All change….

It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been almost 18 months since my last blog post, but so much has happened during that time that it has actually flown by for me.

If you’re a regular reader (hopefully there are a few of you left!) you’ll be aware that I took on the role of Group Organiser for the Bristol Coeliac UK Local Group, but having instigated the revival of the group some years earlier, I felt that my involvement in the group should finally come to an end and the reigns should be passed on to someone else, so I resigned from my role and from the committee back in May.

It was a tough decision for me to make, but I needed to get some ‘me’ time back. My little one is now 2 years old and full of energy, so it’s nice to have more time with him and not worry about planning the next meeting or event, instead I’m organising play dates and day trips!

I’m back!

Since the early part of last year things have been pretty quiet on my blog for various
reasons. Firstly I was busy planning our wedding, then we moved house and now we have a baby! As a result blogging had to take something of a back seat.

However, there’s good news….. I’m back! 🙂

It’s Not A Trace’s birthday!

I’ve just been reminded that it’s my blog’s birthday today! Happy Birthday Not A Trace! 🙂

My blog was set up 3 years ago for two main reasons: the first was to allow me to have an outlet to share my gluten free views and reviews and the second was to hopefully help other coeliacs and gluten intolerant people along the way.

During the last three years the blog has had over 48,500 views, which I don’t think is bad for little old me!

The Wheat Free Kitchen – our wedding cake!

Hi everyone, I’m back!!

Sorry for the blog / social media silence for the past few months / year but I’ve been fully engrossed in changing jobs and getting married, but as Rich and I are now Mr and Mrs I thought it was time to get back to the blogging, and what better way to start than with a review of our wedding cake! 🙂

From the start of the wedding planning process, we both agreed that all food at the wedding would be gluten free to avoid the risk of any potential cross contamination issues and to make sure that I wasn’t ill on our big day.

There are quite a few places in Bristol that make gluten free cakes and I got some quotes from these places, as well as asking around for suggestions at work. We also went to a wedding fayre at our wedding venue, and although the sample cakes there were amazing, there was little reassurance from anywhere I’d contacted that they could safely cope with making a gluten free cake.

Cue my lovely friends Gem and Beth at The Wheat Free Kitchen…

Blog Update

Morning all,

I just wanted to post a little update to explain my recent absence.

Over the past few months I’ve been trying to sell a house, planning a wedding, arranging my 30th birthday celebrations, liaising with Coeliac UK to try to re-establish the Bristol Coeliac group, oh and getting to grips with my relatively new job too! So things have been a little hectic! 😦

I’m still keen to hear about any gluten free news or reviews that you have and I’m always on the look out for guest bloggers, so if anyone’s interested or has something to share please get in touch! 🙂

In the meantime, I’m off for a relaxing weekend with my soon to be in laws, so I hope to be back with you shortly. There’s so much I need to review!

Thanks all,

Trace

Not A Trace Awards 2014

Slightly later than last year, here are my Not A Trace Awards 2014. These awards provide me with an opportunity to look back over the last year and remind you of my highlights.

Unfortunately my blogging has taken a bit of a back seat over the past year due to work commitments and this year my time will also be restricted due to house moving and wedding planning, but I hope to blog whenever I can to bring you all the best brands, restaurants etc.

This time last year my blog had passed 9,000 views, and I’m extremely delighted to say that my views have now passed 28,000 which is a massive jump, so thank you all so much for continuing to read my blog! 🙂

So, let’s kick off the awards…..

Updated: BMI Regional In-Flight Snacks – now includes response from BMI Regional

Back in May I flew to Aberdeen for work and wasn’t aware until on the flight that BMI Regional offer complimentary snacks and drinks. As I hadn’t advised beforehand that I was a coeliac I assumed that I wouldn’t be able to have anything, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

To my surprise the cabin crew said they’d check to see if they had a spare gluten free box. A gluten free box?! Ooh how exciting!

I was delighted when a few minutes later, once everyone else had been served, I was given a BMI Regional branded ‘New Well-Being Box, The Good Life’. The front of the box stated ‘say hello to our selection of tasty nut, gluten and milk free bites, chosen from the best of British – enjoy’. Wow – multiple allergies covered in one box, how impressive!

Until you open it….

Gluten Free Awareness in Hotels

Following a spate of poor hotel stays of late, I’m keen to raise awareness regarding gluten free breakfasts at hotels. How can it be so difficult?!

I don’t understand how staff can be so well informed during an evening meal, despite the large number of dishes available, yet breakfast seems to be so difficult to get right.

The main issue I have had of late is just lack of knowledge from breakfast staff and chefs(!) as to what gluten free even means. This often leads to long waits whilst staff check, which I’d prefer rather than being given incorrect information, but when you need to be somewhere this isn’t always convenient.

The big issue is that hotel breakfasts tend to be buffets with the same items every day – how difficult would it be to know if these few items are gluten free or not? I’m sure it wouldn’t be difficult to put an information sheet together to include this information?

Happy Birthday ‘Not A Trace’!!

On the 3rd April 2013 I set up my Not A Trace gluten free blog as an outlet for me to share my views on gluten free products and venues. Exactly one year later and it has had more than 14,000 views – for a little blog I’m quite proud of that figure!

I was fortunate that when I started my blog I had just left a permanent job in order to return to auditing, so I had the time to concentrate on setting up the blog and making sure that it had enough posts to make it relatively self-sufficient as I knew I wouldn’t be able to commit to it as much when I was back at work.

Not A Trace Awards 2013

As we approach the festive season, and I approach my first coeliac anniversary next month, I thought that now would be a good time to look back over the past year and highlight my favourite products, restaurants etc that I’ve come across. What better way to do this than in the form of the inaugural Not A Trace awards!

I’ve reviewed at lot of amazing things since starting my blog in April and having passed 9000 views during that time, I’m very grateful to all of my readers! It’s certainly been a very rewarding and somewhat therapeutic experience for myself and I hope it’s been of some benefit to all of you too!

I must also say that I have made some wonderful friends in the gluten free community as a result of social media, and I’m very grateful to all of you for your friendship and advice during my first year as a coeliac. Thank you!

So, let’s kick off the awards…..