Are you ready for a ready meal?

Think of your favourite food. What if I told you that you were not going to be eating that food again, for some considerable time... years... maybe forever? How would you feel about that? That was an argument I read recently in response to one woman's innocent question, about Free From food. Well, many of you who are reading this, will know exactly how that feels!

When I was first faced with going dairy free, I had no idea how much was going to be cut out of my life (e.g. chicken gravy - milk gets into everything) but also no idea how much of what was missing was going to be gradually added back into my life. 

The most obvious one I missed was of course milk, but also cheese, cream etc.

Since then, I have found a dairy and soya free substitute for milk, margarine, cheese, yoghurt and ice cream and even cream, all of which I love (if only they weren't so much more expensive, I would love them even more). Recently, I have even discovered some gorgeous dairy free and gluten free cookies (Lucy's). 

One of the other things that I've really missed, though, is the ability to just grab a ready meal, when you're in a hurry. There are now quite a few gluten free ready meals available, so if that were my only problem, I'd be fine, but it's the dairy free element that always seems to be the sticking point. 

I knew that there were a few out there - I'd heard about them and got tantalisingly close to them, but until quite recently, they eluded my grasp. But now, I have finally got my hands on some great dairy, gluten and soya free ready meals, which I'd readily buy again.

The box

Amy's Rice Macaroni with dairy free cheese was one such. Manufactured by an American company, they have proved to be tricky customers. I missed my chance to sample them at The Allergy Show in London (earlier in the year) and passed up the chance to order them from Goodness Direct (I didn't want to buy six frozen items nor did I want to pay extra for post and packaging). The Whole Foods market and other places that stock Amy's products only seem to stock the gluten free products. That is, apart from her tinned soups (I can't eat canned foods) or her Burrito (which is made with Baked Beans and is thus unsuitable for me, for reasons which I won't explain here), so it was only when I visited Food for Thought, that I managed to finally get hold of Amy's elusive dairy free macaroni cheese.

Handily, it comes in a little cardboard tray, which you can place in the oven (I don't 'do' microwaves). I wasn't expecting the real cheesy hit that I got from this meal, but it was definitely all there! Not quite as wonderful as my mother's version (but what ready meal, ever is) it was still pretty marvellous! 

My meal

My only complaint? I'm a real piggy and I would have liked a slightly larger portion. It was an okay size for lunch, but would never replace a proper evening meal - I'd probably need to add some generous servings of veggies, which kind of defeats the idea of a 'ready' meal, really, doesn't it? If you want to know what else was in it, follow this link.

Slightly more generous as regards serving size, are Kirsty's ready meals. Fairly recently launched via Sainbury's, I've struggled to find a Sainsbury's that stocks them, and I've been to quite a few! It was Ocado (who have expanded their Free From range) who came to my rescue here. The good news is that Kirsty's have proved so popular that Sainsbury's are planning to roll out her meals to more stores, as from this coming October. Yippee!!

I've now tried two of Kirsty's range (there are five altogether) the Cottage Pie with Sweet Potato Mash and the Spanish Chicken with Brown Rice (follow the links for the ingredient lists and nutritional information).

Kirsty's Cottage Pie

Both of these tasted really great, although I think the Spanish Chicken was my favourite. That may just have been because it had a spicy kick and I happened to be suffering from a cold at the time (I really find spicy food comforting when a cold kicks in) but of course my tastes may be different to yours.

Now, it turns out that Kirsty is looking for more recipe ideas, so that she can extend her range. So, if you can think of any (my thoughts turned immediately to Paella and Lasagne)  I'm sure she'd be delighted if you left a message on her Facebook page or sent your comments via Twitter.

Bon Appetit!



Update 2015:

Kirsty's have not only expanded their adult range (click here to view), which you can obtain in Waitrose, Asda and Sainsbury's but have also added a children's range, which is now available via Asda (see here).

Food for Thought

'Food for Thought' is such a great name for a whole foods mini market, don't you agree?

We found them, for the first time, on Saturday in Guildford, following a bit of online research by The Hub. And what a find they were!

Tucked away in a side street, literally not much more than a few steps away from a main city centre shopping street, I can't help wishing that every town had one of these. Unfortunately, at the moment they have only two stores, one in Guildford and the other in Kingston.

Not quite as big as The Whole Foods market, that I visited, in Clapham, the other week, they nonetheless make good use of the space they've got and stock a pretty extensive range of specialist foods. In fact, it was a real Aladdin's Cave of goodies, I really had to restrain myself, from spending too much of The Hub's hard earned money!

The staff in the shop were quite friendly - one helpfully suggested that I might like to leave my cold purchases with them (whilst we shopped elsewhere) and return to pick them up later.  Bonus!! Being in town for the day, I happily accepted this offer.

However, I passed up the chance to buy more dairy free ice cream, - I've still got some in the freezer and was uncertain about getting it home. 

Co-yo's chocolate yoghurt soon found its way into my basket, though, closely followed by a larger tub of its natural version. I was delighted to restock my fridge with this dairy free yoghurt and was keen to try the chocolate flavour.

Another familiar face - Lucy's was in stock, as well. This time I bought a packet of mini cookies,  for taking out and about.

Amy's dairy, gluten and soya free macaroni cheese followed soon after - the first time I had seen this stocked any where, other than Goodness Direct or The Allergy Show. Its dairy and soya free version is not to be confused with their solely gluten free version, which seems to be much more widely available. Unfortunately, it's no good for us at all, as that version does contain dairy!

From the States and hard to find over here!

Joy of joys, their chocolate range was pretty good too - they stock my favourite chocolate bars, by Organica. Baby spotted their 'hamster chocolate' (Mini Moos by Moo Free) and, being a girl after my own heart, she made sure that also made it into my basket!!

