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  1. Marks & Spencers Gluten Free Bread : Review

    September 20, 2012 by Saara

    I was pretty excited when Mike picked me up some gluten free bread from Marks and Spencers.

    Marks and Sparks isn’t really the place I shop when it comes to buying gluten free food. The food is a little expensive if you’re trying to save the pennies but I assumed their gluten free range would mirror their normal food range, which from what I’ve heard, is pretty tasty!

    [Thanks you Little Missed Gluten for finding a photo for me!]

     

    The bread is sliced [which is always handy] and of reasonable size. Some may think that mentioning the slice size is a little odd, but there’s some gluten free bread slices out there that’d be suitable for an ant!

    So I toasted a slice, buttered it and then took a bite and my reaction was:

    It was probably the worst gluten free bread I’ve ever tasted and when I took to twitter to vent some rage, most of you agreed!

    For starters, it has a weird consistency which is more cake like then bread like. Secondly, it was so saltly, which is rich coming from me as I’m dubbed ‘the salt queen’ by my friends as I always drown my chips in the stuff. It also left a horrible after taste in my mouth, which I didn’t like.

    I also assumed I’d prepared the bread wrong. I know some gluten free bread tastes better once refreshed a little in the microwave. I did this but sadly, it still tasted horrible, cakey, salty and crumbly!

    I know some of you may absolutely love this bread [they wouldn't sell it if it wasn't popular, or would they?] and this is obviously a one persons opinion. I’m also not tarnishing all marks and spencers gluten free products will taste as horrid as this and I will probably try the odd product when I’m feeling flush but  sadly for now, I give this bread two huge thumbs down.

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  2. My July Favourites

    August 10, 2012 by Saara

    Having been M.I.A recently with blogging, I realised I was a good few days late doing my ‘Monthly Favourites‘ blog post! *slaps wrist*

    So what have I been doing all this time? Nothing much and nothing exciting but I’ve been enjoying the ‘summer’ [even if it's rained  nearly every day!], I’ve enjoyed the Olympics, getting out more, meeting friends, enjoying beer gardens and I also got to see my friend Sophie who I hardly ever see since she’s moved to Spain!

    Right… on to my July favourites!

    Genius Croissants & Pain Au Chocolats

     

     

    I honestly thought I’d never see the day when I, a coeliac, would be happily eating a croissant and pain au chocolat! Genius answered our prayers and brought out these beauties which are amazing! All I did was heat them up in an oven and smeared a little butter in the middle! I’ve written a more in-depth review about them here  and they’re becoming an all time favourite of mine – thank you Genius!

    HaveCake Brownies 

     

    As we all know, nothing beats a good brownie, especially when they come in huge boxes and are the size of house bricks! The only brownies I’d eaten prior to these delightfuls, were Asda’s own free from brownies which were pretty bland, tiny and quite dry! I’ve written a more indepth review about them here 

    Home Sweet Home, Manchester 

     

    Home Sweet Home in Manchester is a cute and retro bake house and coffee bar in the heart of the Northern Quarter. Many of my friends had been before me and told me about these amazing toasties they do, not realising they do gluten free toasties too! So you can imagine my excitement when I finally got to have my very own gluten free toastie! Honestly, they were AMAZING! Please excuse my shoddy iphone picture above because it doesn’t give it justice! I highly recommend going if you’re ever in the area!

    Asda Free From Instant Porridge

     

    When I was little [and obviously before my gluten free days] I would have chocolate flavoured ready break for breakfast every day [makes me feel sick just thinking about it!]  which then morphed into an obsession with Oats So Simple golden syrup instant porridge. I obviously had to give that up when I was diagnosed with coeliac disease. It was so painful watching my house mate ’Wheat Pete‘ devour bowl after bowl of the stuff … until Asda came to the rescue with their instant gluten free golden syrup flavoured porridge! I absolutely love the stuff! Some people may find it a little too sweet, but I honestly don’t mind this [then again this is coming from a girl who's trying to ween herself off 3 sugars in her coffee!]

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  3. HaveCake Gluten Free & Vegan Brownies [Review]

    July 23, 2012 by Saara

    I was really excited to review HaveCakes gluten free and vegan brownies!

    One thing you should know about me is that I love, love, LOVE my brownies but it’s sometimes hard to find those gluten free brownies that have that ‘home baked’ taste. I’m lucky that my local supermarket, Asda, produce their own gluten free brownies, but I find they lack that ‘home made’ taste and are actually quite dry!

    So, when the huge box of brownies arrived at my door, I was quite surprised at how big the box was! I did pause for a moment to think whether I’d inadvertently ordered myself new shoes! I just loved the way the brownies were packaged. With coloured tissue paper and a cute bow, this made them ideal as a gift for your coeliac and free from chums!

     

    I was also impressed at the size of the brownies!

     

    As you can see you get your moneys worth and because you get 9 whole brownies in a box it also explains why the box was so huge – great value for money!

    So What Did They Taste Like? 

     

    They had that ‘home made’ taste that I adore from gluten free bakes! They were chocolatey, light, moist without that horrible crumbly texture that tends to plague gluten free baked foods! What’s more, because I shared them with my family, they couldn’t believe that they were gluten, dairy and egg free! Even my ever so fickle brother loved them and trust me when I say this – he’s very fussy with his food. In fact he’s the one who ate most of the brownies and wants to order more!

    Plus don’t take my word for it, if you check the HaveCake Brownies website, you’ll find amazing and glowing reviews from coeliac and  free from peeps who have been lucky enough to try these amazing brownies!

    So Who Are HaveCake? 

     

    HaveCake is run by the lovely Louise  who has been a passionate baker from a very young age. She started baking traditional recipes for friends and family who encouraged her to set up her own business selling her own cakes and brownies. So when a friend with coeliac disease asked Louise if she could make gluten free brownies as everything she had tried was bland,  too sweet, or too dry, Louise set about experimenting with all recipes until she came up with one her friend could enjoy – and I think she definitely succeeded, they’re amazing!

    How Do I Get These Amazing Brownies? 

     

    You can order a box of 9 gluten free or gluten free & vegan brownies directly from the HaveCake website. They also come with free delivery and if you order before the 30th September 2012 you’ll also receive 5% discount using the code: ”GFSTUDENTCOOK”

     

     

     

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