Gluten-free surprises

Manon Oosterhof2 June 2016

Gluten-free food festival

What do I have to look for on a gluten-free festival? With that question I visited last Sunday May 29 the first gluten-free festival ‘ Frank and Vrij ‘. The festival took place in Undercurrent, a beautifully situated hotspot in Amsterdam North.

Hype?

When I told friends I would go to a festival about gluten-free food, I got different reactions. According to some, gluten free food had really helped by all kinds of ailments. Others said: “It’s nothing for me, it’s just another hype”.

One thing became very clear to me. If you suffering from celiac disease (gluten allergy), this dominates your life. And then you are happy with all those delicious products offered on this festival. Products which are really 100% gluten free. That is not a question of participating a hype.

Lecture

The impact of a gluten-free life dawned on me during the lecture by Gaby Halder. She is a registered dietitian and helps people with celiac disease, but also with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and with gluten sensitivity. These are all different bowel problems in which a gluten-free diet can help. Because of the ‘gluten-free hype’ these different diseases are often mixed up.

And what I learned: If you want to or need to avoid gluten, you must be master in reading labels. You cannot rely on a gluten-free logo for one hundred percent.

Glutenvrij festival 2016: Board where you can leave your gluten-free wishes and tips

Discoveries

But also for me as non-celiac patient there were discoveries. All the delightful cakes, pancakes and salads that were displayed on the food market made me happy. A new product for me is sorghum (wonder grain), a grain that originally comes from Africa and looks a bit like rice. Honestly, for me this tasted better than the quinoa pasta (gluten-free of course) they gave me and I prepared the same evening. And I will surly use the recipe with roasted sweet potato and quinoa salad. A nice surprise was the existence of a Gluten free shop in Amsterdam. Soon you can read more about this shop on this website!