When it comes to quality of my food, I learned to choose for the best whenever possible.  For a long time now, I have been avoiding conventional food and buying mainly their biological equivalents.

Till now, I haven’t been paying much attention to the costs of such food choices. However, recently I went to Lidl a couple of times and I noticed that I have a few (bio/GF) favorite products. Even better, I realized I saved money by buying these products in Lidl rather than in AH or a biological supermarket.

Below I show you some of my favorites from Lidl. They are gluten free (based on ingredients and allergy information), some also biological.

Vegetables (all biological)

You can find more biological vegetables by Lidl. Last weekend, I saw also different bio pumpkins and zucchini.

Nuts and seeds 

Great in salads!

I like to grind walnuts and use them in gluten free baking as a replacement for an expensive almond flour.

Sugar-y but gluten free 

These sweets contain glucose syrup and/or maltodextrine. I can have only a small amount, otherwise I get headache and other symptoms. Perhaps, you can tolerate them better.

 From the Delicieux line in Lidl, also the ‘Amandel Petits Fours’ (small amandelgebakjes) are glutenfree. Their bottom is made of almond cookies.

Other

I became really addicted to olives last weeks. These are quite tasty and cheap.

Soon, I will post a recipe for vegetarian butternut squash-lentils chilli ‘con-carne’ that I made with these beans. The sauce contains corn starch and is free from wheat.

I like these eggs for their nicely yellow yolks. But I also buy the biological eggs from Lidl if they are in stock.

I don’t tolerate dairy proteins well but I have no problem with butter.

 I really like the bio apple moes as an evening snack. The curry sauce makes a boring meal a bit more spicy and the gluten free pasta’s from Lidl are really cheap (penne, fusilli and spaghetti).

You can also find in Lidl paprika chips which are gluten free, some borrelnootjes, fritessaus, some ice-creams (Gelatelli /fake almond Magnum; Noblissima/Viennetta), frozen potato croquettes (not my fav though), an oven-dish fish mediterranean, some fresh and processed meat (e.g. Zwagerman Saksische leverworst; and andere vleeswaren), many dairy products, (bio) rice waffles and other.

I just wanted to show you the ones that I like the most.  I also buy there WC paper (the pinky one ;). The mineral water is not so tasty BUT unlike the Dutch tap water – the Lidl mineral water is free from estrogen and traces of Roundup chemical so I buy it sometimes too.

And bananas, not biological but so cheap ! ;-) I like to use them in my banana-avocado-cacao-honey ‘pudding’ (see the recipe).

Cheers,

Kati xxx

I was in Rees in Germany the other day and I stepped in to the drugstore DE. To my surprise, I found gluten free food products that I haven’t seen before. Next to a large  stand with Schar products (which are cheaper than in NL) I noticed gluten free food from the organic brand FruSano. There were for instance gluten free ketchup, gummy bears, drops, lactose free chocolates, protein bars, rice in lactose free chocolate, gluten free and fructose free jams. Perhaps nothing unusual but if you are around and use these kind of food products, you might like to enter.

I bought a couple of ciabatta’s. I really like to have them from time to time.

I regret I didn’t buy this ketchup. It was quite expensive and I usually buy Heinz Bio, which is also GF, but who knows perhaps this one is even better.

Some gluten free candies – also low in fructose. Not for me though. I cut off refined sugar from my diet and I feel way better now.

Jams. They looked really nice but ehhh the price! I prefer the jams (also free from refined sugar) from the brand FiordiFrutta (from EkoPlaza).

The prices of the biological products are quite high but so is the quality. Most of the products are lactose free and refined sugar free; some even fructose free. I think they are aimed at a certain group of people with these specific food intolerance’s and allergies.

Next time I see a drugstore abroad I will surely step in to check out the rack with the special food.

Do you have similar experience with the drugstores in other countries? I have been to drugstores Rossmann in Poland and they had a wide assortment of gluten free food too.

Cheers,

Kati xxx

About two weeks ago I spotted in Bruna a magazine ‘Glutenvrij’. There was another edition (also with only gluten free recipes) a couple of months ago but I didn’t buy it back then. It is for sale here though.

This time, I had to give it a chance.

I paid E 5, 95,- for 95 recipes.

