The Allergy and Free From Show 2013

 

Can't wait!

Not long now!

So good last year!

It seems so long since the last one.

These are the thoughts going through my mind. 

Why am I excited? Well, obviously, the clue is in the title!

Last year was my first time. You can read about it here, if you like.

If you haven't been and are wondering whether it's worth it, well yes, I thought it was.

There are in fact two now - one in London (June) and the other (October) in Liverpool.

If, you do decide to go, what should you be aware of? Well, here are my top tips:

1. Take advantage of free tickets. Download your free tickets in advance here, by clicking on this link.

2. Take a look at the website, to find out about seminars and cookery demonstrations, that are run during the show. There are some new Spotlight sessions, this year, for which you need to book in advance. You can also arrange consultations with organisations such as Allergy UK and the Anaphylaxis Campaign.

3. Take time to plan your journey in advance. Check with rail services/AA before you go - you don't want to get caught anywhere and end up missing anything!

4. Take a companion - to help you carry your haul home, be your second pair of eyes/ears  (I wasn't so careful as I should have been - I got very excited if something was dairy and gluten free, and forget to check for soya and cashews etc. It was a good thing that I had The Hub to keep an eye on me!)

5. Take a trolley/suitcase on wheels to carry home your haul - or, as we found last year, a buggy may suffice, if it will take the weight of everything on the handlebars! Last year, we found that many of the exhibitors had special offers on their products, for the duration of the show, so it was possible to buy in bulk. Free From foods costing as much as they do, you may well wish to take advantage! 

5. Take cards by all means, but plenty of cash is sometimes easier at a show. It's quicker to hand over, for one thing, but also stall holders don't always have credit card facilities.

6. Take care. You need to be safety conscious, as stall holders and their assistants are not always familiar with allergies/intolerances etc. - for example, some of the stalls are for Vegan products, which have found a following among egg or dairy allergy sufferers. Although I believe the organisers have taken steps to ensure they are briefed, you have to remember that issues such as cross-contamination may still occur, with those for whom it is not second nature. Always check all ingredients carefully and be prepared to ask the questions to which you need answers. 

7. Take care of your kids. Last year I noticed a couple of youngish children helping themselves to free samples from stalls, without parental supervision. I can only hope that their parents knew what they were up to and that they were okay with whatever they were eating. For all I know they could have been going back for seconds of something they had already tried, and were okay with, but it did concern me.

8. Take food. Last year, although you could buy hot dogs at one of the stalls, the venue caterers were clearly not geared up for catering for allergies or gluten free folks.

9. Take time. Last year I rushed in for a short while - an hour. Although I feel that I benefited even from that, I could really have done with longer, as I didn't have time for everything. And this year there is  more to see - there is a veggie fair (V-Delicious) being held in the same venue. This is handy as Vegan products are dairy and egg free (although watch out for 'may contain traces of...' if you are particularly sensitive).

So, what are you waiting for? Click on the link and order your free tickets now! 

Related Posts:

Confessions of an Allergy Show Virgin

Another Allergy Show Confession

The one with an 'ology' - Pudology!

Before launching in to this product review, I must just say, I really love the name 'Pudology'. Maureen Lipman is all I'm saying. Those of you of a certain vintage will know exactly what I'm talking about. Those who don't... well I'm sure there's a clip on YouTube of that particular BT advert... somewhere!!

I first came across Pudology at The Allergy show, last year and was completely blown away by their chocolate dessert. It was so chocolatey and so yummy - without the horridly disappointing synthetic aftertaste that I had half been expecting. In fact, in my Allergy Show post I described them as on a par to the desserts I used to love (prior to going dairy free) made by Gu.

I was so excited when I heard that Ocado were going to be stocking Pudology and as soon as they did, I wasted no time in ordering some. As Ocado stocked both the chocolate and the strawberry versions, I got to try both!!

The Chocolate One

Eating the chocolate version was just like being reacquainted with an old friend - everything I had loved, remembered and hoped for!!

I have to admit, I do wonder whether the main reason I love the chocolate dessert is because it's 38% chocolate - which is exactly what it tastes like - soft, smooth yummy chocolate!

My only gripe is that the servings are quite small in comparison to other desserts out there. Being so rich, though, I suppose you could have 'too much of a good thing' if they were very much larger.

