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.

Protein Sources 101: Meat, Eggs and Tofu

Eggs

Not a lot to say about eggs. Totally safe. Convenient for the allergy restricted vegetarian.

If you are a fan of butter in your scrambled egg, remember to check the packet.

Tofu

Again, tofu itself is ok. Watch out for what it is packaged in. I know that the 'cauldron' brand is ok (you can get it in Tesco, Morrisons, and probably other supermarkets).

Soy sauce is good on this. I recommend this recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie as absolutely delicious!

And, last but not least...

Meat

As you may have gathered from other places, most fresh meat is edible to someone even with the list of intolerances in my header!

As a rule, tinned meat is also ok. I can vouch for tinned tuna, spam, and that potted ham stuff.

One thing you do have to be careful of, though, is if you were ever a fan of those tinned/jarred hot-dogs that are basically plastic. Some brands are fine, while others contain (you guessed it!) citric acid.

I'm not sure what else there is to say on that one. If it is fresh you know you're safe.

If you are buying fish, though, be careful they have not already added garlic butter to it (some brands of margarine and butter contain citric acid) and that they have not added lemon!

Extra note: be careful of your gravy! The red and yellow bisto are safe, but you really need to check the packets as many are not.

And if you're serving up a joint, the cranberry sauce is out I'm afraid, as is anything lemon (obviously). I'm unsure about bread sauce, as I never liked the stuff. Apple sauce is ok if you made it yourself  but many supermarket brands add citric acid to help it keep longer. As I said, check the label.