Tag: dairy free

Posted by Christine Pope on in Gluten Free, Health Care, Meal Plans and Recipes, Nutrition, Travel

Finding the best options for gluten free on the Central Coast

Every year we like to have a little break before the full on madness of the Christmas season hits and this year we decided to book accomodation at Terrigal on the Central Coast. Normally I would research options on Trip Advisor however my first point of call was a couple of friends who travelled up there on a regular basis. The advice was literally it wasn’t hard to find gluten free options and most cafes at Terrigal could accomodate requirements. A couple of special night out recommendations were Yellowtail and Four Hands Pizza Bar and Grill, both of which had a good range of gluten free options.

First up its always important to find your “coffee bar”, well for me that was Bellyfish Cafe, mainly because they had decent pots of tea and a really good quality gluten free bread. The other advantage was a breakfast and lunch menu with a little more variety than bacon and eggs, with options like a loaded banana bread, crab fritters, gin cured salmon with smashed avocado and acai bowls. Gluten free lunch options included a salmon cutlet and pork belly waldorf salad. In peak periods they offer dinner on Friday and Saturday nights.

Aroma’s on Sea which is at the front of the Crowne Plaza is also a nice spot with a lovely aspect across the road from the beach. The food choices are a bit more limited for gluten free but the big breakfast is a good choice as it includes home made baked beans, which were slightly different every day. If you are coealiac avoid the hash browns due to a high risk of cross contamination.

Four Hands Pizza Bar and Grill was a good casual option with lots of tapas options as well as gluten free pizza’s. We really enjoyed the cauliflower florets, patatas bravas, lemon pepper squid, charred octopus and the beef brisket taco’s. The first night we were there they were clearly trying out some junior staff, who were fairly clueless and at one point I ended up directing them to take the orders from the table next door to us as well as ours as they had been waiting for even longer than we had. It may have been a timing issue as pre Christmas it did seem that many places were gearing up with new staff and the second occasion we ate there the staff seemed more on the ball. The food both times was good and the staff seemed to be across food intolerances.

Another good option for a casual takeaway or quick meal is Spice Noodle Bar which is a hole in the wall opposite the Crowne Plaza beer garden. It has a range of classic Thai food with lots of gluten free options and even entree options such as tod mun pla ( fish cakes) and satay chicken. The Pad Thai and stir fry with chilli jam are also family favourites.

Yellowtail has a menu with Mediterranean influences and also offers a degustation menu. We found they were excellent at dealing with allergies and food intolerances, service was good but the venue would benefit from consistent air conditioning (we were there on a very hot night). Key recommendations for the menu were duck and seafood. They do offer a degustation menu as well if you are looking for a very special evening menu.

One of the surprising meals we had was a very good value paella at Terrace Grill . The menu is modern australian with mediterranean influences and offered a good range of seafood and steak as well as pasta dishes. We enjoyed sharing a paella however we also scoped out the seafood platter as an option for the next time we dined. They also offer a locals menu mid week with two courses and a glass of wine for $59 with a choice of five entrees and four main courses.

Christine Pope is a naturopath and nutritionist based at Elemental Health, St Ives. She is also a blogger who writes about health, Ageing Outrageously and gluten free travel. Have a look at her recent blogs on Holidaying on Hamilton Island what are the best gluten free options? , Finding the best Gluten Free options on the North Coast of NSW and Gluten free Canberra .

Posted by Christine Pope on in Gluten Free, Health Care, Healthy Ageing, Meal Plans and Recipes, Nutrition, Recipes, vegetables

Too busy to shop and cook healthy meals ? Have you considered a meal delivery service?

Cooking at home is often the best way to improve your underlying health, however for many people it can be a challenge particularly when they are time poor. Food companies have identified this gap in the market and there are now a number of companies providing ingredients and recipes for meals that can be prepared quickly and easily. Meal planning services such as HelloFresh, Marley Spoon and Dinnerly provide delicious recipes with all the ingredients you need to prepare them. All you have to do is follow the instructions – easy!

