Breakfast and Cereal Bars

I love granola bars.

Have you ever noticed, though, how many of them have raisins in?

....and those that don't have chocolate chips in instead!

Seriously, have a look next time you're in the supermarket.

So, in my travels I have come across some safe (and delicious) options. I'm not saying that this is an exhaustive list, just what I have discovered so far:

These are pretty much like the cereal. You like frosties, you'll probably like these.

Again, like the cereal, like the bar. 

These are more crunchy than chewy.
There are several safe varieties of this brand of granola bars. With the obvious exception of the 'oats and berries' bar(because of the berries!)  most of these are safe. I liked the maple syrup ones (pictured) best.

As the name suggests, these bars are rather on the chewy side...

I'm not sure it counts as a breakfast, and it certainly isn't the most nutritious snack, but as far as citric acid goes you're in the clear!

Breakfast 101 - Cereal

There are millions of different cereals in the world.  Most of them overpriced.

This means I don't tend to buy cereal an awful lot.

Lets start with the basics.

Branflakes, porridge oats, rice krispies, weetabix are all fine. As is PLAIN Special K. Beware the one with yogurt! Obviously don't put citrus fruits or berries on any of the above, but plain with milk you're good to go.

Honey puffs are also an option. A sugary, sugary option!

Or (my current favourites) we have these little guys:

Cinnamon flavoured, square shaped. What more could a girl ask for? Just don't be tempted to look at the strawberry ones they invariably have on the shelf next to them...

To sum up, most cereals seem to be ok to grab. If you don't have the problem of cocoa you'll have an even wider selection.

Pie, Pasta and Associated Problems

Now, there is nothing wrong with pasta or pie. In fact, I happen to be quite a fan of both. In theory, at least.

As usual, the actuality is a little more complicated.

Dry pasta you get in a bag has never been a problem. It is dry, they don't need to add preserving acids to it. What you put ON it is a different matter. Think about it, pretty much all pasta sauces are made of either cheese or tomato. So far, apart from doing a white garlic sauce the only recipe I have found is this pizza sauce by Vicky Clarke, which also works well on pasta.

Ready-made pastas are generally a no-go because of the sauces. You may rarely find a tuna one where the mayo used is citric acid free, but I've found these to be too few and far between to bother checking any more.

Making you own pie is probably the easier option if that is what you fancy. As long as you make sure the butter you use is safe in the crust, the gravy granules do not have citric acid or E330 listed in ingredients and the veg is all on the sage list then you are good to go!

Buying pie from the supermarket you have to check the label EVERY time. Chicken and mushroom is usually your likeliest bet to be edible. Steak pies might be ok if you are lucky. As I said, you have to check the label.

Drinks - There is a New Juice in Town!

I realize that most people would not be as excited as I was to go to Waitrose. I'm strange, I know. Anyway, while I was there I found the greatest thing...

...

...

Drum roll please...

..

.

A non-apple dilutable drink that is actually citric acid free!



 Ok, it has apple in it, but it is most certainly a different flavour to all the others, Which, when you are drinking only apple on a daily basis is a wonderful thing.

Here is the previous post on the other dilutable drinks I have found so far

Dessert - Making Trifle Safe

As you can imagine, the amount of jelly (and sometimes fruit) in a regular trifle renders it poisonous to those with a citric acid intolerance.

But, fear not! With a little work, and a few recipe tweaks, you can still enjoy a trifle this holiday.

Ok, so your whipped cream and custard are fine to stay, it is the jelly, the fruit and possibly the cake that need addressing here.

The jelly: you cannot (to my knowledge) buy any ready-made jelly without it has citric acid in. So, we have to make our own. You will need:

• squash (see the post on drinks)
• gelatin sachet (you can get these in the home baking isle of most supermarkets)
• hot and cold water

then you just make it up as per the instructions on the gelatin packet sachet. Do not forget to dilute the squash, though! Alternatively, you might be able to use apple juice, but I haven't tried with this.

The fruit: You can either leave it out, or a straight swap for apple/pear/blueberry chunks works well

The cake: You can either go around the shops checking packets until you find a plain victoria sponge that is safe, or you can make your own and ensure you use a butter that is safe. I always opt for make your own the day before you make the trifle, but that is just because I like the be 100% sure everything is edible.

Combine ingredients as per the usual order et voila!

I Want to Eat Crisps

Crisps.

Like iced buns, I never really understood why crisps were so good. They are basically potatoes in fat and salt.

Think I may have cracked it there...

Anyways, crisps are now another minefield. Fear not, though, because there are several options left open. A couple are even the 'healthy' ones!

If plain, ready salted crisps of almost any variety are your thing you're good to go and can stop reading here, because the reason crisps are off the menu at all (apart from the sodium content) is that they put citric acid in when they add a lot of the flavourings. I'm not sure why, someone told me it might help the flavours bind or something? Not that it matters, to be honest.

So, as I've just said, 'ready salted' (plain) are good.

Further than that you are very, very limited.

Although they are still the relatively plain variety, you CAN have:

pombears

sunbites



if you are so inclined

"Help, we're eating out!" - Chinese food

This is a tricky one, although not impossible.

As usual, I can only tell you my own findings. This list only applies to takeout or restaurant food. If you are using this to buy Chinese food from a store then remember to always check to packet!

So, the definitely safe list:

Starters

• Prawn toast
• Vegetable spring rolls (probably the meant ones too) but NOT the dip!!
• Prawn crackers
• Duck and pancakes, although not the veg or the sauce that usually comes with them.

Sides

• All varieties of rice (fried and boiled), unless you know it is going to have a veg with citric acid in it. In general they don't.
• Noodles (depending in the sauce!)

Mains

• Sweet chilli beef
• *insert favourite meat* and cashew nut
• *insert favourite meat* in black bean sauce
• Chicken satay 

There are probably several others that are edible - stay away from anything red coloured or lemon-y! Sweet and sour is a definite no-go, here.

Incidentally, you can also drink Chinese tea (I don't like it myself, but other people rave about it, so...)