Hello, I am  Saskia one of the chefs at My Food Bag. I have a husband and a daughter who both have coeliac disease and it has been eight years since their diagnosis. My husband was in his forties when he was diagnosed, and my daughter was six years old when she was diagnosed - although I am sure there were two years before her diagnosis when she was suffering but we didn’t know why. My son has the gene, but he has not yet developed coeliac disease.

What I find the hardest is the extra organisation it takes when we are outside of our routine – when we are travelling or when my daughter goes to a party or a sleepover.

The best advice I was given was to base our family diet around whole food that was naturally gluten free. My Food Bag meals are just that, so these are an excellent dinnertime option. It is the best feeling on a Sunday night when My Food Bag gets delivered, and I don't have to think about what we’re having for dinner for the week.

Here are two tips I found helpful:

1. Give the teacher a 'grab bag' so when other kids bring in cakes to celebrate birthdays, your child can take a gift from their special bag and get a treat just for them. They can be cute, inexpensive items from the $1 store—after all, it is the unwrapping that kids love!
2. If travelling, especially on a flight, always take extra food. You never know if the request for gluten-free food has been received and will be delivered and if your kid will like it. Once, we were delayed 5 hours on the tarmac, and by the time the plane took off, she had eaten all the gluten-free food I had taken. Luckily, she was so tired she slept the whole way.
3. And of course, order My Gluten Free Bag from My Food Bag!

It gets easier as they age as they can start looking out for themselves, and reading labels… in fact, here’s a video my daughter Cleo made for My Food Bag – What I Eat in a Day: Coeliac Edition.

Coeliac New Zealand members can enjoy a special discount from myFoodBag for Coeliac Awareness Week using the LINK HERE

• 50% off your first gluten free bag delivery
• Offer valid only for new customers
• Use Promo code CAW50 (note this should auto-apply when you click the URL link above).
• Valid from 9 am Tuesday 4^th June through to 11:59 pm Monday 24^th June