Its Not Me Its Gluten

Daily struggles being gluten intolerant (light-hearted) - Part 2 Ever since the success of my first blog post “21 stupid things people say when you mention gluten free”, I felt inspired to create a follow up with the help of my lovely readers. Now, I received a little stick after my first post with people banging on about using it as an opportunity to educate folk who express such comments and not to poke fun at them as such. I want to point out that this is intended to be a humorous, light-hearted post for people to resonate with.  Knowing that you aren't alone in the world with a particular symptomatic disease/disorder, whether it be anxiety, depression, endometriosis (or the shits and giggles symptoms gluten causes), provides a sense of relief that you aren't alone and gives you the relief feeling of "haha, I've been there!".  Now, of course if I hear a 'silly' comment, or a condescending remark regarding the "fad" diet that it is m...

Gluten Free Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls   Confession: I, Gemma have a major sweet tooth. If it was socially acceptable to eat Rowntrees Randoms all day I could and I would, though I’m sure I would be feeling like a bloated, uncomfortable ball by the end of the day. In reality, I try to eat healthy most of the time, cooking (well my boyfriend) from scratch at home whilst devouring whatever the hell I want (gluten free of course) when I go out. Life is all about balance. There’s always this craving mid-afternoon though where I just need something sweet. Instead of trapesing to the office vending machine in search for a gluten free chocolate bar, I’ve been trying out that thing people talk about… ‘Being prepared’. When in the ‘zone’ and firmly on the healthy eating band wagon, I try to stay clear of confectionary goods and try to, where possible, only eat homemade goodies. This fuelled my taste buds into finding an alternative to satisfy and curb my cravings...

My gluten free journey... When you are first told that you have to live a gluten free lifestyle, although dramatic, it is kind of like the word has chewed you up and spat you back out – leaving you a fragile mess having to fend for yourself. Back in November 2017, when I was at my lowest; health had plummeted, dramatic weight loss – causing concern for friends and family and ultimately just that undeniable sense and desire to just ‘give up’. The way you are programmed to eat throughout your entire life has been scrapped and you are sitting left wondering, “so what can I eat?”. Now, please believe me when I say that if I were to read that previous sentence two years ago back when I was blissfully consuming gluten, I would have screwed my face up and shrugged, following up with some unhelpful comment such as “isn’t it only bread and pasta you can’t eat? Surely that isn’t so bad?”. More fool me. During the initial eradication period, it felt like gluten was in everything ...

CATCH Fish & Chips Giffnock - Gluten Free Menu Catch Giffnock Shop Front When you are informed that you have an issue with gluten, all of a sudden past experiences with certain foods tend to suddenly make sense. Now, before life without the grains, I had to abstain from eating the popular British favourite, fish and chips. Mainly because of the ‘chippy hangover' it gave me. Back when I was blissfully unaware and consuming gluten, I just assumed that chippies didn’t agree with me due to the high fat and oil content, however the belching, sickness and bloating were actually all down to one thing, gluten. You can imagine my delight whilst scouring Google looking for gluten free food joints when I stumbled across CATCH.  Catch Giffnock C ATCH describe themselves on their website as a "posh, modern day neighborhood fish & chip shop and restaurant" and I can vouch for this statement 100%. Gone are the days going into a greasy chip shop, opening up yo...

A carefully sampled review - Wild Flours, Giffnock Wild Flours Giffnock From the minute I decided to create this blog, I knew the first place I had to write a review on was Wild Flours . They are a family-run gluten free bakery in the Giffnock area within Glasgow. Back when I was initially diagnosed, the main food group I grieved the loss of was cake - and having a major sweet tooth, this hit me hard. Lucky for me, my boyfriend knew this and went on the hunt for a place in which I could continue to get my sugar fix. He approached me excitedly presenting their Facebook page on his phone and suggested we give it a try. One sunny spring afternoon (can you tell I vividly remember the first good gluten free day I had?) we decided to pop in before we headed off to a Celtic Connections show (surprisingly good, not my usual cup of tea) and by god did my jaw hit the floor when we walked in. Now if you are to go, I would recommend going in the morning/early afternoon to get a good se...