Today I’m back with another what I eat in a day, and this is the first one since I’ve 100% known that I can no longer eat gluten. I thought that doing one of these while I was home all day would be very easy and somewhat boring because this post would end up being a list of links to recipe posts that you’ve already seen. So, I decided to wait for a day I knew I’d be eating out. Trying to eat out vegan and gluten free can be a struggle, and still something that I’m avoiding as much as possible.
I was meeting my friend at 12pm for coffee and then something to eat. Anyone who has read a few of these posts before will know that I don’t usually start eating until around 11am, so I skipped a proper breakfast this morning and snacked on a couple of these chocolate orange oat bites while I was getting ready. These are for a Vegmas recipe going up later this month (sorry).
Eating out gluten free
Our first location was a new independent coffee shop. Sat down, started drinking our coffees, and then my friend asked about food. One of her friends works in this place, so she knew there were lots of vegan options. And there were a few gluten free options. But those options didn’t overlap. There was talk of gluten free bread for sandwiches. But when the bread appeared, I knew that brand of bread had egg in, which obviously isn’t vegan.
Location number two was a similar vibe, another coffee shop – this time with more food options. On the vegan side, there was a choice of a couple of sandwiches (no GF bread), soup of the day and a falafel grain bowl. But the falafels had wheat flour in, so I got the pea and mint soup. However, my friend did get the chicken grain bowl – which contained half an avocado, black beans, sweetcorn, all on a bed of quinoa then some chicken on top. So, noted for next time, a grain bowl without the toppings is still a lot of food and a viable option.
Back home
I knew I’d be eating quite late that evening, so had some GF toast. This is the BFree Brown Seeded Loaf, which is pretty good as far as GF bread goes. It’s my 2nd favourite after the Schar seeded Deli Style. But nowhere near me sells the Schar one, so I have to order that online if I want any. The BFree is stocked at my local Tesco, so that one usually wins. £3 for 10 slices for the BFree…
Dinner
Dinner was a lentil veggie curry. A very simple one pot dish. This one contained peppers, carrots, mushrooms and the lentils. This was the night before food shop day so I threw this together with the last of the vegetables from the week before.
Does anyone have any allergies or food intolerances and have any advice for me eating out going forward?
Until next time,
Sophie
Thanks for this! I have been gluten-free for about four years and I can promise that it does get easier! I guess my tip is to not overthink it. Whenever I am making plans with a friend I always tell them that we can go anywhere and I will figure it out. Sometimes I call ahead, I always look at the menu and pick something ahead of time, and I always make sure to mention it to staff. England is a really easy place to do gluten-free and before long you won’t worry about it 🙂
That Lentil veggie curry looks great. How long did it take you to make it? What type of peppers did you include?
Thanks Tammy! The curry took about 35 minutes to make and I used regular red bell peppers x
Thankfully I’m only allergic to apples, and even they don’t cause too much trouble if I eat them. But most of my friends have some sorts of bigger food-disabilities. The fact that we’re very fortunate to live in Western Europe, where there are options for all dietary requirements, became apparent on our recent vacation to Ukraine: finding a gluten free meal was really difficult, but thankfully the staff everywhere was the friendliest I’ve ever encountered and they always cooked something up for our gluten free-companion.
I have IBS and can’t eat a lot of my favourite things but I can’t say it stops me.
This is such a lovely post and I love how you structured it! Your dinner looked very delicious and wholesome, I always love your foodie posts!
Ayse x
This was very interesting to read. I watch stories from influencer Leonie Hanne and she always sharing places with vegan food. This post reminded me at her.
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That lentil curry…*drools*!! I make something similar but I really need to pop in more veg! I eat gluten free since it just makes me feel ill and I choose not to drink dairy. I have to watch my carbs and fat content a little more since having my gallbladder out this year!
The soup does look amazing, it’s a shame they don’t have gluten free bread though. The bowl your friend had too sounds absolutely delicious! X
Kayleigh Zara ✨ http://www.kayleighzaraa.com
I have tried to eat vegan/vegetarian out when I can and it’s great to see there’s more choice now more than ever! So many more cafes and restaurants are aware of allergies and dietary requirements that are making it easier to eat out 🙂 Great post!
