Tag Archives: Gluten-free

Amisa’s gluten free pizza bases and porridge – made with love

Posted on 26 January, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Those brilliant people at Amisa have been in the lab again.

Now they’ve brought out a gluten free pizza base with a deep soft texture to it. It’s made of rice flour, corn starch and buckwheat flour and because it’s also egg free that makes it vegan too.

Tastes like it's made with love

Tastes like it's made with love

Not only this but the innovators have been developing their own gluten free porridge using ELISA tested oats. Porridge is great for this time of year and Amisa have developed an apple & cinnamon version as well as an original.

They’ve also used the oats  for a new muesli which includes cranberries and strawberries as well as sunflower seeds and linseed.

Amisa Organic make a range of cereals, crispbreads, cakes, bread, biscuits and crackers. Not only that, they taste like they’ve been made with love, so they’re definitely worth a mention during Food Allergy and Intolerance Week.

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Posted in Coeliac (Gluten-Free), General Food, Low GL (Glycaemic Load), Omega-3, Organic, Vegan

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A dairy-free hamper full of Plamil products to one lucky winner

Posted on 9 January, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Imagine the delight on your child’s face when they discover they can eat a nut free chocolate spread, or a cake studded with dairy free chocolate drops.

Plamilmake free-from mayonnaise and chocolate products. They specialise in creating award winning food which caters for a variety of possible allergies.

Win a Plamil hamper

Win a Plamil hamper

The company creates top quality food suitable for everyone but particularly designed to avoid certain ingredients. People choose ‘free from’ foods for a variety of reasons whether ethical, religious, or allergy.

All Plamil food is vegan friendly, avoiding animal, dairy and egg products. In addition, their carefully controlled production site means that all their products are gluten free and nut free.

As a competition prize Plamil are offering a generously filled hamper of their goodies loaded with mouth watering tastes and flavours. To enter all you need to do to enter the prize draw is send an email with your name and address (UK addresses only, competition closes 12.1.12). The winner will be announced in the next GoodnessDirect newsletter.

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Posted in Coeliac (Gluten-Free), Competitions, Dairy-Free, Vegan

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Breakthrough gluten-free, egg-free pasta

Posted on 6 January, 2012 by | Leave a comment

One of the big recent winners of the FreeFrom Food Awards was Rizopia Organic pasta made simply from wholegrain brown rice and water.

The judges commented that, “This pasta has great texture and a really nice bite. It’s indistinguishable from ordinary wheat pasta – a triumph of manufacture.”

Nutritious healthy pasta

Nutritious healthy pasta

The advantage of this pasta is that its ingredients make it gluten-free and vegan without any compromise on the quality of their food. It cooks just like normal pasta (ie. it doesn’t dissolve if you overcook it) and the brown rice gives it an excellent texture flavour and high nutritional value – it’s enjoyed by coeliacs and non-coealics alike.

There’s a big range of styles of pasta too: Penne, Spaghetti, Lasagne, Fusilli Fettuccine, Fantasia (fun shapes) and Elbow macaroni – which is fantastic news if you’re a pasta fan. Check out Rizopia and complete your cooking experience today.

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Posted in Coeliac (Gluten-Free), Vegan

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Inner warmth and natural wholesomeness from Amy’s Kitchen Soups

Posted on 15 December, 2011 by | Leave a comment

As I sit here I’m enjoying spoon after spoon of Amy’s Kitchen Lentil Soup.

If you haven’t heard of Amy’s Kitchen yet you really should have. They make all natural shop bought meals and soups and their popularity is increasing.

Organically sourced ingredients

Organically sourced ingredients

When you taste something with completely natural ingredients you know that it’s good for you. And this lentil soup is warming, filling and wholesome, full of flavour – just what I need for the winter months.

What is interesting is that, because Amy’s Kitchen originally started in the USA, even though many of their ingredients are now grown in the UK without pesticides, they have to say that their ingredients are ‘organically sourced’. However, the best news is this is all due to change in 2012 as Amy’s Kitchen come up to UK organic standards.

The soups, entrees and burgers sold at GoodnessDirect continue to be cater for sensitive diets, often vegan or gluten free or nut free, so it will be good to see ‘organic’ added to that list.

