Looking forward to a big year

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With a new year starting, I’m looking ahead to all that 2024 will bring and it’s a big year for our family.

2024 is the year that G will turn 21, M 18 and Mike and I will mark 25 years of marriage. We have some big plans and some plans that are still very much in the planning stage.

And that’s OK, because if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last few years, it’s that life doesn’t always go to plan and that we as a family can roll with the punches and rely on our love for each other to get through even the darkest bits.

Here’s to a peaceful 2024 for us all.

When 37 is the new 46

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There’s something special about being able to celebrate* two milestones in my life on the same day. February 24 not only marks 46 years since I came into this world, but also 37 years of conquering an illness that could easily have seen it end if not for an awe-inspiring medical discovery in 1922.

The last year has seen a lot of changes for me in all aspects of my life. I was appointed as the Finance Director for the charity I’ve worked for over the last 3 and a half years or so, which has stretched me in ways I couldn’t have imagined, but has also been more fulfilling than I could have hoped. Working within the social care sector during a time of financial crisis following 2+ years of pandemic has been challenging, but the things I’ve learned and the friendships I’ve built at work have bolstered me during what could easily have been some mentally exhausting moments.

Both children  – well, I say children, but really now one adult and one in their late teens – have started to explore and venture out onto the next steps in their lives and I’ve had to learn to balance wanting to solve all of their problems myself with allowing them to make their own mistakes and find their way through those challenges as best they can with our support as needed.

And my 37th year with T1D has seen another new technological development for me. Seven years ago I spoke about my introduction to the Freestyle Libre, the flash glucose monitoring system which turned me into the bionic woman and transformed the way I tested my blood glucose levels. Seven years on, my whole T1D life has been revolutionised once again as I’m now the proud owner of a “hybrid closed-loop system” or artificial pancreas, to use the vernacular, which allows my insulin pump to speak to the CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) I wear and adjust the steady administration of insulin to adapt to my changing blood sugars, activities and food intakes.

When that diagnosis happened on my 9th birthday, I’m not sure any of my family could have imagined the changes and developments that would happen to mean that I could spend a little less time focused on getting through each day with T1D in one piece and a little more on enjoying all that life has to offer.

Today will be a quiet day with family, enjoying time with my most favourite people in the world and loving the life I’m able to live with a new constant companion, my insulin pump, to help manage the one that’s been there for almost as long as I can remember. It is time to celebrate both of today’s occasions and I will certainly be raising a glass and a cupcake to do so.

*I thought long and hard about whether celebrate was the right word here or not. Should I have said that I “mark” these landmark points in my life rather than “celebrate” them, but I decided not. I do celebrate 37 years of living with T1D, of surviving all that it has thrown at me over the years and that is something to be proud of and that’s worth celebrating in style.

Italy Photo Round-up 2022

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A fantastic opportunity to spend time as a family, even though our children are not so small any more. Exploring a small part of Italy to discover what it had to offer including a fine array of allergy-friendly and delicious foods. Our 10 days were simply stunning and I know we’d all love to go back again:

Eating In with Allergies in Italy

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Without a doubt we loved our meals out whilst in Italy, but sometimes it was equally fab to be able to stay in and enjoy a glass or two alongside a simple home-cooked meal. I decided we would travel lighter than normal this year in an attempt to avoid the mammoth queues that were plaguing the UK airports over the summer months. This meant I couldn’t pack our usual extra suitcase of safe foods to take with us. Fortunately, there was a large Co-op hypermarket near our farmhouse in Orvieto and we found a great free-from section there with plenty of options to keep everyone happy.

