My wife found these Golden Kiwi Fruit at the store recently, and I must say, they make a delicious gluten-free diet addition. I was never a huge fan of the standard Kiwi (the green ones), but I really like these gold kiwifruit. They have a rather sweet, less acidic taste that is definitely tropical in nature.
These particular specimens originated in New Zealand, which is second only to Italy in kiwifruit production - oddly, though native to China and declared China's "national fruit", China doesn't produce enough kiwi to appear in the top-10 producers list. With all the recalls of Chinese products and food these days, I'll admit that I feel much safer consuming Kiwi originating from New Zealand that I would if they had come from China.
I'm always glad to find new foods to mix into my gluten-free diet, and adding a new fruit to the mix is rather simple since fruit in general contains no gluten. Variety in the fruits and vegetables category will help make up for some of those wheat and gluten-containing foods that you can no longer eat. And, these make for a health diet addition too, since they are high in Fiber, Vitamin-C, and Potassium (by weight, just slightly lower potassium than a banana).
There is very little waste with kiwifruit also - especially with these golden fruit that have been cultivated to have less "hair" on the outside, so you can just wash them off and scrub loose what little bit of "hairy" coating there is and eat them whole. You can also certainly use a spoon to eat the center, leaving a very fine skin to be disposed of.
I definitely recommend these things, and if you get a chance to add them to your gluten-free diet, you will probably be happy you did. A tasty, healthy, natural treat for all of us with Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance - excellent!
I like the idea of less acid. Thanks for letting me know about these golden goodies.
ReplyDeleteI'm new to the world of bloggers but am enjoying that you can get advice from real people.
ReplyDeleteI have a wheat and gluten intolerance that I am finding it hard to deal with (I only got told three months ago) Wheat seems to be in bloody everyhthing!! Also the wheat and gluten free foods are very expensive for me. DO you have any tips for someone who is on a budget suffering from annoying intolerances?? Pleaz I am so sick of being sick.
Debz,
ReplyDeleteI noticed that you are from New Zealand, so I don't know how much of what I say will apply there. But, I'll try to offer some useful advice.
First, trade homes and countries with me for a year :) I'd LOVE to see New Zealand.
Now, to the gluten-free stuff. I don't know about product-supply "down there", but if it is anything like here in the USA, there may be significant variation if you can perhaps locate a company that can supply "bulk" purchases of certain Gluten-Free baking items (rice flours, etc.). I tend to buy some types in as much as 10 Kilograms at a time to keep the per-pound costs down, but then we do a lot of baking ourselves too. Shipping is going to be rough for anyone in New Zealand though if you don't already have local/island access to the products.
The number one thing I see to reducing costs is to bake your own gluten-free foods whenever possible, since (at least per my experience) it tends to be much cheaper than pre-made gluten-free products (and, the stuff we bake ourselves tastes much better too!).
Now, in the USA, for saving money when avoiding gluten, and when buying "certified gluten free" is just not an option for price concerns, one can look at places like Asian / Indian markets as cheap sources Rice Flours, Bean Flours, and alternative grains. I have found Rice Flours at as low as 1/10th the price this way, but, you won't likely find "gluten free" on the label. But, given the choice between consuming what should be gluten-free and other foods that are known not to be GF at all, I'd go this route for sure. Once again, I don't know what New Zealand offers for product options and supply, but maybe there is a similarity to the USA in this regard.
Next, I'd say to try to eat plenty of locally grown fruits and veggies as alternatives to wheat-containing foods. I eat more vegetable varieties now than ever, and the variation helps make up for things like standard pasta, bread, etc. You should certainly have all sorts of apples, citrus, avocados, grapes, squash, there at decent prices - that should provide a good foundation.
I wish I had more first-hand knowledge of the New Zealand Gluten-Free situation, but I don't. (could make a good excuse to visit). If the shipping costs were not insanely high, I'd say to look at just mail-ordering some bulk supplies from here, but I have doubts it'd be reasonable. Good luck, and hope this helps some!
Thankyou very much. I guess spending a little extra on buying bulk will help in the long run.
ReplyDeleteRight, yes making your own food would be cheaper and alot nicer since you know what your putting into your food.
Variety, Variety, Variety.
This has been exactly my problem. When I first found out of my intolerace I ate pretty much the exact same food day in an out....which make me never want to touch rice again!!!
Squash, avocado and grapes on my next shopping list.
Debz, glad to try to help. Stay tuned to the Gluten-Free Blog, and with luck, I'll be providing more ideas for gluten-free diet variation over the coming months. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI just bought golden kiwi today at the store. Nice! Glad to know I'm on track with the rest of the wheat-free world. :)
ReplyDeleteCheck out my blog on the wheat-free, dairy-free and low sugar lifestyle at: http://heatherstrangnowds.blogspot.com. Be sure to post a comment (I've got a dinner/dessert recipe posted this week!) with a link to your site.
Happy Eating!
Heather :)
Hi Mick,
ReplyDeleteI will add a link to your blog on my article on teff to allow readers to find some recipes that use teff.
Y
yann,
ReplyDeletethanks for stopping by, and thanks for the link. I hope people find the recipes with Teff useful and delicious. I just had one tonight actually (my wife was kind enough to make me my favorite gluten-free pizza crust recipe for dinner, which has some Teff in it). She was actually experimenting a bit too, and rolled one thinner crust, and tried one as a "deep dish style" one - I enjoyed both :)
This kiwifruit looks delicious.I love it.
ReplyDeletesuman
Free Satellite TV