Costa Gluten Free Wrap Review

14 May

JD's Grill gluten free hoagieA couple of weeks ago a big wave of gluten free on the go options were announced.  Tesco have launched a range of four pre-prepared sandwiches, Costa Coffee have launched a gluten free chicken wrap and Starbucks veggie wrap is now available nationwide.  In addition to this Amy’s Kitchen tomato soup and mac &  cheese is now available in ASDA cafes, M&S have started selling gluten free scotch eggs and for those in Plymouth JD’s Grill have started offering an amazing gluten free ‘hoagie’ to take away at lunchtimes (pictured right).  Life is certainly looking up for coeliacs and those following a gluten free diet with these convenient choices.

I was subsequently contacted by Costa Coffee and offered the chance to take some friends out to sample their first gluten free savoury offering.  Costa have previously offered gluten free brownies and also cherry bakewells, and I believe there were GF Christmas cake slices stocked over the festive period.  The new wrap consists of British chicken with basil mayo, tomatoes & rocket on a seeded Newburne Bakehouse wrap.

2014-05-14 12.42.43I took along friends Greg and Sarah today to sample the wrap.  Greg is going through coeliac diagnosis at the moment after a recent positive blood test, whilst Sarah is both gluten and dairy intolerant.  At this point I should point out that the new product is also being marketed as dairy free, though it should be noted that the allergy advice on the packaging does state “may contain milk traces”.  I asked Costa to clarify this and have had the following response:

“It is not possible to guarantee that the product is 100% dairy-free because it is pre-prepared in a third party factory, which also produces products with dairy in them. Therefore there is an extremely small chance of a trace of dairy being present.”

Taste testers Sarah and Greg

Taste testers Sarah and Greg!

So as for the verdicts.  Sarah said: “I thought it was a tasty choice for an on-the-go lunch option. The wrap had a good texture, contained lots of chicken but may benefit from more mayonnaise or maybe another sauce, like GF sweet chilli? A good idea would be to have a gluten free meal deal at Costa – any drink, the wrap and one of the brownies/bakewells or crisps.”

Greg said: “For my first gluten free meal out it was a pretty good start.  Came away feeling full and satisfied.  The wraps matched any other retailer, like Boots and Sainsbury’s.  Very good filling and a great amount of chicken.  A little skimpy on the sauce, and a personal preference would have been sweet chili sauce.  The cherry bakewells were fantastic, they were just like Mr Kipling, hit the spot right on.”

In my opinion great comments from Sarah and Greg and I’d completely agree with their verdicts.  I’m already a fan of the Newburn Bakehouse wraps and the amount of filling was great, plenty of chicken and just the right amount of salad.  It was a touch on the dry side and would definitely have benefited from a bit more mayo, though the idea above of sweet chilli sauce would be brilliant!  The wrap is priced at £3.75 which isn’t cheap but for a safe, convenient and tasty gluten free option on the go this could be worse.  I can’t see me buying this very often in Plymouth when I’ve got Clare’s Gluten Free and JD’s Grill nearby, but I will definitely be buying this again when I’m on my travels.

It’s taken a long time for Costa to bring out a savoury gluten free option, but I think this is a good one.  One thing I must say is that my wife, Abby, joined us and she is going gluten free this week for Coeliac Awareness Week, but as she is vegetarian there was no savoury gluten free things that she could eat.  Hopefully something will be added in this respect in the future.  Finally a big thanks to Sarah and Greg for helping out with this review and to Costa for shouting us all lunch today.

Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea

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Eating Out Gluten Free in London

13 May

Last month myself and my wife, Abby, made a trip up to London to show my father-in-law the sites as he made his first trip over to the UK.  I hadn’t really planned on blogging about my eating out experiences, but on reflection my previous London post is starting to get a little out of date.  So here is a brief mention for some of the eating out experiences we had on our most recent visit, along with a few suggestions from the past that are still very much relevant.

honest burgerHonest Burger: In my days before coeliac diagnosis I always loved a burger, but it wasn’t until I visited Honest Burger in London a few years ago that I was finally able to enjoy a burger in a gluten free bun for the first time.  These burgers are simply sensational, served nicely pink unless you ask for it otherwise, along with amazing rosemary salted fries.  Whenever I am in London this is the first place I visit, and I am never disappointed. Gluten free beer and onion rings are also served.  On this visit we took a trip to the Kings Cross branch, which is quite a bit larger than some of the original venues and so has reduced waiting times: http://www.honestburgers.co.uk/

