Can anyone recommendAny gluten free ready meals please

[Timetraveler67]

I’m in uk have autoimmune thyroid disease so trying to avoid gluten and soy but can’t find decent meals in the supermarkets. I’ve tried several gf porridge and they taste horrible, I hate the tiny black bits in them, I find narn brand to be the worst for the black bits. Any ideas suggestions greatly appreciated thank you.

[Hedgeree]

Hi Timetraveler67,

Are you just looking for ready meals or are you also able to cook from scratch?

All the major supermarkets have gluten free ranges now, though you've already said you haven't been able to find any decent meals so far.

I've heard good reviews about M&S food made without range (but not eaten any of it myself)

If you're able to cook from scratch then the possibilities are endless. Also lots of recipes online that you could try.

The BBC Good food website has a big section with gluten free recipes. Also as the recipes are given star reviews it will possibly give you an idea if it would be something you could try making if others have said it was nice or easy to cook for example.

Hope you find something that you like.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Loads of ready meals in M & S, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose are gluten free

Lots of Charlie Bingham’s range are gluten free

Read back labels - gluten ingredients (wheat, barley, rye) are always in bold if in any ingredients lists

M & S and Waitrose do gluten free breaded fish/fish cakes/fish fingers/chicken nuggets

All the main supermarkets stock basic certified GF oats in Free From section to make porridge or as base for homemade muesli (add your own choice of nuts, seeds, dried fruit)

Best bread toasted - Waitrose brown seeded. Warburtons are pretty good too

[crimple in reply to SlowDragon]

Many M&S meals are GF but don't say so, such as their sausages and burgers and some ready meals are GF. If you check the ingredients they use pea flour, rice flour etc instead of Wheat flour. Always watch out for anything with a sauce, ready sauces often are not GF and you have to buy special GF soy sauce so a lot of Chinese ready meals are no good but curries are often ok.

[nellie237 in reply to SlowDragon]

Charlie Bigham warn about cross contamination:-

We don’t add any ingredients containing gluten to the following recipes: Moroccan Chicken Tagine, Thai Green Chicken Curry, Thai Red Chicken Curry, Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Korma, Chicken Jalfrezi, Beef Stroganoff, Paella, Goan Fish Curry and Cauliflower & Paneer.

…but please bear in mind that other dishes cooked in the same kitchen do have gluten in them.

bighams.com/faqs/

[Buddy195 Administrator]

I go out of my way to buy GF bread from M& S or Waitrose as I prefer their bread and I freeze it, as rest of my family eat gluten & I only need a couple of slices. I like Deliciously Ella muesli.

I think it’s just trial & error with ready meals…… I tend to cook from scratch & freeze in portion sizes.

Best wishes on your GF journey Timetraveler67!

[TaraJR]

I've just discovered Promise GF bread in Sainsburys - several types eg seeded. And they don't need toasting as they're really good as bread - the first I've found that are that good as 'normal' bread.

[crimple in reply to TaraJR]

Promise Absolutely the best white sliced loaf and no egg white which I cannot tolerate at all but is in a lot of GF bread. My Daughter makes the very best sourdough GF, yeast free, dairy free egg free bread. Folks only know its free from when she tells them and they don't believe her!

[Mostew in reply to crimple]

Bread recipe please . I like my buckwheat one I make but a change would be nice

[crimple in reply to Mostew]

sorry, my daughter's recipe is a secret. She has a small business for a select few and doesn't live in this country!

[Mostew in reply to crimple]

Thanks . Good job I’m happy with the buckwheat one .

Sounds like your daughter has a good business

[Lynneypin]

Amy’s Kitchen range. In most supermarkets.

[bagpuss61]

Cook your own food, much healthier!

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to bagpuss61]

I cook from scratch but sometimes you just want a break.

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To Timetraveler 67

Most of my suggestions have been covered already but

M&S do a wonderful quiche Loraine if you can get it - they seem to have ditched GF in favour of plant based foods which are not GF.

I love Waitrose breaded fish

I think it is Moo who do a nice GF pie

Can’t think of anything else - join Coeliac U.K. and get access to their website and ‘bible’ with practically evert GF food and ingredient there is listed. It’s worth the money.

