I got all excited when mournfully passing the fresh pasta section of the supermarket this week to see a gluten-free fresh spaghetti: Del'Ugo's "Natrapasta". The name should have rung alarm bells, even if the look of the pasta didn't. But with the memory of lovely fresh pasta still fresh in my mind I thought I'd give it a go.
As it was a pack for two I convinced NGFH to try it too, and in a stand of solidarity he agreed. We've just cooked it. And tried it. And drained it to put in the bin.
It's made from chickpea flour, and, well, it tasted a bit like ground chickpeas, with the same crumbly consistency. After one taste I was ready to bin it, but NGFH got all chirpy and insisted it couldn't be that bad. He tried it. It was.
So now we're cooking two pans (with two spoons and two colanders): normal dried spaghetti for NGFH and a dried Tesco's (I think) GF one for me. Dinner's late. But at least it's edible.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Tastier than they look
But that wouldn't be all that hard, would it? From my box of Glutafin freebies, two rolls that looked even scarier in the packaging. I know they could easily be mistaken for plastic rolls from a kids' play bakery, but filled with egg mayo they were ok. I did hollow out some of the dough to make the egg/roll ratio a bit more palatable, mind. Still, all is not lost.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Dear NHS, You're making it hard for me to heart you.
This is supposed to be a light-hearted blog about my new gluten-free adventures. This story is related to being Coeliac though, and I think it might be cathartic for me to write up the almost-comedy (if it wasn't reducing me to tears) experience I've had trying to get an NHS referral.
So the first test for Coeliacs disease is a blood test to look for the antibody that reacts to gluten. I had this test done on July 17th. I got positive results the following week and on July 15th spoke to my GP on the phone, wherein she explained that I needed an endoscopy. As going GF for life is a fairly serious move it's obviously best to be 100% sure, and a biopsy of the small intestine will usually confirm damage caused by the antibodies. The GP explained that as with the blood test, I shouldn't cut out gluten until I had this additional test, in order to reduce the risk of a false negative. She said three weeks or so to get an endoscopy. No problem.
A week or so later I get my referral letter, and NGFH, knowing I'm keen to get on with it, phones me at work with the details. I have a choice of four hospitals (insert "Your Freedom To Choose Means A Lot To Us, Important Patient Type" or other similarly not-the-point slightly patronising sentiment) but the only one I can realistically get to is the John Radcliffe in Oxford, so I phone them. First surprise: earliest appointment is October 21st. This is in late July, so a three month wait. Three months of not being able to cut out gluten and free myself from the symptoms that are dragging me down. Of course they're not life-threatening, but if I can stop being bloated, exhausted, borderline anaemic, etc etc then I'd quite like to get on with it.
A few days later in a flash of inspiration I phone round the other three hospitals, and discover that Swindon's wait time is only six weeks, and West Berks even less. Hurrah. So I cancel my appt at the JR. Second surprise: canceling doesn't put me back into the Choose & Book system, it cancels my referral outright. I need to talk to the GP again and get another referral. Luckily a phone appt will suffice, so on 4th August I speak to the GP and explain, mentioning that West Berks has a short waiting list. She says she will re-refer me.
Back to Choose and Book. Phone them on Friday 7th to book new appt directly at West Berks and get told that the earliest appt is... end of October. Explain that I spoke to the gastroenterology dept directly and they said they were clear throughout September. Nope, only October is showing on the system, and in fact only 7th or 14th, neither of which I can make. (Me:"I can't do those dates, I'm away." They: "Well they are the only two on the system." Me: "What, EVER??"). In the course of this extremely frustrating conversation the woman I'm talking to says something that makes me backtrack:
"Hold on, did you just say ROYAL Berks hospital?"
"Yes, that's right. Royal Berks. In Reading"
"Not West Berks?"
"No, that's in Newbury"
"Yes, I know..."
So I've been referred to the wrong hospital. OK, calm down, it's a simple mistake. Back to the GP surgery, explain to grumpy receptionist who implies it's all my fault and I'm rather a nuisance. She writes a note for the doc and tells me to ring back Monday. Call on Monday, am assured by reception that correction was faxed to the "Choices Bureau" the previous Friday.