The magazine has a nice graphical index with mini photos of each recipe. You will find there following recipes

• Different types of gluten free dough (Filo, Savory, Pasta, Puff pastry)
• Sauces (Bechamel, Mayonnaise)
• Breads (6 different recipes)
• Snacks (17 recipes)
• Vegetarian dishes (16 recipes)
• Fish dishes (13 recipes)
• Meat dishes (13 recipes)
• Sweets (24 recipes)

Next to recipes, you can find there a couple of handy tips and 2 pages of basic instructions on using gluten free ingredients (substitutes, binding ingredients etc.)

The recipes below I like most

Vegetable dips

 Stuffed chicken breast

Corndogs

Carrot gratin with sunflower seeds

If you can’t eat dairy then the recipes are little less valuable as most of them call for milk or fresh cream (creme fraiche). You can always replace dairy ingredients with soy/rice/coconut products but then a couple of modification is usually needed. In principle not a problem but there are better recipe magazines/books for you then.

Also, if you prefer more unconventional recipes and you follow an overall anti-inflammatory diet – this is not a magazine for you.

Despite above, it is a great magazine, full of beautiful pictures with many recipes. There are easy recipes which are doable within 30 minutes and more challenging ones that require a bit more time and perhaps some skills. Not that it should stop anyone from trying.

I bought my copy in Bruna but the magazine is available on the internet as well. For example here.

AN UPDATE: In May 2015 (Celiac Awarness Month) you can order online both Glutenvrij magazines with a discount of 10%. All you need to do to get the discount is follow the link in the end of this post on Coeliakiemaand.nl website.

Cheers,

Kati xxx

Specialetaarten.nl (also known as glutenvrijetaart.nl) is a bakery that makes, among other, gluten free cakes, gluten free breads (view assortment) and gluten free pastry (view assortment). I ordered a gluten and dairy free cake to celebrate my partner’s birthday.  It was a cake for 10-12 persons with a filling made of chocolate mousse. It was amazing. The dairy free chocolate  mousse turned out beyond our expectations.

Birthday cakes from Specialetaarten can be ordered online here. Once you choose a style and a size of a cake, you will have to fill in a short questionnaire. This smart system allows you to choose taste, allergens to avoid, type of filling, color, decorations etc. It is very easy and I must admit – convenient. It leaves no room for misunderstandings. You can have the cake delivered to you (extra costs) or pick it up in one of the shops (Almere, Heemskerk, Amsterdam, Apeldoorn). I live in Arnhem so I went to The Free From Shop in Apeldoorn to get my cake. If you are interested in my review of that shop you can read it here.

The baker Joop Siervogel is very famous for his work.

This is the cake I ordered

Everybody just loved this cake! Our guests couldn’t believe it was gluten free.

If you want to order a gluten free cake for a special occasion I recommend Specialetaarten. Another equally good option is Gebaksjuwelier (my review of the bakery is here). At Gebaksjuwelier only gluten free products are made so there is no chances of gluten contamination. At Specialetaarten, although they do bake conventional products, they take measures to prevent contamination.

An update: A gluten free birthday cake can be order as well at Zoete Bakselz. I didn’t order anything yet but I just found out that it is possible. Also, The Welsh Bakestone in Den Haag makes gluten free cakes if you order it 2 weeks ahead.

Cheers,

Kati xxx

Specialetaarten.nl

Glutenvrijetaart.nl

info@specialetaarten.nl

Zandzuigerstraat 53

1333 MV Almere

Whatever gluten free product you need, you can find it here!

The Free From Shop in Apeldoorn provides a wide assortment of the gluten and lactose free food products. Luckily for me, Apeldoorn is just a half an hour drive from Arnhem.

From fresh baked goods and any baking/cooking ingredient, that you might think of, to frozen ready meals – you can find there everything.

I bought a couple of things

What I forgot to place in the basket are: gluten free beer , suikerbrood and beef croquettes from VA Foods.

I have heard of a soy-based whip cream before but I have actually never seen it in any shop before.  I was happy to find it there :-)

‘Gevulde koeken’ (filled cookies) were always my favorite Dutch sweets. Unfortunately, most of the gluten free filled cookies are packed per one and they are ridiculously expensive. You can imagine my joy to find a package that actually contained 4 cookies :D

Yeyy, a gluten free marsepain (in different colors)! I regret I didn’t buy aromas for baking, there were a couple of them with different flavors. Oh well, next time!

I bought Sam Mills pasta made of corn flour and quinoa flour. Something new to try.

