A Gluten-Free Christmas

Last year was my very first gluten-free Christmas... and to be honest it wasn't too bad!

There are loads of great replacements for the foods you can usually buy for your Christmas dinner. But if you don't know where the best places to get them are, it can seem a little daunting. With three days to go until Christmas, and the shops already packed, I've only just got around to getting my own stuff!

Marks and Spencer was my first port of call for gluten free Christmas food. I'd bought some items from the food department there last year, and was really happy with what I bought. The staff were really helpful when we asked about what was gluten-free, and informed us that all their gluten-free food has a logo on the side. After looking at all the trays of cocktail sausages and stuffing-balls, I decided to go for the large 36-piece platter, which cost me £6.99. If you don't want to buy so much, there are smaller packs of stuffing balls and cocktail sausages for £3.00.

I also decided to buy my own individual-sized Christmas pudding from Marks and Spencer (because I know it's not to everyone's taste!). There are also large Christmas puddings available. I had this Christmas pudding last year, and it was delicious! I have no complaints!

I've also had these frozen Yorkshire Puddings from DS (Dietary Specials) before. They're just the same as normal frozen yorkshire puddings you would find from any other brand. They are available from Asda, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Waitrose, Booths and GoodnessDirect.co.uk.

 

This year I will be trying a new gravy for my Christmas dinner! I am always on the search for a good gluten-free gravy, so after Christmas I will be giving my verdict on Antony Worrall Thompson's brand of instant gravy. It was from Asda, on offer at £1.50.

If beef gravy isn't your cup of tea, pots of turkey gravy are available from Marks and Spencer for £3.00.

 

The next foods on my list aren't strictly "Christmas food", but let's face it, everyone likes a good excuse to snack at Christmas. In terms of savoury food, these mini-breaksticks from Nature's Store and these gluten-free pretzels are one of your safest bets. The breadsticks were bought from Tesco, and the pretzels from Holland and Barratt.

 

 

So there's my recommendations for gluten-free Christmas food! My only other tip for enjoying a gluten-free Christmas is to keep checking the labels if in doubt.

Happy Christmas from Gluten Free Opinions UK!

Dietary Specials (DS) Pepperoni Pizza

Today I am reviewing one of my favourite foods: pepperoni pizza.  This one is from Dietary Specials (another fairly popular gluten-free brand).

I used to eat pizza a lot. A LOT. I'd think nothing of eating a large Domino's pizza all to myself (it seems that, for now, a gluten-free Domino's pizza remains a pipe dream: see this post from The Gluten Free Student Cookbook).  But now I'm trying to eat a bit healthier, pizza is an occasional treat.  I've had this pizza before and enjoyed it!

This was the pizza before I cooked it. The pizza isn't particularly large, and it also has a thin crust. Every time I've bought this pizza, there's exactly 7 small slices of pepperoni on the top. There also looks like there's a small amount of cheese on the top.

Despite not being the largest frozen pizza, it does taste good. The cheese on the top expands a lot when it cooks. The tomato sauce was well seasoned and had flavour. And the pizza dough itself... was really good! It didn't go soggy in the middle, and the crust was nice and crispy.

Really, my only problems with the pizza are it's size and the topping. For the price of the pizza, you'd expect a little more than a handful of small pepperoni slices, and perhaps a bit of a larger base.

Taste: I can't really fault the taste. The cheese is soft and there is a decent amount on the pizza. The base was soft in the middle and had a crunchy crust.

Price: £2.86 from Asda. Fairly expensive for the price of one small pizza.

Availability: I bought this pizza from Asda, but it doesn't seem to be at many of the other large supermarkets. According to the website, it's also available from Booths, Waitrose and Goodness Foods.

Clearly labelled gluten-free? Yes, "Gluten Free" and "Wheat Free" on the front of the box.

Nutritional value: ...It's a pizza! It's about 700 calories for one entire pizza, and it's high in saturated fat. An occasional treat.

