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

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

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

Breakfast was, however, a bit disappointing because I got spoiled by all the kind people in hotels and restaurants who usually prepare for me a basket with different types of breads, rolls and muesli. This time, I was served only two slices of a gluten free bread.

Breakfast basket

• Two slices of gluten free bread

Dinner in the Zeeduin hotel restaurant, on the other hand, was delicious and from the menu of the day I could choose anything. They would use gluten free ingredients or offer alternatives. The latter is very common when dinning out and having celiac disease.

My dinner

• Tomato soup
• Codfish with baked potatoes and poached vegetables
• Freshly made sorbet – four different tastes (amazing!)

Callantsoog – Fletcher Hotel,  Badhotel 

Why Fletcher hotel? Because we (my fiancé and myself) can travel with our chocolate Labrador and she definitely loves hotels! As always, I emailed the hotel before our arrival and asked if they could prepare gluten free meals for me. I did not have to wait long for their response. They had no problem with my diet restrictions.

Breakfast at Badhotel

I got a special basket with gluten free breads:

• Ciabatta’s
• Two different types of rolls
• Slices of white bread
• Slices of brown bread
• Sweet bread with raisins
• Take away plastic bag

My choices from the breakfast buffet are described in a previous post.

Dinner at Badhotel

I could choose from the ‘special’ menu whatever I wanted to eat and they offered to use gluten-free ingredients or otherwise offer alternatives. I had a wonderful meal.

• Delicious, freshly prepared tomato-basil soup (instead of a soup of the day)
• Fried fish with baked potatoes and string beans (in Dutch ‘snijbonen’) (fish was fried without flour)
• Sorbet cake with strawberry sauce (instead of a chocolate cake)

More possibilities to dine in Callantsoog – you find here!

• I email the hotel beforehand and ask if they can prepare gluten free breakfast for me.
• Always taking emergency bread/crackers along (long-expiration date, ready to eat, sealed package) or my own gluten-free muesli/flakes (not for people sensitive to dairy or using Thyrax (the thyroid hormones are not well absorbed in a presence of the dairy protein casein)).

What I eat from the breakfast buffet

• Boiled eggs
• Mini-jams from Hero (contain MSG)
• Mini-butter
• Mini-pate’s from Unox
• Babybel cheese from Bell
• Fresh fruits (not cut)
• Mini’s from De Ruijter:  jams, honey, peanut butter, dutch ‘appelstroop’, chocolate paste (made of the gluten free ingredients but not tested on contamination; I do not get sick after eating them)
• Milk and natural yogurts (the latter in the small containers)
• Cheese (if not contaminated in the kitchen –ask)
• Cut vegetables and fruits (if not contaminated in the kitchen –ask)
• Tea / coffee

Tips

• I always try to enter the restaurant just after it is open for breakfast. This way, I eliminate the possible contamination done by other guests of the hotel, who use e.g. the same fork to get cheese, ham and other products.
• Besides, the service is not yet too busy to prepare my gluten free bread.

– Info about products was obtained by emails with the manufacturers or www.livaad.nl.
– What is good for one person can be not good for someone else. Each person has its unique sensitivity level to the gluten contamination or other food sensitivities. Each body has its unique biochemistry. My story should not be seen as a medical guideline.