Dinnerly is considered very cost effective per serve, however Marley Spoon servings are more generous. Hello Fresh has a wide range of meal options and seems to work out around $10 per meal, which is better priced than most takeaway. The meal planning services send only enough for the individual meals which also reduces waste. Most of the meals in these services are designed to be prepared in under half an hour.

What do you do when you don’t have time for cooking but still don’t really want to be ordering takeaway every night ? Add food intolerances or allergies and it can be harder still .

My top list of options which is a little Sydney centric is as follows;

  1. Nourish’d offers vegetarian and gluten free options and has the added advantage of having meals designed by a nutritionist. The range offers keto friendly, nut free and dairy free. There is a reasonable range of options which include beef cheek ragu with cauliflower mash, beef brisket and a sweet potato spaghetti.Sides to increase the vegetables include roasted broccoli, cauliflower mash and potato mash. Meals have a nutritional breakdown and are generally a good level of protein. The menu’s change weekly and upcoming options include a beef stroganoff with beetroot salad and sweet potato mash and a chicken masala, which shows some good variety. Nourish’d also appears have NDIS approval.
  2. Chefgood offers a range of no added gluten or dairy meals. Whilst not offering a gluten free kitchen this option may be suitable for those with intolerances but is not recommended for those who are celiac. The meal plans offer a number of meals between 5 to 14 meals a week with options which include low carb, high protein, vegan and vegetarian as well as a range of weight loss optins. Chefgood also has a range of add-ons which include additional sides and juices. The sides are not particularly inspired and include soup, mashed potato, greek salad and an avocado salad. Reviews on google are generally positive although there appear to be recent complaints about delivery issues. The company delivers to the eastern states and South Australia.
  3. Dinner ladies deliver frozen meals which have been cooked from scratch. There is a wide range of options although they do not seem to cover food intolerances particularly well they do provide a statement of allergens. The major issue seems to be the possiblity of cross contamination risk. The menu includes some good main course options including burgers, fritters, snitzels, stir frys, casseroles and pastas. This is a popular option with families.

For those who are looking for meal inspiration there are a number of blogs that may be helpful with recipes and meal plans. Have a look at Meal Plan Week One , Meal Plan Week Two , Four easy ways to add brassica vegetables to your meals and Spring Reset Meal Plan .

Finding the best Gluten Free options on the North Coast of NSW
Posted by Christine Pope on in Allergies, Breakfast, Gluten Free, vegetables

Finding the best Gluten Free options on the North Coast of NSW

Do you find travelling with food intolerances difficult? On a recent trip to Port Macquarie it is clear that holidaying in the regions with food intolerances is getting easier but there are still a few areas that need to improve.

In this blog you will find some tips for locating friendly restaurants and navigating your way through menus.

First up road food? Depending on where you are travelling you may find it easier to pack your own snacks and lunch or scope out some suitable alternatives. Gluten free options when travelling to the North Coast include chains such as Olivers who stock a range of healthy foods including fresh juices and a good range of gluten free options.

Secondly download Trip Adviser and review the restaurant choices in the area you are visiting. Trip Advisor lets you choose restaurants based on dietary requirements as well as options like online booking. Although during the current coronavirus crisis many restaurants have turned off online booking so that they can take deposits or confirm that you are planning on dining.

Once you have downloaded Trip Adviser its a good idea to search a list of cafes or restaurants which meet your requirements. Going one step further its a good idea to jump onto the menu and make sure that gluten free for example doesn’t just mean we offer gluten free toast.

Blooms on Clarence

Reviewing the options in Port Macquarie there were three breakfast options close by to our accomodation which included Blooms (was LV’s ) , Bandwagon Cafe and The Pepperberry. Each had reasonable reviews however our standout favourite was Bloom’s initially as they had a fabulous Mushroom fungus toast that was delicious and served gluten and dairy free. Staff were also very competent at dealing with requests for changes due to intolerances. The Pepperberry was a standout for its range of gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options including two types of fritters. The Morrocan fritters with corn were excellent, a little spicy and they benefited from the use of besan (chickpea) for a richer taste.

