)

Comments

[baronessekat.livejournal.com]

my friend 2bluefish is gluten intolerant. She might be a good one to contact.

Just tell her that Ekat sent you to her.

[megaleena.livejournal.com]

IME bread may as well be written off, yuck! There were some nice crackers in Sainsbury's gluten free section, but I'm afraid I can't remember the name of them. I *think* they were in a yellow packaging...

[dawn9163.livejournal.com]

As far as I'm concerned the bread is utterly foul and to be eaten as a last resort! However the Sainsbury's "white" and the Dietry Specialists "brown" aren't too bad when toasted. I have my own wide slot toaster that no one else is allowed to use ever! (I also have my own marg and any jams/marmite etc in our house may only be used with a clean knife). I also have the toaster bags that Lakeland sell http://www.lakeland.co.uk/lakeland-toastabag-500/F/keyword/toaster+bags/product/10724 and use those to make toasted sandwiches (rather than have my own toastie maker). The bread does make quite nice toasted sandwiches.
The bread rolls tend to just crumble and fall apart, but they can be useful for bbqs. I find that they're best if you add mayonaise/ketchup rather than just marg and a dry filling.

My favourite (but expensive) website is http://www.gfdiet.com/index_en.htm - not all their stuff is excellent, but the ready made pastry is really good and I LOVE the crumpets - they taste so good I can just eat them with butter!!! But they are even better with jam as well and adding a topping of cream makes a fabulous GF treat! I've also tried some of their savoury ready made stuff and it was pretty good as were the cakes.

Some supermarkets sell the ready made DS frozen pizzas which are pretty good - I usually get the plain one and add whatever toppings I fancy. Otherwise you can buy the DS (dietry specialists) bases and then make your own from scratch.

[caroline-encore.livejournal.com]

My Dad is gluten intolerant and m-i-l is wheat intolerant so I've picked up a few ideas.

Your Mum's friend should be able to get some stuff on prescription - it does seem to be a postcode lottery but I know my Dad gets plain biscuits, flour, bread mixes and pasta. He's found that the best way is to make his own bread. He uses the bread maker to make the dough and then makes rolls. They do freeze fairly well and also adapt well (eg cheese & tomato rolls).

If she can get stuff on prescription, if she's under 60 she needs to get the prepayment card (which you can do monthly now).

I can't remember the brand now but Waitrose do a good GF bread (in the bakery section). Tesco do nice crumpets, pita bread, doughnuts ...

The other thing I would say is 'constant vigilance' with regard to checking labels as they have the nasty habit of changing the ingrediants and something you've been using for a while might not now be safe to eat

[rosyposypie.livejournal.com]

I am not gluten intolerant, but was on various gluten-free diets in my teens and early 20s. I agree with Dawn - avoid the bread - it's at best digusting and at worst inedible. I recall that corn pasta was quite acceptable, and recommend the Village Bakery who do quite passable cakes. I also found making it myself much nicer than bought. GoodnessDirect.co.uk are a good source of g-f goodies too.

[athersgeo.livejournal.com]

*grins* IME, most gluten free stuff seems to be in yellow ;)

I will point her in the direction of Sainsbury's, though - thank you :)

[athersgeo.livejournal.com]

Ooh; thank you :)

The cross-contamination thing is much less of a problem (mum's friend lives on her own, I believe), but the advice about toasting is great - as is the link to the websites :)

[athersgeo.livejournal.com]

Ooh; that's a thought. I'm not sure what the situation is here with prescriptions and such, but it's definitely worth checking.

Thanks also for the rec for Waitrose and Tesco :)

I think I've already passed on the bit about constantly checking the labels, which is something I've run across repeatedly when buying food for a CBBish Gather!

[athersgeo.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the website and the suggestions about the pasta.

With a bit of luck, mum's friend will be able to find something that suits her :)

[athersgeo.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this; though I will probably wait for a more appropriate time to bother her.

*hugs*