A Belgian mayonnaise Delaan without preservatives and color agents. So good! I don’t want to eat any other mayo from now on :-)

The suikerbrood (sugar bread) from Specialetaarten.nl was amazing! I have noticed too late that it contained wheat starch < 20 ppm (it was enough to fire up my rash and make me feel like this). Further, it was mouth-watering :D

Many different breads were for sale; they contained all kind of flours. I chose a walnut bread which, unfortunately, contained wheat starch (<20 ppm) as I found out at home (luckily, before I ate it).

Freezers were full with different gluten free cakes and pastry, breads and ready meals. Definitely, many reasons to go back to Apeldoorn!

If you have a chance to visit The Free From Shop, I am sure you won’t regret. Just  remember to read the labels if you are sensitive to wheat starch. I was so excited I forgot to watch out for it.

This post is not sponsored. I recommend this place because I love it! :-) 

Cheers,

Kati xxx

The Free From Shop

info@thefreefromshop.nl

Soerenseweg 22

7314 CD Apeldoorn

The Netherlands

Finally, I went to Gebaksjuwelier! Twice :-)

Gebaksjuwelier is a gluten free bakery in Culemborg, 30 km below Utrecht or an hour-tje drive from Arnhem. Bakery! Everything is gluten free!

We drove to Culemborg by car. It was easy to find the bakery as we used a navigation. It is located in a quiet area, next to a couple of other shops.

The owner of the bakery is Paula Onink.  Paula is the nicest baker in a Dutch province Gelderland! How cool is that?! (the picture below is ‘borrowed’ from here)

The bakery is a lovely and charming place, designed in a cute inviting style. I took a couple of pictures to give you an impression. I bet, though, that most of you have already been there!

I celebrated my birthday in March and I wanted a gluten free cake. On a short notice Paula agreed to make me a cake (the orders should be placed at least 2 weeks in advance). As we needed a cake without gluten and without dairy, we had two choices for the filling: vanilla or coconut. Besides, if you have wishes with regard to size or a cake decoration, Paula will take them into account. Check out these pretty roses and curly leafs!

The cake was really tasty, with a light filling, moist and not too sweet inside. I ate soo much of it :D

Once in, you can’t leave empty handed. To be honest, I wanted to try EVERYTHING!

We bought all three types of bread that were in stock: white bread, sunflower seeds bread and multi-seeds bread (brown bread). They all were so delicious that I don’t really know which of them I liked most :| Decisions, decisions – I take them all! :D

I can tell you one thing – the best gluten free bread I have ever had.

We went back to the bakery before Easter. We came back home with a bag full of delicious goods.

We tried:

• Brownies and pecan pie

• Mini apple pies (gluten&lactose free)

• Mini Easter fruit cake

• Baquettes

• Chilli bread snacks

• Chocolate (gluten&lactose free) cookies

• Mini quiche

• Paasstol

And we got a sample with granola to test :-)

I am very happy I finally went to visit the bakery. Within two weeks I have been there twice and I can’t wait to go again!

This post is not sponsored. I wanted to share with you this awesome place that bakes gluten free goods and that I absolutely loved!

PS. If you know other places that are worth visiting and suitable for a review on this blog, please let me know.

Cheers,

Kati xxx

GEBAKSJUWELIER

www.glutenvrijgenieten.nl

The problem with the salted caramel hearts is that they all contain the same filling. Where is the surprise? Where the chocolate romance?!

I sought handmade, high quality, delicious gluten free bonbons and I found Villa. Villa is an online shop that distributes, among other, gluten free bonbons.

‘ GENIETEN VOOR IEDEREEN!

Iedereen vindt chocolade lekker, maar smaken verschillen.
Bovendien mag niet iedereen alles eten.
Dat kan bijvoorbeeld zijn om medische reden of vanwege bepaalde allergieën.

Villa Chocola wil zoveel mogelijk mensen laten genieten van goede kwaliteit chocola.
Oók mensen met wat meer specifieke wensen zijn we daarom graag van dienst.

Zo hebben we een ruime keus in suikervrije en glutenvrije bonbons.
Zelfs lactose-vrije chocola vind je bij Villa Chocola.’

For the security, I emailed them and asked if the chocolates were suitable for people with Celiac disease. To their knowledge the gluten content (if present) is below 20 ppm. I am always a bit skeptical when products have no certificate but I enjoyed them and I had no problems. Besides, one rarely eats more than 1-2 bonbons at once so the chances of getting glutened (if there were any) are small.

The quality is very good. The bonbons are delicious and beautiful.

Cost: E 15.00,- for 500g exc. sending costs (E 6.75,-).