[Timetraveler67 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Thank you so much that’s so helpful. Why is everything now all labelled plant based? I think it’s a craze as I keep seeing it everywhere in all the shops. I bought Tesco frozen Yorkshire puddings last week after reading all good reviews and they were lovely! honestly I couldn’t tell they were gf, but the next day I was bloated and felt quite ill, it may have been something eles that caused my upset stomach i just don’t know but I sometimes want to give up.. Thanks again for your helpful information I will try the m&s pies x

[shaws Administrator]

I think it is reasonably easy to make your own gluten-free foods.

healthline.com/nutrition/gl...

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to shaws]

It’s very easy 😊

[Timetraveler67 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

I haven’t read the link shaws has sent me yet but I’m hoping it is easy for me like you say, living in a bed sit with a freezer the size of a loaf of bread and not room to swing a cat fingers crossed I can achieve putting a gf meal together I really hope so anyway!

[Timetraveler67 in reply to shaws]

Thank you for the link which I will check out shortly I need as much advice as I can get so I appreciate you sending it to me

[CoeliacMum1]

I'm coeliac and most things have already been covered.

My suggestion is join Coeliac UK they have a mobile app so you can scan items in supermarkets and there's plenty of information on there, you can ask for book version also (which comes out each year) if you don't use your mobile for things like that.

It won't however highlight soya but it will tell you that is gluten free even though a label might say "may contain",.

Coeliac UK will have checked procedures to make sure gluten is lower than 20 ppm (parts per million) which here in U.K. is permitted to be gluten free...wheat codex starch is allowed in gluten free products, so if you have wheat allergy these aren't suitable but will be highlighted on packaging as wheat in bold.

I'm a daily porridge eater and have found no problems with Morrisons whole oats you can soak overnight to quicken the process to cook, they're readily available, myself I prefer less processed oats (steel cut) as they are slower releasing if you add in some protein to them to stabilise blood sugar... but that's just my choice for my needs.

When I first became coeliac I tried everything out there, every processed food, bread, cakes and ready meals (in moderation) and nearly ended up diabetic as really didn't want to feel like missing out but didn't help my health one bit.

I've noticed many are now adding more fibre and vitamins in now which is good thing as ridiculously gluten free flour doesn't have to be regulated and have vitamins added unlike other flour.

M&S new Tiger rolls have vitamin D & B vitamins and calcium probably more, from what can remember... it's the first shop bought bread tried in a year or more, it's nice but I won't eat on regular basis.

For me by removing the processed food for home made definitely helped me feel better and my blood sugar to become normal, but this is only my story.

If you are able it would be better to switch to home made at least you know what you're eating, but totally get that just want to grab something quick and continue your day at times... I make extra and freeze so have something in at all times.

[Timetraveler67 in reply to CoeliacMum1]

Thank you so much for replying to me with so much information, I really do appreciate it so much. I get so very ill when I eat what I think is ok, can end up in bed for a week sometimes with awful stomach cramps, ibs, joint pains and a feeling of being drunk it’s like I’ve had concrete poured into my brain and I can’t think straight or hold a conversation. I’m so sensitive to foods it’s making me very depressed. I will try Morrison porridge and try to learn how to scan items like you said. Thanks again for all the info x

[bookish in reply to Timetraveler67]

It may be that you are reacting to the things that gluten free products use instead of wheat - like corn, rice, millet, potato flours etc. When I first went gluten free I used some bought GF and some homemade and over a few months realised that I couldn't tolerate corn or rice or millet and then potato, so ditched the lot. I don't buy anything ready made and am completely grain free. Micki Rose has information for those of us that need to be truly gluten free which you may find useful purehealthclinic.co.uk/shop.... Looking at blood sugar would be a good idea too. Best wishes

[Timetraveler67 in reply to bookish]

Thank you so much for replying to me I think I’m same re the gf alternatives they use, I will follow your link when I’m feeling a bit better as I’ve a painful water infection at the moment which the antibiotics are wiping me out x

[bookish in reply to Timetraveler67]

I hope you soon feel better x

[Mistydeb01 in reply to Timetraveler67]

I feel for you, it’s a horrible journey to start on, I’ve been GF since Xmas. I’m still learning too. There are some GF items I can’t eat, and I’ve just realised I’m sensitive to corn, white potatoes and white rice. So anything that has rice flour is a no no. I’ve had reactions to GF pasta & sausages recently as well, the sausages have pea flour, so don’t know if it’s that that is bothering me. I can tell within 30 mins if I’ve had something, because I either get the horrendous rib pain, I crash for 4 hours or I get IBS. I’ve started to make a food diary of days when I have any of these symptoms and it’s helped me keep track of what I need to avoid. Sweet potatoes are ok for me and I’m going to try brown rice in a few weeks. Coconut flour, mixed with GF plain flour is also ok for me. I get warburtons tiger bloomer, it’s weird at first but it’s good when you get used to it, also sweet potato wraps are ok, a bit of a weird texture, but I find them edible. I’ve also been looking at Dr Osborne, gluten-free society from USA he has loads of free information that you can watch or read.

