KLM and their ‘special meal’

Oct
15
By Laura

I was travelling on my first gluten free flight less than a week after being diagnosed. It was a KLM flight from Glasgow to Chicago with a change of plane in Amsterdam. A couple of days before the flight my boyfriend had called the airline to try to change my meal to gluten free. Our flight had been advertised as an NWA flight but operated by KLM. The woman on the other end of the phone was very nice and understanding of my situation, saying that her own brother was a Coeliac and ‘making sure I get a gluten free meal when I travel is very important.’ After checking our booking, she returned with the news that as it was KLM who were operating our flight, they don’t actually provide gluten free meals and would I like a fruit plate? Admittedly I do love my fruit but seriously, this is all they could offer me on an 8 hour trans-atlantic flight? I of course said I would take the fruit plate as the prospect of sitting with nothing whilst everyone was munching on their dinner didn’t sound like fun to me. Also, the last 5 or 6 flights I’d taken had been with cheap airlines who didn’t provide food and I was determined that if I was paying for something to eat on this flight then I would get it!

I came well prepared for both flights to and from the States with seed bars, bananas, rice cakes and other gluten free snacks as I didn’t want to have to rely on my fruit plate. It turned out to be an ok plate of fruit, more so on the return flight where they had invested in a more interesting variety but if I hadn’t brought my own nibbles I would have been starving! Personally, I am a huge fan of fruit anyway but any fussy or hungry Coeliac probably wouldn’t have been very impressed by KLM’s ‘special meal’.

Gluten Free Flying Travel Adventures 1 Comment

Mount Pleasant, Iowa

Oct
14
By Laura

I spent a couple of weeks in my boyfriend’s home town of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, just 5 days after being diagnosed as Coeliac. I knew it was going to be difficult as I had just found out and didn’t have much knowledge of everything I could and couldn’t have yet. I figured that I would be very careful and only eat what I was sure I was allowed…this turned out to be pretty frustrating in a small town where everyone wanted to take us out for breakfast, lunch and dinner as we hadn’t seen them in over two years.

Mount Pleasant's water tower

Mount Pleasant’s water tower

After a long flight and car ride to Iowa from the nearest international airport, I was starving. I’d already consumed everything I’d brought with me as a result of boredom and not much of a meal on the plane. We arrived at John’s parents house to find that his mum had already been shopping to buy me a few gluten free treats. She knows that I can’t live without my cereal and had generously bought me a couple of boxes of gluten free cereal. This was to be my first experience of Envirokids…. I poured myself a huge bowl of frosted flakes and gorilla munch as soon as I arrived….delicious and hard to tell that they are not ‘normal’ cereals unlike some others I had already got my hands on in the UK.

That night we had been invited to a family BBQ with lots of different foods I wasn’t sure whether or not I could have. Lucky for me it turned out that one of John’s cousins also had coeliacs so I decided my best bet was to eat whatever she was eating, figuring that she must at least have more of a clue than me. When the time came to leave the party, my jet lag was severely catching up with me and I was glad I’d eaten the bowl of cereal before coming out. Either John’s cousin hadn’t been very hungry, was pretty fussy or there was less that I could eat than I first thought!

The next morning the first thing I did (after eating more delicious Envirokids) was travel down to the local supermarket in search of gluten free delights. There are two large supermarkets in Mount Pleasant, one being Hy-Vee and the other a huge Wallmart. I wrongly assumed that being a huge corporation Wallmart would cater for the gluten free but it turned out that they didn’t even have a gluten free section and hardly any of their products say whether or not they are gluten free.

Hy-Vee on the other hand, a supermarket commonly found in the mid-west, was far more gluten free friendly. They had a whole section full of gluten free products such as cereals, breads, cakes, pasta and cookies as well as gluten free labelling on quite a few of their ‘regular’ products. Later on I was so glad I’d found Hy-Vee because the groceries I bought there would be the makings of my meals before, after and during visits to some gluten un-friendly restaurants…..

An Iowa number plate

An Iowa number plate

Pizza Ranch is an all you can eat pizza buffet that John’s gran took us to. The only things I ate that I was sure wouldn’t make me sick were baby plum tomatoes and cucumber from the salad buffet and a diet mountain dew from the soda fountain….exciting!

Mount Hamill Tap is a chicken bar and restaurant not far from Mount Pleasant. With everything fried and breaded this definately wasn’t the best place for someone trying to avoid gluten. I ate some tasty home made gluten free pasta and veggies en route to the restaurant and drank 3 Amaretto and cokes when I was there while everyone ate…at least some of their drinks are gluten free!

Breadeaux Pizza is a takeout pizza place with a few tables to sit in. I think they do a few baked potatoes which should be gluten free but other than that it’s a big gluten fest. Here I brought and ate something I’d made at home.