The shelves were stocked with a variety of Schar gluten-free breads which were perfect for our “at-home” days and there was plenty of choice of cooked meats and local goats cheeses that both G and M enjoyed. With fresh fruit and vegetables and crisps to sit alongside the rest of the food, most mealtimes were plentiful and we didn’t really need too much else to satisfy the pickings of my hungry duo. However, it was amazing to find these extras to keep them both smiling throughout the day:

Pizza: Unfortunately I didn’t take a photo of the label for the gluten- and dairy-free pizza we found, but with the option of both proscuitto and magherita pizzas which suited both G and M, these were a big hit on our first night there. They were easy to oven-cook and it was fantastic to find a free-from pizza that was both gluten- and dairy-free to prepare as that’s rarely the case at home in the UK. In fact, I’d go far as to say UK brands should take note as this would be an absolute game-changer for us. The two pizzas were more than enough to feed even the hungriest amongst us – the 16 year-old boy who appears to have hollow legs – and Mike and I even managed to sneak a slice to taste-test too.

Sarchio snacks

: These were a real find during our holiday and G and M tried both the Quinoa and Cranberry bars and Rice and chocolate drops bars, although the latter did contain a small amount of soy lecithin which was a shame. We also tried a selection of their biscuits, though these contain egg and M had to be sensible about just how many he consumed in any one sitting! We bought a few boxes of the cereal bars in particular as they were easy to pack to take out with us when we were on the move and were great at tiding M over whilst waiting for the next meal!

Valsoia & Bene-si Ice-creams: Another set of great finds, though soya was the main ingredient in the Valsoia ice-cream and hazelnuts the base for the Bene-si one. Fortunately, neither child struggles with an allergy to hazelnuts and M in particular was extremely careful about how much of this one he tried. We managed his consumption of the sour cherry soya ice-cream with an increased dose of his anti-histamines and anti-allergens when he had a bowl and we didn’t see any ill effects during our time away. It was fantastic to see a wide selection of different flavoured dairy-free ice-creams readily available in the hypermarket, although I wish we’d been able to find a good coconut ice-cream for M to try as well as the others.

Eating Out with Allergies in Rome: Dessert Edition

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If there is one thing that Italy is famous for other than pizza and pasta, it has to be the incomparable gelato you can buy on pretty much every street corner or, if in Rome, at what feels like every third shop on the street. When your children have allergies, finding safe desserts is almost always the most difficult challenge when you eat out and even in Rome, was more of a challenge that we would have liked. Lots of shops do offer gluten-free cones or, of course, you can buy a scoop or two in a paper cup instead; and if you’re happy to eat fruity sorbets, then there are some great safe options to be had. Unfortunately, G is not a fan of the sharper flavours of a sorbet and at one point I did wonder if we might end up without trying this delicious Italian treat during our Roman sojourn. However, we did find a couple of gems and I had to share them with you:

Magnum Pleasure Store: We’d wandered past the Magnum Pleasure Store a couple of times on our way to and from our apartment and on one particularly scorching afternoon, we decided it was worth a shot to see if we could find a dairy-free option to help G and M cool down. They are both big fans of vegan Magnums here in the UK with G favouring the almond version over the plain vegan option that M enjoys. It seemed like a good starting point to find an ice-cream for us all, so it was disappointing to discover that there were no vegan ice-creams to be seen. They selected a cold drink instead whilst Mike chose the toppings for his designer magnum at the behest of both children – the speciality of the pleasure store.

I headed to the freezer to see what I could find and struck proverbial gold. They might not have stocked vegan magnums, but instead I stumbled across the fantastically named “Bikini 1969”, a gluten- and dairy-free ice-cream sandwich bar. Needless to say, both G and M were quick to take up my offer to try this treat  – their first ice-cream sandwiches ever – and what a hit it was. We didn’t quite make it back there every day, but we did partake of an ice-cream from the Magnum pleasure store more than once during our stay.

 

Sublime Gelateria: This was another unexpected find during our time in Rome and one that we came across disappointingly late in our trip, especially given its proximity to where we were staying. Situated just a couple of doors down from Mama Eat Lab, M spotted this gelateria thanks to the duck-egg blue Vespa in the doorway and the brightly coloured sign next to its entrance stating it had vegan-friendly and gluten-free goodies inside. Having struggled our way through the impressive 3-course meal at Mama Eat Lab, none of us had space for a sneaky ice-cream, not even M, but we vowed to head back the following day and even managed a return visit as we headed back to the airport on our final day.