Every picture tells a story - see how clean I've left the pot!

Ingredients:

Coconut milk, dark chocolate (sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, emulsifier: soya lecithin, natural vanilla flavouring), water sugar, Madagascan vanilla extract

Allergy Advice:

Contains soya. Not suitable for nut allergy sufferers due to manufacturing methods used.

The Strawberry One

I have also tried the Strawberry Pud. Now, this doesn't hit the spot for me, as much as the chocolate pud did (but then it can hardly have escaped the notice of those of you who follow regularly, that I am a bit of a chocoholic)! That said, I do enjoy eating the strawberry pud. In fact, I positively craved it, just before Easter, but had to 'make do' (!) with the chocolate pud, as the strawberry had proved so popular (with the customers of Ocado) that it sold out!

The strawberry version is reminiscent of a cheesecake and cheesecake, for me, is a bit of a personal quest because  finding a 'cheesecake' which is not only dairy and gluten free, but soya free as well has proved to be quite difficult. 

I know Food Heaven have produced a lemon flavoured cheesecake and a forest fruits flavoured cheesecake. These can be bought from the freezer department of some large Sainsbury's and Tescos. However, although they are both dairy free, they are not suitable for me, as they are not soya or gluten free (like many others who are intolerant of soya, I'm okay with soya lecithin - found in most chocolate).  So I was delighted to find in Pudology, a 'cheesecake' that although it 'may contain soya,' otherwise satisfied all of my criteria.

I'm afraid to say, it's so long since I've tasted a cheesecake that I've no idea how these puds compare to the 'real thing'. All I can do is describe the puds as I found them. 

Ta da! Dairy & gluten free cheesecake!

The biscuit base, which is soft and crumbly, is perhaps a bit like shortbread, but without being quite so sweet. The topping, the flavour of which is delicately balanced, is mousse-like. You get the definite taste of strawberry, without being too tart or too sweet and also without any horrid artificial aftertaste! 

If I were to find fault with this pud, I think I would like a slightly more crunchy base and a fruity strawberry sauce on the top. However, I hate to complain, because I'm so excited to find a decent dairy and gluten free pudding.

Ingredients:

Strawberry Topping - Coconut Milk, Strawberry Puree (strawberries, inverted sugar syrup), Sugar Stabiliser: (corn starch, pectin E440, agar E406, carob gum E410, sugar).

Biscuit Base - Flour Blend (rice, tapioca, maize, buckwheat), Vegetable Fat Spread (vegetable oils, water, salt, emulsifier: mono- and di-glycerides of fatty acids, flavourings, vitamin E, citiric acid, colour: beta-carotene, vitamins A and D), Sugar

Allergy Advice:

May contain Soya. Not suitable for nut allergy sufferers due to manufacturing methods used.

Where to buy:
If you want to get your hands on Pudology puds, then not only are they available from Ocado, they are now being sold in Selfridges, independent health food shops, and selected branches of Waitrose. Follow this link to find out more.

What's more:

I've heard (via Twitter) that a long awaited lemon pud that has been in the pipeline is also now available from Ocado. I know too that a Banoffee pud exists - as it was judged at the Free From Awards. I would sooo love to be able to try that one but they are not yet on sale anywhere, so I guess I'm just going to have to wait!

Find out more about Pudology, as revealed by Pig in the Kitchen, here!

Related Posts:
Confessions of an Allergy Show Virgin
A pud would be good!
Ice-a-cream-oh!
Bessant and Drury's Dairy Free Ice Cream

The Creme de la dairy free Creme

Celiacs Fayre Gluten Free Cafe

Hidden gem

Recently we had a bit of a treat - a chance for 'Baby' and me to spend some time with my Mum and Dad. As they're from the Isle of Wight, the location needed to be within easy reach of Southampton.

Casting around for somewhere to eat (always our primary concern, whenever we go out) I tried Trip Advisor first of all and then remembered Travel Gluten Free. 

My eye was caught by a short recommendation for a cafe for coeliacs, who could apparently cater for other diets. 'Job done,' I thought, 'we'll go there, then.' 