I don’t particularly have food allergies but avoid eating gluten. Vegan and gluten-free isn’t easy to find while travelling but I think in the UK, it’s quite easy, particularly in London, where I can give you some tips, if you want it to. Here’s a vegan and gluten-free bread https://www.daisyandthyme.com/thyme-to-cook-daisys-kitchen-pumpkin-cornbread/
It’s nice to hear that there are some options out there for a vegan and gluten free diet but obviously there is still a way to go and I’m excited to see how this progresses! The lentil veggie curry you made looks so tasty and perfect for the colder weather we’ve been having recently – sometimes it’s these meals which are the best, with a little bit of everything added in! Thanks for sharing your experience x
I’m gonna keep an eye out for those Christmas goodies.
And my best advice for going out is to call and ask about their vegan and gf options if you can. Most restaurants are willing to accommodate their customers
I bet it is such a struggle trying to find food that is vegan and gluten free. Companies don’t make it easy for people do they! That Brown Seeded Loaf looks amazing, I LOVE seedy bread! Can’t wait to read more about the chocolate orange oat bites too because they look delicious! xx
Wow yeah eating out as a gluten free vegan sounds so intense! I work in a cafe, and thinking about the cakes etc that we do, there would only be one option for a gluten free vegan… A lot of our gluten free options also have egg in them! It’s definitely something to think about.
Jas xx
Those snack bites looked amazing! It’s hard to eat out vegan & gf, I do truly feel for you. I’m only pescatarian and if I’m not in the mood for fish I can struggle (no symptahy vote here I know it’s no where near as hard haha.) x
I really wish restaurants would have more options when it comes to intolerances. I’m not vegan or gluten-free but I can’t drink or eat whole too often, it leaves me bloated for like two weeks and sends my acne into cyst zone I’m glad you did find something to eat on the menu Sophie. Your veggie curry looked amazing!!
Natonya | https://justnatonya.wordpress.com
It must be hard trying to eat out when gluten free and vegan! I was lucky, when we went out to a local coffee place with my fired I could call ahead and see if they had any gluten free and vegan options (she can’t have gluten or dairy). The lady who manages it that I spoke to, her daughter is the baker, so she made sure that her daughter had baked something that was both gluten free and vegan! So sweet! They had a lot of gluten free options but the one she made was the only dairy free one too. my friend said it was delicious! 🙂
Hope that you have a great weekend ahead of you! It will be a quiet one here, we are all a little unwell and the smoke haze means we need to stay indoors mostly!
I can’t imagine how tough this must be! How frustrating that some of the foods that are GF, aren’t vegan. I admire you for being able to make things work despite all of that x
Ohh I really love coffee shops. Sometimes it can definitely be a challenge eating out and finding vegan food places.
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The lentil veggie curry looks so good, I often find that when I’m due a food shop and have to just throw something together of whatever I have left turns out to be one of my favourite meals of the week. I can imagine the struggle of going out to eat and trying to find something you can eat, whenever I go out to eat with my mum because she has a nut allergy it makes it a tad tricky sometimes as so many things are either made with nuts or around nuts so it can take a while to order something sometimes.
Chloe xx
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It looks great! Thanks for sharing with us dear!
Have a lovely day! xx
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Thanks for sharing this – I’m trying to learn all I can about being gluten free!
You always come up with amazing recipes with unique ingredients that cater to your diet while still enjoying them. I can imagine how hard it is to eat out because of potential contamination and such. Though, places are becoming better at offering options. The pea and mint soup sound delicious! Mmm I love how hearty your dinner looks as well!
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
I very rarely eat out anywhere being vegan as it’s too difficult x
The lentil veggie curry looks DELICIOUS! Definitely my sort of dish – it looks so easy too! x
The veggie curry looks absolutely delicious! I always enjoy reading what I eat in a day posts xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
Everything looks super. I’m seeing more and more places here offering vegan options, but more so at places that are smaller and not chain restaurants. which I prefer any ways. Will try and get to them in the new year and see if they’re any good. x
oh that’s great that you could find some good place to get vegan and gluten free food… lentil veggie curry looks great … I can’t wait for the recipe of your chocolate orange oat bites… I love em…❤️
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I always find it interesting to hear about the meals people who eat a gluten free diet have x