Welcome

Welcome to the first group newsletter of 2021! We hope everyone had a peaceful Christmas despite the restrictions and the changes of plan these caused for so many of us, and we wish everyone a much better New Year.

We had all hoped to be in a more promising situation by now but, of course, this is not the case and we find ourselves entering a new lockdown with the extra restrictions and challenges that involves. This inevitably prevents us organising group get-togethers for the time being but the committee continues to meet via Zoom and as soon as it is safe to do so we will resume normal activity!

We are very pleased to let you know that since our last newsletter we have had 4 members join the committee which will be a great help when it comes to organising events. So, welcome to Carol Clarke, Paul Mapstone, Clare Williams and Coleen West. Paul is a recently diagnosed coeliac and has written about some of his experiences below.

We have been thinking about starting a ‘buddy scheme’ so that newly diagnosed members can contact someone in the group who can support them with the steep learning curve we all experience at first. This can be particularly useful at the moment when we can’t meet in person. Information on how you can register your interest can be found further below.

As always, we would love to hear from you, whether you have a recipe you think we would like to try, any suggestions for great places to eat out (when we’re allowed to!), ideas for Zoom get-togethers, or just to say hello, please do contact us. Our website, email address and Facebook details can be found at the end of the newsletter. 

With best wishes to everyone for 2021 and we do hope that we will be able to meet up again soon!

Margaret, Tom, Keith, Lesley, Gemma, Carol, Paul, Clare and Coleen

Children’s Christmas card winners

We are delighted to announce the joint winners of our Children’s Christmas card competition are Emilia and Sophie (both aged 5). They each received Christmas cards featuring their brilliant pictures to send to friends and family!

Eating out Recommendations

Our eating our recommendations proved to be very popular in our last newsletter, so we have included some more recommendations from our members.  Given the government announcement on 4 January, we have only included venues that are offering a takeaway service during lockdown.

Please note that only some of the places recommended are Coeliac UK accredited (visit here for a full list of accredited venues).  It goes without saying, but please be extra careful if a venue is not accredited.  Check they understand about cross contamination (for example, are separate fryers used for GF food) and if something doesn't feel right then trust your instinct.

French - Cote Brasserie (Basingstoke and Guildford) is recommended by Tom, “the gluten free menu is extensive and you will struggle not to find a nice dish”.  Home delivery can be ordered here

Chinese – The Mayflower (1 May Place, Basingstoke, RG21 7NX) is recommended by Amanda. Takeaway available - 01256 328 989.

Indian – Cinnamon Tree (Mortimer, RG7 3NR) is recommended by Donna. Collection and delivery - 01189 332 428.

Spanish - No Bull Paella (Fleet) is recommended by Wendy. Order online for home delivery (free within 5 miles of Fleet). Available on Friday and Saturdays.

Italian - Trattoria La Casa, 203 Fleet Road, Fleet, GU51 3BL is another recommendation by Wendy. Order online for delivery or collection. 

Diagnosed in lockdown

Paul shares his experience of being diagnosed as Coeliac in lockdown.

“I well remember the first week of lockdown (March) – not for the obvious reasons but for the letter from the consultant diagnosing me as Coeliac. My wife, Pamela, and I had a vague idea about what having to go gluten free meant, but not exactly what it entailed.  The letter advised the ‘usual’ - get a DEXA scan, get the immune jabs, start a gluten free diet immediately, and lastly, join Coeliac UK.  This last one turned out to be the quickest and easiest thing to do, and their ‘get you in’ literature was worth more than its weight in gold!

However, going shopping was an altogether different matter for us ‘newbies’.  As you may remember it was a case of getting there early, queueing, and going in one by one.  Not surprisingly, we had never really given GF a thought before and usually gave the ‘Free From’ aisles a miss.  Needless to say, when we first started it was quite a shock, for us, to find the shelves were almost decimated, and not just in the one supermarket.  It quickly became obvious to us that when anyone saw the words flour, pasta, or bread on the packet then it was free game. Like you, we can only hope that when ‘they’ found out about the texture, taste, and cooking peculiarities that it wasn’t thrown away, although I suspect that was the case in many instances, and if so, what a waste.