All of the ice-creams were clearly marked with the red scoops depicting those flavours that were safe for vegans and therefore for our dairy-free duo. What was fantastic was that there was a great mix of traditional ice-cream flavours, fruit sorbets and some more unusual ones for us to try and they all tantalised the taste-buds. I can’t quite remember all of the flavours we tried between us, but I know chocolate orange, fig, peach and lime were amongst them. Once again it was fantastic to see G and M experiencing being able to order a gluten-free cone filled with 2 scoops of their choice of an array of safe ice-cream flavours, something they’ve never been able to do before.

Eating Out with Allergies in Rome: Mama Eat

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Our stay in Rome was relatively short and we were able to find some great places to eat safely and enjoy some delicious meals. As well as those mentioned in my last post, we also tried the restaurant that turned into our absolute favourite find of our Italian trip and somewhere we’d all happily go back to time and time again:

Mama Eat

This small chain has 3 restaurants in Rome, one of which was Mama Eat Lab just a short walk from our Vatican City homebase. I can’t begin to tell you just how fantastic the food here is and I’ve no doubt that if we’d discovered it on day one, we may well have ended up eating there every day!

Mama Eat specialises in gluten- and lactose- free cooking and more or less every dish on the menu at our chosen location was safe for G and M to eat. Needless to say it simply had to be a 3-course meal, which was tough given we’d already enjoyed a delicious pasta lunch, but the whole family was up for the challenge. We took our time perusing the menu and were utterly spoilt for choice, so it wasn’t an easy decision to make.

Our final dinner choices included arancini, fried chicken, pizza and lasagne and was finished off with a shared dessert of mini doughnuts. It was great to see some gluten-free beers on the menu too and all-in-all it was one of the best dinners we’ve had whilst away from home. In fact, so good was the food that we headed back the next day for a late lunch when the queue was a little less lengthy, but the food equally delicious. The lunch menu is much, much smaller, but no less fantastic.

If you’re looking for somewhere that is allergy-friendly to eat with excellent Italian food, I would heartily recommend Mama Eat – we all gave it a 10/10!

Eating Out with Allergies in Rome

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After our week near Orvieto, we wended our way to Rome for the last few days of our holiday. I had done a smidgeon more research for our stay there, which uncovered one absolute cracker of a restaurant a mere stone’s throw from our apartment near the Vatican City. We enjoyed some great, safe meals elsewhere too, most of which we walked into from the street and were impressed by just how well catered for both G and M were:

Hard Rock Cafe Rome

: The one request we had on the drive from Orvieto to Rome was if we could find the Hard Rock Cafe in Rome for dinner during our stay. Whilst Mike and I were keen to find some more authentically Italian places to eat whilst we were there, it was an easy option for the our first evening in Rome and allowed us to fit in a little sightseeing as well as we found our way to the restaurant via the Spanish Steps and wandered past the Trevi Fountain on the return trip. After such a fantastic meal in HRC Florence, we had high hopes for a repeat performance at the Rome branch, but both children were disappointed with the quality of the gluten-free bread rolls being too dry to complement the rest of their meal.

Il Nuovo Faro

: We wandered into this restaurant by mistake, but oh my goodness, what a success story it turned out to be. Less than 5 minutes from the Trevi Fountain, right in the heart of the tourist area, bustling and excellent service throughout the meal. There were so many safe options on the menu and M decided to take this first opportunity to try a traditionally Italian pizza. He started with a platter of smoked salmon and orange slices, followed by a Hawaiian pizza without cheese, whilst G chose a gluten-free spaghetti carbonara. Disappointingly there were no freefrom dessert options available that my 2 could eat, but after a delicious and filling meal, pudding wasn’t something any of us could realistically manage.

La Taverna del Ghetto

: Another knock-out walk-in win, this time for lunch in the Jewish Quarter. This was a relatively quick stop between our guided tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum, and an afternoon visit to the Capitoline Museums. We found a street of welcoming restaurants and Mike did a quick scout of which could offer allergy-friendly options to our discerning duo. Most of them were able to serve gluten-free pasta even though it wasn’t clearly shown on the menus displayed outside the restaurants – a great demonstration of just how accommodating Italy can be, particularly to those who need to eat gluten-free. This time both children chose rigatoni – M with a tomato and basil sauce, whilst G again opted for a carbonara sauce. The portions were filling, but not too big, which was exactly what was needed to hit the spot in the middle of another hot day in Rome.