Comparison to the real thing: I can't fault the flavour and the taste of the dough compared to other frozen pizzas.

Overall rating: 7/10
Definitely one of the better quality frozen gluten-free pizzas in the supermarkets. I enjoy these pizzas, and they're something quick and easy to quick. The size of the pizza compared to the price does put me off a little, but if it's not something you buy regularly, then I definitely recommend it!

Tesco Free From Lasagne sheets

I may not be able to go to a restaurant and order a lasagne any more, but it's just given me an excuse to improve my culinary skills! And for the first time earlier this year I attempted making my very own using Tesco's lasagne sheets.

I got a recipe from a student cookbook, and it was a very basic recipe, making a simple cheese sauce and a bolognese with mince. The instructions on the packet said to blanch the sheets first in some boiling water for a few minutes, and then I layered them with the sauce, mince and cheese... and voilà! I put it in the oven and after an hour it came out like this (sorry you can't see the inside, it fell apart when I dished it up!)...

It tasted really good. I was so pleased with the results, and happy that it was so easy to make. But enough about my cooking ability, what about the lasagne sheets? As I've never made a lasagne from scratch myself, I'll be honest and confess that I don't really know if cooking with them is the same as cooking with regular sheets. I had to break them up to fit into the dish I used, but that was easy enough after the blanching.

I am also happy to report that after cooking it tasted the same as a regular lasagne!


Taste: Really good pasta sheets. Thickness, texture, and they were really soft and tasty in the lasagne. The second time I cooked the sheets they needed a little less time in the oven, so they didn't go too crispy round the edges.

Price: £1.50 for a packet of about 12 sheets. (I used about 4 sheets for a 2-person lasagne).

Availability: From Tesco.

Clearly labelled gluten-free? Labels on the front of the packaging, "Wheat free" "Gluten free" and "Milk free"

Nutritional value: As nutritional as you'd expect from pasta! Not as many calories as I'd expect from pasta sheets.

Comparison to the real thing: If I blind-tasted these I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference! Nice and easy to cook with, and I really enjoyed them with the recipe I used.

Overall rating: 8/10
So similar to regular lasagne sheets in terms of taste and texture, and would go well with any lasagne recipe. The sheets are a little small but really easy to cook with, and I've been using them fairly frequently ever since I tried them... so there's a little seal of approval right there!

Warburtons Cranberry & Blueberry Muffins

I love muffins. But the options are fairly limited when following a gluten-free diet, especially at the supermarkets! Warburtons have started extending their range of gluten- and wheat-free products, so finding these muffins was a pleasant surprise!

First things first. They do not look like a conventional muffin (I'm thinking about sweet and breakfast muffins). They are more like two little loaves in individual cardboard baskets. There wasn't any of the delicious muffin top I love so much, which was disappointing.

Then I started eating one... they were actually really delicious! They still had all the density a normal blueberry muffin would have, and had a lovely texture. My only issue was there wasn't a lot of fruit in the muffin, considering it was fairly large. But it was still really filling, which was definitely a positive! I think I will definitely buy these for myself as a treat again.

Taste: Really delicious, a lovely thick, doughy muffin, and the cranberries and blueberries tasted really good together. It added just a little more something than your everyday blueberry muffin!

Price: £1.99. I bought mine on offer for £1.29 in Tesco. Reasonable for what it is, and compared to other gluten-free products.

Availability: According to Warburtons news website, they are available from Asda, Waitrose and Morrisons (found here), however I bought mine in Tesco.

Clearly labelled gluten-free? Yes, Warburtons display "Gluten Free" and "Wheat Free" on their gluten-free products, as well as the Coeliac UK crossed-grain logo.

Nutritional value: Not really very healthy! Very calorific and sugary just for one muffin. Like I said before, good as an occasional treat.

Comparison to the real thing: Similar texture and flavour of a normal muffin, I liked the flavour and it was just as filling as a real muffin (if not more!)

