Living Gluten Free in South Africa
My friend’s daughter just went off to college (university) and she asked for some advice as her daughter is suffering from a gluten allergy. Apparently the allergy wasn’t too bad but now she’s become very sensitive. I thought I would share with you the information I gave to her. This list is specific to South Africa so if you’re living here or coming on vacation to South Africa, make sure you save this list. I hope it helps all of you out there trying to live a Gluten Free life or needing to stay away from gluten!
CHECKERS
-Simple Truth GF pizza bases (frozen), 3 for R69.99. Simple & fast as you put straight from freezer into oven. Just add a packet of tomato paste & your toppings. Best is to get a round pizza tray that has holes in it (Crazy Store has them)…it really helps cook the base/crisp it up.
-They sometimes have a Garlic Bread (small loaf/could share with 1 person) and it is fantastic.
Checkers carries a lot of Simple Truth Gluten Free stuff but many items are not really tasty.
-Mrs Balls Chutney is gluten free, they don’t say it, but I really love it (most sauces are off limits). I use regular and peach but always make sure to check, other flavors could have gluten in them.
DISCHEM or CLICKS
-Anything by SCHAR is amazing. They have great saltine crackers, cracker bread, Marie biscuits, a ton of stuff. Literally anything they make is really good.
-Orgran has the absolute best pasta, usually at Dischem or a local health shop. The Macaroni made with rice flour is the absolute best! You can easily get 2 meals out of a bag or 4 “sides”.
SPAR (Beacon Isle has these)
-Ina Paarman’s Kitchen SPICES. Most spices, besides salt & pepper, have gluten. These are the BEST spices that I cook with and use for everything. My favorites: Chicken Spice, Meat Spice, Braai & Grill and Garlic & Herb. They even have Masala for curry. Any other packaged powders, blends, etc = gluten or many say “made in a factory where gluten is present” which is a gamble.
WOOLWORTHS
I can’t leave Woolies off the list because some things, nobody does better. And some things really are not priced too badly. The best is their Hamburger Rolls-and they freeze great. The hot dog rolls are awful for some reason and all of their GF crackers are good (but expensive). Of course if you want a treat, they have Carrot Bread/Carrot Cake, Banana Nut Bread/Muffins, etc. Sometimes you just need to treat yourself OR bring something to a party or get together that you can actually eat yourself! And my all time favorite is the GF Crumbed Chicken Schnitzel. I buy several, put them in the freezer, go from frozen to cooked perfectly every time-probably 2 meals for you at least. UPDATE: They now have Gluten Free Margarita Pizzas which are great to do at home. I like to add tomatoes, red onion and change the toppings every time. A definite treat!
SWEETS/CHOCOLATE
The only chocolates I get are Lindt dark chocolate (no flavors, gel flavors = gluten), Bounty (dark chocolate with coconut) or DeVilliers (Woolworths & MacNut) have some amazing gluten free chocolates too but don’t get started, they are too good! They even have Milk Chocolate, Sea Salt, Honeycomb…yum. The only ones I’ve found where you can get different flavors and no gluten.
DRINKS: Not sure if you know this, but BEER is completely off the table. The only things I can drink are CIDERS made from fruit (instead of beer = wheat). Be really careful of any of the fruity canned drinks too.
AT HOME/GLUTEN FREE PANTRY
What I always keep in my pantry are the following that allow me to feel like I’m not missing out on anything! Because I sell Gluten Free items on our site, I always have these items in my house. I’ve tried them all so I know them, now know when to use the Rice Flour, when Tapioca Flour is better, etc. The key to BAKING with Gluten Free flours is the XANTHAM GUM. That is what helps it to get the texture of regular bread (still not the same but it helps). Of course the easiest is the pre-made mixes for a loaf of bread, etc-all of that is in there.
If you like to bake, I have some recipes I’ve made many times and are delicious here on WomensTravelWorld site-the chocolate chip cookies are the best, you just have to find dark chocolate GF chips and make sure to read the ingredients.
If you want ONE GF flour just to have on hand, I would get a White Rice Flour-very versatile. For sweets/breads/cakes-I prefer Tapioca Flour, or a combination of the 2 is even better. But almost all recipes that call for regular flour, just substitute White Rice Flour and you’ll be amazed how similar it can taste to the regular version.
If you want Gluten Free Pantry items delivered to your door, you can shop here:
https://naturesmedicineonline.com/collections/gluten-free-pantry
A couple of things I always have in my cupboard, but do not offer on our site is called TAMARI. It’s very similar to a soy sauce. I love sushi so I use it often but also it’s great for stir-fry which you can literally throw anything in a pan and make your own stir fry. I have an extra bottle if you’d like it-I can always order more. The other thing is Pink Himalayan Salt….that’s more because I’ve heard so much of the salt has micro-plastics in it so I don’t buy any more regular salt.
My favorite go to meals that I make often:
Pasta, canned crushed/diced tomatoes (much better than worrying about spaghetti sauces).
Stir Fry with Tamari as the sauce and white rice. You can literally throw anything you like in a pan, with or without chopped up chicken (my favorite) and it’s a delicious meal. If you want a more sweet & sour taste (I miss that), put some Ms Balls Regular chutney on it once you’ve dished it up…super yummy!
I personally think that when you feel that you are “missing out” it really takes a toll. So having the things like pizzas, pasta, etc that a few years ago gluten free was barely talked about…is so nice and you appreciate it even more.
If you have any questions, or are looking for a specific recipe, please feel free to ask. I’ve done a lot of experimenting (and had some epic fails with meals-ask my husband)! LOL If I can make it easier for somebody else struggling with food with gluten, I’m very happy to help!