Also from Amy Kitchen:
■ Black Bean Vegetable Soup
■ Chunky Tomato Soup
■ Lentil Vegetable Soup
■ Vegetable Barley Soup
■ Curried Lentil Soup

And much more…

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Posted in Coeliac (Gluten-Free), General Food, Vegan

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See our most popular products at GoodnessDirect’s Facebook shop

Posted on 13 December, 2011 by | 1 Comment

At GoodnessDirect we sell a huge variety of products for those interested in organic or vegan, healthy or restricted-diet food, and for those who care about eco friendly products too.

If you’re looking for a sample of our most popular products then you can find them listed on our Facebook pages in the Shop section, if you’re after something gluten-free, dairy free or fairtrade or raw, it could well be there.

Facebook shop - GoodnessDirect

See our bestselling items on Facebook

It’s a great way to find out what everyone else loves, so take a look…

■ Body & Hair Care
■ Drinks
■ For Baby
■ Freezer
■ Fridge
■ Grocery
■ Household
■ Supplements

There’s such a lot more going on with GoodnessDirect on Facebook – you can make friends with people following a similar lifestyle, you can share tips and recipes, you can find discounts and news and information and competitions and more. So it’s worth joining in.

(There’s even a GoodnessDirect fan page to have a giggle at.)

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Posted in Eco/Environmental, General Food, GoodnessDirect

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Lazy Day’s quality Scottish baked treats

Posted on 9 December, 2011 by | Leave a comment

What is it about Scottish food that is so evocative of Christmas?

In one word its quality.

We like only the best at Christmas and Scottish fare, particularly its baking, has acquired an enviable reputation. The Scots also know how to make the best of a cold winter with the best warming flavours and sweet treats.

For coeliac sufferers Lazy Day Foods ensure that you can still have your quality Scottish cakes and eat them. They make award winning gluten free bakes which are also vegan, ensuring that people who have to avoid dairy and egg can enjoy them too.

Put your feet up with Lazy Day

Put your feet up with Lazy Day

Sample, for example, their:
■ Chocolate Ginger Slice
■ Chocolate Orange Slice
■ Iced Fruit Cake Slice
■ Chocolate Gingers biscuits
■ Millionaire’s Shortbread
■ Chocolate Chip Shortbread
■ Belgian Dark Chocolate Tiffin

And there’s plenty more if you feel you deserve some quality gluten free food.

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Posted in Coeliac (Gluten-Free), General Food, Vegan

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Cheese and crackers after dinner – simple

Posted on 28 November, 2011 by | Leave a comment

It’s eight o’ clock. What do you serve guests as an after dinner treat?

Some people might immediately think of mints and chocolate, or perhaps a light biscuit to go with coffee, but distinguished diners might prefer a Port, whiskey or some after dinner liqueur.

Cheese and crackers will make a great accompaniment to the digestif drink. Even after a meal full of amazing taste and exquisite dessert, I will always still have room for the delight of a good cheese full of flavour with a dry cracker to tease and cleanse the palate.

After dinner delights

After dinner delights

For the best cheese you have to go for organic. Simon Weaver make some wonderful brie and Lye Cross cover a full range: cheddar, double gloucester, red leicester, wensleydale, blue stilton, caerphilly.

However, if you want something truly distinctive then Calon Wen’s  extra mature cheddar simply has to be sampled for its creamy powerful flavour.

As for the crackers, I prefer the softness of an oatcake, especially now they come in all sorts of flavours (try Nairn’s or Paterson’s). However, sticking to the organic theme, Clearspring and Village Bakery have the edge. Village Bakery also bake an appetising Savoury Seed Biscuit.

If you are concerned about coeliac diners then it’s worth noting that Trufree provide gluten free crackers and Nairn’s a gluten free oatcake.

Also, there are a good variety of vegan cheeses out there so you can cover all eventualities without compromising on style.

Bon appétit.

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Posted in Coeliac (Gluten-Free), General Food, Organic, Vegan

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Don’t stop me now… vegan chocolates crack the milk-choc flavour recipe

Posted on 11 November, 2011 by | 2 Comments

A new chocolate is breaking all the rules.