Overall rating: 8/10
Could have done with a bit more fruit in it, and I sort of missed the muffin top, but other than that all the other qualities made up for it! Lovely, sweet and dense.

nākd Cocoa Orange bars

I've seen the Nakd bars a few times when I've been shopping in Holland & Barrett, but just haven't tried them yet.  The flavours look good (such as cashew cookie, pecan pie and gingerbread), so I thought I would test out the cocoa orange bar.

The bar smelled quite orangey when I opened the packet.  Got to admit, when I took it out of the packet, it didn't look very appetising.

The chocolate flavour was not as strong as the orange.  The little bit of cocoa-taste was like dark chocolate, so if you're not a fan of dark chocolate you may not enjoy this as much.

Didn't taste too strongly of the dates and raisins listed in the ingredients.  It just tasted like a nice soft bar made of fruit.

Taste: I thought it was a nice-tasting bar but I wasn't overwhelmed. The dark chocolate was ok, but the orange flavour could have been stronger. It's a change from a normal cereal bar, and it's healthy. I would probably only buy them now and again.

Price:  I bought the Cocoa Orange bar in Holland & Barrett for 95p.  However I then went into a Tesco Express where they cost 75p!

Availability:  According to the Natural Balance Foods website, they are stocked in Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Boots, as well as Holland & Barrett and Julian Graves, and other health stores.
The widest range I have found has been in Holland & Barrett.

Clearly labelled gluten-free?:  Yes, "gluten, wheat, dairy free" written on the front of the bar next to the name.

Nutritional value: Nakd bars are only made with raw fruit and nut, and have been advertised as being healthy and not processed.  They contain a fairly high amount of sugar compared to everything else, but these are naturally occuring sugars.

Comparison to the regular version: N/A

Overall rating: 6/10
I thought these bars were ok, I will probably buy them again in the future but there are other bars that are more appetising made from fruit (Eat Natural bars are a personal favourite). There is also an upside to buying these bars, as it supports a British company!

TRUfree Pretzels

Sometimes it can be difficult to find good snacks that are gluten free as well.  On a recent trip into Waitrose (I don't frequent the place often, but I was at the beach with a friend and it was the nearest supermarket!) I went into their Free From range section and found TRUfree Pretzels.

 

Now, when I say pretzels, these are the sort of pretzels you get in one of those selection packs with little crackers you get at Christmas, not the big doughy ones you might get from Auntie Anne’s.

These pretzels are a really good snack and a great alternative to a packet of crisps (again, we can be limited to what we can have!).  They're little bite-size ones, and were really good quality. MUCH better quality than the ones in the selection packs!  I found them so moreish I ate the whole bag.

 

Taste:  Very good quality, and do taste like savoury pretzels.  They were crunchy and tasted sufficiently salty.  I really enjoyed them! The bag was the perfect size.

Price: I bought them for £1.00 in Waitrose, and they seem to be that price everywhere I've looked.

Availability: According to the TRUfree website, they are available in Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, and Tesco.  I also bought a packed in Waitrose, and they're also available at Simply Free, Tree of Life, and Goodness Foods (although I've not heard of these places before! I'll do some research...).

Clearly labelled gluten-free?: Yes, clearly written at the top of the packaging; "Wheat & Gluten free".

Nutritional value:  What you'd expect from a snack bag of pretzels.  Probably fairly similar to a bag of crisps of a similar size.  A good occasional treat.

Comparison to the real thing: I'd say they were better quality than the real thing! The only experience I have to go on is the cheap ones, however.  More crunch, bigger, and filling.


Overall rating: 8/10

A very enjoyable snack, definitely worth the money, and incredibly similar (if not better quality) than regular snack pretzels.

Gluten-free drinks?

As if it isn't enough to cut out most of the foods you enjoy (especially in the summer months), what some people who aren't familiar with or are just starting a gluten and wheat free diet is that some drinks aren't suitable.

