Australians And New Zealanders Hellooooooo :)

[weluvgators]

Thank you for the notice about the Freedom Food oats.  I noticed they had gone missing from our local Coles.  I found some boxes still at IGA.  And I have called and left a voice mail at Freedom Foods.  I am more than bummed.  Our family was doing well after being able to introduce these oats last year.  I want more explanation from them.

[Sammykins]

I think you'll find that what it comes down to -- not that they'd probably admit it -- is being able to pump out more of their nut-free, oat-based muesli bars to cater for the growing demand for nut-free packaged snacks brought about by schools with nut-free policies. It is a whole lot cheaper and easier to procure large amounts of regular oats and not do any of the gluten testing, their profit margins would increase dramatically.

I would imagine they've done a cost-benefit analysis and figured they stand to make a lot more money from expanding their nut-free market share in the cheapest may possible than they would lose by alienating their customers who just want uncontaminated oats. They're in business to make money, not to perform a public service, but it is a shame they can't/won't meet the needs of both markets considering they were the only readily available source of pure oats.

Watch this space, I bet we'll see their range of muesli bars and other oat-based snacks increase without any drop in price. Good for them and for those who don't mind paying more for safe nut-free snacks, but not so good for us oat-lovers!

I'm trying to find a suitable alternative as my health is better when I include pure oats in my diet, but everything is about double the price and that's BEFORE shipping!! I was using them to make my own muesli and protein bars too which saved a lot of money.

A couple of good things I will say about Freedom Foods:

1) They did an excellent job making their new porridge box look as different as possible to the Free Oats box. The visual cue made me double-check the box for more details and enquire further, unlike other brands that just change ingredients without giving any indication of having done so.

2) They were extremely quick in getting back to me when I sent an email enquiry. I hit send and literally had a reply a minute later (someone must have a draft saved). This is a good move on their part considering someone could have been about to eat their product.

---

UNRELATED NOTE: I discovered San Remo gluten free ravioli in the freezer section of Supabarn today. I haven't noticed them in Coles or Woolworths so I don't know if this is a new product? There were three flavours: spinach and ricotta, beef and chicken. I had the spinach and ricotta for dinner tonight. It had a good texture and taste, held together while cooking and it wasn't gummy like the Pasta al Naturale brand from Coles which I made my gluten-eating husband finish, LOL. It is very high in salt, but I'd buy it again to have as a standby meal. Each pack has two serves, takes 7-8 minutes to cook once your water is boiling and I think cost $8.

For those with other dietary requirements, the spinach and ricotta pack contains milk, soy and sulphites. It may contain traces of egg, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, crustacea and fish.

[Saz]

Yum. Has any tried the san remo gluten-free egg noodles/pasta?

[Sammykins]

Yum. Has any tried the san remo gluten-free egg noodles/pasta?

Yup! I had it with Hungarian Goulash. I thought it was good. :-)

[Saz]

Sitting in pizza express in london. Best gluten free  pizza  I have ever had. They serve it on special boards that are only used  for gluten-free pizza.  Also the pizzas on the menu they list as been able to be made gluten-free means all of it. None this gluten-free base only or meat pizza been gluten-free without the meat business  you get at some places 

[Saz]

Went to gluten free expo today. found out that Latina are about to release some gluten-free fresh pasta. I think it comes out this week in Woolworths. Looks like there will be ravioli and lasagne sheets. Wasn't able to taste test but will be definitely buying some.

 

Also got a enchilada kit and soft taco kit from San diego tortilla company. Unfortunately they aren't available in supermarkets.

Bayview who do frozen chicken and fish are supposed to be adding some salt and pepper squid into the range at the end of the month. 

 

Noticed a increase in paleo/raw type products this year. Also various forms of coconut things although this seems to be a general food trend.

[Saz]

Has anyone tried the woolworths brand of gluten-free bread? I think it is new as haven't seen it before. 

[HCC]

Hi, im from bendigo, vic.

I was wondering if the blood tests for celiac disease are the same in Australia as America?

[Mands]

Cathy,

Do you have any info on O'Brien Brewing? Saw from website they have a gluten-free beer. I also saw they will be doing something in Sydney on Sept. 29. Maybe someone could try the beer and give an opinion on it's taste.

