Hey, I’m Cathy, founder of Boundless Activated Snacking. We’re here to make snacking well easy! Born out of my passion for food & unusual flavour combinations, and my own gluten & dairy intolerances, we’re proud to be pioneers in gut healthy snacking in the free from sector. Being coeliac can be stressful in the snacking world, so here are my top 7 tips to make things a little bit easier.
Cathy, Boundless Activated Snacking
1. Plant Power
As coeliacs, we should focus on getting a variety of plant-based foods into our diet: being a coeliac doesn't mean your gut health has to suffer! Eating a variety of micronutrients is essential to help feed our microbiome - something that can feel precarious to us. Of course, snacking doesn't always have to mean an apple a day, but pairing vibrant veg with homemade houmous, or snacking on iron-rich raisins & dried apricots is a great way to fulfil our stomachs and immune function. Tastes good and does good. What’s not to love?!
2. Hidden Gems
Don’t let your coeliac disease restrict you to the (normally very overpriced) ‘free from’ range in supermarkets! Surprisingly, there are many ‘accidentally GF’ gems waiting for you elsewhere. According to Coeliac UK and Becky Excell (queen of gluten-free), if a product doesn’t contain gluten or has ‘may contain’ warning, it is safe to eat. Check out Becky’s blog for great supermarket finds! It's easy to feel you’re in the spotlight when eating gluten-free, but these undercover snacks are tasty and can help with any anxiety surrounding snacking. What I would stress is always double-check before repurchasing a product you’ve deemed “safe” just in case brands who aren’t Coeliac Society registered have changed their ingredients.
3. Flip It Over
Snacking should be a form of self-care and the food choices we make can impact our lifestyle. For example, intuitive eating is a form of respect. You are listening to your body, understanding what works and filling it with gluten-free goodness. A lot of the snacks on shelf seem to be geared towards dieting within free from, with huge emphasis placed on calories or fat content. Rather than focusing on front of pack, flip your snacks over! Checking out the list of ingredients & methods involved in the snack is a solid way to avoid anything that’s going to feel disruptive to your digestive system; it’s all about communicating internally! Being kind to your gut does wonders.
4. Speak Up
When snacking out and about, don't be afraid to speak up about your gluten sensitivity. Educate your friends, family, or colleagues on why avoiding gluten is important for you. When going for coffee & cake, ring restaurants beforehand and ask about their gluten-free options, how they will avoid cross-contamination and if they will accommodate to your coeliac disease. If someone seems unclear, make sure you specify! No shared chopping boards, separate utensils etc. You are *NOT* an inconvenience, which is a message sometimes tricky to remember. Premises are required to cater for all allergens nowadays, so chances are they’ll be prepped and ready for you to arrive.
5. Plan, Plan & Plan Some More!
Always be prepared and limit the chances of upsetting your gut! If you know there is a chance of cross-contamination or no gluten-free snacks available at your second cousin’s grandma’s barbecue, take your own. Especially when on the go, I’ll always have several snacks squirrelled away in my bag for the likely eventuality that the airport or train station options are a) limited & b) full of rubbish. Remember what we said about self-care in snacking, prioritise yourself!
6. A Life Saver – Literally!
Thanks to the world of technology, gone are the days for ending ingredient list checks! With Coeliac UK's gluten-free checker app, you can shop without any stress. It shows you thousands of alternative food options that are suited for your coeliac needs, who are registered with the Coeliac Society themselves. Brands, like us, who are part of Coeliac UK go through rigorous testing to ensure there’s no threat to anyone with gluten sensitivities. We even get produced & packed on separate lines to gluten contaminated products! Simply download the app, add in your preferences and search away! The barcode feature makes food shopping stress-free as Coeliac UK doing all the work for you.
7. Flood, Activate, Crunch
As you can probably tell by now, we’re huge gut health advocates, and activating / sprouting our grains is a way to ensure our bodies are getting a solid uptake of nutrients in our delicious snacks. We soak our nuts, seeds & grains to draw out something called Phytic Acid; known as an antinutrient, the PA binds to key vitamins & minerals and makes it difficult for our bodies to digest them. With Phytic Acid out of the picture, we increase the bioavailability of nutrients in our naturally gluten – free grains giving us access to Mother Nature’s superpowers.
Being gluten free can often mean snacks are pumped full of chemically processed rubbish, additional unnecessary sugars & more. By activating, it’s not about what we add (think probiotics & prebiotics), but what we take away. Removing the Phytic Acid means we are able to use 100% natural ingredients, full of incredible gut healthy properties organically, and promote a better digestion of them. It’s all about taking great ingredients & making them even better, to help you #BeGoodToYourGut. Less is more kids, less is more!
Tagged in Gluten Free