I am looking forward to enjoy them again!

Cheers,

Kati xxx

I spent the Valentine weekend with my partner in one of the Landal Parks – Landal Heideheuvel in Beekbergen, near Apeldoorn (The Netherlands).

The search criteria’s for our destination were following

• Dogs allowed
• A bungalow with a kitchenette
• Gluten free catering
• Private sauna and a fire place
• Away from pollution (city)
• Clean air and the amazing smell of forest

The bungalow we rented had a modern and stylish interior. We had a steam bath with a solarium in the house and a real fire place. I was especially impressed by the floor made from real wood. The kitchenette was equipped with everything that one needs, even a dish washer and a coffee machine.

What about gluten free catering

I did a research and I came across a webpage (here) promising ‘Gluten free menu card’ in Landal Parks. Later, I found a positive review of the park on another blog (the review). With these high expectations I was awaiting our Landal experience. Before we left, I emailed info@landal.com to book a table in the restaurant. Despite all the positive reviews, I wanted to warn them about my gluten and dairy free requirements and give them an extra time to prepare (just in case). Soon, I received a confirmation by email.

Food bag

I like to be prepared and I really don’t like to be hungry so I gathered some food to take with us.

• Gluten free crackers, Genius bread
• Hummus, ham, bacon, boiled eggs, Unox knackwurst sausages
• Pesto, refined-sugar free jam, rice-chocolate spread
• Vegetables: cucumber, sauerkraut, avocado, snack carrots
• Fruits: Mango, bananas, plums, grapefruit
• Snacks: popcorn, lovechock, corn chips
• Mineral water, rice milk, tea, Senseo coffee pads (we read that there is a Senseo coffee machine in the bungalow)
• Fresh salads from AlbertHein for lunch

As I expected that I won’t be able to order any cake for a dessert in the restaurant, I baked my own cake at home and took it with us to the park. It was worth it!

Besides, I never leave without my own toaster, a small frying pan, a small cooking pot and a plastic cutting board.

Local shop at park

In the park there is a mini supermarket. I went to investigate it. Although I didn’t see any certified gluten free or dairy free products I found fresh meat (without spices or marinade), fresh vegetables and fruits, nuts, Alpro Soy ‘milk’ and pudding, rice, eggs, smoked fish and Unox sausages and pate (without gluten). If you happened to take no food with you, you could fix yourself some tasty GF meal from these fresh ingredients.

Dinner at the restaurant

The staff in the restaurant is young and very friendly. They had a note regarding my diet. I asked if they were aware of contamination and they replied positive. To give an example, they keep a separate oil to fry the French fries.

At the restaurant we ordered our drinks and we were patiently waiting for the famous gluten free menu card. But the card never arrived. Instead, we got a ‘random’ menu card and I was told I could choose anything from it, which would be ‘adapted’ to my diet requirements. Honestly, I have heard it a couple of times before in my life and it just NEVER makes me feel comfortable. I read the menu and I chose the safest dishes, which I thought had the least chances to go wrong: salad with grilled vegetables and a salmon with vegetables baked in the oven (in a sleeve). We also got the gluten free French fries with mayonnaise (I asked if the mayo was safe and they said yes). The waiter was wearing gloves when he served our food. I took it as a good sign.

The salmon ‘package’ contained the fish, cougette, pumpkin and fennel. It was accompanied by a sauce that looked (to me) as not free from dairy so I didn’t eat it. My partner had a carpaccio and a mixed grilled meat (no photo, sorry). The food was truly delicious.

The other days we preferred to cook ourselves at the bungalow from the fresh ingredients that we bought in the local shop. We decided to enjoyed the dinner in front of the fire place.

Snack bar

On Saturday we went to buy the gluten free French fries again but now from the snack bar. There, I asked about the mayonnaise and they said it wasn’t gluten free (?!). I only hope it was a different mayo than the one they gave us at the dinner (the restaurant and the snack bar are connected and kind of share a kitchen). Another possibility is that the young people working there weren’t aware of what is and what isn’t gluten free. Unfortunately their English wasn’t fluent either and my partner had to translate all my questions.

Despite some small disappointments about the catering, we had a lovely stay in the park. The entire Valentine weekend was sunny and we had great long walks with the dog in the forest. Evenings spend in front of the fire place were romantic and steam bathing in sauna was not only detoxifying but also MEGA relaxing. We sure go visit the other Landal Parks in the future.

P.S.