(Little side note here: the Choose and Book system hasn't been rolled out to all hospitals or surgeries yet. So while many GPs will print your referral complete with ref number before you leave the doctors office, thus ensuring you are in the system, mine has a secretary send a fax to somewhere in Banbury where it's put into the system and they phone them the next day to confirm that all the faxes have been received. Woohoo for technology).
Friday August 14th and after a few calm-inducing days of not being on the phone to some department of the NHS, I work up the courage to try again. I phone Choose and Book. They tell me I have an appt booked at the JR (which also isn't on the C&B computer system yet, so the fact that they canceled me won't tie back up with the central C&B appointments. Ever.), and also an un-booked referral for the Royal Berks. Nothing for West Berks. Back to GP, and this time I speak to the secretary, who tells me she faxed off the letter on the 7th, but she'll do it again now to be sure.
Monday 10th August, phone Choose and Book. No sign of West Berks appt. Back to GP. This time the secretary takes my mobile number ("This has been going on quite a while now hasn't it?") and promises to sort it out. And she does: 10 mins later she phones back with a reference number for my referral to West Berks. Hurrah. Finally.
So I've just been on to the Choose and Book website with my lovely new shiny correct reference number. Earliest appointment at West Berks: 23rd October.
Sob.
So the first test for Coeliacs disease is a blood test to look for the antibody that reacts to gluten. I had this test done on July 17th. I got positive results the following week and on July 15th spoke to my GP on the phone, wherein she explained that I needed an endoscopy. As going GF for life is a fairly serious move it's obviously best to be 100% sure, and a biopsy of the small intestine will usually confirm damage caused by the antibodies. The GP explained that as with the blood test, I shouldn't cut out gluten until I had this additional test, in order to reduce the risk of a false negative. She said three weeks or so to get an endoscopy. No problem.
A week or so later I get my referral letter, and NGFH, knowing I'm keen to get on with it, phones me at work with the details. I have a choice of four hospitals (insert "Your Freedom To Choose Means A Lot To Us, Important Patient Type" or other similarly not-the-point slightly patronising sentiment) but the only one I can realistically get to is the John Radcliffe in Oxford, so I phone them. First surprise: earliest appointment is October 21st. This is in late July, so a three month wait. Three months of not being able to cut out gluten and free myself from the symptoms that are dragging me down. Of course they're not life-threatening, but if I can stop being bloated, exhausted, borderline anaemic, etc etc then I'd quite like to get on with it.
A few days later in a flash of inspiration I phone round the other three hospitals, and discover that Swindon's wait time is only six weeks, and West Berks even less. Hurrah. So I cancel my appt at the JR. Second surprise: canceling doesn't put me back into the Choose & Book system, it cancels my referral outright. I need to talk to the GP again and get another referral. Luckily a phone appt will suffice, so on 4th August I speak to the GP and explain, mentioning that West Berks has a short waiting list. She says she will re-refer me.
Back to Choose and Book. Phone them on Friday 7th to book new appt directly at West Berks and get told that the earliest appt is... end of October. Explain that I spoke to the gastroenterology dept directly and they said they were clear throughout September. Nope, only October is showing on the system, and in fact only 7th or 14th, neither of which I can make. (Me:"I can't do those dates, I'm away." They: "Well they are the only two on the system." Me: "What, EVER??"). In the course of this extremely frustrating conversation the woman I'm talking to says something that makes me backtrack:
"Hold on, did you just say ROYAL Berks hospital?"
"Yes, that's right. Royal Berks. In Reading"
"Not West Berks?"
"No, that's in Newbury"
"Yes, I know..."
So I've been referred to the wrong hospital. OK, calm down, it's a simple mistake. Back to the GP surgery, explain to grumpy receptionist who implies it's all my fault and I'm rather a nuisance. She writes a note for the doc and tells me to ring back Monday. Call on Monday, am assured by reception that correction was faxed to the "Choices Bureau" the previous Friday.
(Little side note here: the Choose and Book system hasn't been rolled out to all hospitals or surgeries yet. So while many GPs will print your referral complete with ref number before you leave the doctors office, thus ensuring you are in the system, mine has a secretary send a fax to somewhere in Banbury where it's put into the system and they phone them the next day to confirm that all the faxes have been received. Woohoo for technology).
