Work lunch at Mud, Seaport

I am so lucky I have a wicked job at the Uni because today we got to treat ourselves to lunch at Mud because our SEO is leaving and because we like to all hang out together to take a break. I am not a big fan of Mud, as to me it can be a bit over priced and the lunch options are minimal. But for lunch we all had a lunch special of 2 meals, wine and a tea/coffee for $35 (which is pretty cheap). I chose the porterhouse steak with parmasen potato skins and a dijion and caper butter. Unfortunately the potato skins were fried in the same fryer as other wheat products (always ask this question as most places put everything in the same fryer), so I had beans instead. Then I had an amazing ice-cream with strawberries and cream minus this shortbread. Overall it was a nice meal just bummed I couldn't eat the potato and because the table had chat potatoes for entree too. Stupid deep fryers!!
http://www.mudbar.com.au/

Soup and bread, just like a normal person

I just bought myself some bread from Coles supermarket, so while it was still reasonably fresh I wanted to make a sandwich or have it with soup, as today (Monday the 24 June) is freezing cold I decided to go with soup. I headed straight for the normal soup section of the supermarket and looked for the only soup I know is gluten free LaZuppa, but I stumbled across this one by Taylors. It doesn't say its gluten free but I read all the ingredients on the back and there was nothing containing gluten. SCORE! For only $3 and a rather good serving I couldn't go wrong. I had a quick look at the other flavours and I think they may have been gluten free too (but best check before purchasing). I had my soup to warm me up after a lunch time walk and it was really really good and the bread just topped it off.
So to me I believe being a coeliac you dont have to miss out on much these days, compared to when I first found out I was coeliac. You just have to be patient and read labels to get the best foods.

Also a little tip, when buying bread I suggest as soon as you open it that you section it into servings and wrap them up in glad wrap. I then freeze it as I dont eat it very often. This is the best way to keep it fresh and tasty. I normally buy Country Life Bakery bread: http://www.countrylifebakery.com.au/ 

Garden of Vegan

When I go into town I am never able to have a hot drink unless I take my own milk. Because I can't have dairy or soy, I take my own rice milk which most places are pretty accommodating with. Buuuuttttt this new place Garden of Vegan serves almond milk as an option with hot drinks. So on my day off I treated myself to a hot almond milk chai which was so sweet and tasty and an organic fruit/choc truffle. Awesome little treat and I cannot wait to go back there and try some of their amazing looking food! 

You can find them on Charles st, opposite Princess Square. It's one business that is really booming!

Pizza

Last night my partner was meant to cook dinner and I came home and there was nothing on the stove. hmmmm I was hungry!! I then mentioned that Pizza Capers now do gluten free lasagne, and to my surprise he had ordered pizza and was getting it delivered. YAY!! As much as I shouldn't have dairy (upsets my stomach) I couldn't resist, as pizza is such a treat. We both had the Reef & Beef which is so so tasty. Its covered in Black Angus Beef, cajun prawns, bacon, shallots, red onions, red capsicum, pizza sauce, mozzarella, lemon pepper, hollandaise and fresh lemon. Pizza Capers’ most loved gourmet pizza. I spoke to the lady working in there last time and she said they have separate containers, sauce bottles, utensils, trays and cutters for gluten free pizzas, so we are pretty damn safe with cross contamination. Coeliacs are able to eat pretty much any pizza, just with a different base. They also do lasagne, chicken wings and salads that are safe. So go enjoy one hell of a decent gluten free pizza, you wont be disappointed. (I wouldn't trust pizza hut/dominos, as there stations are not gluten free friendly) http://www.pizzacapers.com.au/

The best takeaway for a Coeliac

Noodle box would have to be my favourite fast food and yes you have a few choices for gluten free. I eat here a fair bit and never get sick and because its a chain all the stores are the same (same ingredients etc.) We are a little spoiled for choice and Noodle Box are happy for you to mix your meals/ingredients around to get it exactly how you want, they also have a booth were you can design your own box. When eating here you have the choice of all the rice noodles and rice, but stay away from the egg noodles. All the meat and veg are safe except the seafood cakes/extender I dont trust that. Just ask them to not put that in when you have seafood. Then for sauces you can have the Nasi, Honey Soy (dont rate this sauce, bit bland), Singapore and Mee Gee thats it.
When I get Noodle Box I always have the combo box with thick flat rice noodles and the Mee Gee sauce and its delicious!! Costs around $14 for a regular box if your a big eater like me, or about $12 for a small box. Give it a shot and if you have any questions dont hesitate to contact me as I have mastered it!  http://www.noodlebox.com.au/ the website has an allergy list so if you have any other allergies you can avoid them too.