Tom

I recently attended a food services trade exhibition in Melbourne and tasted O'Briens pale ale. I am not a beer lover but would definitely have it again. Very nice aftertaste. O'Briens was part of the gluten free world at this trade show so is definitely gluten free.

Cheers Amanda

[Saz]

Am starting to get a bit cranky that alot of new gluten-free products are raw and paleo. Same with recipes online. I don't mind that type of food sometimes but I don't want to eat that way all the time. 

[Paul Francis]

Hi everyone. I'm a newly diagnosed coeliac, (think I've had it for ages though) in Perth Western Australia.

Do most people lose the fatigue after a few weeks of eating gluten free? I'm excited for the possibility of that and want to try get there without any mistakes.

HUGE EDIT: took out the basic questions, my appointment with a dietitian got moved forward 

[Sammykins]

Hi everyone. I'm a newly diagnosed coeliac, (think I've had it for ages though) in Perth Western Australia.

Do most people lose the fatigue after a few weeks of eating gluten free? I'm excited for the possibility of that and want to try get there without any mistakes.

HUGE EDIT: took out the basic questions, my appointment with a dietitian got moved forward

Hi and welcome! I'm from Sydney, not coeliac but with a pretty severe intolerance. I think recovery looks different on everyone: some who have fatigue feel better immediately, for others it takes more time, some unfortunately feel worse temporarily. You might be better off asking that particular question in the recovery or coping sub-forums since it's not specific to Aus/Nz and more people may see it that way.

My fatigue problem was improved going gluten free but it was more gradual; I could not tell you how long it took. Now if I accidentally eat something with gluten in it or which has been cross-contaminated it's like I've been hit by a truck!

All the best with your dietician appointment and your recovery.

[Saz]

Good Luck. Can't really give on recovery since I was diagnosed when I was 6. I'm not highly sensitive though and when I was a teenager used to cheat a lot. I did feel a bit better when I stopped cheating. 

 

Some advice-

- Try not to think of all the things you can't have- It's hard but there are lots of things that you can still eat. 

- Remember that you don't have to like something just because it is gluten free. 

- If you don't like a particular type of food it's fairly likely you won't like the gluten-free version. Nothing to do with gluten-free version tasting weird because it's gluten-free, just your tastebuds. For example I don't like the gluten versions of sausages or coconut biscuits. So I don't "count" them as foods I can't have or taste yucky because it's gluten-free .

 

On the positive side you can now get some really delicious gluten-free food.  Up until about 10-12 years ago the only biscuits you could get were some strange tasting Jam Drops from health food stores or Some from woolies. They had all chocolate one side and chocolate drizzle on the other. Now you can get gluten-free versions of mint slice, Oreos, Anzac Biscuits, Gingernuts etc. The best bit is that all tasty and edible!

[Sammykins]

My favourite tip has to do with gluten free bread. It can sometimes taste a little dry or stale, and doesn't seem to keep as well as regular bread. If you dab/flick the smallest amount of water (literally a drop of two, don't overdo it!) onto each slice, wrap them up in paper towel, and microwave for 10 seconds or so you get lovely fresh bread again. Game changer!

Also I don't know if anyone else who is active in this thread is from Sydney, but the Gluten Free expo is on this Friday and Saturday (21 & 22 August). The vendors have massive discounts towards the end of the last day. Worth a visit. Open Original Shared Link

[Saz]

In woolies tonight I found gluten-free up and go! Not sure if it will taste good but still exciting. Looks like sanitarium have realised that people who need to eat gluten-free actually like the same things as those who don't. I got the chocolate one- I'm impressed the resisted the urge to add some orange flavour to it.

[rpatchett]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum. I live in Perth with my husband and kids (one of whom we suspect has inherited Coeliac disease from me - she has all the symptoms and we keep her gluten free).

I was diagnosed with coeliac disease in 2012 (funnily enough, after we had already begun a gluten free diet with our daughter who was 2 at the time) and have been gluten free ever since. But it has taken a long time to get my nutrition levels stable. I went on the GAPS diet from 2012-2013 and it helped but I couldn't keep going with the diet because it was costing too much money for all the ingredients for me to make everything from scratch, plus I was very time poor and I couldn't keep up with the GAPS lifestyle.

The reason my doctor ordered the coeliac tests was that I could not keep weight on - I was underweight and couldn't seem to stop losing weight. I was also extremely anemic and no amount of supplements would bring my iron levels up. I was really ill.