Those of you who are good at Geography, will know that if this cafe is near(ish) Southampton, then it is in Hampshire.  Now before those of you who live further away all switch off, let me tell you that it is situated in a lovely part of the world, which is worth a little visit! 

If you're looking for a day out and don't mind walking, you can get a train to Shawford (it's on the London Waterloo/Southampton line) and walk through the picturesque water meadows to the tiny village of Twyford. Marwell Zoo is not too far away, but Twyford itself is not known for anything in particular, that I know of, except a boys prep school and some water works, and now, also a cafe for coeliacs! You could also walk from Winchester, but that would be a bit of a trek!

My lovely lunch

The cafe itself, is tucked away a bit. If (like me) you're driving up from the M3, you need to head straight along the High Street, through some traffic lights and Queen Street, in which its situated, will be on your left. Handily, they have a big sign at the end of the road, to let you know. There are a few parking spaces available, right alongside.


Well that's practicalities, now why should you take the trouble? First of all, Jane, the lady who runs the shop is a coeliac herself and all the food she bakes is gluten free. Due to her personal understanding of dietary needs she was prepared to be flexible and gave us a lot of personal attention. The food is not posh gastro fare, but well-chosen for a cafe menu, very reasonably priced and what we tried was not only delicious, but... fresh, fresh, fresh! 

'Baby's' lunch

My choice, for lunch that day, was a chicken and bacon roll with salad and chips. I don't know where she got it from, but the seeded bap was lovely!! My mum, who chose the same as me, really enjoyed the bacon and couldn't get over how fresh the water cress was, that was in the accompanying salad. I suspect that it was sourced fairly locally - a lot of watercress is grown not too far away, at King's Worthy.


Baby had a dairy and gluten free sausage roll with chips. I would have been tempted to help her out with it, but it may have contained soya. It looked nice though and so my Dad (not  usually gluten free) helped me out, by sampling the pastry, and it seemed to pass muster!

Dee-licious... dessert!!

The exciting bit, for me, was that following the 'mains', for once in our lives we were able to order something for 'afters,' which wasn't jelly or sorbet or fruit salad!!! I couldn't have the waffles, because sadly that day Jane only had soya milk in (I was kicking myself, at that point, for not phoning ahead, because she sometimes has rice milk too) BUT right by the till was a plate of dairy free carrot cake, that also happened to be soya free. Baby didn't need too much persuasion to share some with me. I have to say it was lovely and moist. Again the freshness of the ingredients (eggs this time) came through. What a treat!!

The whole experience was rather wonderful, not least because it was so relaxing not having to worry about the chances of cross-contamination - because we were in the hands of someone who knows from personal experience! It made me realise how stressed I must be feeling when I usually eat out.


An added bonus was that they also sell gluten free ingredients and goodies from the cafe  -even ready meals. So, naturally, I couldn't resist making a few purchases before I left. Tried not to spend too much though - I didn't want to give The Hub palpitations :)

A shop and a cafe in one!

If you want to find out more about the cafe, follow this link, to find their website.

'Tis the season for HAY FEVER! AGHHH!

I love the Spring, I really do! All the sunshine and flowers... BUT, the only problem is that the hay fever season is upon us once again. The Hub was sneezing a fair bit on Sunday. I'm blaming it on the forsythia near the back door - so that'll be one plant that won't be making it into our garden when we move to our new house!! It's a bit if a shame though, as it has such a lovely brightening effect in the springtime... however, needs must!! For the same reason, although I love it, there won't be any wisteria either.

Forsythia can add such a lovely cheerful colour to the garden.

I was affected yesterday - I could feel my nasal passages getting sore. I must say, I was a bit annoyed - I was enjoying the fact that we were getting some sun, at last!!  I had been capitalising on this, by making a real effort to catch up with all my washing. I had also been getting into chillin' with 'Baby'  in the garden - whilst she happily pottered around watering the plants... grass... and weeds! 

'Baby' loves 'watering' the garden.

I have to say, I was also a bit surprised, as I'm not normally affected this early in the year - I'm more of a May/June girl myself - affected by grass, daisies and lime trees. Right now, the most common culprit is Silver Birch, which doesn't usually affect me. However, what with the cold, wet weather we've had, the reckoning is that the pollen is going to be  particularly bad for us hay fever sufferers, this Spring, so maybe that's why I'm being affected.

