Latest news with #glutenfree
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
‘The dry and grainy results wouldn't persuade me': the best (and worst) gluten-free plain flour, tested and rated
Gluten-free flour is commonly considered in two ways: there are individual flours, such as rice and buckwheat (and that includes starches such as corn, potato, tapioca), and then there are blends. Blends are a mix of those singular flours in varying ratios, and for familiarity's sake are usually labelled as either gluten-free plain, self-raising or bread flour. These blends are more versatile, and it's the plain flours that we've got under the microscope today. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. To test their mettle, I made a batch of gluten-free cookies with each product. And, seeing as gluten-free food can be extortionately expensive, cost is factored into my ratings, too. A slight caveat: different gluten-free flour blends work better (or worse) depending on the recipe involved. Most will do just fine as a thickener for sauces or as a coating, but when it comes to baking, some are better suited to cakes, others to pastry and others still to bread. That means it's very hard to say which flour is the 'best', but I've done my best to figure it out. £1.95 for 1kg at Sainsbury's (20p/100g)£1.95 for 1kg at Ocado (20p/100g)★★★★★ Gluten-free flour blends were originally created to emulate wheat flour (so you can use them to adapt recipes to be gluten-free), and this one produces a similar performance to wheat for everything outside of bread baking. Of course, it's not magic; you still need good recipes and, in some cases, the addition of xanthan gum. £1.10 for 1kg at Asda (11p/100g)★★★★☆ A solid performance for the price, and certainly a blend that will produce satisfying results for baking. It's a bit less absorbent than I'd expect, which might mean your dough ends up a little stickier, but if you know what consistency you're looking for, that shouldn't be hard to remedy by adding a little more to compensate. £8 for 1kg at Ocado (80p/100g)£8.29 for 1kg at Amazon (83p/100g)★★★☆☆ This blend contains gluten-free wheat starch so, while it's gluten-free, it's not suitable for people with a wheat allergy. As such, its strengths lie in bread-making, rather than your average cake or bake. For bread, it would be five stars, but for pure versatility (and considering the sky-high price), it's not a panacea. £3.90 for 1.5kg at Ocado (26p/100g)★★★☆☆ While this boasts an unconventional range of ingredients, such as vegetable flour and fibres, it produced results comparable to my best buy. However, the higher price means there's little reason to go hunting for this one. Sign up to The Filter Get the best shopping advice from the Filter team straight to your inbox. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. after newsletter promotion £2 for 1kg at Ocado (20p/100g)★★☆☆☆ With an identical list of ingredients to the Asda flour above, it's no surprise this yielded almost identical results. However, considering it's nearly twice the price (and while the Asda flour exists), there's not much justification for buying this. £2.50 for 750g at Shipton Mill (33p/100g)★★☆☆☆ This was less able to bind and absorb common baking ingredients, making it feel as if you hadn't added enough – of course, adding too much can result in heavy, dense or dry bakes. The biscuits weren't all that far from expectations, but they were a little greasy. £13.71 for 3kg at Food Angles (46p/100g)£20.82 for 3kg at Amazon (69p/100g)★☆☆☆☆ Even if this was considerably cheaper, the dry and grainy results wouldn't persuade me to use it in the average recipe. Its absorption and binding are far off expectations – although still not the worst of the bunch – and the finished result gave me the feeling that the balance of the blend must be completely off. £2.50 for 1kg at Holland & Barrett (25p/100g)★☆☆☆☆ Despite having almost identical ingredients to my best buy, the results this produced were extremely disappointing. It lacked binding power and absorption to the point where it made the dough greasy, sticky and difficult to handle. Sadly, the end results were also excessively greasy and too far away from that of the average flour blend. Becky Excell is a gluten-free cook and author of Quick + Easy Gluten-Free (Quadrille, £20). To order a copy, go to
Telegraph
3 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
Rebecca Adlington: After my miscarriages, I was diagnosed with coeliac disease. It's changed everything
Rebecca Adlington, 36, lives in Cheshire with her husband and two children. In October 2024, she was diagnosed with coeliac disease after suffering with debilitating symptoms including stomach pain, extreme fatigue, and mouth ulcers for over two years. Initially, Rebecca put the pain down to hormonal changes following multiple pregnancies however, after suffering two miscarriages, her doctors couldn't pinpoint the cause of her stomach pain and sent her for testing, one of which was for coeliac disease. Rebecca says the diagnosis has been life-changing. The former Olympian talks us through her daily routine and what she eats – and how this has changed since her diagnosis. Wake up Each morning, the alarm rings at 7am and chaos descends on our household as my husband Andy and I attempt to get the kids (Summer, 10, and Albie, 4) ready for school and out the door by 8.30am. My first priority is to make our lunch boxes and prepare a breakfast I can eat on the go. My go-to used to be the instant porridge pots which I absolutely loved, however they're sadly off the table for me as gluten-free versions aren't readily available. I didn't actually realise how many foods contain gluten. After 35 years of freely eating them, it's been difficult to adapt to my food shop taking double the amount of time as I comb the aisles, searching for