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!

Asda Free From Spaghetti

Today is Asda's own brand Free From Spaghetti pasta.

Pasta is my favourite food.  I would ALWAYS have it when I was a teenager and lived at home (around 4 or 5 times a week!).  I now realise that, due to my wheat intolerancy, it was doing a lot more harm than good!

I eat a lot of spaghetti bolognese (or, at least, my own version of it) because of all the vegetables I can hide in it (I'm not a massive veggie fan).  I usually eat it with pasta shapes because of the mess I create when I eat it with actual spaghetti, but I decided to go for a change recently.


Here is the pasta after cooking for 15-20 minutes...

I ate it with my bolognese-mince-vegetables hybrid and parmesan cheese.

Taste: Very nice!  I like my pasta a little overdone, but it kept its texture and didn't fall apart or go soggy when I ate it.

Price: £1.30 for a 500g packet.  Very reasonable for gluten-free pasta.

Availability: Asda "Free From" brand.  Tesco and Sainsbury's also do their own versions for the same price.

Clearly labelled gluten-free?: Yes.  Part of the Asda "Free From" range.  "Gluten free" and "Wheat free" on the label, with the Coeliac UK Crossed-Grain logo.

Nutritional value:  As with most carbohydrates, good in moderation!

Comparison to the regular version:  Taste and texture-wise, pretty much the same.  When I looked at Asda's own version of regular spaghetti it was 75p for the same amount.

Overall rating: 7/10

It's nothing special, but it tastes just like normal spaghetti, and was very good quality and easy to cook. Definitely recommended if you want something simple.

Doves Farm Gluten Free Chocolate Stars cereal

The first gluten free item I will be reviewing is a breakfast cereal: Doves Farm Gluten Free Chocolate Stars.

 

Anyone who already follows a gluten-free diet will probably have heard of Doves Farm! They produce a lot of baking ingredients such as flour, yeast etc.

This cereal is perfect for children who are coeliac and have gluten and wheat allergies/intolerancies.  Some kids may feel left out if they have friends and family who can have normal cereals!

 

This is the cereal without milk.  Looks like a normal cereal.

 
 

This is the cereal with milk.  To quote another famous cereal, “It turns the milk chocolatey!” which is something I’m sure children will enjoy.

 

After eating it, it does taste just like a normal cereal you could pick up from any supermarket! 

Taste: Lovely chocolatey, crunchy cereal. Some gluten-free cereal can be a bit tasteless and chewy, but I enjoyed this!

Price:  The price I paid was £2.08 for a 375g box, bought in Asda, 21/05/2012.  This is one of the more reasonable prices for a box of gluten-free cereal.

Availability:  Sold in Asda and Sainsbury’s “Free From” sections, and online at Ocado and on the Doves Farm website (however the price of a box is £3.09!)

Clearly labelled gluten-free?: Yes, one of the first things you notice on the box!

 

Nutritional value: Not as sugary as some chocolate cereals are.  Reasonable for a cereal.

Comparison to the regular version:  It really does taste like any other cereal, and it made a good breakfast for me.  The only downside was that it didn’t fill my up like a regular breakfast cereal possibly would, and I started to feel hungry again after a couple of hours.

Overall rating: 8/10

One of the better breakfast cereals for a gluten free diet! Perfect for children (or even big kids!).  Enjoyed the taste, it’s a fair price for gluten free cereal, and I have bought it a few times!

What this blog is about

Last year I started a gluten-free diet after discovering a wheat intolerancy.

Whilst I cut out a lot of food containing wheat and gluten, I also looked for alternatives (such as bread, pasta, flour etc).

Some food has been really excellent (and discovered some food I would have never have eaten beforehand!), but some has been low quality.

I thought I would start a blog to test and rate different food, so anyone who is new to the diet can see what is good and what isn't!

First posts to come soon!