So, if we are affected, what can we do? Well, as yet, there's no cure. I expect you might do something similar, but here's what I do:

1. Don't go out and keep the windows closed. This really goes against the grain when the weather is lovely, but it works... if you can stick to it!! When I was pregnant and unable to take anti-histamine, it was the best bet. That year we invested in an air-conditioning unit and a couple of decent fans.

2. Hang washing inside the house, rather than out in the garden (we have a de-humidifier to help with this). That way the washing doesn't bring the pollen into the house. Of course if you have a tumble drier, then you can use that instead.

3. If I do go out, I try to do the following:

• Wear sunglasses to protect my eyes. If my eyes do get affected, I have to really avoid rubbing them. Instead I wash them with water, or something like Optrex. 

• Tie back long hair to stop pollen getting caught in it and... get ahead - wear a hat!

• If I'm out without a hat, I might wash my hair when I get home.

• Shop in air-conditioned malls or supermarkets.

• Change outer clothing (carefully to avoid shaking the pollen everywhere) as soon as I get home.

• Avoid routes (if possible) that take me past plants which I know affect me.

• Avoid going out in the evening (not really much of an option with 'Baby' around anyway), when the pollen, which has risen during the day, drops back to earth with the cooler temperature.

• If I want to go for a walk, or enjoy being outside (and I'm near enough), I head for a beach - especially when the wind is blowing in off the sea (this was a whole lot easier when I lived near one). Apparently, going out early (before 7.30am) or going to the mountains also helps.

• When driving, I use air-conditioning to cool down the temperature in the car, rather than open the windows.

Other tactics:

• Take 'Baby' to an indoor play area, rather than the park - pretty soon, our local garden center might see an awful  lot of me, as they have one near their cafe! The great thing about going to indoor play areas in the summer, is that they're practically empty!

• If you can (i.e. you're not pregnant/breastfeeding) take a good anti-histamine. I usually opt for Clarityn, as Piriton makes me wheeze. There may be other medication that you can take, but I tend to take as little as possible, if I can possibly help it.

• It has been said that eating local honey helps. I've no idea if this actually works but I love honey anyway, so that's no hardship, for me!

• Another tip is to smear Vaseline inside your nose, but I haven't ever done this, as I think the sensation of Vaseline in my nose would drive me to distraction!

• Apparently, there are some natural chemicals (found in food) that can also help you to fight the histamines. Read more about it here. Although avoid Butterbar - not that safe at all! (My thanks goes to Hannah for letting me know about that one!)

I have to say, I'm really hoping the 'experts' will be wrong on this year - that the season will not be as bad as we expect, but I hoped that last year and got it wrong. My worst day, last year, was on holiday, when I spent an afternoon near a wildflower meadow, with the wind blowing the pollen straight at me. As I was still breastfeeding, I was unable to take a single anti-histamine and just had to wait for the effects to wear off. 

The good news is that pollen particles are quite heavy. So apparently they fall to the floor within minutes of getting inside. Then it's just a case of keeping on top of vacuuming and wet dusting, to avoid stirring up the pollen again.

What about you? What do you do, to minimise the effects of pollen, when hay fever season is in full swing??

Zero Zebra Dairy Free Chocolate

'Baby' is just beginning to realise that money is not just fun to play with (The Hub has been known to give her the odd coin to play with) but has POWER. She was rather pleased, the other day, when I gave her the money to pay for something and prompted her to accept the proffered change. The change soon made its way into her pocket! Hmm! Not the outcome I was expecting!!

She was also pleased, although a little confused, when Grandma gave her a ten pound not the other day - in lieu of an Easter egg. She caught the excitement of her slightly older cousin, who was patently delighted with her ten pound note. Her cousin was obviously already spending it - in her head!

Baby sometimes gets gifts of money from relatives, which I am beginning to encourage her to spend on concrete things. Money that came her way at Christmas was spent on her ballet dress and shoes etc. when she began baby ballet lessons.  It was money well spent, as she took to wearing her ballet shes around the house and would have done the same with her ballet dress, if I'd let her!