[Timetraveler67 in reply to Mistydeb01]

Yes! Pea flour sent me into a Hypo relapse I read somewhere that our body sees it the same as gluten, gosh going gf is a minefield isn’t it, thank you so much for replying to me I hope you get on ok with the brown rice which I may also try when I feel a bit better x

[Mistydeb01 in reply to Timetraveler67]

Definitely a minefield, but I have had a few good days more recently, felt better and more energy, then I got hit with something (probably the bloody pea flour) and I’m back to square one. Although the rib pain is easing off again now. I’ve just updated my previous response with the bread and wraps I find edible. Hubby made some batter from coconut flour and Gf plain flour for chicken nuggets and they were yummy. We also made some chocolate brownies with coconut flour and they were yummy too.

[CoeliacMum1 in reply to Mistydeb01]

No idea if it's any help but check out Free From fairy. She doesn't use rice in her flours and has good website with lots of recipes to use her flour.Her worry is the Arsenic, as most people who are eating gluten free are eating most likely a lot of rice based foods, nearly all flour mix is rice based.

She created a different base flour you'd have to check her out for the ingredients as I can't remember off top of my head.

My issue with any shop bought bread, pastries etc is psyllium husk they seem to add in everything it bloats me terribly.

Most often used and is a source of fibre.

Sometimes I feel it's not the main ingredient some have problems with it's the additives and why I stay clear of processed food mostly.

[Timetraveler67 in reply to CoeliacMum1]

Thank you for replying to me I will check her web site out when I’m feeling a bit better, I was wondering if all these additives are poison to us who can’t tolerate it x

[bookish in reply to Mistydeb01]

There is certainly a lot to learn and a food diary is a great idea. Once I cut out corn and bought GF stuff, I did read that some do better with easier to digest potatoes and rice - Desiree potatoes, the red ones, might be ok for you and Jasmine rice, as they have the lowest 'fermentation potential'. Brown rice is quite high and so is sweet potato (which I can only tolerate in tiny amounts as it makes blood sugar too high as well as being hard to digest). But the combination of those flours with the additives in bought GF were a major no for me too (as with the GF pastas, either lentil or pea). Cutting the lot and making my own food using an anti-inflammatory auto-immune diet helped most. Best of luck

[Timetraveler67 in reply to bookish]

Thank you I appreciate your reply I’m making notes it’s a lot to learn x

[Arpeggio]

Marks and Spencer have a good gluten free range, Morrisons have some and so do Tesco. You have to shop around to get what you want, for me it's not all in one shop if you want convenience food.

[Kathleen-1]

I use Wiltshire Farm Foods a lot of the time. They have lists of all allergens and which meals to order if you want to avoid anything. All are frozen and delivered to your door. Very helpful company to deal with.

[CoeliacMum1]

Have you spoken to nutritionists or dietitian at all?Don't go cutting out food groups without first speaking to a GP, they can refer you to a dietitian.

There's often a few very good registered dietitian and nutritionists which can give general guidance on Instagram, they cannot give you direct individual advice without your full history and probably will say as much, as it's a very individual thing, one shoe doesn't fit all, but they may be able to give basic advice, most of which is not cutting out too many things I've found, it all takes time.

Take small steps as and when you can do things.

[penny]

My OH is lactose-intolerant but thankfully does not get ill if he does have some dairy. Nearly everything labelled as ‘dairy free’ has a warning about having been prepared in a factory which handles dairy; I ignore this. Mercifully he is only slightly intolerant of wheat but fine with spelt flour so I make all our bread, cakes and pastry; there are also lots of lactose-free things available such as cream, milk and cheese but not butter which I have to make.

If you do not have much space have you thought about using a slow cooker? A friend bought me one when I was on my own and working and it was a god-send; I still use one.

Good luck.

[kathgallagher]

Wiltshire farm foods have gluten free meals . Ready made Delivered to door. Tasty meals and not too expensive. No contract only pay for what you order. Also do deserts. Hope you get sorted

[Timetraveler67 in reply to kathgallagher]

Thank you I will look into it x