The standout options in Port Macquarie were Bills Fishhouse and Twotriplefour at Cassegrains Wines. We dined at Bills Fishhouse on the Friday night and had emailed to let them know of the various dietary requirements which included one gluten free and one both dairy and gluten free. The waiter was really well prepped and also adjusted the Fish Tasting Special to our requirements, replacing oysters with a delicious Kingfish sashimi with coconut cream. They also offered some interesting options with Kingfish wings ( a bit fattier and tastier than the main fish) as well as a delicious salt and pepper squid.

Having mentioned that we were dining at Twotriplefour the following day for lunch we were really thrilled to see printed menu’s already adjusted for our dietary requirements. It may have triggered a round of over ordering as there were so many options, however we really didn’t need to eat dinner that night so it was worthwhile. We has a delicious entree of warm marinated olives, mushrooms, eggplant and a herb and lettuce salad followed by lamb rump. Twotriplefour also offer hampers for picnicking in the grounds and that may be an option for later trips.

Bago Maze and Winery

A third tip is to contact the venue in advance either by email or phone and see if they can accomodate your dietary needs. The Bago Maze and Winery offers both salami and cheese platters and can provide gluten free crackers on request. The other venue which had a surprisingly good menu was the cafe at Billabong Zoo which offered a range of salad bowls with gluten free and vegetarian options. Regardless make sure both venues are on your list for your trip, Billabong zoo is in sub tropical grounds and has an impressive range of animals. Personally loved being able to feed the wallabies and sneak in a little gentle pat on the back but we would recommend being at the lion enclosure just after 11am as the keeper gets up close and personal with the lions.

Bago Maze is one of the superior hedge mazes from our travels and takes a good hour to really explore and conquer both turrets as well as identifying the many features. For Christmas they had hidden a range of Austalian animals in the maze so it was fun to go down dead ends just to see if you could find the platypus or the wombat.

Perhaps the only criticism to make at this point is that restaurants seem to freely indicate on platforms that they offer dietary options however the menu’s do not always meet these claims. A number of cafes in the area advertised gluten free but then failed the menu test as there were no gluten free items marked. Its also essential that staff recognise the importance of separately preparing gluten free foods, which in most cases these venues did by checking if the diners were coeliac. The other item is to ensure that gluten free options if fried are only prepared in a separate fryer, otherwise you risk trace contamination.

Christine Pope is a naturopath and nutritionist who enjoys eating out and travelling. For useful blogs on the subject have a look at Mountain high – adding dietary options to your holiday. and A tea lovers guide to the Blue Mountains . Christine is available for appointments on 02 8084 0081 and can offer online consultations for those not currently based in St Ives, Sydney.

Posted by Christine Pope on in Allergies, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nutrition

Mountain high – adding dietary options to your holiday.

The Blue Mountains is a great spot for a holiday whether a long weekend or a full week like we just did before Christmas. This year I thought I would update an earlier blog I wrote about 5 Tips for Gluten Free Menus which was based on an earlier trip and I have updated my information about a few of my favourite dining spots. Unfortunately a couple have since closed including long term favourite Vesta’s at Blackheath. I am also including a few tips for dining with food intolerances to make travel a little easier.

1. Gluten Free Bread is nice but …think about the rest of the menu as well. We particularly enjoyed the gluten free high tea at the Hydro Majestic because we got to enjoy lots of delicious options which were all gluten free. They even toasted the bread which is essential when you are dealing with gluten free bread and had added a delicious herb focaccia with the vegetarian sandwich. Bonus points for this venue it has now added an excellent choice of gluten free scones providing both a plain and a date scone to the menu.  It also handled a request for a dairy free option particularly well and I was impressed that they could handle it over the phone on the day and didn’t require more notice.

2. Provide real gluten free options. At Anonymous Cafe at Blackheath the gluten free breakfast options included gluten free toast, spiced pumpkin loaf and a gluten free muesli. The spiced pumpkin loaf was served with marscopone and jam and was a delicious option. They have also opened a second cafe at Medlow Bath called Synonomous which we never got to but I am sure continues the tradition.