The Easter money seemed to arrive at just the right time, as Baby, suddenly remembering the chocolate she'd been given at Christmas, had started asking for what she calls 'Zebra Zoo'. And here they are: 

Cute, cheeky chocolate characters

I came across these chocolates some months ago and mentioned them in another post (Sweets for my Sweet), but I decided to give them a mention all of their own, as although expensive, they taste sooo good. There's not much chance of me getting in on the act, though, as, having cottoned on to the fact that Mummy also likes these chocolates, Baby has given me strict instructions not to eat any!

They cost £3.99 from Ocado or online at sites like Free From for Kids and Shop Vegan. For your money you get a box of eight chocolate animals. As The Hub pointed out to me - that means that each animal costs 50p. GULP! It seems that Baby and I have some expensive tastes. But we're not the only ones, as it has recently been much harder to get hold of from our normal source - Ocado!

So, as far as we're concerned, these really are just treats. We have bought a few boxes - one to try initially, one for Baby's birthday and one for Christmas and now this one. The chocolate, however, is amazing and not just because the chocolate characters cute. To me, it tastes just like the 'normal' milk chocolate, which, I have to admit, I've really missed. 

One of the amazing things about this chocolate, is that it declares that it is free of a number of major allergens, including the following: dairy, gluten, soya, nuts and eggs. Wow! It's also fair trade and organic, both of which to me, are a definite plus!

The ingredients are as follows:

Raw cane sugar 

Cocoa butter

Rice syrup

Cocoa mass

Vanilla

Please note: the package states that this chocolate is made in a factory that handles milk, but also that each batch is tested for allergens.

If these are a bit pricey for you, there is plenty more dairy free choice out there - just check out the posts listed below :)

Similar Posts:

Sweets for my Sweet

Oo! Ah! Chocolat!

Koko strawberry drink

To be honest, I've never been a HUGE fan of milkshake. It may have something to do with the fact that many of them, despite the pictures of yummy looking bubbles and fruit taste so... well... artificial.

Mind you, most of the milk shakes I've tasted have been those that my Mum made me, when I was a whole lot younger - before the age of Mac Donald's. They were made with that powdered Nesquik stuff, that you can mix up with ordinary milk.

I don't know if my mum was a leetle bit lax about making them up, but they were always very sugary and never quite mixed-in enough. There was always a bit of what can only be described as 'sediment' at the bottom of the glass!

Anyway, as soon as I heard about Kara, (now Koko) making strawberry milkshake, I was desperate to try one. My problem? Although I knew that some Tesco Extras stocked them, mine didn't and still doesn't. Bah!!

I contacted Koko and they offered to send me a freebie, which I turned down. Why? Because I don't like the idea of feeling obliged to write something that the people at Kara would like to read and I don't like the idea that I have an unfair advantage over others, who, like me, are trying to make the most of living on a restricted diet.

So anyway, I had almost given up looking, when a trip to my health food shop finally resulted in success!! Huzzah!!

Voila!

If you're okay with soya or rice milk, you may well be wondering what all the fuss is about - dairy free shakes made with these 'milks' have been around for ages. However, if like me, you can't have either of those, then you will understand exactly what all the excitement is about! 

Not having tried the rice or soya versions, I would be interested to hear from somebody who has, to find out how they compare. Baby has, but can't yet tell me in detail what she thought. All I know is that she didn't take to either, which was a bit disappointing as I was hoping to get her accepting some sort of dairy substitute, to up her calcium intake.

Alpro's shake has been around for a while

Now, down to business, what it is like?

To my mind, it's pretty much like milk mixed with Nesquik powder!! Though perhaps with a little extra sediment thrown in!! That said, I enjoyed it enough to want to buy some again, for when I fancy a bit of a change. However, it may not be all that often, as the drink comes with a fair few ingredients, which I personally find a bit alarming. If you want to see what else (besides coconut and strawberries) is contained in the drink, see here:

Ingredients:

Filtered water, Coconut milk 6.8%, Sugar, Maltodextrin, Calcium phosphate, Emulsifier: Sucrose ester, Strawberry juice concentrate, Natural flavourings, Thickener: Xanthum gum, Sea salt, Sandalwood extract, Vitamin D2, Vitamin B12

I've heard of most of those ingredients before, but I must admit, I was a bit surprised by the sandalwood! Just in case you too were wondering what on earth sandalwood is doing in a strawberry drink, well it's basically there to add colour to your drink. Well I never! I thought Sandalwood was an ingredient in perfume!

