Hi, I am looking to follow a wheat free diet and wonder does anyone know which supermarket supplies the best wheat free products, thanks

[RaffC]

[Hidden]

My mother is a Coeliac and we find the best supermarket with the most products is Sainsbury's but I presume this could vary i.e. different towns and locations. Our Sainsbury's has 4 shelves about 10 feet long for Gluten Free/Wheat Free products. Whereas Tescos Superstores, Asda Superstores have two shelves about 2 foot long.

[RaffC in reply to Hidden]

Thank you, its just hard to get variations for a family of 6 that everyone likes!

[ceegee]

My partner cant have either wheat or dairy based products and the best place for us is Tesco. They have a much better range than say Asda. Morrisons also have a good range as does Sainsbury's. But in all fairness look at the ingredients when you are out shopping you will be pleasently suprised as to what contains gluten and what doesnt

[RaffC in reply to ceegee]

Thank you

[Ruth462]

I have found a wheat free diet so benefical that my Rheumatologists recommends it. Even thuogh I tested negative to coelic, I joined the coelic society and also the gluten free guerillas (on this web site) and find them both very helpful in telling you about products, websites and places to go

My best find todate is the bakery wheatfreebakerydirect.com

All the best

[RaffC in reply to Ruth462]

Thank you, I will check this out

[Hidden]

I have a serious wheat intolerance. I find that just about all the supermarkets provide things like bread, biscuits, cakes and pasta that is wheat free but really these are things that we can live without. The important thing is to avoid wheat in other foods, check the ingredients list on everything you buy. Modified starch is almost always wheat unless it is qualified by another grain - so modified tapioca starch is fine, modified corn or maize starch is fine. Some glucose syrups are derived from wheat, so check your sweeties and desserts and your chocolate too. Smarties contain wheat starch (some coeliacs can tolerate wheat starch but I react very badly to it). You may think that a meringue is safe, but beware the hundreds and thousands on the top, yes, they contain wheat. Colman's mustard in a jar contains wheat, but the one you mix yourself is just mustard powder, which is wheat free - except that occasionally they have wheat in the powder one. Read the label! Marks and Spencer do wheat free sausages, gluten and wheat free cod in breadcrumbs (be careful as it's next to the wheaty ones), also breaded chicken breast. Their bread is dire though. Waitrose own brand brown bread is soft and can be used for sandwiches without being toasted beforehand. Look carefully at gluten free items as they can contain wheat starch. Avoid orzo, couscous and semolina.

I keep a toaster just for wheat free bread. I always line baking tins with foil to avoid cross contamination. Avoid chips in restaurants as they often cook them in oil that has had breadcrumbs or batter in it. Soy sauce usually contains wheat but you can get Japanese soy sauce (Tamari). However the soy sauce in packaged sushi has wheat in it. Check your beer! Coeliacs have very little choice, but if you're wheat free and not coeliac, a beer with barley is fine. Before you put the whole family onto a wheat free diet remember that wheat free alternatives can be prohibitively expensive. A packet of biscuits can cost three or four times its wheat-containing equivalent.

I'll stop now - but feel free to ask me questions!

[RaffC in reply to Hidden]

WOW you have been amazing in your reply. We are a family of 6 and have decided to go wheat free, starting in the morning!! - big step and I am sure big taste change as we all love our bread, but your experience will help me keep the house wheat free, thank you so much

[tall-tim]

I like Sainsbury's, but the Co-op does the best maize/corn pasta by far, as it doesn't fall apart in the pan. I get my rye and barley bread from the East European shops which have sprung up in East Anglia, thanks to the immigrants.

[RaffC in reply to tall-tim]

Do the East European shops do more wheat free products? thanks for you reply

[tall-tim]

Hello RaffC,

Their packets of biscuits have the usual wheat. I have found some delicious but rather sugary Russian halva made from sunflower paste rather than sesame seeds.

Some of their bread (Chleb as it's called in Polish) does have 40% wheat in, but I have found some which doesn't - it is called Chleb Zytni, made by Mestermacher, with ingredients 'shredded rye grains, rye flour, water, salt, oat fibre, yeast'. Price £0.85 for 500 g. It looks like a rectangular brick in a plastic bag. Tastes good with honey, or with ham + gherkins, etc.

If in doubt, you can check ingredients by translating them from Latvian, Lithuanian or Polish using Google - see translate.google.com/.

Best wishes,

Tim

[annbrien]

Dear RaffC,

I don't have any intolerances, but I just find supermarket breakfast cereals contain sugar and all sorts of chemicals. I order my toasted oats on the internet from a wonderful company called Rude Health. They used to be available in Sainsbury's but haven't been for some time - that's why I started ordering on the internet. Waitrose sell some of their products but not the oats, and in any case not everyone has a Waitrose and I think it's cheaper to order direct.

Ann Leeds

[Hidden]

Cardiff Lady - which Sainsbury do you use? When in Cardiff I usually go to the one in Rumney but I don't remember it having much gf stuff