I started recovering after starting gluten free but I still am not 100%. I am now a stable weight and my BMI is perfect but I still have massive brain fog and fatigue and aches in my arms and wrists, sciatica and stomach pain. So I'm back to the doctors again next week to see where my iron levels are and if I need another iron infusion.

I sometimes get glutened and it feels like one step forward and two steps back! But I accidently ate some non-gluten-free banana bread yesterday and it's really knocked me. After about half an hour I felt like I had a massive burp that I needed to get up but couldn't. Then it travelled down to my guts and I got pain and diarrhea, and it's horrible, I can't believe I used to put up with this for so long before diagnosis. Today I've been feeling really woozy and giddy, I fell asleep on the couch this afternoon and my husband couldn't wake me. My guts feel like I have been tied in knots and it feels like I'm being stabbed up my bottom if I sit on a chair.

Anyway sorry for my complaining, I guess you guys all know exactly what it's like! I'm hoping to make some friends here as I don't really know anyone who knows what I'm going through. I look forward to chatting :-)

[Sammykins]

Welcome to the forum rpatchett. I hope you start feeling better soon.

[DandelionH]

Helllllooooo!
I'm so excited to be part of this forum (despite being a Luddite who possibly can't even work it. An embarrassment to 31 year olds everywhere... I'm 80 on the inside...) and am thrilled to see this Aussie thread. Hi hihi! HIHIHI!
That is all.

[Saz]

Helllllooooo!
I'm so excited to be part of this forum (despite being a Luddite who possibly can't even work it. An embarrassment to 31 year olds everywhere... I'm 80 on the inside...) and am thrilled to see this Aussie thread. Hi hihi! HIHIHI!
That is all.

Welcome to the forum. I'm 28 and also struggling to work this since it was upgraded. We can be embarrassments to Generation Y together. 

[DandelionH]

Ha . Hello and hoorah!

 

[Saz]

Probably got glutened last week. Got a burger who advertised patties and buns as been gluten-free. Forget to check the sauce. 

For anyone in Brisbane: I was in topshop a few weeks ago and they now have a little doughnut time store in there. I noticed they had a gluten-free option and asked for that. The person serving asked me if I was coeliac - was reluctant to say yes as I was expecting them to turn around and say- sorry you can't have it then. Turns out they were just been careful. I'm fairly sure instead of pulling one off the tray, they gave me a pre boxed one. It was glazed and wonderful.... I couldn't remember the last time I had a glazed one. 

Also impressed with the Jamie Oliver restaurant in the city. When I ask what I can have, the staff always ask if I am proper gluten-free and then get the manager to come and explain what I can have. They don't label it on the menu but they never make me feel like a pain for asking. Also when giving my pasta dish they say that it is the gluten free version. 

Might not seem like a big deal but it wasn't that long ago that my only option was to ask for  salad without the dressing or croutons. Only for it to be presented with one or both of these things. This would result in me having to ask for new one and a very cross wait person when I tried to explain that I can't just pick it out or scrape it off. In the end I used to exaggerate slightly and say I would be very sick if had these things. It was a bit of a fib as I'm not super sensitive but it seemed to work. 

[Saz]

Have offered to be in charge of snacks for Christmas this year. That way I can buy lollies and chips that I can have and so can everyone else.  Never much fun when I have my own bowls of stuff- other years when I've done this people forget and eat mine.  Which is fine but I'd only got enough for me and if it all goes I can't eat "theirs"

Apparently it's cold meant and salads this year. Family member organising it said they will try to make the salads gluten-free.  I asked them to let me know what they are so I can suggest dressings etc. Hopefully that way I can prevent needing to make my own version of something that could have easily been made gluten-free in first place if they asked me first. 

[Saz]

I'm Impressed this year. Some of the people I work with decided to give sweets to everyone. Two people went out of their way to find something specifically marked gluten-free that I could eat. Someone else managed to successfully find something from "normal" section that they thought was ok... and it was. I'm particularly impressed with that because as far as I know they don't have any reason to check labels for themselves.  While I don't expect anything - I really appreciate the effort, Most years I'm given things that I can't eat that is accompanied by a comment of "I know you probably can't eat this but". It's not a problem because I can always regift but sometimes it's a bit annoying.  

I feel a bit bad now that I didn't give anyone anything.