All-in-all, it was a successful shopping trip. And now I know where they are, I'm sure that sometime or another I'll be back for more!!

Update:

This cream substitute really is quite yummy!

Just to let you know, I have been back. This time my top find was Soyatoo Rice Whip. Just like the squirty cream, I loved as a kid, this stuff is truly amazing! 

If you can't find it in your local health food store, try Amazon, or the Vegan Store. 

Okay, so I know, it's made with rice and there's a whole debate about rice going on right now (generally I avoid it as a daily milk substitute - just to be on the safe side) but I still eat rice, and being gluten free as well, have little choice but to consume it in baked goods too. Therefore, I think that in an occasional treat, like this hot chocolate (made with hazelnut milk) it should be alright.

Related Posts:

New to me - The Whole Foods Market

Avoiding the hop - doing Free From shopping online

Shopping Around
Heaven in a mouthful?

New to me - the Whole Foods Market

Last time I posted was pre-move. I was feeling the ties of our old environment and beginning to wonder why we were putting ourselves through all the stress. Now we've moved, I'm feeling some of the advantages -  a dishwasher, the garden, being closer to family and... to London.

London is one of those places that I love to visit and dip into, before retreating to the clearer air and space of home. Where we live now, we are close enough to do just that.

Today, The Hub suggested visiting Clapham Junction and the Whole Foods Market. I was up for that. I knew that there was one in Kensington, that I've been keen to visit, but Clapham is nearer and, with Baby, more 'doable'.

It wasn't 'til I got there, that I realised I'd been there some years before with my sister, when she lived just up the road. I'd written it off then as being a bit of a trendy hippy haunt (not my thing), but today, I got to see it with new eyes.

I had a hazy memory of a cafe, combined with a kind of health food store, and yes, it was pretty much as I remembered it, but what did it have in store for me now?

What a treat! A small tub for the journey home!

The first thing I caught sight of was the ice cream cabinet, which stocked all four flavours of my favourite dairy free ice cream. This was soon  to be followed by The Hub locating the only Genius loaf that I can get along with - the old style (unsliced) white. Great start!!

There was a goodly array of fresh fruit and veg. but I passed these by and went straight for the chiller. I was after Co-yo - a coconut based dairy free yoghurt. Yup! It was there! Being unable to tolerate soya, I was delighted to get my hands on this.

Next to the chiller was the freezer. I was slightly disappointed that the only Amy's  Kitchen's macaroni cheese in the cabinet wasn't dairy free - I'm still waiting to get my hands on this one, having passed up the chance at The Allergy Show. I picked up a Burrito though - I'm interested to see if my stomach will take to these.

It was by the freezer, that The Hub noticed that they sold insulated bags, for the transportation of frozen goods. Yippee!! However, it was just as well we bought our cold stuff just before our train was due to leave. The insulated bag claims that food can last up to three hours (depending on how much frozen food you buy) but our ice cream was definitely quite soft by the time we reached home (an hour later). 

As for the rest of the store, the place was a veritable Aladdin's cave. There was so much packed into the space, that I found it difficult to scan the shelves for things that I could have. Funnily enough, having yearned to be able to pick my goodies from the same shelves as everyone else, I found myself wishing for a 'Free From' section, so I could highlight the stuff that was relevant for me! 

Couldn't see this at Whole Foods Market - what a shame!

Unless I was missing something, the chocolate section was sadly lacking. Whereas Booja Booja was well represented, Moo Free seemed to be merely represented by a few of their chocolate bars - there were none of the yummy Organica vegan (but may contain traces of milk) chocolate bars that I used to be able to get in the health food shop near my old home. However, Lucy's egg, gluten, nut and dairy free chocolate chip cookies were a great find! They're sooo moreish!

My selection of goodies made (apart from the cold stuff) the only thing left to try was the cafe.

This proved to be tougher than I thought. There was a disclaimer concerning allergies, so if you're really sensitive or coeliac, you'd probably want to give it a miss. More of a concern for me personally, was whether I would be able to tempt the ever-fussy Baby into eating anything at all.

She wasn't interested in the roast potatoes, or the salmon that I had selected - they had 'bits' on them. I knew the green beans were also going to be a no-no for her, but I selected those, purely for my benefit. Baby did eat some of The Hub's turkey slices, but apart from her share of a slice of a rather yummy vegan raw chocolate dessert, by inspiral, called 'Blackout Tart', that was it, as far as she was concerned. 

Impressive! Blackout - a yummy vegan dessert that is gluten, dairy, egg and soya free. Not nut free though!

Mind you, I couldn't blame her. The potatoes (meant to be hot) were lukewarm and the meat, fish and veg were all from the cold food section - definitely not a winner for her. She did love looking out of the window though - I must say, it was good fun people watching!

I was rather tempted by some of the other hot dishes and was interested to spot that you could buy food to take away, but Baby was never going to let me hang around for too long and so soon we duly departed.

Altogether, it was an interesting visit. I probably wouldn't eat in again - not with Baby anyway. We ended up buying her fries from Kentucky Fried Chicken across the road (you add your own salt - marginally healthier than the very salty fries you get from Mc Donald's) As for the shop, I would definitely go again, for the variety of food stuff you can buy. There's still some things that I've yet to try!!

By the way, the shop is sooo close to the station at Clapham Junction, that if you find yourself making a train connection there at any time (and aren't carting around ridiculous amounts of luggage with you) it would be a shame not to pop in. I've already got The Hub working out how he could pop in there on the way home from work sometime and I didn't even have to ask :)