I’m just a girl staring at croissant and willing it to be gluten-free and delicious. From pantry to passport I’m sharing my life as a gluten-free foodie.
While guidelines and regulations vary by country when flying each airline also has differing policies on what you can board with as carryons. You are allowed a medical bag with food for gluten-free; however, ensure it’s truly what you say it is and my best suggestion is that it’s clearly marked.
For weight I opt for a smaller coffee cup over a large water bottle to lug around. Bringing your own (delicious) coffee is a game-changer and opt for microwave popcorn so you can prep at your hotel or in a pinch in the airport if you find yourself stuck. Bringing noodle cups or macaroni or mashed potatoes is easy- simply ask for hot water on the plane. It’s so frustrating when you board a 9 hour flight and discover the catering is insufficient and there’s no gluten-free meal for you. Bring your first aid so you have it nearby and available.
All the Blackstone girlies rise up! If you don’t have a Blackstone – you likely need one – you can prep all of this inside just means more dishes to wash.
I don’t love meal prep because I don’t like to eat the same thing for all meals. Not too many years ago I did a meal plan with my daughter and she calculated my macros – I will say now that at the time I did lose weight and gain muscle and it worked and all that but I was truly food depressed. With the macros came a set meal plan and she did give me options to rotate but end the end I was eating tilapia or chicken with 1/4 of rice and a cup of vegetables for 3 meals a day and after a couple of months I was cooked.
Even now if I make something and there’s a lot leftover I portion it into freezer containers or bags because I only want it for 1-2 meals. There are a few exceptions: gumbo, shrimp stew, and pizza come to mind.
Back to the prep. With multiple burners and a large cooking surface you can make a lot of food and progress in a short amount of time using your Blackstone. The key to success is prep, a good seasoned Blackstone, and a proper setup.
Top Prep Items
Bulk cook ground beef, pork, or turkey – once cooled portion into packs and freeze or distribute to use through the week
Batch cook bacon for the week
Prep hamburger patties – once cooled portion and freeze, place wax paper between the patties
Sausage and Peppers – if you like cheese wait to add this until you reheat for your meal
Pancakes – for you or littles you can prep pancakes ahead and portion out and freeze then reheat as needed or if you have a crew you can place in the fridge and you know it will be gone in a couple days, reheat as needed
Brussels sprouts or broccoli – large surface area to cook up a bunch at once, have a cover or bowl on hand so you can steam and lower the heat, pull from the Blackstone before too soft especially if you will be reheating later. For Brussels if you have access to an air fryer to reheat the results are better.
It may feel like it is going to take a lot of time to prep, cook, store everything and clean up….however, you will be ecstatic when you get home at 7:12 and can have dinner ready in 25 minutes or wake up and know that there’s breakfast available and everyone can help themselves.
First, London is larger than you think and while there are gluten-free options at a lot of pubs and restaurants I struggled to get to some spots that were on my list and dedicated or known for great gluten-free options during this trip – maybe another time I will try Hobsons, Mayfair, and Wicked Fish.
One of the easiest on the go options was simply a sandwich, chips, and a drink from Tesco and I was happy that I could pop in and easily find items marked gluten free. I also picked up buns to keep with me in case we stopped at a pub with no bun/bread options.
Anchor-Bankside Pub
Pho Huson’s
Amorino’s
Tea Cruise on the Thames
Hummingbird Bakery
Nando’s
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The Anchor- Bankside Pub in Southwark – on the South Bank of the River Thames, offered Scottish mussels and fries. One of my favorite dishes. If you are celiac double check with the kitchen because you may need to skip the fries, sadly. And if you want ketchup you’ll need to ask because in true UK fashion the meal is served with mayo.
After thousands of steps, missed Ubers, and canceled cabs, I was delighted to arrive at the Anchor, tuck in and devour my meal. I opted for a Coke but they have ciders and wines for gluten-free options.
The Anchor-Bankside Pub Scottish Mussels and Fries with aioli
Amorino’s
I love gelato and ice cream and if you offer me a gluten-free sugar cone it is even better. I grabbed gelato a few nights from Amorino’s – locations across the city – and each time it was delicious and the team is very conscious of allergies.