The most surprising one I found was cola!  The majority of brands of cola are completely fine and wheat-free (Coca Cola, RC and Pepsi are all absolutely fine).  The only type I have found to be unsuitable was Asda Chosen By You Diet Cola, because it contains barley.

Another type of drink that is more obviously unsuitable is any type of squash that is mixed with barley (such as Robinsons Fruit & Barley), or barley water.

The big one that contains gluten is beer, which contains hops and barley.  I don't enjoy beer, so I won't be testing out any gluten-free beer for this blog.  If I can persuade a friend to try some and compare it, I will report it here!

If in doubt, always check the label to make sure you can definitely drink it!

Kallo Organic Original Rice Cakes

This review is for Kallo Original Rice Cakes.  This is not specifically a gluten-free product (it isn't just in the "free from" sections in supermarkets), but it doesn't contain gluten anyway.

After I stopped having my normal and gluten-filled cream crackers and bread (ham and cheese toasties were a particular favourite), I tried searching for alternative lunches.  I also started trying to eat healthier, and so after searching the supermarket aisles I came across rice cakes.  Boasting “all natural ingredients and less than 3% fat” I thought these would be a good choice to put with dips and other various toppings.

This is the rice cake on its own, with no topping.  Most rice cakes either come plain or with a little salt, so on their own they can be quite unappetising!  They’re a decent size as well (the one shown below is on a small plate).  For calorie counters, they’re just 30kcal per rice cake.

I personally like to eat my rice cakes with houmous, which is regularly suggested as a food for keeping you fuller for longer, has a good nutritional value, can be of benefit to menopausal women and is, you guessed it, gluten-free!

The houmous I ate on this occasion was Delphi chargrilled red pepper houmous (a bargain at £0.87 from Asda).  Unfortunately the picture doesn’t look very appealing, but it tasted really good!

Taste: Very bland if eaten on its own.  Good as a base for any toppings you fancy.

Price:  Rice cakes are another bargain, costing only £0.87 from Asda.  Prices for different types (such as salted, unsalted, flavoured, organic) tends to vary.

Availability: A variety of types in all supermarkets (Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Co-op) and well as health-stores such as Holland and Barrett.

Clearly labelled gluten-free?: No.  Check the allergen information on the back of the packet.

Nutritional value: Low calorie, low fat, low sugar.

Comparison to the regular version:  N/A

Overall rating: 7/10

Although I have reviewed a product that is not just marketed as gluten-free, I have noticed that some supermarkets sell “special” gluten-free rice cakes that cost twice as much.  I would suggest checking the allergy advice on the back of regular products before buying the gluten-free versions, sometimes you may be pleasantly surprised!

Asda Butcher's Selection Gluten-Free sausages

Whilst doing my fortnightly Asda shop online recently, I was pleasantly surprised to find a pack of gluten-free sausages in their advertised "Butcher's Selection".  A reasonable price for a pack of 8 sausages, and included in the regular section of the supermarket, I thought I'd give them a change instead of my usual pack of frozen sausages.

WARNING: If you choose to read it that way, this post has the odd sausage-based innuendo. Sorry about that. 

Sausages can be a problem when purchasing gluten-free food, because the majority are bulked up with breadcrumbs, obviously containing wheat and gluten.  Occasionally, regular packets of sausages can be gluten-free, but it's not made clear on the front of the packaging.  With the summer coming up, and hopefully a few barbeques, I am still looking for good quality sausages!

These sausages look like regular sausages! A little on the small side (this may be because I am used to bigger ones).

I tried both recommended cooking methods (grilling and shallow frying), and I will admit, the first two times I tried were a DISASTER.  The outer casing (even though I regularly turned them!) was burnt, and the middle of the sausge was cooked through (just).

I tried cooking the sausages in a lot of oil, and they actually cooked nicely. I had to use kitchen paper on the sausages to wipe off the excess fat and oil, and there was a lot of fat drained from the pan.  They shrunk a little whilst cooking (which happens to sausages which are lower quality with a lot of breadcrumbs).

