I’m really excited about this post, as this is my first ever post about being a coeliac! For those of you who don’t know, Coeliac’s Disease is an auto-immune disease, much like diabetes. It isn’t an intolerance or an allergy where I can pick and choose what days I’m going to be good and what days I’m going to be naughty, it is for life. As soon as I tell someone that I’m a coeliac, their natural reaction is to say ‘oh, I’m sorry’. I really want to nip this in the bud and say to you all don’t apologise, I’m really happy with my coeliacs, I wouldn’t have it any other way, and this is why I love being gluten free, featuring Snackly!
I’m excited to send my message out into the world and have teamed up with snackly to do so. I hope that this helps not only those who know about their conditions and intolerances, but those who are having issues with food who may be putting off doing something about it because they are scared of what the doctor might say. Cutting out gluten isn’t nearly as tough as people think these days, though there is definitely a stigma labelled to those of us who can’t eat gluten/wheat/dairy. I remember a time, a dark time where there were hardly any products on the supermarket shelves, and if you did want anything decent you had to order it on prescription (this was back in 2008). I am glad to say that those days do not exist anymore, the world has realised the extent of the gluten free community and they wish to help us to feel like we can fit in again. This is exactly what snackly is all about, they aim to bring the gluten free a diverse range of carefully selected products so that we can always try something new, something good.
Even though it seems that people are being more picky nowadays because of the phenomenal amount of options around, I believe that it is the increased awareness that is causing so many of us to get diagnosed or cut out certain foods from our diet because of issues which is a great thing. I am constantly being sought out by friends and even strangers for advice on their diets, and I hold my hands up and say I am no dietician, but I like to think that I have a good knowledge of how my coeliacs affects me so I can share what I have learnt with others along the way to help guide them to feeling better. I embrace food, I love it, and I want to share with you my positive message of why I love being gluten free by telling you all about what snackly sent me in the post last week.
Snackly are a concept similar to the ever so popular graze boxes, but they are 100% gluten free. You can order an individual box each month or sign up for a monthly subscription too and they will send you lots of fabulous goodies to try. I’m so happy that the gluten free lifestyle is working its way into the industry more and more and Snackly are a great company to explore new products which you may not see in regular supermarkets. Here’s what happened when I opened my box:
The packaging was so cute, I felt like I was opening an early Christmas present! The items were carefully wrapped in tissue paper and it came with a sweet thank you card- no, thank you snackly! I opened it up and found 6 gorgeous gluten free goodies inside:
Multiseed gourmet cracker from The Foods of Athenry, Ireland
These crunchy crackers were made from a toasted seedy sourdough and very tasty! They would go perfectly with pate or crumbled up in a hot soup.
Snact apple and mango jerky, London
I really liked the tasty strips of apple and mango puree. They only used fruit to make the jerky, nothing else at all so really clean and healthy. I would have liked to have had a few more strips in the bag- there were 8 strips but bite size.
Honeyrose Triple Chocolate cookie, London
This cookie was really intense, a little bit too sugary for my liking but tasted great! Who doesn’t like chocolate cookies?!
Melting Pot salted caramel fudge, Blackthorn Foods
I adored the salted caramel fudge. It melted in my mouth and I could eat this every day. It was the perfect size for an afternoon pick me up at work.
I’m a big advocate of tea, and teapigs are one of my favourites after trying them at hummingbirds cafe (where you must try the gluten free red velvet cupcakes). The peppermint tea went so well with my fudge!
Peanut Butter Protein balls, The Protein Ball co.
These are a great item to have handy in your bag if you find yourself caught short in a cafe that only sells sarnies and cakes! I loved the little bite size balls and you have 6 of them in a pack!
I would like to add that having an intolerance or auto-immune disease can really open a lot of doors. It is like being a part of a community, and through this community I have met many people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. I am also grateful to companies like snackly who want to work with gluten free bloggers like myself so that we can promote the amazing brands and help other gluten free foodies discover new and exciting things to eat.
So my parting message to the world is, don’t be sorry for us, be interested. Your interest will make us happy that we can talk openly about our diets without feeling like we are different just because of our DNA. And that is simply why I love being gluten free featuring snackly. Hands up and virtual high fives to all my gluten free readers and to the awesome snackly!
Saharasplash x
I received this product for free for my honest opinion and review
If you liked this post, check out what I got up to on Brick Lane recently!