Stracciatella on Gluten-free Cone
Pho Huson’s On Great Russell Street was my first meal when I arrived in London and it was exactly what my soul needed. I broke away from our group to grab something other than pub food and if you are reading this you know that our choices are often limited in most pubs. I opted for grilled pork bun and some crispy rice rolls – ask for these if you stop in.
Grilled Pork Bun
Tea on the Thames – Tea Cruise
We made a gluten-free request during booking; however, if you have done this you know that there are times when you show up and there are not options available or what is available is less than you were expecting. My daughter sent me some gluten-free stroop waffles so I packed a few to take with me just in case. I was shocked when the waitress brought my very own tea tower with all gluten-free options. Yes, I was squealing with joy! It was so lovely to full take part in the tea service.
For a quick meal so many people suggested Nando’s and so I decided to give it a try since we once again planned to eat at a pub with not many options of interest to me.
Nando’s was quick, flavorful, and filling. I see why it is so popular.
You can try the sauce when you order if you are on the fence with how much heat you want, I opted for medium and tried hot. When you order they will walk you through the options that align with any allergy concerns.
I also grabbed a gluten-free cupcake from Hummingbird bakery and it was yum! There are several locations and if you are visiting tourist attractions you will likely walk right past one and can pop in.
Flour, yeast, salt, water, oil … it’s practically magic that when you combine the simplest of ingredients you create the most delicious tasting foods. For example, pizza.
An important detail in making a delicious pizza at home is oven heat. It’s challenging to get the oven hot enough and keep the temperature consistent. I’ve experimented with using the black stone and a cover to cook pizzas outside and the results are good.
In the kitchen I can get our oven to about 520° consistently and cooking the pie on a stone helps crisp the bottom then flipping to broiler for the last 2 minutes helps achieve perfect cheese melt.
However, my new toy enters the chat…countertop electric pizza oven. It’s compact and makes a small pie – which works perfectly for me and if you are feeding a group you’ll just need to make multiple pies.
Delicious at-home pizza
Caputo Gluten-free flour OR King Arthur Gluten-Free Pizza flour
Prepare according to directions – I add additional salt prior to baking once the pie is shaped and sprinkle truffle oil along the edges. Additionally you’ll want to have some coarse cornmeal to place under your dough as you press out the pie so it doesn’t stick to the peel when placing in the oven.
When using the countertop pizza oven you’ll want to weigh your dough balls and ensure you’re using about 10g per pizza so the size is right – if your machine is bigger follow included instructions.
Prepare your toppings.
Once your dough is ready it’s quick to assemble and your pies will cook in 6.5-8 minutes!!
One more thing, I’m generally making pizza for one. Each bag of Caputo flour is 1000g and each batch of pizza I make starts with 250g of flour so I can get 4 pizza nights from 1 bag of flour and once I prepare the 250g of flour the result is about 2-2.5 10oz dough balls.
Bread and Roux are cornerstones of the Cajun diet right alongside the Holy Trinity. The protein depends on the season and is frequently coating in flour during preparation – even when you aren’t frying. I love the flavors of Cajun cooking and the history steeped in each dish and I am stubborn enough to journey through more than a decade with relentless pursuit to create the dishes I love and love to serve my family gluten-free.
I went gluten free in the summer of 2013. Back then you rarely saw items marked GF or G and rarely if ever saw signs for gluten free items. I would make my own flour blend (borrowing a friend’s Vitamix to finely blend ingredients into a similar version of today’s 1:1 replacements). I lived in the great state Louisiana at the time and if you know anything of Louisiana and more so Cajuns in Southern Louisiana you can understand the challenge of going against everything I was raised with and renouncing wheat flour and gluten. It’s been quite the adjustment.
Fast forward 12 plus years and we are here. As an empty-nester and midlifer I want to catalog my recipes, learning, and love through my food journey for my kids and it got me thinking that there might be someone out there interested in what’s happening in my kitchen and eager to try gluten-free cooking with Cajun roots.
girls gone gluten-free 