1. The Park offered a lot of activities for children (entertainment, mini-zoo, swimming pool, free guided activities etc.) so it is a great place to go for families.
2. If you are especially interested in sauna – it is available in bungalows marked with ‘L’, like e.g. 6L (6-persons luxurious).
3. Your car can be parked just next to your bungalow.
4. If you don’t travel by car, there is a bus stop about 2 minutes walk from the Park.
5. Unless you are very patient and don’t mind waiting for your food loong time – try cooking something in the bungalow ;-)
6. If you forget to pack your book, kitchen towel, soap or anything else – you will be able to find a substitute in the local shop.

I hope the review was informative to you. If you want to have some short/long get away – I recommend the Landal Heideheuvel.

Cheers,

Kati xxx

To not spoil such a beautiful snowy day with boring shopping we went to get food for the next week in Germany.  A fun trip. On the advice of Veronica (in a comment to the post on shopping in the German supermarket Real), the choice fell on Kaufland in Kleve.

From outside, the supermarket didn’t look very big but once inside we quickly realized that we will be able to buy anything we need in there. There is a bakery (nope, not gluten free) and a café inside, also a stand with delicatessen, tapas and things like that. In the middle part of the shop, we found food department, drugstore department, baby stuffs department, department with things for animals, clothes, kitchen accessories, other household stuffs and many more. In one word, everything!

Before I even show you what I bought, I will note that we paid much less for a full basket of food than we paid in Real. We bought a lot of organic vegetables and fruits, a couple of gluten free (some even biological) flours, quite big amount of meat and still, we ended up with a dream-bill. The only thing I didn’t like in Kaufland was no gluten free department as such. The gluten free products were distributed amongst all the other products. It took us some time to walk through the alleys and try to spot the GF logo. Also, the meat we bought in Real seemed fresher than the meat from Kaufland.

Sometimes, the GF logo (and lactose free) was depicted (as below) but not always.

Now, to the point. Let me show you the products that you might be especially interested in.

Bread like things

Flours and mixes

 Pasta

Processed meat &  Vegan Cheese

I am really happy with the wide assortment of gluten free products in Kaufland. I could choose products I wanted to buy as there were many choices for people who follow a gluten free diet. Besides, there were many lactose free product in the stock too. It was a pleasure to shop today!

Cheers,

Kati xxx

Last Thursday, I went to the center of Arnhem to find Christmas gifts for my parents. I found gifts and I bumped into Bagels & Beans (B&B Arnhem). I knew the brand quite well from reading stories on other blogs. Excited, I decided to check if they had gluten free bagels.

First, I asked if they had gluten free bagels as well. The girl working there seemed very confident and quickly replied that yes of course they have. I was already giggling and jumping inside!

She said also that they are taking care of gluten contamination. She asked if I was intolerant. I said that I had coeliac disease and she recognized the term. Now we were talking!

It wasn’t really a right time for lunch or dinner or even a snack so I took 4 bagels with me to enjoy them at home. I chose the frozen bagels as I thought that the less it was moved around the less chances of contamination. I paid 6 euro for 4 gluten free bagels. It is a good deal as far as I’m concerned.

My bagels were unfreezing for the entire night. They were fine in the morning, perhaps just a little bit too hard. I cut one half and placed it in the hot oven. It still felt a bit hard after but it was nicely warm. It had a nice sweet flavor. On the package there was no label and I forgot to ask about ingredients. Something to do the next time. In my opinion, they are made of soy flour or/and with lupine flour addition. There are sweet types of lupine and their flours are quite yellow (just as was my bagel inside) due to the high content of beta-carotene.

I didn’t take pictures of my dressed bagel. I ate it with a tiny bit of mayo, smoked salmon and sauerkraut. (The latter I eat 3 x per day to rebuild the micro flora in my guts. It seems to have a really good effect on me).

To conclude, the bagel had a very good taste. The texture was good as well even though they were frozen before. I blame my poor ‘handling bagels’ skills for the bagel to be hard. I am giving it another go. But the next time I let the girls in Bagels & Beans prepare it. Only then I will judge if it is still hard or not.

In the past I was always having my lunch in Manu (my review) once I was in the city (Arnhem). Now, I can add Bagels & Beans to the list of safe places to dine in Arnhem. Happy  :-)

Bagels & Beans

Koningstraat 69 
6811 DJ ARNHEM
T. 026-3701445

• Monday 12:00-17:30
• Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 9:30-17:30
• Saturday 10:00-17:30
• Sunday 11:00-16:00

A couple of months ago, the Jumbo supermarket began to sell fresh gluten free bread Yam. I found it inconvenient that it had to be pre-ordered. You couldn’t just go to a shop and buy a loaf of bread. It had to be planned ahead. One more thing to occupy my already busy mind – no, thank you.

