It’s Coeliac awareness week this week but that only means it highlights an issue that some people have to deal with all year round. This gives us a great reason to review some of the products and let you see what’s on offer.
Whether you’re Gluten-Free, Egg-Free or Vegan.
Tesco’s Free-From range have got a tonne of options for a lot of people! Personally, I am Vegan and suffer from mild IBS which a gluten-free [What is Gluten-Free?] and dairy-free diet helps with those symptoms. That’s not to say I’m not partial to a few biscuits and the occasional slice of bread. I just take the brunt of it after!
The Free-From Range
Tesco has a tonne – a literal tonne of different products that are free-from but this post is specific to Tesco’s own brand free-from products!
Remember that the shop is spread out into categories (which I’ve tried to show below). So when you’re in your nearest Tesco make sure you check multiple sections to get the most variety in your shopping; Frozen, Bakery, Tinned and ready meals and dairy sections will all have Free-From products! Tesco sent me a voucher to buy some of my shopping this week so… with my £50 to spend on Free From products I bought;
Free from Milk, Gluten and Wheat – Grated Mozzarella
Free from Milk, Gluten and Wheat & Egg – Salad Cream
Free from Milk, Gluten and Wheat & Egg – Garlic Bread
Free from Milk, Gluten and Wheat & Egg – Tagliatelli
Free from Milk, Gluten and Wheat – Ice Cream cones
And a tonne of Alpro products; chocolate yoghurts, vanilla mousse, Almond milk, Hazelnut milk, Chocolate oat Milk & some biscuits.
Breakfasts
I didn’t personally buy any of these breakfast cereals as I’m not really a big cereal lover, you’ll know this if you’ve seen my pancake and waffle guides. The thing to note with these cereals is that they are (from what I’ve seen) vegan! A lot of brands these days have an animal product in them, I believe it’s wool ground down into a powder and added to the ingredients list so do check for ‘D3’.
[Vegan & Wheat Free]
Tesco Free From Pure Oats 450G
Tesco Free From Pure Oat Fru
it Muesli 450G
Tesco Free From Cornflakes 300G
Tesco Free From 6 Instant Porridge Sachets 162G
Tesco Free From Honey Hoops 300G * Contains real honey
Tesco Free From Special Flakes 300G
Sweet
Again, not a huge sweet fan but I do like to buy the yoghurts and ice creams from the free-from sections as Vegan ice creams can get expensive. Tesco’s own brand you can get 4 ice creams (that are vegan too) for less than £2!
I love their Free-from chocolate desserts. They were £1.50 for 4 so not particularly expensive and they are so creamy and smooth. Like silk!
[Vegan – Dairy-style]
Tesco Free From Chocolate Buttons 25G
Tesco Free From White Chocolate Buttons 25G
Tesco Free From Chocolate Bar 35G
Tesco Free From Original Style Spread 255G
Tesco Free From Fruit Yoghurts – Mango, Passionfruit, Raspberry
Tesco Free From Creme Caramel Dessert 4X100g
* Tesco Free-From Chocolate Dessert 4X100g
Tesco Free From Natural
Yoghurt 500G
Tesco Free From Fresh Sweetened Almond Milk Alternative 1 Litre
[Vegetarian]
Tesco Free From Belgian Chocolate Wafers 107G
* Tesco Free From Chocolate Chip Cookies 150G
Tesco Free From Jam Tarts 6 Pack
Tesco Free From Bramley Apple Pies 4 Pack
Savouries
I typically make my curries and sauces from home but salad cream would be near impossible to replicate so I’ve not been able to try any since I first went vegan! So you guessed it..that’s exactly what I bought!
I also bought the mozzarella cheese from the Free-From range too as I wanted to re-do my sweet potato pizza with vegan ingredients. The Cheese is more like a strong cheese, perhaps more similar to Stilton or blue cheese. Which I was never a big fan of so It’s not something I’d repurchase but if you’re a big cheese fan and are thinking about going vegan the mozzarella could be a good swap for you.
This week I realised Tesco’s own brand are Vegan so I was able to indulge in a falafel wrap with a huge squirt of salad cream – It’s the little pleasures in life!
[Vegan; GF & Egg Free]
*Tesco Free From Mozzarella Cheese
Tesco Free From White Lasagne 480G
Tesco Free From Tikka Masala 500G
* Tesco Free From Salad Cream 440G
Tesco Free From Brown Sauce 450G
Tesco Free From Mini Breadsticks 125G
Tesco Free From Caramel Rice Cakes 165G
Tesco Free From Fusilli Pasta 500G
Tesco Free From Penne Pasta 500G
Tesco Free From Spaghetti 500G
Tesco Free From Lasagne Sheets 250G
*Tesco Free From Tagliatelle 250G
Tesco Free From Cous Cous 375G
Tesco Free From Conchiglie 500G
Tesco Free From Bolognese Sauce 500G
Tesco Free From 2 Breaded Pollock Fillets 270G
Tesco Free From 8 Thick Pork Sausages 454G
Tesco Free From 20 Chicken Nuggets 400G
Tesco Free From 4 Breaded Chicken Steaks 380G
All in all I’ve had a great week experimenting with foods I haven’t been able to eat in a what feels like a decade (really only 8 months). Cornettos are one of my favourite ice creams so to be able to put them back on my shopping list (and just in time for summer too) feels so good!
I typically eat the Gluten-free pasta from Tesco along with a lot of the name brands from other companies but no one has any Vegan Cornetto’s so Tesco’s Free-From range swooped in and saved the day on that. If you’re not Gluten-Free but are worried you might have an intolerance, why don’t you see your GP and complete an exclusion diet to find out what the cause of your stomach grumbles might be?
Overall if you’re looking for Vegan, Gluten-free or Dairy-free products look to Tesco! ( I shop there anyway). Along with their own brand products, they also have branded free-from options like Alpro Chocolate pots, Cauldron, Natures Path. They have such a variety of products to enable people with Coeliacs to actually eat a more inclusive diet.
Very useful post! We don’t have any special diets, but whenever we have friends with dietary requirements over for meals, your guide will come handy.