MestizoMestizo: Being married to an American means that Mexican is a regular in our household.  Mexican options in Plymouth are thin on the ground so we are always excited to make the most of London’s increased options.  We’ve now visited Mestizo a couple of times and the food has been excellent on both occasions.  The restaurant offers a separate gluten and wheat free menu, not to mention Europe’s largest tequila bar.  I can heartily recommend the Enchiladas Cancun, really delicious!  Abby loves this place as it is also home to the elusive vegetarian mole sauce: http://london.mestizomx.com/

wahacaWahaca: Another Mexican restaurant, which also offers a gluten free menu.  The food here is billed as “street food” and in that respect the style of food is different to Mestizo, but just as tasty and we love Wahaca too!  Be aware that some of the items on the gluten free menu are cooked in fryers with other gluten free items and so are not suitable for coeliacs.  These items are marked as such on the gluten free menu, and there are plenty of other options such as tasty taquitos.  The food is very good value and it has been known for us to spend more on margaritas on a few (every) occasion we have been there: http://www.wahaca.co.uk/

vozarsVozars: This is a completely gluten free restaurant based on the site of the former WAGFree bakery in Brixton.  The restaurant is inspired by the gluten free Celia lager and this is available in abundance!  The food here was fantastic and I can’t speak highly enough about my meal.  I demolished a venison burger, served with chunky wedges and garlic mayo.  Everything had so much flavour that I can still taste it now!  I will definitely be going back here on our next visit to London.  Desserts are provided by WAGFree so plenty of choice in this respect too: http://vozars.co.uk/ UPDATE: Sadly Vozars has now closed

Otto Pizza: Obviously gluten free pizza isn’t as hard to come by as it once was, but Otto Pizza was the first place I managed to eat gluten free pizza out after being diagnosed.   This is a very different kind of pizza experience to the norm though, with Otto serving a deep dish cornmeal crust pizza that I’ve not seen anywhere else in the UK.  Indeed my wife rates this as the best pizza she’s tried in this country.  The gluten free pizzas are very good and there are some great topping choices.  There’s also Celia Lager served to wash it down: http://www.ottopizza.co.uk/ UPDATE: Sadly Otto has now closed

leonLeon: Leon is always a great place to grab a quick gluten free lunch or breakfast when out and about in London.  There are numerous branches spread across the capital that give the chance to grab some healthier fast food with plenty of gluten free choices.  There’s also some very tasty baked fries and cakes available so no need to be too healthy!  The still lemonade is also delicious: http://leonrestaurants.co.uk/

Pod: Another quick and easy fast food choice with gluten free options.  There are lots of Pods to eat in around London, and it is worth noting that they sell bacon sandwiches on Genius gluten free bread which is why I quite often stop in for breakfast: http://www.podfood.co.uk/

Rossopomodoro: I’d heard good things about the pizza at Rossopomodro so we visited last time we were up in London.  However, I did not heed the warning to call ahead and make sure they have gluten free dough in and they were out.  You can read a review of the GF pizza from @itsgottobegf here.  Other GF choices were limited but the staff were helpful and I did have grilled chicken and Mediterranean vegetables in a balsamic dressing which was very nice: http://rossopomodoro.co.uk/nogluten/

Namaaste Kitchen: I’m very much a fan of Indian food, so when I was told award winning Indian restaurant Namaaste Kitchen had a separate gluten free menu I was keen to visit.  I went for the tandoori chicken which was absolutely delicious.  The only downside was the lack of cider served in the restaurant: http://www.namaastekitchen.co.uk/

A few others that I’ve yet to try but have been recommended to me more than once, so I’m adding them here so I don’t forget them:

Elliot’s Café: http://www.elliotscafe.com/

Dishoom: www.dishoom.com

Nopi: http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/locations

Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea

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Coeliac Awareness Week 2014

12 May

This week is Coeliac Awareness week, an event which run annually by Coeliac UK to help raise awareness of Coeliac Disease.  As many of you know I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in 2011, and I now spend much of my time spreading the word and trying to help fellow coeliacs.  The disease affects an estimated 1 in 100 people in the UK according to Coeliac UK.  However only around 15% of this number have been properly diagnosed.  That means a massive 85% of those with coeliac disease are still being made ill, with the long term risk of osteoporosis or even bowel cancer remaining without treatment.

When a coeliac ingests gluten, an autoimmune response will cause the body to attack the lining of the small intestine.  This leads to damage to the villi (small finger like projections lining the gut).  These are flattened reducing the surface area of the gut, preventing food and nutrients from being properly absorbed.  This can lead to malnourishment and anaemia.  There is currently no medical cure for the disease, and the only treatment is a lifetime gluten free diet.  This means strict avoidance of wheat, rye and barley.

Gluten is commonly found in foods such as pasta, bread, cakes, biscuits, pizza, pastry and flour.  Food is not the only issue, as many drinks such as beer and cheep cola’s can also contain gluten.  Other symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhoea, bloating, headaches, joint pain and fatigue.  Coeliac disease is also a hereditary condition, so if you have a family member with coeliac disease you are at an increased risk.  Many patients are also incorrectly diagnosed with IBS.  So does this sound like you?  Make sure you see your GP and get tested.

awarnessweek2014

Coeliac UK are this year running an awareness week campaign to encourage supermarkets to sign up for a “gluten free guarantee”.  The campaign aims to improve availability of gluten free food for coeliacs, and the charity is asking supermarkets to  guarantee the following core items are always stocked: fresh white bread, fresh brown bread, bread rolls, breakfast cereals, pasta, flour, crackers and cereal bars.  You can read more about this campaign and how to get involved here.

For more information on coeliac disease, please take the time to read the story of my diagnosis here.  I would also be really grateful if you could share this post to your Facebook and Twitter feeds to help spread the word.  If you think you could be suffering from Coeliac Disease visit the Coeliac UK website for more information, and above all please visit your doctor and get tested before eliminating gluten from your diet.

Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea

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