It is such a joy that since 25^th August (2014) the AH supermarket sells fresh gluten free Genius bread, buns and muffins (products and prices). No pre-orders necessary. We can enter (almost)any AH supermarket in the country and get our fresh loaf of bread. It feels so good!

Besides, the number of gluten free products provided by the AH increased. Amongst others, products of Crazy Bakers (contain wheat-derived ingredients not suitable for sensitive Celiacs) or Livwell are now accessible (btw. the pita breads from Livwell taste so good!).

Genius Breads and Buns and Muffins are WHEAT FREE and DAIRY FREE !!! 

There are 4 types of Genius breads available in AH

• White bread
• Brown bread
• Multi-seeds bread
• Sweet bread with fruit

We can choose between two types of buns

• White buns
• Multi-seeds buns

Besides, there are chocolate muffins in the assortment.

So far, I tried 5 products of Genius: the white buns, the multi-seeds buns, the sweet bread, the chocolate muffins and the multi-seeds bread.

How do I grade the above four products

Nr. 1 – the multi-seeds bread (great texture, amazingly good taste, smells good, well tolerated by my body)

Nr. 2 – the multi-seeds buns (great texture, great taste, rich aroma, well tolerated by my body)

Nr. 3 – the chocolate muffins (good texture, perhaps just a tiny bit too dry, taste is okay, well tolerated by my body)

Nr.4 – the white buns (typical poor gluten free texture, crumbling a lot, terrible taste, well tolerated by my body)

Nr.5 – The sweet bread (very good texture, wonderful taste and cinnamon aroma, gave me terrible headache and other symptoms). I am truly disappointed in my reaction to this bread. It was the best gluten free bread (from a package) that I have tasted so far. Another explanation to my bad reaction could be gluten contamination of the bread. This product was the only one (that I tried)  which wasn’t in a sealed package. I have read on forums that in some shops the bread bags weren’t well closed while laying in a bread department. I might give it another go in a while again. (An update: I tried it one more time and again I got i terrible migraine). If my body wouldn’t react to it so bad – it would be a candidate for a Nr.2 :-)

Overall, the Genius breads contain mostly starchy flours. The list of ingredients of the sweet bread is suspiciously long. But yeah, it has to feel ‘fresh’ for at least 1 week, if I remember the expiration date correctly. Such easily available breads are handy from time to time but I know that I am not able to tolerate such ‘heavy’ cocktail of functional food ingredients on daily basis. Unless I want to walk around with inflamed tummy (read: balloon).

Did you already try new gluten free products from AH? I am curious what you think about them.

Cheers,

Highlights

• Gluten free, wheat free, dairy free and soy free!
• Easy to make
• 10-15 min preparation & 15-20 min baking
• Suitable as lunch or dinner

Ingredients

• Flour mix – 375 g of Pizza & pastry multimix from Orgran
• Dry yeast –  7 g
• Sugar – 1 tea spoon
• Warm water – 250 ml (I use warm tap water)
• Fat in a liquid state – 20 ml
• Gluten free flour – a couple of spoons (to sprinkle the bowl/board used to knead the dough)
• Red tomato sauce or tomato puree (I used a pre-made red sauce AH Excellent because I was out of tomato puree at home ;)
• Anything that you want to put on your pizza dough (I used: champignons, yellow and red peppers, tomatoes, arugula (in Dutch: rucola), cheese)
• Optional: ketchup or garlic sauce

Ingredients of Pizza & pastry multimix from Orgran: Maize starch, Potato starch, Maize flour, Raising agents; Glucono delta lactone, Sodium bicarbonate, Pea flour, Salt, Stabilisers: Xanthan gum, Carboxymethycellulose, Methycellulose.

* The Orgran gluten free flour mix for pizza contains more food additives than conventional (wheat based) pizza flour. As much as I found it very delicious, it is healthier to use it in moderation (just like any other foods).