Amongst other things that surprised us were the size (smaller) of portions, the amount of packaging, and of course the price.  Seriously, when its twice the price for half as much (perhaps a bit of an exaggeration), can you afford to be Coeliac?  Now, a few months down the line, we can see the need for the extra packaging – gluten free products seem to ultra-fragile and very easily broken!  Also, on reflection, we appreciate that there is now a much wider range in the shops than there used to be, even if it does mean shopping around to buy my favourites (and I wish they wouldn’t put the alcohol free beer with the gluten free beer!). That said, my first GF Christmas might be a bit of a challenge.     

I must say thank you, especially to Pamela who is keeping me healthy and who has persevered with GF baking, getting as close to the ‘original’ as she can, as I can’t cook to save my life (pardon the pun). Also, as I said earlier, thanks to Coeliac UK for the newsletters, magazines, etc and the really useful scanner.  Lastly, it is very reassuring to know that in North Hampshire and Basingstoke there are others upon whom I can rely for help and advice. 

As you will be reading this after Christmas, I hope you had an enjoyable one, and all that remains is to wish you all a Happy (and better) New Year.”

North Hants buddy scheme

As you may be aware, Coeliac UK provides a national buddy scheme (known as “Member2Member”) which matches members with volunteers who have been in a similar situation to share their experiences, stories, tips and recommendations.  Paul’s account of the first few months after his diagnosis reminded us what a steep learning curve it can be getting used to the gluten free diet and how beneficial it can be to get advice early on from someone who has been there before. Therefore, we have decided to trial a buddy scheme within our North Hants group, as we feel support from people with local knowledge is really valuable.

If you are an experienced coeliac who would like to become a volunteer or are newly diagnosed and would like to be matched with a buddy, please contact us at northhampshire@coeliac.org.uk  We shall ask you to complete a short survey, to help us match members to volunteers who have similar experiences to you.

If you would like to read more about the national Member2Member scheme, you can find more information on this on Coeliac UK's website here.

Featured recipe – Avocado, lemon and poppy seed cake

Lesley has kindly shared one of her favourite recipes for everyone to enjoy.  If you would like the chance to have your recipe (sweet or savoury) featured in a future newsletter, please send it to us by email.

Ingredients (for 12 servings)

Sponge

300g ripe Gem avocado flesh (about 2)
300g ground almonds
300g caster sugar
2 lemons, zested, 1 juiced
4 medium eggs, beaten
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp poppy seeds, plus 1 tsp to decorate

Icing

125g soft cheese
50g butter
300g icing sugar, sifted

Method

1. Preheat oven to gas 4/ 180°C/ fan 160°C and grease and line 2 x 20cm cake tins with non-stick baking paper.
2. Blitz the avocado flesh, ground almonds and sugar in a food processor until you have a thick green paste.
3. Transfer to a bowl and add the lemon juice and half the zest. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring the mixture well between additions. Mix in the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and the poppy seeds and stir until the seeds are evenly distributed. Split the mixture between the cake tins and bake for 35-40 mins until the cakes are just firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely in the tins on a wire rack.
4. When the cakes are cool, beat the cheese and butter in a bowl to soften, then – working quickly – whisk in the icing sugar. Use a palette knife to spread half the icing over one cake, top with the second cake and spread the remaining icing over the top. Decorate with the remaining poppy seeds and lemon zest. The cake will keep, covered, in a sealed container in the fridge, for up to a week.

And finally...

Visit our website (https://www.coeliac.org.uk/local-groups/north-hampshire/) for a map of accredited venues in the North Hants area, updates on future events (when we are able to hold them again) and other information.

You can also find us on Facebook, where we have a  public Page and a private Group.  To join the group, please ensure you respond to the two membership questions.

Or you can email us at northhampshire@coeliac.org.uk if you would like to get in touch.