Where to shop!

[bedtimestories]

I'm going gluten free shopping today for the first time. Which is best for price and variety? (I'm on a right budget) I live close to Morrissions but shop at ASDA, I can also get to Sainsbury's and Tesco

[Tanaqui]

I don’t know Morrison’s but the others are all fine. However, if you are on a budget, “free from” food (in the free from section) tends to be quite expensive, so it is worth slightly changing how you cook (eg have rice or potatoes instead of bread or pasta), and knowing that ordinary things like baked beans are usually gluten free.

Specifically, Asda have nice gf sausages (with all the sausages), Tesco have nice cake, and Sainsbury’s have quite a wide choice, although I don’t like their cake very much.

[bedtimestories]

@Tanaqui thanks, good point about eating more rice and potatoes. Do you have any packed lunch at school ideas?

[Olga81]

They're all as good/bad as each other imo and all suffer from frequently being out of stock of many of the bread products.

For packed lunches, wraps or sandwich thins are best imo. Anything that's more like normal bread is horrible without being toasted.

Like the above poster says, it's worth knowing what stuff is gluten free anyway so not in the free from section, e.g. rice cakes and corn cakes are with the crackers and are mostly gf (check the label) and cheaper than the 'free from' branded ones in the gluten free section.

[bedtimestories]

@Olga81 thanks for the tip about wraps and sandwich thins. Just trying the sandwich thins and apparently they taste grainy like sand!!!

[Tanaqui]

I don’t like any of the gf bread/ wraps/Thins unless toasted, except the m and s seeded rolls- I have oatcakes or corn cakes with cheese etc for lunch if out (don’t assemble beforehand or they go soggy!), or leftovers/ baked pot/ things on toast if I am at home or working somewhere with a microwave.

If it is for a child I would suggest a wide neck flask for something hot, or things like carrot sticks and hummus, cucumber, nuts and cheese- I often do a protein and veg salad for main and then rice pudding for a carb if that makes sense.

Also gluten free cereals are often insanely sweet so I would veer towards eggs, bacon, yoghurt type breakfast food. Buckwheat flour (which isn’t wheat) makes good pancakes but is dear.

Watch out for contamination - don’t share a toaster and be v careful with butter and jam type things.

Shout if you have any other questions!

[shouldwestayorshouldwego]

Agree it is better to change meal plans rather than rely too much on the gf aisle. I now mainly just buy gf pasta, cereal and I must admit gf brownies sometimes find their way into the trolley. I find that at the extremes- moist (brownies) and hard (crackers) it is nice. The stuff in the middle (bread, sponges etc) is less appetising.

[bedtimestories]

@shouldwestayorshouldwego do you have any cereal recommendations? She doesn't like morrissions oats,

[shouldwestayorshouldwego]

I like eat natural vine cereal - not the buckwheat one, made that mistake once!

[marriednotdead]

If you want 'mainstream' cereal then the Nestle range (inc cornflakes) taste like normal ones.

I'd also recommend the Schar cream crackers although they crumble extremely easily- if they are included in a lunchbox then put them in their own small box!

I've given up with the bread products available, they're not worth it. I have adapted a cheese tear and share type bread recipe I found. While it is more sponge/scone like, it does fill a gap sometimes when I crave bread. Let me know if you want the details.

[bedtimestories]

@shouldwestayorshouldwego I'll give that a go.
@marriednotdead yes please. Need a carb for packed lunch, pasta (if she likes it) every day is going to get boring
Thanks

[TheBitterBoy]

I can recommend the Schar range of frozen bread rolls available in Sainsburys. MIL says these are the most bread like of all the substitutes she's had since having to give up gluten five years ago. They come in bags of six and only need 5 mins in the oven. Definitely a handy back up to keep in the freezer.

[Newkidontheblock22]

I have to say do try genius gluten free bread - it will be in most larger supermarkets. It took me a while to like it but now its fine to eat without toasting. I think each supermarket has different good free from things so try a variety

[marriednotdead]

Here goes.

225g GF self raising flour
Quarter teaspoon of xanthan gum (optional but stops it crumbling as much)
Half teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of Colemans mustard powder (I checked it's GF)
125g grated mature cheese
1 beaten egg
2 tablespoons melted butter
150ml milk

Optional extra 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives.

Will fit either 23cm square cake tin or 2 Victoria sandwich tins- grease and line base with baking paper.

Preheat oven to 190/375/Gas 5.