3. Multiple intolerances should be considered including dairy and egg so ideally include options which don’t double down on the intolerances. Adding more vegetable options is one way around it. Great breakfast options could include adding a vegetable hash with optional inclusions such as salmon, egg or bacon. The Conservation Hut at Wentworth Falls offered a smoked trout hash with a poached egg and was happy to leave it off when requested. The Annonymous cafe at Blackheath also offered a black rice and coconut pudding option for breakfast – a bit different and interesting but covered a range of intolerances.

4. Mark the menu with the gluten free and other options, such as vegetarian and vegan. This means when you search menu’s its easy to see if there are real gluten free options and quickly identify what they are. The Ori Cafe at Springwood and Papadino’s at Katoomba both have well marked menu’s with a good range of options. A recent find at Katoomba was the Palette Diner where v stood for vegan options making it easier to find options for my daughter who is dairy free as well. The Must Try is the gluten free crumbed chicken and ribs as well as the vegan cauliflower. Servings are generous so don’t make our mistake and over order.

5. Technology can be very useful – Trip Advisor is a great app for checking out whether local restaurants can accomodate special dietary needs, however I would still ring ahead and check if something isn’t marked. Leura Garage was good at listing gluten free options but seemed rattled when asked about dairy free and surprisingly had dairy in the roast lamb. Possibly it wasn’t a good day to check with the server but overall they didn’t handle a request particularly well and options were very limited.

Its 2019 and one in six children now have allergies or food intolerances so its increasingly important that restaurants and cafes manage intolerances as well as possible. Recently we were in Oberon and arrived after 230 so most places had shut. We ended up buying a picnic lunch at the local IGA as there wasn’t anywhere that could accomodate gluten free.

Let me know if you have any good tips for managing travel with allergies in the comments below.

 

Posted by Christine Pope on in Dairy Free, Detoxification, Gluten Free, Nutrition, Skin

Bio-compatibility Hair 500- What’s Right for your Body?

allergen photoItchy skin, rashes, unhappy stomachs, headache, insomnia, fatigue.

Any of these sound familiar?

These symptoms can be really frustrating and options are often limited to managing symptoms, but they all have one thing in common.

They can all be caused by food intolerance/sensitivity!

So how can you get to the core of the problem and get REAL RESULTS?

Even if you have a healthy, balanced diet this doesn’t mean you will be symptom free as it may not necessarily be the right diet for you! That is why food compatibility testing can help you get results as it can help to explicitly identify what does and doesn’t work for you.

shutterstock_5227150661.jpgOver my 12 years in practice I have tried a number of approaches based on my training and subsequent study. Initially I would try and find the perfect homeopathic remedy which really didn’t work as much as I would have liked. Then I tried the Naturopathic detox approach – identify and remove allergens (usually through an IGG test) and then heal and seal the gut. Lots of products and a reasonable success rate but quite expensive from the point of view of the testing and the supplements.

It is also important to remember that particularly with skin cases it can often be external factors as much as the diet that can be triggers. Sometimes you need to be a bit of a detective . I always remember seeing a client who had puffy eyes for 10 days where nothing was helping. On questioning her the new curtains in her room from China had gone up 2 weeks earlier. Knowing that these materials are often packed with chemicals I simply got her to remove them for a few days and it cleared the problem.

In previous blogs I have covered the options available for different forms of testing however currently I am recommending the Bio-compatibility Hair 500 foods and household chemicals for six main reasons;

  1. Its SIMPLE AND EASY – It only requires a hair sample!
  2. It is MOST COMPREHENSIVE – It covers 500 household foods and household chemicals. Including all food groups, bathroom, laundry and kitchen products and even local brands found in supermarkets and health food stores!
  3. It is the BEST VALUE – $259 for 500 foods vs the same or higher cost for only 40-90 foods
  4. It’s NOT INVASIVE – No blood sacrifices required! (Trying to get a blood test from a toddler is not fun!)
  5. It is EASILY UNDERSTANDABLE – The results come like a shopping list so its easy for you to see what works and what doesn’t for your body.
  6. FREE INITIAL CONSULT – I am currently offering a free 15 minute consult to see if Bio compatability hair 500 is right for you!

