Background
I decided on this way of adding more to my book "The Little Dog That Wouldn't Let Go" I just got finished, so as not to leave things "up in the air" and me still feeling I had to add more to my story.
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This is a follow-up ramble or chapter on Gluten-Free goodies and baddies in the diet.
Having now been on my new lifestyle and diet of a Gluten-Free structure for more than 18 months, as we do this new take on things, I am still learning more of the good and bad about Coeliac Disease.
It might be good to read some previous chapters in this "tome" on the same subject. The Links to the other chapters are in the notes.
This would bring you up to date for this new foray into what a lot of Americans have "gotten" (terrible American word) into and various ones claim is another "fad" diet. You do wonder how long it will be before these "faddists" if I can use the label, who are not diagnosed as needing to be on a gluten-free diet, get themselves into trouble. You see, it is not recommended for those who don't have the need to give up gluten in their diets, to do so.
The good thing about the "fad diet" crowd that has, all being fair, been good for us who must be gluten-free abiders in our eating, is the extra choices we have been able to make in what we eat, seeing there has been a wider interest in coming up with more Gluten-Free choices.
My father-in-law, as is a niece and possibly one Great Niece also suffer Coeliac Disease. The latter great-niece may just be "gluten-intolerant" as many are, also. We wrote somewhere else about an occasion for my 60th birthday where we arranged for the Chinese Restaurant where the event was to take place, to do Coeliac or Gluten-Free for the entire party. Noone in the group, except my father-in-law and my niece, knew what we had organized and not one consumer in all the "Gluten" clan picked up any difference in the menu offerings on eating same. In those days I had not been diagnosed Coeliac so maybe that night's fare was doing me good, even though I never knew it at the time.
I still "contaminate*" in my choices of meals from time to time. Sometimes, because of where I am at a particular mealtime, with the unavailability of the kind of food I should have, or just plain being naughty and wanting something different, or from my bad old "Gluten" days.
Unfortunately, in more recent times, there has been a decline in suppliers prepared to continue bringing Gluten-Free products to the market. In one case, my favourite gluten-free rice porridge that in one run had become contaminated by gluten in some rolled oats that had somehow got into the manufacturing process. Sadly, after the extreme loss, the company must have suffered in the contamination issue, they decided it was not financially viable to continue manufacturing the rice porridge. I write more about this, later in this chapter.
I know, in America, there has been controversy as to whether oats contain gluten. Here in Australia, our "Coeliac Australia" medical teams have ruled against oats for gluten-free consumption. Some in various places have even claimed the possibility of being able to remove gluten from oats. I guess we will see what happens with that issue.
Another company, very big on their gluten-free range, actually sold "gluten-free" porridge that turned out to also be contaminated, also with oats! I had noticed one of the supermarkets known to be a good supplier of gluten-free products only had one pack of "FF+" brand supposedly gluten-free porridge. When I cooked it up, I did sense it was a lot like my old favourite rolled oats porridge in taste and texture. Only later I learned it too had been withdrawn from sale. Included in the company's lineup of Gluten-Free cereals is "Maple Crunch." Very nice but as with a lot of Gluten-Free products it is loaded with sugar. Being also a Type 2 Diabetic makes it harder still, getting in between Gluten-Free and low, or no - sugar.
I have known for some time of some Maple Syrup in a range of the product that actually, unlike all the others, contained no sugar. I proposed to F.F. they might want to consider their diabetic clientele and skip the sugar in the delightful Maple Crunch, substituting "Queen" brand's Sugar-Free Maple Syrup. I can't tell whether they took me up on my suggestion, yet.
Now, about the pictures and before I start. I want to talk about Cadbury Eclairs.
There are not too many special treats I have in life but Cadbury or "Pascall" as they come up, on the checkout docket - seeing they were made by Pascall that is now owned by Cadbury - Eclairs are a real favourite. On the good side, they are also Gluten-Free. However, on the bad side, they are full of sugar and some carbohydrates. Both enemies of diabetics. I try really hard to limit my intake of these delightful, yummy chocolate syrup-filled caramel covered delights. After all, I don't smoke nor do I drink alcohol. Surely a man is entitled to one pleasure in life?
Now for a rundown on the pictures. Skipping some already mentioned.
I first tried KIC (Keep It Cleaner)Porridge after my wife and I attended the "Coeliac Australia" members' meeting for the first time in one of our Northern suburbs. Fortunately, we were still driving back then so the trip to our North Shore suburb of Waitara was not all that hard. Louise came with me as my hearing was particularly bad at the time and I needed her help to translate anything I missed.
KIC porridge is based on rice with some coconut flakes. It comes in packs of 5 sachets, 2 of which I use for each serve. I am pleased I have worked out my own special way of preparing it, including a cup of Almond milk in the cooking with a small teaspoon of salt and adding some sultanas. It is them microwaved on High for 2.5 minutes. Stir it, and microwave for a further 2 mins 20 seconds. I use "Logicane" a low GI (Glucose Index) sugar and Light milk when eating the porridge.