RIP HM Queen Elizabeth II

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Yesterday’s news seemed to come from out of nowhere and even though many of us knew this time would pass, none expected it to happen so quickly and with so little warning. We are a nation in sorrow. 10 days of national mourning have started with all the pomp and circumstance that this wonderful monarch deserves.

70 years of dedicated service to her country and I feel so fortunate that we were able to mark that occasion and celebrate with her earlier this year. I’m sure I won’t be alone in grieving this one individual who has been a constant not just in my life, but in the life of this country and many other countries around the world.

“Well done, good and faithful servant” – may you rest now in peace.

 

Eating Out with Allergies in Umbria

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It has been quite some time since I lasted blogged and boy have those months been busy! Amongst other things we’ve celebrated a 16th birthday, survived the onslaught of BTEC and GCSE exams – as well as nearly all the results – some big changes at work and a performance in the West End by G and M. With so much going on, it’s been difficult to find time to put the proverbial pen to paper, but having just come back from an amazing 10 days in Italy, I was determined to find 5 minutes wherever I could to share our travel experiences.

Unusually, I didn’t do as much research on safe places to eat before we travelled as I have in the past, but having seen how well Italy accommodates those on special diets on our quick jaunt there a few years’ ago, I was hopeful we might have reasonable success. And so we did. With a little light touch internet searching on the ground to assist us, we found some amazing places to eat.

Our journey started in Pisa where we walked to see the Leaning Tower before heading for a quick pit-stop in Florence for lunch, and finally on to a beautiful farmhouse just outside Orvieto, where we spent the first week of our holiday. We didn’t eat out much whilst we were there, but the meals we did have were brilliant:

Hard Rock Cafe Florence: A holiday simply wouldn’t be a holiday without lunch at the local Hard Rock Cafe. I can’t say we go as far as planning our destinations around the HRC locations, but it is pretty much always one of the first things M asks about once he knows where we’re going. The Italian approach to allergy-friendly eating was a little different than we’re used to, with no separate menus, but we did have an extremely knowledgeable server who was able to tell both G and M if their selections were safe or not. G picked the BBQ pulled pork sandwich, whilst M chose  a starter of chicken wings, followed by the grilled chicken sandwich. Their plates were cleared in the usual fashion when we eat at a HRC and I’m told that the gluten-free bread rolls were the best that they’ve eaten anywhere in the world.

Antica Cantina, Orvieto: Our base for the week, La Grande Quercia, was a fabulous farmhouse found on top of a hillside overlooking the cliff-top city of Orvieto and mid-week we decided to venture there for an explore and a lunch at the Antica Cantina restaurant. There were some great local specialities on the menu and M was delighted to learn that all of their pasta dishes could be made gluten- and dairy-free. The children started with a plate of parma ham and melon before G enjoyed a platter of goats’ cheeses with gluten-free bread and salad, and M selected the rigatoni with a tomato and smoked bacon sauce. Mike and I also chose regional dishes and we all very much enjoyed our first proper Italian meal out.

Trattoria del Buongusto, Marmore: Our one big day trip out was to the awe-inspiring Marmore Falls, the tallest man-made waterfall in the world. We spent our time exploring the various trails and climbing to get the most amazing views of all 3 tiers of the falls. We managed to buy a very basic hot dog lunch at the Falls themselves as there were no allergy-friendly options on offer, but our dinner at the nearby Trattoria del Buongusto more than made up for a somewhat scrappy lunch. Disappointingly they didn’t have any gluten-free pasta available the evening we were there, but our waitress was brilliant and helped translate the menu for us as well as letting us know which dishes could be prepared gluten- and dairy-free. This time G chose a cold meats and cheeses platter with salad and potatoes, whilst M feasted like a king on a mixed seafood platter starter followed by a mixed grill entree.