the Crossed Grain Trademark which means a product is safe for those with coeliac disease. Now, I tend to make a protein shake for breakfast with frozen berries, cashew milk, and protein powder (a variation that doesn't include oat flour). As a former swimmer, I've always prioritised protein in my diet and that hasn't changed. We're all out the door by 8.30, the children are dropped off at school and pre-school for 8.45, and I then set off to my full-time job at my company 'Swim!', protein shake in hand. My company helps children across the country learn to swim and a typical day for me includes lots of calls and meetings, as well as visiting new swimming venues and some of the schools we work with. Morning snack Before my diagnosis, I used to love snacking on protein bars. However, I find most gluten-free protein bars to be quite claggy. They mould into one in your mouth! It's been really difficult to find healthy and satiating snacks which I still enjoy as most gluten-free protein bars are nut-based and high in calories. There's an amazing gluten-free community on Instagram and they've been my saviour when it comes to gluten-free snack recipes. My current favourite is date and yogurt clusters. If I'm feeling peckish before lunch, I'll eat one or two of these, a rice cake with some nut butter, or a banana. I've got a major sweet tooth and have discovered (to my dismay) that many chocolate bars and sweets contain gluten, specifically barley. This has been devastating! I'm eternally concerned about cross-contamination (I call it 'getting glutened') so I try to make most of my food from scratch. Lunchtime At the moment, I'm in the bad habit of eating lunch at my desk whilst continuing to work. Sandwiches used to be my go-to however they're obviously off the table now. Whenever I ate bread (especially the pre-packaged loaves) I'd feel unwell and have horrific stomach pains, so I'd actually cut it out before I was diagnosed with coeliac disease but, of course, continued to feel horrific as gluten still featured heavily in my diet. Now, I prepare a salad for lunch most days. Again, focusing heavily on the protein, including some chicken or boiled eggs. On the more hectic days when I don't have time to prepare lunch, I sometimes brave a supermarket gluten-free salad or, if they don't look appealing, a Huel meal replacement drink. At the weekend, my family and I love to keep active and explore. On a recent day out, we stopped at a pizza place for lunch and I was delighted to see gluten-free options on the menu. It meant I could enjoy a satisfying doughy pizza knowing it wouldn't be followed by days of fatigue, vomiting and nausea. However, eating out is one of the biggest challenges and I'm still not used to it. As I don't live in a big city centre, there are just a few restaurants where I live and I only feel comfortable eating in one or two of them. On restaurant menus, foods are marked vegetarian or vegan but they're rarely flagged as being gluten-free. Even if they are, there's the perpetual fear of 'getting glutened' – especially as some workers won't know that food cooked in the same fryer or oven as gluten could still cause major problems for people with coeliac disease. I recently attended an event where I was served a lovely lamb and chicken shish kebab skewer with salad. They knew I had coeliac disease and there was nothing on my plate which contained gluten and yet I still had sharp, stabbing stomach pains and was vomiting afterwards. All the other plates had a pitta bread on so my theory is that the servers may have originally put one on my plate, and then taken it off when they realised my meal was supposed to be gluten-free. Those tiny leftover crumbs may have caused me to 'get glutened'. It's scary that something so small can have such an adverse effect. In more severe cases of cross-contamination, I've spent the next five days suffering from intense stomach pains, exhaustion, and vomiting. Dinner Andy and I collect the kids from school and it's then a case of getting them to swimming lessons, Brownies, and all of their other activities before we head home for the evening. The kids eat at 5pm and their meals sometimes include gluten, however it's easier if we all eat the same food so I focus on including ingredients that are naturally gluten-free such as rice, potatoes, and veg, rather than us all eating separately. Even so, I need to have my own separate kitchen utensils and equipment including a toaster, bread bin, knives, and butter. I try to make our evening meals healthy, hearty, and filling, and Andy and I tend to eat around 6.30pm after finishing our work for the day. He's happy eating gluten-free food which makes things easier. One of my favourite meals to make is chicken satay with Tenderstem broccoli and rice. Jacket potatoes are another reliable favourite. When we do occasionally eat out, my favourite restaurants for reliable gluten-free food are Wagamama and Pizza Express. Recently it was my birthday and I was absolutely craving a roast dinner. It's difficult to prepare gluten-free as the Yorkshire puddings are not safe for those with coeliac disease, the gravy tends to contain flour, and with everything mixed on the plate, cross-contamination is a big risk. However, about 25 minutes from where I live, we found a pub which serves a gluten-free Sunday roast. I almost cried! There was no flour in the gravy and they had gluten-free Yorkies which are the rarest of the rare. It was just beautiful. Evening snack Having two miscarriages in August 2022 and October 2023 took a massive toll on my mental and physical health. I stopped consistently exercising (besides the odd bike ride or dog walk), had zero motivation and just fell out of love with my body as I tried to grieve and process our loss. I know that there is a link between coeliac disease and miscarriages. However, as I was