Now, if (like me) you are keeping a eye on your calcium intake, you may well also be interested in the following extra nutritional info:

Calcium 120mg 

Vitamin D2 0.75ug

All 15% of RDA (adult)

Children 1-3 require 350mg of calcium a day and 7.5 - 8.5 mg of Vitamin D a day (UK guidelines). So if Baby would drink a carton of this drink, each day, she would get around a third of her calcium and all of her Vitamin D for each day that she did so. That said, her teeth might suffer, so maybe it's for the best, for now, but should she change her mind, a carton as a treat, now and again should be fine.

Previous posts about dairy substitutes can be found by following the link below:
Dairy Substitutes

Further reading about Calcium and Vitamin D:

Are you getting enough... calcium?

Getting enough Vitamin D for you and me

Vegan Devonshire Klotted Kream

Hmm! It's a dilemma! Now, do you call a scone 'scone' as in 'gone' or 'scone' as in 'cone'? I never know which it's supposed to be, but I'm pretty sure that the correct accompaniment, along with some jam (preferably homemade) is cream as in clotted!

Gluten and dairy free cream tea, anyone?

I have to admit, I've felt rather glum, at times, when coeliacs have drooled over a gluten free something or other that they've found - it's often been accompanied by some long last product from the land of dairy. One such has been cream teas. 

Now, I can manage to source a dairy and gluten free scone - they sell them in the Free From section of places like Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Tesco and I've even made my own! I have also found dairy free creams that I can use and like, which I have posted about previously. you can read about them here. But! Dairy free clotted cream?? However, thanks to a link posted by Hannah Banana Bakery (a vegan bakery) on Face Book. It seems that it might be entirely possible.

The other month, up popped a link to Klotted Kream - a vegan version of clotted cream. At that point, it was yet, to be, but has since been released. I inquired by email to find out how 'gluten free' it was. Now, if you're OK with oats being tested as below 20ppm, then hopefully, you should be OK. However, if you wish to contact them and ask your own questions, they have been brilliant at getting back to me very promptly. 

Naturally, I wasted no time in ordering some to try. And here it is:

Gotta love the cow on the label!!

If I'm completely honest, although on first inspection it certainly bore a resemblance - minus that honey crusted coating that you can find on a fully dairy pot of clotted cream, my first impression was that although not bad, it could still perhaps do with a little bit of tweaking in the taste department. For one thing, I thought it tasted a bit salty. I say that, though, thoroughly aware that to develop this concoction, the people behind it have spent hours and hours lovingly toiling over it, just to get it to this point. And although the taste might need tweaking, the texture seemed just right - with those little creamy lumps of resistance that you find when you eat 'real' clotted cream.

The texture certainly feels right

Now, you don't usually eat clotted cream, just by itself, do you? Although I must admit, given half a chance, I probably could! So I blobbed some on to a scone, together with some raspberry jam, made by my Dad. And actually, I have to say, it improved the experience an awful lot! In fact, I thought it worked rather well.  

So I think I would order some again, come the summer, for that clotted cream tea experience  but for a treat, as does work out quite pricey. A 4 oz. pot like mine costs £1.99 plus £2.95 post and packing. There is a special offer on delivery at the moment, but I'm unlikely to be needing six pots of cream, right now, although they can be frozen!!

If you're interested in the ingredients, they're here:

Water, Pure Oats, coconut Oil, Rapeseed Lecithin, Sunflower Spread (sunflower oil, vegetable oils,* emulsifier (mono and diglycerides of fatty acids), Vitamin E, Vitamin A, Colour (natural carotenes), Vitamin D2, Vitamin B12), Vanilla Extract, Sea Salt

* I'm looking into whether 'vegetable oils' means soya or not. Will add to the post, as soon as I find out. Update: No soya! Yay! 


Important Update:
Due to unexpected influx of orders, Klotted Kream are restructuring, to keep up with demand. This means Klotted Kream is temporarily unavailable. Hopefully, it will soon be available to order.

Similar post:

The Creme de la dairy free Creme

Other posts about dairy alternatives can be found by following the links on this page of the blog:

Dairy Substitutes