Sift dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl

Set aside 3 tablespoons of cheese, stir the rest into the dry mix.

Add the milk, egg and butter to the mix and stir thoroughly. You may need a little more milk as GF flour seems to be thirsty! Consistency of my mix is usually like thick egg mayo.

Spread mix evenly into cake tin and sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cut into portions with pizza cutter before removing from tin, may need palette knife to lift from paper. Burn mouth on first bit. Cool rest on wire rack, slapping rest of family's hands away

[bedtimestories]

Thanks @marriednotdead I'm going to try this tomorrow

[MelissaM]

DH is gf but doesn't eat sandwiches anymore because of the bread. Occasionally a Shah ciabatta roll, or if I pick up the bread from aldi he will eat that as a sandwich. Apparently Aldi's gf bread isn't very nice toasted but ok for sarnies (all other brands are the other way round). He now has salads for lunch. Sometimes a pasta salad if I cook extra the night before. I does need a drop of olive oil on it before it goes cold, or it sets into a lump! Aldi's GF range has improved massively in the last year or so and their pasta is amongst the best and probably the cheapest. Their flour is good too.

I can't comment much on Asda or Morrison's as I don't live near either. Tesco and Sainsbury vary depending on the store and what they have in stock. Tesco have put a lot of effort into expanding their ranges recently even in the smaller stores, but I've friends that can buy nice gf chicken stock and gravy in their local Tesco that I still can't find in any near me. I am afraid it will be a bit of trail and error until you find the products and brands that you all prefer. A friend did buy a delicious lemon tart from Asda when we were going for lunch recently which I also tracked down on Ocado.

Home made soups are a good idea for lunches if she isn't a fan of salads.

The nestle gf cereals are better than most and there is a gf version of Weetabix (but obviously not wheat) that's quite nice.

Be careful with oats as most are not gluten free (I can't remember if it is cross contamination or if some types contain gluten - I think the former but the cheaper brands are the worst for this - check the coeliac society website)

[MelissaM]

Oh and if you want recepies for anything just ask - I am sure someone on here will have one if I don't.

Keep a look out for things that are naturally gluten free such as buckwheat, and quinoa etc that can be used as alternatives to rice, couscous or gram flour (chickpea flour) - makes delicious choc chip cookies as long as you don't try eating the raw dough

[Floralnomad]

My dd has the M&S white bread and it’s ok for sandwiches , apart from being expensive and small slices . The Schar panini rolls also make a good substitute for a hot dog as I’ve yet to find a gf hot dog roll .

[ShovingLeopard]

Nairns gluten free oats are lovely. Not as coarse as most GF oats (Tesco, I'm looking at you!), and make a lovely creamy porridge.

[Olga81]

Aldi don't stock their gluten free range everywhere. None of the stores local to me carry it.

[bedtimestories]

Thanks, you've all given me alot more to go than just trying each brand in turn. She didn't like pasta with no sauce yesterday so today she's gone with pasta and prawns in a seafood sauce, I've got my fingers crossed and will get done if the bread you've recommended. I'll see how she feels about soup for lunch at school

[Bitchfromhell]

I can't justify buying gf bread just for me but actively enjoy the warburtons one, it's just the price that's prohibitive. Instead I buy the dove valley gf bread flour 1kg from Tesco (£1.70ish) which makes 2 big loaves. I just use the recipe on the packet. I also use it for pizza bases. I like it a lot but it tastes quite potatoey.

I make a batch of flapjacks each week for lunches. Then soups, similar to everyone else.

The coop gf spaghetti is the nicest one I've tried. You could easily do some nice lunches for her with that. Especially If she gets hungry at lunch and needs something carby.

Also try her with some variations of potato salad? There are lots of nice recipes on Pinterest.

[Olga81]

The be free wraps are more like normal wraps than the Warburton ones which are coated in something that I can see somebody might find a bit grainy. The sweet potato ones are my favourite.

[UnimaginativeUsername]

DS2 likes corn tortilla wraps (although you do need to check the packaging to ensure they’re definitely GF, as some brands aren’t).

He’s currently being tested for coeliac (had a positive blood test yesterday). So I’ve been looking to see what kinds of things he might eat if he has to go GF, and particularly at what things he already likes that are GF so it’s as easy as possible.

[Olga81]

I've never found gf corn tortilla wraps in the UK. They're really easy to get abroad (canada/usa).

[UnimaginativeUsername]

You can get GF corn tortilla wraps on amazon. As you’d imagine, they aren’t cheap.