Meet our December BFree Foodie of the Month: Ruby-Mae,
For this festive edition we’re speaking with the Martin family, or more specifically mama Nicole and her very special daughter, Ruby-Mae. Nicole is a super-mum who loves living life to the full and collecting memories for her 3 little ones, and documenting their experiences on their Instagram account @lifewiththemartin5. Her daughter, Ruby-Mae, is 5 years old and got diagnosed with Coeliac Disease when she was 18 months old. Since then she’s come on leaps and bounds and loves sharing her story with her friends at school, when they go out for food or the supermarkets we always meet lovely gluten free people down the food aisle that love to have a chat with us about all things gluten-free.
Read more into Ruby-Mae story in this wonder gluten-free Christmas edition:
🟢 BFree Foodie Name & Age:
Ruby-Mae, 5 years old
🟢 City:
Norwich/ Norfolk
🟢 Bio
I love making yummy gluten free cakes and helping cook with mummy.. as well as enjoying being in the garden and doing lots of colouring. I really love making new friends, my mummy volunteers for Coeliac UK and we now do lots of meet ups in Norfolk (Coeliac Norfolk Youth) which is lots of fun, I’ve made lots of new coeliac friends like me.
🟢 Diagnosis:
I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease at just 18 months. I had been very unwell for a while, and my mummy initially suspected diabetes because it runs in our family. My belly was bloated like a football, and I was in a lot of pain. I lost a lot of weight, felt extremely fatigued, and was constantly drinking water, which seemed to help.
Later, when I was finally diagnosed with coeliac disease, my symptoms shifted a bit. Now, if I accidentally eat something I shouldn’t, I become very sick about two hours afterward. I feel extremely fatigued, my belly swells up again, and it causes significant damage to my intestines.
🟢 Favourite BFree Product:
The wraps!
🟢 Go-to Recipe:
Fish fingers are my favourite but also love helping mummy make a yummy satay curry.
🟢 Passions
Helping raise awareness for Coeliac UK is something we are very passionate about. If we can help anyone by just sharing our experience/ journey then this makes us really happy, just knowing that they aren’t alone in this journey we’re all in this together.
From the time of diagnosis, we knew that not many people were aware of coeliac disease, just like us in the beginning. It became even more apparent when I started school, and none of my friends or teachers knew what coeliac disease was—I couldn’t understand why I was the only one. That’s why my mummy started to volunteer for Coeliac UK (coeliacnorfolkyouth) and we started meeting more children and families every other month that can’t eat gluten like me! I can’t wait for our meet-up days, we play games, eat gluten-free cake and the mums and dads drink coffee/tea and have a natter. I love meeting new friends that are the same as me.
🟢 How do you navigate the holiday season and hosting a gluten-free Chistmas?
We actually find having a gluten-free Christmas a bit easier! The whole family is aware, and most of a traditional Christmas dinner is naturally gluten-free. For anything that isn’t, we simply make a gluten-free version. For example, we prepare our own gluten-free Yorkshire puddings, stuffing, pigs in blankets, and gravy—you wouldn’t even notice the difference!
As with every meal, I always serve Ruby-Mae’s food first to ensure there’s no risk of cross-contamination.
We even make gluten free cookies to leave Santa Christmas Eve.
🟢 What challenges come up and how do you deal with them?
During party season—and really all throughout the year—our biggest challenge is when Ruby-Mae attends parties. While our family always ensures her needs are met, we can’t expect others to provide gluten-free options. Even when they do, cross-contamination is often a concern.
Ruby-Mae sometimes feels anxious about eating at parties, so I always check with the hosts about the food in advance. To make her feel included, I pack a party lunch and a slice of gluten-free cake just for her so she doesn’t feel left out.
🟢 Favourite GF Restaurant:
🟢 Best Life Tip:
At first it all seems very scary but it gets easy, you’ll get a better understanding of what you/they can and can’t have and find your own little routines. Don’t be too hard on yourselves. The Coeliac UK community is fabulous for support! Also see if there is a local meet up near you so you meet others, this has been really helpful for us.
Check out @lifewiththemartin5 to keep up to date with Nicole & Ruby-Mae.
Tip:
Think you could be our next BFree Foodie? Email us at hello@bfreefoods.com or DM us on Instagram!
