Gluten-free Cooking for Kids

We've just returned from visiting a branch of  Wahaca, a Mexican "street food" restaurant in London.  Ruthie loves this place because with a few exceptions, most of the menu is gluten free. How refreshing is that?  What I love about Wahaca is that it doesn't set itself up to be a "gluten free restaurant". This is food that everyone can enjoy, without being labelled as a "special diet" case.  Our waiter was special too, and he really went out of his way to look after us.  The waiting staff are very clued up about gluten free food and will quickly point out the few items you CAN'T have.  I would guess that over 90% of the menu is gluten free. 

The food is Mexican, which means strong vibrant  flavours, but you will  find something for less adventurous children too.  The decor is colourful and fun and they are extremely welcoming to children.  A good part of the menu is devoted to finger food which is great for kids.  The puddings are great too, Delicious jelly for the girls (hibiscus and passion fruit), for me, a yummy creme caramel (known as flan de la casa in Mexico)  and vanilla ice cream with a gooey caramel sauce for Marc.  And to top it all off, my mini cup of strong coffee came with a square of chocolate laced with chili!  Excelente!  Wahaca has three branches, Covent Garden, White City (in the very chic Westfield Shopping Centre) and Canary Wharf.  And if you want to recreate the taste of Mexico at home, I really recommend Thomasina Miers new book  Mexican Made Simple. You can find a review of this in an earlier blog, but the bottom line is, this is a fun cookbook with lots of naturally gluten free recipes.