Needed appliances

• A bowl
• A measuring cup
• A spoon/spatula or a sushi stick
• A cutting board
• A knife
• A baking plate
• Baking paper
• A pre-heated to 200 oven
• Optional: a kitchen balance

Tips

• If you do not have any red sauce at home or tomato puree – you can use ketchup.
• You can easily make your own red sauce by heating some tomatoes on a pan together with Italian herbs and garlic.
• According to the recipe printed on the Pizza flour box – the oil should be added to water with gist and then all together added to the flour BUT I have messed up the order (my partner was helping;) and we added oil to the flour directly. As you can see – it made no difference!
• If you cannot tolerate even small amounts of cheese (dairy, lactose intolerance) – you can skip cheese or use a lactose free version
• If you are in a hurry and don’t feel like cutting your vegetables – through some slices of g-f ham on your dough and you are ready to go!
• If you like to have pizza dough edges filled with cheese – make them before applying the sauce (between the steps 10^th  and 11^th )

[See image gallery at glutenfreelady.nl]

Preparation steps

1. Switch on the oven, set it on 200 ºC
2. Cover the baking plate with baking paper
3. Wash and cut the vegetables
4. Measure 250 ml of warm tap water and dissolve one tea spoon of sugar in it
5. Add the dry gist to the sweet water and allow the gist to activate for 5-10 min before you add it to the flour
6. In a meantime, place the flour in a bowl
7. Now it is time to add the liquid fat to the activated gist solution
8. Combine the liquid ingredients with flour and knead for 2-3 min
9. When the dough becomes too sticky – sprinkle some gluten free flour on it (I used a leftover of a brown bread mix)
10. Now spread the dough on the baking paper using your hand (sprinkle the dough with some gluten free flour)
11. Apply the red sauce on top of the dough
12. Decorate your pizza with anything you like
13. If you want to use yellow cheese – I suggest to place it on top
14. Now, place the raw pizza in the oven for 15-20 minutes

Enjoy your meal,

• Arnhem – Emmerich (32km)
• Arnhem – Kleve (40km)
• Arnhem – Rees (50km)

Real (Grüttweg 42, 46459 Rees, Germany)

Why we shop in Germany

• It is cheaper than in NL
• Bigger choice of products (e.g. endless types of meats, thousands different brands)
• New gluten free brands/product
• A big choice of lactose free dairy products
• The biological vegetables (and other bio foods) are cheaper there
• German vegetables are famous for containing less pesticides
• It is fun like a mini road-trip
• Our car is very efficient so the travel does not cost us much

The first thing I acknowledged – LACTOSE FREE & GLUTEN FREE SIGNS!

The second thing I acknowledged – THE ALLERGY-FRIENDLY SHELVES ARE FULL!

[See image gallery at glutenfreelady.nl]

The third thing I acknowledged – THINGS ARE SO CHEAP!

[See image gallery at glutenfreelady.nl]

What I bought

[See image gallery at glutenfreelady.nl]

..also some cheap kitchen utilities

• Waffle maker (39.99,-)
• Toaster (9.99,-)
• Brush (0.99,-)
• Cream piping bags (1.00,-)

[See image gallery at glutenfreelady.nl]

Definitely recommended !

Highlights

• Gluten free, Wheat free, Lactose free and Soy free
• Very easy recipe (from Schar, on the package of the flour mix)
• 10-15 min preparation and 20-25 min baking
• 5 ingredients

Ingredients

• Mix A Margherita from Schar (500 g)
• Eggs – 4
• Butter (ghee, coconut fat,duck fat or any other) – 125 g
• Milk (lactose-free, almond milk, or other substitute)- 60 ml
• Fresh fruits: apple (1), rhubarb (in Dutch: rabarber)(2)

Ingredients of the Mix A from Schar: sugar, maize starch, potato starch, thickener: locust bean gum, raising agent: glucono deltalactone and sodium hydrogen carbonate, emulsifer: mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids. Soy-free, wheat-free!

Price: about E 4,- for 520 g of the mix. 

[See image gallery at glutenfreelady.nl]

Needed appliances

• A bowl
• A measuring cup
• A kitchen mixer
• Muffins form
• A preheated to 180°C oven

Tips

• Actually, I had left 460 g of the mix A (I used some of it before) and it worked out really well
• Eat in moderation :-) The mix A from Schar contains simple, refined sugar and muffins contain heated fats (how to choose foods good for Celiacs)
• You can use any fat that you like/have (best for baking are fats from animal sources)
• I used lactose free milk but almond/rice milk would be fine too
• Cut your fruits in small, thin pieces and add as many as you can – they make the cake feel moist and delicious
• The taste reminds me of my grandma’ s cake with berries. Next time I replace rhubarb and apple with blueberries.

