The London South Group members offer their top tips to newly diagnosed coeliacs....

 

 

London South Coeliac Support Group

 - our Top tips!

 

Firstly – don’t cry! There are many options out there for Coeliacs:

M&S lemon cake

Genius bread

My husband makes fabulous GF cheesecakes using GF biscuits as a base

And there are dozens of ways to eat potatoes!

Petra

 

                                                ***********************************

 

Don’t give up! It may take a while, but it will get better. And you can still eat out:

Da Mario, Endell St, Covent Garden – gluten free pasta dishes

Cotto, Waterloo – large variety of GF dishes including pizzas (the owner, Leno, is a coeliac)

Fine dining (even though pricey!) eg Gordon Ramsey, Jamie Oliver, Claridges – all absolutely fantastic.

Paul

 

                                                ************************************

 

Being a Coeliac is not such a big deal. Learn to choose foods that will not cause a problem, don’t yearn for what you can’t have. And take heart – wine is gluten free!!

Colin

 

                                                ************************************

 

Concentrate on what you can eat, not what you can’t. Use GF restaurant cards (free on the internet) and never be afraid to ask to speak to the chef in a restaurant.

Alex

 

                                                *************************************

 

 

The gluten free (labelled as wheat free but they are also gluten free) sandwiches in M&S are delicious and now widely available.

Wendy

 

                                                *************************************

 

 

Don’t expect people to understand straight away - a lot don’t and you have to be very patient when you explain to them. This includes close friends and family members! Have some simple written guidelines to give to them and if a restaurant is particularly unhelpful don’t get cross (like I used to do), just walk away - it is their loss!  For every unhelpful person there will be a superstar who goes out of their way to accommodate you eg chefs buying in GF produce especially for you, or friends buying up the whole gluten free section of their supermarket when you come to visit!

Angie

 

                                                **************************************

 

Prescriptions from your GP are worth it – get the pre-paid NHS card and have bread, pizza bases, flour, pasta etc on prescription.

Petra

 

                                                ***************************************

 

Marks & Spencer GF chocolate and cherry cake is the nicest cake (gluten free or otherwise) in the world!

Angie

 

                                                *************************************

 

 

Thornton’s chocolates (and toffee) are very well labelled and generally gluten free.

Jonathan

 

                                                *************************************

 

 

I make the topping for my crumbles from ground almonds and ground hazlenuts (I buy big bags of nuts from Holland & Barrett, grind them up in my food processor and freeze them if necessary. You don’t need as much butter or marg either!

Liz

 

                                                ***************************************

 

‘Whole Earth’ make very good gluten free cornflakes that are just as cheap as normal Kelloggs and taste GREAT! Asda and Sainsbury’s sell them in the ‘normal’ cereals section.

Jonathan

 

                                                ***********************************************

                                               

‘Fria’ gluten free bread, from Sweden, is in the freezer department of John Lewis food hall. It is delicious and much less fattening than Genius bread – which is delicious frozen then defrosted and toasted. The Fria bread, sliced, taken from the freezer, defrosts in a few minutes in the microwave and is delicious with smoked salmon!

Wendy

 

                                                **********************************************