Zizzi's Gluten Free Pizza - My Review!

Well done Zizzi you have done me proud again!!

Check this out...

This was my scrumptious gluten free... yes GLUTEN FREE Pollo al Rosmarino pizza at Zizzi.

After hearing they were trialing gf pizza bases there was no way I was missing out on this one!

So I trekked to the Notting Hill branch to try it out, and it was well worth the trek!!

If you're going to be extremely picky and fussy then yes it was thin, yes it was maybe a tiiiiiny bit soft but come on it's gluten free pizza.... in a chain restaurant (and the outside was nice and crunchy and the toppings were lush).... Exciting stuff I think and I LOVED IT!!

I gave it 10/10, it was a massive treat for me and I think you should all give it a try.

They give you a form to fill out after finishing it to ask for your opinions on it, I just hope I did enough to get it rolled out into all branches.

Enjoying my meal as much as I was I decided to finish up with a chocolate melt (rich, chocolately and gooey) with gelato.

A brilliant feast, thank you Zizzi!

And if you've never tried Zizzi before and would like to know what there is for you to eat before heading there, check out their website where they have a Special Diets Filter http://www.zizzi.co.uk/food#filter=*.filter-gluten-free

Zizzi trial gluten free pizza bases...

The best gluten free related news I've heard since finding out Zizzi did gluten free pasta (still can't get enough of their carbonara!!), Zizzi are trialing gluten free pizza bases in 5 restaurants (the ones they get the most gluten free custom: Notting Hill and Earls Court, London; Bluewater, Kent; Farnham, Surrey and Grey Street, Newcastle.

I'm off to give it a try at Notting Hill on Saturday so I will update with photos and a review!! I can't wait!

My latest new tries...

Genius naan

This gets a massive thumbs up from me - how I've missed dipping a naan into a good curry - curries arent the same without a naan!  Not cheap (what gluten free stuff is!?) but well worth it to go with the odd curry night in.

 

Mrs Crimble's cake mix

A home bake mix to make some yummy muffins (or sponge) - we made choc chip but you can pretty much put what you like in!
And cheaper than buying muffins separately - 2 can cost £1.99, so this is a bit of a bargain at £2.29.

Mrs Crimble's Giant Choc Macaroons

Another new try by Mrs Crimble, she's now doing giant macaroons in single packets, very tasty!

Check out Mrs Crimble's website too for recipes and her other gluten free products. http://www.mrscrimbles.com/recipes/

White Horse: Ramsden Heath, Essex

The White Horse in Ramsden Heath nr Billericay, Essex is another restaurant find with a pretty decent gluten free menu.

It's basically just a selection off the main menu of things we can eat so often things are missing but it definately helps out! And the food is yummy. Shame about the lack of gluten free desserts though!

Another plus point - they also do gluten free gravy so you can enjoy a roast, although serving gluten free yorkshire puddings would make it my fave restaurant ever (yet to find one of these!!)

Truly Scrumptious: Maldon, Essex

I found a treat of a tea room style cafe in Maldon, Essex called Truly Scrumptious.

Here I enjoyed a huge piece of gluten free carrot cake.

They also do gluten free bread and tea cakes and at least one gluten free cake a day (and not forgetting the vast selection of jacket potatoes and other things on the menu we are able to enjoy.)

Teapots and teacups are everywhere in this oldy worldy style cafe and there is even a teapot/ teacup/ cakestand selection for sale in the wonky, creaky old room upstairs - it's a bit like a jumble sale of china!

Full of character this is a lovely little place to enjoy a gluten free treat.

Breakfast Idea

For a yummy breakfast idea why not enjoy some gluten free Eggy Bread!

I make mine with Warburton's bread as that's my fave!

Coeliac Awareness Week 14th - 20th May 2012

It is Coeliac Awareness Week next week from the 14th - 20th May.

It is important that people are made aware of coeliac disease, this way people's lives can be made so much easier - be it in restaurants, cafes, supermarkets etc, places people use in their day to day life without much thought, unless you are coeliac - then these day to day activities can become unnecessarily stressful and unenjoyable.

You can download your gluten free challenge pack at:

http://www.coeliac.org.uk/node/200793

So who's helping you out this year? 

Dr Chris Steel and Phil Vickery are amongst the celebrity and chef supporters, see the above link for some yummy recipes offered by our chef supporters!

Marks and Spencer have a page on their website dedicated to Coeliac Awareness Week and alongside their newly launched gluten free range and new labelling system, they are doing us proud!

See below for more information:

http://health.marksandspencer.com/your-diet-needs/coeliac-awareness

Coeliac disease is not an allergy or intolerance but an auto immune disease, where the body's immune system damages the lining of the small intestine when foods containing gluten are eaten. Coeliac Disease affects around 1 in 10 people in the UK and although there is no cure, a gluten free diet can help to manage symptoms.

Coeliac Awareness Week 2012

This year, the annual Coeliac Awareness Week (14th-20th May), organised by Coeliac UK, is raising awareness of the condition by challenging friends and family to try a gluten free diet, particularly when eating out.

How M&S can help...

Gluten Free Foods

Our specially developed range of gluten free bakery products, Made Without Wheat, is available in most of our stores and includes gluten free bread loaves, rolls, cakes, crumpets and even hot cross buns. The range also includes two fresh sandwiches, Gluten Free British Ham and Salad Sandwich and Gluten Free Cheese Ploughmans. To find out more about the range and to download a list of stores where it’s stocked please click here.

Rather than have a special diet section in store, we’re making it easy for our customers to identify gluten free foods by putting a gluten free logo on the front of pack. Look out for the many new products we’ve recently added, including gluten free crumbed chicken, fish cakes, crisp bakes, soups, sausages and burgers. Products that carry this logo have all been tested to ensure levels of gluten do not exceed 20ppm.

Gluten Free Ordering

You can now choose from a selection of your favourite M&S Made Without Wheat products online and simply collect from your nearest M&S store (not including petrol stations and some smaller Simply Foods stores). Chose from a luxury fruit cake, crumpets, seeded loaf or even chocolate and cherry cake. To browse the range, please click here.

Product lists

We also provide lists of our foods that don’t contain gluten to help our customers find food that’s suitable for their diet. These lists are updated monthly and can be downloaded from our Allergies and Intolerance section.

Allergy Information Box

We use the allergy information box on the back of pack to indicate whether a product or its ingredients contains gluten. This makes deciding whether a food is suitable for your diet easier as you don't have to read through the ingredients list.

M&S Cafes

If you are visiting our M&S cafes and are avoiding gluten, you can chose from a selection of gluten free options including soup with gluten free roll, gluten free muffin or gluten free brownie. Our M&S staff can also provide more information about any of the food served in our cafes.

Ask the Nutritionist

Do you have any queries about a gluten free diet or our products? Then our Nutrition Team is on hand to answer your queries, simply email Nutrition@marksandspencer.com for a personal reply.