I miss, greatly, the other option I had in LOWAN's Rice Porridge with fruit, I referred to earlier in this chapter. KIC is, unfortunately, my only option now the other porridge has been withdrawn.
New China Meals come in great variety and are a real pleasure to eat. The picture below is just one of about half a dozen different meals using chicken, beef or pork. I am still mastering the art of cooking these in our very sensitive stove-top frypan that can heat up quite quickly so that you risk having "charred ruins" for your meal if not careful. All the components of each New China meal come in separate packs you keep frozen until you want to cook and eat them. Some come with rice or you can add rice yourself if you so desire.
I used to love the prepared, frozen Butter Chicken meals. I was so relieved when I recently discovered Gluten-Free Butter Chicken meals in the local supermarket freezer. So easy to prepare and a real pleasure to eat.
Chocolate, Coffee and Honey bars are a great snack for morning or afternoon teas with your coffee or tea. Recently, these all came out under the Coles Supermarket brand but they have now reverted to their source company labelling. Seeing I am also on Insulin and doing the walking to keep my Blood Sugar levels down, these Gluten-Free Snacks are also carb friendly and low sugar as well. Being a Coeliac sufferer I have to keep reading Ingredients on labels in the stores, to ensure they are Gluten-Free or that they contain no wheat or any contents made from wheat. This is a must when I come across new products for the first time.
Other cereal options include Gluten-Free Corn Flakes and Gluten-Free Weetbix. (Not pictured.) The Weet-bix, in this case, made from Sorghum an alternate grain. It comes in three varieties. I like the one with Coconut and Cinnamon added to the biscuits. I also like Kelloggs Breakfast Biscuits. Apple and Date variety is my favourite. Served with warm milk as is the Weet-bix. I use Stevia Sweetener on the Weet-Bix and Corn Flakes, another calorie-free sweetener.
The Coles brand frozen Australian Royal Potatoes in the "Gem" variety...small fat fries, was recommended by a friend with similar dietary issues as myself. While not officially eligible to be in the Gluten-Free section of the freezer area, they in fact contain no Gluten. I love them! The reason they are not presented in the Gluten-Free area is that they were cooked on the same equipment as a product containing gluten. The queer thing about this range of frozen chips. fries and so on is that there is only ONE item in the range that does contain gluten, according to the ingredients on the pack. The "Beer Battered Fries" is the one.
It has been a real battle keeping up with some of my favourite Gluten-Free products. Included in my battle is the Gluten-Free Factory's Apple Pies. I pictured a couple of different varieties of apple or apple and rhubarb pies but my favourite apple pie is the GF Factory's one and I have only managed to catch supply of that one a couple of times this year.
Another one hard to nail down is the Tutto Pasta Spaghetti and Chicken Meat Balls frozen meal. Am I the only person that loves that meal. Several others in that range are always available but I only get lucky occasionally in obtaining this particular delight of mine.
There is this strange practice in Australia, and maybe some readers will tell me it goes on all over the world. I am sure it is accepted practice in supermarkets universally for suppliers to pay more for a better position on the shelf and I guess supermarkets only want to make available products that sell and move out of their stores, quickly. However, it amazes me how certain products are only available in certain chains and even in some case only available at certain stores within particular chains.
Fortunately, we have some independent supermarket groups that are not tied down to the "chain" mentality. Sadly these outlets charge a little more for those hard to find items you can't get anywhere else.
Another recent discovery, as far as Gluten-Free products are concerned, is the fact that Gluten Free products mostly contain NO fibre. Being a Type 2 diabetic as well, I have to take it easy on the fruit (a good source of fibre) because of the natural sugar AND carbohydrate content. I remembered back some years ago we used husk to increase our fibre intake. So back to the future with that as well.
Author Notes
*contaminate is the expression we Gluten-Free folk use when we are diverting from the normal choices, for our allergy, in eating.
+F.F. is "Freedom Foods" Company.
"Coeliac" is the English spelling of the disease. I think in America it is spelled Celiac.
Picture Description: (Gf means Gluten-free as are all the following anyway.)
Row 1- a)KIC Porridge; b)New China Meal;c) Gf Butter Chicken; d)Choc bars.
Row 2-a)Gf Coles Brand Corn Flakes; b)Gf Choc Eclairs (an addiction); c)Apple and Rhubarb Pies; d)Kelloggs Gf Breakfast biscuits.
Row 3:a)Aus Royal Potato Gems; b)Gf Apple Pies; c)Amy's Rice Macaroni.
Row 4:a)Lowan's Rice Porridge(withdrawn)...b)Tutto Spaghetti & Chicken Meatballs; c) Gf Chocolate Eclairs from the Netherlands. (withdrawn sadly in Australia due to poor selling.)
Links to other chapters related to this subject follow:
Copy the URL and place it in your URL bar in the browser, should take you to that chapter.
More Trials and Tribs.
https://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=898885
Recipe Ramble re Gluten-Free
https://www.fanstory.com/displaystory.jsp?id=936379
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