Friday August 14th and after a few calm-inducing days of not being on the phone to some department of the NHS, I work up the courage to try again. I phone Choose and Book. They tell me I have an appt booked at the JR (which also isn't on the C&B computer system yet, so the fact that they canceled me won't tie back up with the central C&B appointments. Ever.), and also an un-booked referral for the Royal Berks. Nothing for West Berks. Back to GP, and this time I speak to the secretary, who tells me she faxed off the letter on the 7th, but she'll do it again now to be sure.
Monday 10th August, phone Choose and Book. No sign of West Berks appt. Back to GP. This time the secretary takes my mobile number ("This has been going on quite a while now hasn't it?") and promises to sort it out. And she does: 10 mins later she phones back with a reference number for my referral to West Berks. Hurrah. Finally.
So I've just been on to the Choose and Book website with my lovely new shiny correct reference number. Earliest appointment at West Berks: 23rd October.
Sob.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Buenos Burritos*
Went to see the fantabulously funny Bill Bailey last night at the New Theatre in Oxford, and we stopped for a bite to eat beforehand at The Mission, which opened sometime last year I think, to much excitement from all of us who have been bemoaning the lack of Mexican food to be found anywhere nearby.
Looking for somewhere for a quick meal and not being remotely interested in burger bars even before I was GF, I checked the Mission's menu and found that they do "Burrito bowls": all the ingredients of a burrito - rice, beans, meat, salsa, guacamole, etc - but served up in a box without the forbidden tortilla. I had the veggie one, and it was delicious. Hurrah for tasty GF fast food.
*Note to self: less alliteration in post titles please
Looking for somewhere for a quick meal and not being remotely interested in burger bars even before I was GF, I checked the Mission's menu and found that they do "Burrito bowls": all the ingredients of a burrito - rice, beans, meat, salsa, guacamole, etc - but served up in a box without the forbidden tortilla. I had the veggie one, and it was delicious. Hurrah for tasty GF fast food.
*Note to self: less alliteration in post titles please
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Going Everything-free?
Am starting to worry that a lot of GF food is a bit like veggie food on some airlines, where they combine vegetarian with vegan, kosher, low-salt, low-fat, lactose-intolerant and more. (On a Cathay Pacific flight once where I specified "vegetarian" I was served steamed spinach on a plate for breakfast while NGFH got a nice cheese omlette and a roll and butter. I'd been in the air for over 12 hours. I cried.)
This is just based on this morning's cereal, which while gluten free was also sugar free and salt free and low fat and frankly totally flavourless. Fine, I want healthy, but not if it's like eating cardboard. Choices, please??
This is just based on this morning's cereal, which while gluten free was also sugar free and salt free and low fat and frankly totally flavourless. Fine, I want healthy, but not if it's like eating cardboard. Choices, please??
Monday, August 10, 2009
Pizza Palaver
When I was first pondering my diagnosis of coeliacs I had a moment of mourning my trusty breadmaker. It's a Panasonic that I've had for 5 years or so, during which time it has produced many a tasty gluten-filled loaf and vast quantities of pizza dough. But as I've started to discover how expensive and generally yucky shop-bought GF bread is, I've started looking and found a good many recipes for bread machines. Mine even has a GF setting.
My first attempt at a loaf this weekend was too disastrous to write about (let's just say very very soggy) but this evening I decided to have a go at a pizza base. Not having stocked up on all the different types of GF flour yet, I used a Doves Farm white bread mix. Putting it all together with milk and eggs and things was a bit more complicated than the usual mix, but not that hard. And once I'd scraped the flour off the sides at the start of the programme it all started to look a bit, well, dough-ish.
First surprise: the instructions say "spread the dough on to an oiled tray". I didn't realise they really meant "spread". It's like a very thick cake mixture, and needs spreading on to the tray with a spatula. OK. We can do that, although non-GF husband is starting to raise his eyebrows and mutter in the background. Into the oven though and after ten minutes it's smelling like a pizza base - even NGFH admits so. Bring it out browned and looking ok, top with tomato, cheese, veg etc (and ham and pineapple on NGFH's side) and back in for 15.