Vegan chocolate has to be dark – that’s the rule. Anything which tries to taste like milk chocolate ends up too oily or watery to compare.

Then came Moo Free and it shocked the world. One television review summed it up…

We don’t know how they’ve done it but Moo Free have created a milky-tasting bar without any dairy content.

It was dairy free, lactose free, gluten free, wheat free, egg free, casein free and vegan. Moo Free’s advent calanders sold out – suddenly parents of children on restricted diets were able to give their children something they would love.

The ingredients were simple and organic : sugar, cocoa butter, rice powder, cocoa mass, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin) and natural flavouring.

MooFree have 3 new flavours

MooFree have 3 new flavours

So where has the milk gone? It seems to be something to do with using rice powder as an alternative although, of course, the true recipe is a closely guarded secret.

There is a social context to this. Leading chefs like Chris Horridge are regularly finding new ways of improving the flavour of foods while cutting back on sugar, dairy and gluten in an effort to feed a rapidly expanding free-from market. It is opening up a whole new world of food experiences and products, introducing ingredients like rice flour, which Moo Free has been able to take advantage of.

Meanwhile, other chocolatiers are working hard to catch up. Organica have produced a much raved about Vegan Milk Chocolate Couverture – it too uses rice as a major substitute ingredient. And another challnger for great tasting vegan milk chocolate may be ‘Celtic Chocolates’ though, personally, I have yet to get my hands on these. Chocolates from Booja Booja and Montezuma are excelent too of course, but here we are firmly back in the dark lands of plain chocolate goods.

Now Moo Free are upping the ante with three new dairy free flavours: Organic Banana Chocolate (Can you imagine? Though, currently, the honeyed glaze isn’t vegan.) Organic Cranberry and Hazelnut Chocolate or Caramelised Hazelnut Chocolate.

Finally, a bit of conspiracy, if you check Moo Free’s facebook page it should be the case that you could see how popular the new flavours are – unfortunately, someone hacked their details and they had to start again – not everything is love and fairness in the world of fairtrade vegan chocolate.

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Posted in Chocolate, Coeliac (Gluten-Free), Uncategorized, Vegan

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Vegetarian and gluten free comfort food for the masses – Amy’s Kitchen

Posted on 9 November, 2011 by | Leave a comment

What is it that’s got me so excited about Amy’s Kitchen?

Their burittos, their All American Burgers, their macaroni cheese, lasagnas,  enchiladas… you name it, if it’s good food they’ve got it.

Forgive me for being so enthusiastic about high carb food (Amy’s do make healthy soups too), but when you’re vegetarian, gluten free or eating organic – all those more tempting foods often seem off limits.

Everyone needs a little comfirt food once in a while

Everyone needs a little comfort food once in a while

(At least the grab-em-out-of-a-packet and cook quickly on a tired Friday night variety seems less available.)

So, for me, Amy’s Kitchen are bringing a range of tasty meals to the  specialist-diet masses.

You can choose from wholesome soups or their more satisfying comfort food but, whatever Amy’s Kitchen you pick, enjoy your Friday night.

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Posted in General Food, Organic

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Bounce Balls – nutrition on the go

Posted on 12 October, 2011 by | Leave a comment

You don’t need extra protein if you eat well.

That is… the average man can get all the protein he needs if he drinks his milk, eats tuna for lunch and steak for dinner. Even vegans get all the protein they need from a good selection of plant foods.

But, if your diet isn’t as perfect then you may need a boost, especially if you enjoy exercise.

A little bundle of natural nutrition

A little bundle of natural nutrition

Keeping a few Bounce Balls in the cupboard will help. They are delicious healthy snacks, in a ball, made from 100% natural ingredients. They offer health–conscious people a convenient and tasty, top quality nutrition treat which you can eat at any time.

They are also gluten free, low carb, naturally sweet and cholesterol free.

Bounce Balls come as the Peanut Protein Blast or the Almond Protein Hit, they are loaded with whey protein and perfect as a snack. There’s also a Spirulina & Ginseng Defence Boost aimed at helping the immune system – Spirulina is a complete protein and a rich source of iron & fibre.

A great source of nutrition on the go.

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Posted in General, General Food, Health, Nuts

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