only tested after they happened, the doctors couldn't say for sure whether they were linked. I also have PCOS [polycystic ovary syndrome] which of course is also linked to fertility so it's impossible to know whether my coeliac disease was a major factor. After I cut out gluten in October, I actually wanted to workout again. Following my diagnosis, I finally had enough energy and motivation to get back in the gym and I've really enjoyed rediscovering my love for exercise. In fact, I've got a whole routine now – Pilates class on Wednesday evening, weights on Thursday, and a run or swim on Friday. A reformer Pilates centre has just opened up in my village and I'm excited to give that a try. Since my diagnosis, I've had more energy, feel so much healthier and happier, and haven't had a single mouth ulcer. It's been a transformative shift. After my evening exercise, Andy and I put the kids to bed – Albie at 7.15 and then Summer at 8pm. Then, I'll have a final evening snack (my current obsession being my yogurt dates!) and we'll watch TV before heading to bed. Bedtime I'm not a big drinker so certainly don't grieve the fact I can no longer drink gluten-heavy beer! I'll sometimes enjoy a hot drink before bed. In my most recent cross-contamination incident, I opted for an artisanal hot chocolate which actually contained melted chocolate that contained barley and I very quickly regretted my choice! Most shop-bought hot chocolates are fine, though, so if I ever need to feed my sweet tooth I may occasionally opt for a warming mug before going to sleep. Since my diagnosis, life has undoubtedly changed for the better and, rather than being exhausted 24/7, I finally feel like a normal 36-year-old. Andy and I nod off around 10pm and I find I actually sleep less now as I'm not fatigued all the time. I've always valued my sleep but it's great to get into bed and not instantly pass out when my head hits the pillow and to wake up feeling well-rested and refreshed. As told to Ella Nunn The Coeliac Awareness Month campaign looks at raising awareness of coeliac disease by sharing real stories and empowering those affected by it to recognise the symptoms, complete the online self-assessment, and take the first step on the road to recovery.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Popular gym snack recalled over ‘health risk' to coeliacs and customers with gluten intolerance
A popular gym snack has been axed from shelves over fears it could pose a risk to customers with coeliac disease. The 75g Myprotein cookie was recalled because it contained wheat (gluten) that was not mentioned on the product label, The Food Standards Agency said. Coeliac disease is a condition where the immune system attacks your own tissues when you eat gluten. This damages the gut so the body cannot properly take in nutrients, according to the NHS. 'THG Nutrition Limited is recalling the above product from customers and has contacted the relevant allergy support organisations, which will tell their members about the recall,' the FSA said. 'The company has also issued a recall notice to its customers. These notices explain to customers why the product is being recalled and tell them what to do if they have bought the product.' The watchdog urged customers to return the snack to the shop from where it was purchased for a full refund. |If you have bought the above product and have coeliac disease, and/or an allergy or intolerance to wheat or gluten, do not eat it,' it added. In March, a major supermarket recalled a popular snack over fears a salmonella contamination could cause 'severe' diarrhoea and cramps. Lidl urged customers not to eat Sol & Mar Chicharricos BBQ Pork Scratchings and to return the 99p snack as quickly as possible. Salmonella symptoms include vomiting, stomach pains, headaches and a high temperature and can last up to three days, according to the NHS. 'Lidl is recalling this product due to the potential presence of Salmonella, which may cause severe gastrointestinal symptoms,' the supermarket said. 'If you have bought the above product, we advise you not to eat it. Customers are asked to return this product to the nearest store where a full refund will be given.'
ABC News
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Gluten-free gnudi: A light and fresh Italian classic
Australian swimming champion Ariarne Titmus has embraced a gluten-free diet, and Alice is here to show her that cutting out gluten doesn't mean giving up on comfort food. While not technically pasta, ricotta gnudi are a delicious alternative — soft, pillowy dumplings made with ricotta and just a touch of flour. Paired with vibrant peas, broad beans and fresh mint in a buttery sauce, this dish is light, satisfying and perfect for an easy midweek meal. Here's the full list of recipes from Season 2 of A Bite To Eat With Alice. This recipe appears in A Bite to Eat with Alice, a new nightly cooking show on ABC iview and weeknights at 5pm on ABC TV.
ABC News
24-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
This cheesy rice bake is an effortless way to make a burger bowl
OK, hear me out — cheeseburger rice bake. It might sound a little unconventional, but the combo of rice, mince and cheese is anything but unusual across the world and the flavours are comforting and nostalgic. Think: fluffy rice as your bun base, topped with juicy, seasoned "burger patty" mince and a generous layer of melted cheese, all baked until golden and bubbly. Then, just like your favourite burger, it's finished with tangy burger sauce (with pickles, they are non-negotiable), crisp shredded lettuce, and juicy cherry tomatoes. It's an easy, satisfying weeknight meal — and a great option for anyone gluten-free who's been missing that classic cheeseburger hit (just be sure to check your pre-bought sauces for any sneaky gluten). I really enjoyed this one — I hope you do too!