 

 

I would not recommend them for a summer barbeque!

Taste: When cooked in lot of oil, the sausages tasted nice, just like a regular sausage.  I ate mine with a cooked breakfast and it tasted very fair - but not incredible.
Burnt offerings when grilled or cooked with low-fat oil. The inside was a nice enough sausage, but didn't taste seasoned enough and was quite bland. The outside tasted like burnt sausage.  Overall the whole thing did not taste good. 

Price: The price was £1.50 from Asda, which is a cheaper than any pack of gluten-free sausages I've ever bought!  However, this price was definitely reflected in the quality.

Availibility: These were just available in Asda.  Most other supermarkets tend to produce their own versions.

Clearly labelled gluten-free?: Yes. Written clearly on the front. (Also had the Coeliac UK crossed-grain logo).  Not sold in the gluten-free section of the supermarket.

Nutritional value:  High in fat (but then again, most sausages are!)

 

Comparison to the real version: A similar quality to other cheap sausages.  Disappointing flavour compared to higher priced sausages (these sausages were advertised next to other "Butcher's Selection" sausages, which were made with regional English meat).  They contained a wheat-substitute similar to most other sausages.  Gluten-free sausages often contain more meat to compensate for the lack of wheat.  I think I'd rather pay a little bit more for the extra!

Overall rating: 5/10

Really unhappy with these sausages.  Put in a better casing, these would taste a lot better!  After cooking in a lot of oil, they turned out fine (and like any other sausage).  Not the best gluten-free sausages you can get out there, I would recommend shopping around.

Tesco Free From 2 double chocolate muffins

One product I tried a few months ago are Tesco Free From double chocolate muffins.  I like to make my own gluten-free treats occasionally but have only ever made fairy cakes and brownies.  My baking expertise does not stretch to making muffins!

I like eating sweet muffins, and my favourite muffin of all time is the blueberry muffin (Waitrose used to make them with blueberry jam in the middle, and they were AMAZING), but I haven't been able to find a gluten free version so far.  So I recently bought a pack of my second favourite flavour muffins... chocolate.

These muffins are smaller than individually-bought muffins (but there are two in a pack).  They look the same...

When I opened the packet the smell was INCREDIBLE.  I couldn't wait to tuck into one.

When I cut into it, it immediately crumbled. It was still crumbly when I ate it, possibly more than a normal muffin.  A small problem I had was there wasn't enough of a "muffin top".  The best part of a muffin is the top! 

A problem with some gluten free cakes is that they can be dry.  I must admit, these cakes were a little dry, and would have probably benefited from milk in the ingredients.


Taste: Like chocolate cake!  The chocolate chips were also really good, and I enjoyed the sweetness of the chocolate.  It was just a little over dry and crumbly.

Price: £1.00 for a packet of 2 muffins.  Very reasonable when you consider the prices of individual muffins, even though these are slightly smaller than a regular sized muffin!

Availability:  From Tesco stores that have a free from section (the ones I know of are Express, Extra and Metro versions of the store).

Clearly labelled gluten-free?: Yes, in the Free From range and with the labels "wheat free", "gluten free" and "milk free" on the front of the packaging.

Nutritional value: As you'd expect, they're not very good for you!  From just one muffin in the pack, they contain a masive 300 calories, 23.4g of sugar (26% of your daily amount!) and 14.6g of fat.  Needless to say, these should only be an occasional treat.

Comaprison to the regular version: Very similar!  Apart from being slightly smaller and drier, they tasted sweet and chocolatey, and I definitely felt full after eating it. 

Overall rating: 7/10

If you fancy treating yourself to something sweet then one of these muffins would make a good snack or dessert.  Obviously, with the high sugar and fat content, I wouldn't suggest having them everyday.  There also may even be some cakes that would be more enjoyable.  However, if you're really missing chocolate muffins these would be a good suggestion!