Preparation steps

1. Start heating your oven ( 180°C)
2. Prepare your muffin forms
3. Place the mix A in a bowl
4. Add half of butter (or 125 g of any other fat)
5. Add 4 eggs
6. Measure 60 ml of milk (of your choice)
7. Mix everything using a kitchen mixer for 5 minutes
8. Peel and cut your fruits in small pieces
9. Fill the muffin forms with the dough
10. Decorate the tops of muffins with pieces of fruits (press the fruits slightly so they are partly hidden in the dough)
11. Bake muffins till golden brown (about 20-25 min)

[See image gallery at glutenfreelady.nl]

Enjoy your meal,

ought the bread baking machine Panasonic (SD-ZB2502). It works great although it has 27 baking programs out of which I use only one – the 12^th ‘gluten free program’ ;-).

I bought my machine on the webshop Bobshop.nl. I buy most of my household accessories there. They simply have the sharpest prices, deliver products fast, and give a professional service.

[See image gallery at glutenfreelady.nl]

The baking form and the stirrer are coated (btw. I’m not too happy about this). That means that spoons and spatulas should not be used upon handling it. They would easily make scratches and destroy the coating. For the same reason, it is also important to clean the baking form and the stirrer with water and soft sponge only. There are two different stirrers included to the Panasonic machine, one is suitable for strong dough (containing gluten) and the other (picture) is best for weak dough (like gluten free).

Yesterday, I was testing the flour mix for brown bread from Glutafin. The box contains 500 g of the flour mix and a bag of dry gluten free gist. Funny, I noticed it only after making the dough since that was something I haven’t expected. Most of brands do not include gist with the flour mix. Personally, I found it a little annoying that there is 500 g of flour when the recipe requires only 375 g of it. But no worries, the rest goes easily to the multi-flours dough for baking the buns (recipe).

Ingredients for Glutafin’s bread

• Glutafin flour mix – 375 g
• Warm water – 300 ml
• Dry gist -6 g
• Salt 7 g
• Oil – 13 g
• Optional: seeds  – 1 cup (I added sunflower seeds)

[See image gallery at glutenfreelady.nl]

Needed appliances

• A measuring cup
• A spoon (I use wooden sushi stick)
• A kitchen bowl to weigh ingredients
• A kitchen balance
• A bread baking machine

[See image gallery at glutenfreelady.nl]

Preparation steps (with important tips)

• Disconnect the baking form from the baking machine
• Make sure the stirrer is well attached
• Pure 3oo ml of warm water (you can use warm water from a tap) to a measuring cup
• Add the dry gist to the warm water and mix it well until it dissolves completely
• Pure the water with dissolved gist to the baking form
• Weigh 375 g of the Glutafin’s flour mix into a kitchen bowl
• Weigh salt and oil to the kitchen bowl containing the flour
• Add the flour with salt and oil to the baking form containing water with gist (don’t mix it)
• Assemble the baking form with all ingredients to the bread baking machine
• Close the machine and set the program (Panasonic machine: the gluten free program (12))
• The gluten free program does not allow you to control the bread Size thus don’t bother with it
• Set the Crust on light, medium or dark (I always go for dark, it’s nice and crunchy)
• You can press the Start button
• After 2-3 min of mixing, open the machine to add seeds (You can add the seeds before you start the program too)
• The program runs for 1 h 55 min and the machine will beep when the program is over (I hear it even when I’m upstairs)
• Disconnect the baking form with bread immediately after the beep (use gloves!)
• Now, keep your gloves on and shake the bread out of the baking form so it can cool down
• It is easier to cut slices when the bread is still slightly warm – you can slice it and freeze it (I rarely freeze it; fresh is good for at least 3 days)

Restaurant ‘Italia in Tavola‘ !

• Fair prices
• Excellent food
• Diet suitable menu (also lactose free, dairy free, egg free)
• Wide choice of the gluten free meals
• Home made pizza’s and pasta’s
• Freshly prepared meals
• Amazing taste and great food texture
• Very friendly staff
• Restaurant away from the busy city center
• Greatly reviewed by many
• To be found on glutenfreeroads.com

[See image gallery at glutenfreelady.nl]

My apology for not taking any pictures for you. The meals looked lovely, it is just that I was so hungry I did not want to delay my ‘feast’!

PS. The featured image was found in one of the reviews of the restaurant.

* The above review is based on my personal perception. I wrote it out of my free will and have no profit of it.