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In the past skin cases were one of my groan cases – I knew it was a long process and most people want quick results and they often didn’t see them fast enough. Sometimes these cases even get worse before they get better. This process has really helped achieve some great results for clients where they have tried other options, particularly with eczema cases but also with some more complicated auto-immune conditions. In most cases clients who are compliant would see some reasonable progress in 4-6 weeks and sometimes earlier.

If you are interested in using it I do offer a FREE 15 minute consultation to see if it is suitable for you. This is not a quick fix but rather a focused process with some dietary changes required based on your individual results. You can call my clinic reception on 8084 0081 to set up a time or email me at christine@elementalhealth.net.au for more information.

If you are not based in or around St Ives then please email me at Christine@elementalhealth.net.au and I will find a local practitioner for you.

Posted by Christine Pope on in Allergies, Breakfast, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Health Care, Nutrition, Travel

5 Tips for good gluten free menu’s

Breakfast at The Conservation Hut

 Australia Day we added a couple of days leave creating a long weekend and headed up to the Blue Mountains. Being strictly gluten free I did some research before I left and came up with an impressive list of options. Unfortunately the definition of gluten free varied widely. So here are some tips for aspiring cafes and restaurants.
1. Having gluten free bread available is nice but it doesn’t make for gluten free options . We particularly enjoyed the gluten free high tea at the Hydro Majestic because we got to enjoy lots of delicious options which were all gluten free. They even toasted the bread which is essential when you are dealing with gluten free bread. A particular highlight was a raspberry macaroon served with fresh raspberries. Just wish they could sort out the gluten free scones – there are some great options around and they are an essential part of a high tea. Also just remember if you do provide gluten free bread then be careful about cross contamination with food handling.

2. Provide real gluten free options. At Anonymous Cafe at Blackheath the gluten free breakfast options included gluten free toast, spiced pumpkin loaf and a gluten free muesli. The spiced pumpkin loaf was served with marscopone and jam and was a delicious option.

Gluten free at the Hydro Majestic

3. Remember people who are gluten free often have multiple intolerances including dairy and egg so ideally include options which don’t double down on the intolerances. Great breakfast options could include adding a vegetable hash with optional inclusions such as salmon, egg or bacon. The Conservation Hut at Wentworth Falls offered a smoked trout hash with a poached egg and was happy to leave it off when requested.

4. Educate your staff about your menu’s. At one restaurant which will not be named I was asked by one waitress whether potatoes were gluten free? She then advised that only two of the main courses were options but subsequently a different staff member then told me that everything could be made gluten free. This was a bit misleading as it turned out they removed the portion of the meal that required gluten. For dessert it was actually the crumble part of the peach and apple crumble and it would have been nice to know that half the dessert would not be included. Its so easy to make gluten free crumble mix – any mix of almond meal, brown sugar, quinoa or rice flakes would work well.

By contrast we also enjoyed dinner at Vesta‘s in Blackhealth where the waitress not only could tell you what was possible in terms of gluten free but provided options such as flaxseed crisp to enjoy with the pate on the charcuterie board. The small board made a good sized entree between two people and included a pate and a terrine as well as some meats and excellent pickled vegetables.

5. Mark the menu with the gluten free and other options, such as vegetarian. This means when you search menu’s its easy to see if there are real gluten free options and quickly identify what they are. The Ori Cafe at Springwood and Papadino’s at Katoomba both have well marked menu’s with a good range of options. The night we ate at Papadino’s the specials board even included a gluten free gnocchi. It was served with a Napolitana sauce which was quite garlicky but also delicious.

Christine Pope is a Nutritionist and Homeopath who practices at Elemental Health at St Ives. If you need help managing food intolerances or just some good restaurant recommendations you can make an appointment on 8084 0081 or book online .