You may have read our article a while back on the truth about colonic irrigation. In that, I mentioned that a few years before having children I discovered I was intolerant to wheat. I have not eaten it since.

In reality, looking back over the years I was probably intolerant for a long time before I realised it.

Did you know…?

• According to the NHS, 50% of young people (18 or younger) in Britain suffer from one or more allergies* and more than a third of all parents believe that their child has a food allergy or sensitivity of some sort.**
• Nearly a third (31%) of households contain someone who has a food allergy or intolerance, the majority being self-diagnosed.***
• Over 1 in 5 (22%) of the population consider themselves to have a food allergy or intolerance (an increase of 5% compared to 2011).***

Happily though, Mrs Crimble’s, the much loved gluten free British bakery brand, is proving that people wishing to avoid gluten in their diet can still enjoy snacks, cakes and other treats that taste every bit as yummy as the mainstream alternatives. In fact, in some cases, Mrs Crimble’s products are stocked on the mainstream as well as the free from aisle.

Mrs Crimble’s reputation was built on the huge success of their Coconut and Choc Macaroon products but has now grown to include savoury snacks, home bake mixes, crackers and individually wrapped products such as flapjacks that can be enjoyed on the go.

They are also succeeding in making sure that their products are widely available – from supermarkets and convenience stores to department store cafes, airline snack boxes, delicatessens and local fine food stores.

Mrs Crimble’s products enable people with allergies to enjoy products with all of the taste and none of the gluten – ensuring families and friends can enjoy great food together.

Although there have been huge improvements in free from products over the years there is still, in my view a long way to go. In many ways, free from products remain inferior to regular grocery items.

There are some great brands out there and we covered some of them in our free from series. Mrs Crimble’s are one of the really great free from brands and I still have lots of their products left to try. I haven’t tried any of the home baking mixes, so they are on my list.

Their crackers are really good and the children all love those. They are great with cheese, on their own or dipped in things – yummy!

28th April – 4th May 2015 is Allergy Awareness week – does anyone in your family have an allergy? How do you deal with it?

* According to a recent survey by the charity, Allergy UK
** According to the NHS Choices Website
*** YouGov: Understanding food allergies and intolerances – the consumer viewpoint (September 2014)