Soup for the week

This week I am eating soup, why I dont know?! I am working 4 days this week and have 4 different soups to try of the LaZUPPA range. They are gluten free, dairy free and no artificial additives. All the ingredients are just natural veggies/chicken. So pretty healthy and very tasty! You can pick them up for $3.80 at Coles in the normal soup section. Great with some crackers, rice cakes or gluten free bread.
http://lazuppa.com.au/

Little treat at work

Poppy my supervisor brought me in these yummy little biscuit this morning. She purchased them at an event and my goodness do they taste good! Bit of a healthier version to biscuits which is what I like to hear. I then checked out their Facebook page and wow so much yummy gluten free goodies.
Strongly recommend this product/business onto everyone.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Birdseed-Tweet/232888766726181

Awards night at wrest point

I attended the Newsagency awards dinner with Aaron tonight at the wrest point casino in Hobart. I'm always nervous about going to buffet style events as the range can be rather limited or unknown. But the chef/staff were very helpful and I ate everything on the buffet except 2 dishes. YAY! Then dessert I managed to have something other then fruit salad and pavlova. Overall VERY impressed with the Caz, you just have to make yourself known then your looked after very well. 

Favorite stop off on the way to Hobart

My favorite place to stop on the way to Hobart would be Red Bridge Cafe. They have such good food, local wines/ciders and great stuff to takeaway. 

Today I had an amazing pumpkin soup with some crackers followed by a sickly lemon slice! So yummy and a fair bit naughty! Red Bridge is a must stop for gluten free food lovers! 

Lunch at Fresh

Today I went to Fresh on Charles St for lunch with my family. I always eat here as it is my favourite place to dine in Launceston and also because it has a really funky interior, vibe and the staff are always so friendly. If you are gluten free, vegetarian or vegan I strongly recommend eating here. There are so many options to choose from and always new and exciting things on offer (and its all easy on the wallet). Today I had the lentil burger with sweet potato hash brown smothered in a yummy satay sauce. Its was awesome and very filling. I washed all this down with a hot black current juice with fresh lime and ginger in it. YUM YUM YUM!!
I also recommend having the roast veggie salad or breakfast, the mushroom risotto or the taster/mixed plate. Everything here is just so yummy, even my old skool Grandad loved it!
http://www.freshoncharles.com.au/

Every coeliac must have this book

Recipe books can get quiet expensive and so can all the ingredients that go with them, but with this one life's easy! Its cheap, easy to use and fool proof. I haven't tried a lot in it yet but what I have tried its been awesome. My partner uses it all the time as he is not used to cooking G/F. If your just starting out or need some quick basic meal ideas I suggest you go get yourself one of these. Most books stores have it along with Kmart.

Lunch meeting at work

Today's lunch I didn't know what to expect as I order lunch for everyone and requested a strict gluten free lunch for me. What I got was a little surprise both on the taste bud side of things and on the presentation side of things. It was some raps filled with sandwich fillings and cut into pieces with a little salad in the middle. Surprisingly tasty but a bit chewy. I ordered from Island Gourmet http://www.islandgourmet.net.au/ on Invermay road, great for normal eaters but not awesome for coeliacs.

Baking from a box

So I choose to cheat when it comes to baking. Not overly good at using recipes and baking. But I will one day master that skill and the ingredients. So for now I use all different brands of packet mixes and I will say they are wicked! I can use my dairy free butter, eggs and rice/almond milk and they still taste great! I have made such things as muffins, cupcakes, chocolates cakes, crumpets and carrot bread, all in which you can add extra ingredients to give then a bit of extra zing. I buy my packets at Coles mainly in the health food isle but Woolworth have a good selection too. Health food shops do too but tend to be a bit more pricey! 

First go at Sri Lankan cooking

Being Australian its always exciting and challenging trying to cook a different cuisine. As my partner is Sri Lankan I wanted to impress him with some home cooking. Here I attempted Dahl, Mallung and white chicken curry. Compared to his family cooking it still needed some refining but I was pretty impressed with what I had produced and so was Aaron. This meal was surprisingly easy to make once all the ingredients were sourced. I now have a very fool spice rack and some ingredients I have never heard of before. I suggest any Coeliac give this cooking a go as you use all natural ingredients and it mainly consists of herbs/spices and veggies/meat! 

This is me!

This is me! 

Hi, welcome to my blog about being a Coeliac in Tasmania. 
I have been Gluten Free since I was about 14/15 years old. I was one very sick girl that had lost a lot of weight, was anaemic, lethargic and had stomach problems. I was so glad to to put a stop to all that and regain a healthy body again. I eat nearly like a normal person again (of course being all gluten free). When I first became gluten free I found it very hard to find things to eat especially when out, now there is so much on offer my choices are endless. I still of course have to be careful with making sure there is no cross contamination as I get sick quiet easily if there is. 

Enough about the food and a little bit about me! I work as a receptionist at Utas School of Architecture and also teach dance (jazz) in my spare time. I live with my Sri Lankan partner in a cute little unit and love spending time with my friends and exercising. I have vibrant red hair and a fair few tattoos. Life's good and I am happy.

Lately I have been introduced into Sri Lankan cooking and discovered how amazing it is. This is one thing I want to share with everybody, how easy it is to cook an international cuisine while sticking to gluten free. I also want to share all the places that eat at (as I eat out a lot) and the great meals I have. This blog I will be posting recipes, places/food when dining out, exciting products I find and general life being a Gluten Free Tasmanian. 
Oh forgot, just to top it all off I am also meant to avoid dairy, soy, yeast, lamb and peas! Just to make it tough, but I am alright if I have a little bit here and there.

I look forward to bringing this blog to whoever wants to read and I really hope I can offer some Tasmanians and people visiting Tasmania some great advice and dining experiences.