Little Mexico is a fantastic little Mexican restaurant situated in the town square. I probably could have eaten a few things here as they serve some of their dishes like tacos and fajitas with traditional corn tortillas as well as wheat ones. I didn’t eat anything on this occasion but I have eaten here before and will again.

Mount Pleasant is a lovely little town of around 8,000 people. They have one good supermarket with gluten free options so I could survive for a while but I hope that no one in this town has Coeliac disease or they will have to go pretty far from town for a sit down meal!

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Laura’s Tea Room

Oct
14
By Laura

My first experience with Laura’s Tea Room was when my dad took me there for lunch after getting my biopsy at the nearby hospital. He had heard lots of good things about it and of course it was called ‘Laura’s’ so we had to try it out. Despite being pretty out of it as a result of my sedation, I had a lovely lunch in this delightful little cafe in Carmunock, near East Kilbride.

A couple of weeks ago my dad and I went back again for a coffee and a chat. I ordered the usual diet Irn Bru as I don’t have the taste for coffee or tea and my dad got a coffee and a fruity scone. By this visit I had been diagnosed so thought I may as well ask the waitress whether they had any gluten free cake options, thinking the answer would most likely be no as it was a pretty small place. I figured I would just have to make do with my Irn Bru and watch my dad nibbling on his delicious looking scone. To my surprise, the waitress said that they did have quite a few gluten free cakes and went off to find her little list of what they had. She rhymed off 5 or 6 different options and I decided on the banana and raisin bread. It was warm, sweet and delicious…the perfect mid-morning treat for a chilly Scottish day. I was no longer jealous of my dad’s scone and actually when I gave him a piece of my bread to try he said it was nicer than his scone!!!

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bob.dalgleish/Laura’s/

Update: I recently returned to Laura’s for another post-hospital appointment snack and shared two gluten free cakes with my dad…an apple and cinammon slice and a fruit loaf. Both very tasty but especially the fruit loaf! I wasn’t hungry for lunch yet but thought I’d ask the waitress what their gf options were like while I was there. The tea room has gluten free bread so they can make a lot of their sandwiches gluten free. I was told their chilli is gluten free too so I may have to try this next time!

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13th Note Gluten Free

Oct
14
By Laura

I’d eaten at 13th Note a couple of times prior to finding out I had Coeliac disease. It’s a music venue, bar and vegan and vegetarian cafe. I remember going there for dinner with my boyfriend a couple of weeks before being diagnosed and thinking that we would definitely have to come back if it did turn out I was Coeliac as their menu clearly labels the dishes which are naturally gluten free (gf) and others which have a gluten free option (gfo). I remember trying the pad thai noodles on that occasion because I figured it might be my last chance to try them. Sadly it was and they were pretty tasty but luckily the menu has lots of gluten free options which are equally delicious!! If you find yourself looking for a gluten free nibble in Glasgow then travel down to the 13th Note and give your appetite a treat!

Gluten free choices:

Starters:

GREEN AND BLACK OLIVES marinated in fresh garlic, chilli and lemon GF

COURGETTE, BABYCORN and dill cakes with a sweet chilli and coriander dip GF

NACHOS oven baked corn chips with salsa GF

HOUSE SALAD with a lime coriander and red pepper dressing GF

GREEK SALAD lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion, olives and feta GF

Main Meals:

SWEET n SOUR MOROCCAN TAGINE of chickpea, mushroom and peppers served with cous cous GFO

LEMONGRASS, GINGER & PARMESAN RISSOTO CAKES with thai curry, greens and flatbread GFO

POTATO CAKES with mushroom and peas served with a roasted red pepper sauce and salad GF

SALAD of the week served with crusty bread…. Ask your server or see specials board GFO

Lunch:

BAKED POTATO and Salad GF £4.25
Choose from:
– MUSHROOMS with garlic and herbs
– MOZZARELLA and red onion V
– HUMOUS and rocket …….
– CHILLI

Desserts:

CREAMY COCONUT RICE PUDDING -  rich and creamy, served with a berry compote.GF

http://www.13thnote.co.uk/



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The Butterfly and Pig Gluten Free

Oct
12
By Laura

Fantastic gluten free food!

The Butterfly and Pig is my favourite restaurant in Glasgow and somewhere I like to visit for dinner at least a couple of times a month so finding out whether or not they had gluten free options on their delicious menu was one of my first ports of call after finding out I had coeliac disease.  The Butterfly and Pig is located on Bath Street in Glasgow and is a restaurant and bar with a variety of fun entertainment every night of the week and amazing smells that hit you as soon as you walk through their door.

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