The verdict? "Edible". With a flavoursome topping the first few mouthfuls were "hmm, yes, not bad" but then the general blandness and spongy-ness of it started to kick in. It certainly would have been better as a very thin base (note for next time) and it needed more salt. Mind you I used to make pizza dough with pesto in it, so we're used to more flavour.
Have heard good things about this mix that I'm going to try soon. Hints and tips gratefully received. For now, missing wheat.
My first attempt at a loaf this weekend was too disastrous to write about (let's just say very very soggy) but this evening I decided to have a go at a pizza base. Not having stocked up on all the different types of GF flour yet, I used a Doves Farm white bread mix. Putting it all together with milk and eggs and things was a bit more complicated than the usual mix, but not that hard. And once I'd scraped the flour off the sides at the start of the programme it all started to look a bit, well, dough-ish.
First surprise: the instructions say "spread the dough on to an oiled tray". I didn't realise they really meant "spread". It's like a very thick cake mixture, and needs spreading on to the tray with a spatula. OK. We can do that, although non-GF husband is starting to raise his eyebrows and mutter in the background. Into the oven though and after ten minutes it's smelling like a pizza base - even NGFH admits so. Bring it out browned and looking ok, top with tomato, cheese, veg etc (and ham and pineapple on NGFH's side) and back in for 15.
The verdict? "Edible". With a flavoursome topping the first few mouthfuls were "hmm, yes, not bad" but then the general blandness and spongy-ness of it started to kick in. It certainly would have been better as a very thin base (note for next time) and it needed more salt. Mind you I used to make pizza dough with pesto in it, so we're used to more flavour.
Have heard good things about this mix that I'm going to try soon. Hints and tips gratefully received. For now, missing wheat.
Passable Pita
Had a remarkably edible sandwich for lunch using Tesco's Free From pita bread, filled with grilled halloumi cheese and some chopped red pepper. I think I would just about say that it could have passed for normal pita, in both texture and taste. Yay.
Friday, August 7, 2009
First GF meal out
It was with some trepidation that I approached my first gluten-free meal out. I had trawled around the web and found a few places in Oxford that had GF labelled on their menus, but we'd been to Las Iguanas last time, and when I met up with C it was tipping down and we couldn't face the walk across town to Carluccio's to try out their GF pasta. So we opted for Quod.
I worked out the obvious stuff from the menu, but there were a few sauces and things that I wasn't sure about, so when the waitress came over I started with "I have some awkward questions first: I can't eat gluten."
I don't know what I was worrying about. She didn't bat an eyelid, and knew which of the main courses were gluten free straight off, all except for one, which she checked with the kitchen and came back a minute later to confirm it was ok. I picked caprese salad for a starter and she said it was normally served on bread but they would leave that out, and she'd double-check on the pesto that it was served with.
Prawns and salad for a main (I tried to get C to have chips so I could steal some but the waitress pointed out they weren't GF, so it's just as well she didn't), and again she knew exactly which desserts were ok. As she brought the bill I thanked her and said how pleasantly surprised I was, and she explained that she was in fact studying nutrition. So I don't know if I just had an exceptional server, but I hope my meal was a good indication that Quod is happy to adapt dishes for coeliacs. I'll certainly go back to test out my theory.
I worked out the obvious stuff from the menu, but there were a few sauces and things that I wasn't sure about, so when the waitress came over I started with "I have some awkward questions first: I can't eat gluten."
I don't know what I was worrying about. She didn't bat an eyelid, and knew which of the main courses were gluten free straight off, all except for one, which she checked with the kitchen and came back a minute later to confirm it was ok. I picked caprese salad for a starter and she said it was normally served on bread but they would leave that out, and she'd double-check on the pesto that it was served with.
Prawns and salad for a main (I tried to get C to have chips so I could steal some but the waitress pointed out they weren't GF, so it's just as well she didn't), and again she knew exactly which desserts were ok. As she brought the bill I thanked her and said how pleasantly surprised I was, and she explained that she was in fact studying nutrition. So I don't know if I just had an exceptional server, but I hope my meal was a good indication that Quod is happy to adapt dishes for coeliacs. I'll certainly go back to test out my theory.
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