We seem to have more and more gluten-free products being released every single week. And whilst I’m the first to get excited about them (and often blog the gluten free products I think you need to buy in a dramatic fashion) I’m also guilty of hyping things up or getting myself into a bit of a frenzy when I see them on Facebook and Instagram. Because apparently its perfectly reasonable to take an hour’s detour to Morrisons for a gluten-free pizza or their dairy-free mozzarella straws (spoiler alert: they didn’t have either in stock!). I don’t even think I ate mozzarella straws very often when I could eat mozzarella and gluten but that’s not the point, right?
However, somewhere along the way, I’ve come to a bit of a realisation. Not all gluten-free products are good. In fact, some of them aren’t great at all. And let myself get so carried away in the hype that I hadn’t realised. So here’s some products that I think are actually massively overrated and, if I was you, probably not worth spending your money on…
1. The Meatless Farm Co Burgers
I’m always wondering why so many people are influenced by social media but it turns out I’m just as guilty. Because when I saw these in the Co-Op, my first thought was: ‘ooh, I’ve seen these on Instagram, I must buy them!’ I’d seen these on so many bloggers feeds that I was willing to put aside the fact they were £3 for two vegan burgers which seemed excessive (but hey I paid £3.50 for the gluten free, vegan Gu puddings so I’ve clearly got no concept of money) and the fact I’m not actually vegan.
These do not taste good. I bought them for a BBQ and my sister in law is veggie so I thought she’d like them too. ‘They look dry’ exclaimed my mom as I served them up but I’d dismissed her because she wasn’t in the know like I was. But turns out she was right, they are so dry and so tasteless and I just don’t really have much to say other than that! I’m gutted as it is nice to eat meat free occasionally and lots of meat-free options use wheat. the only gluten-free vegan alternative that I think does the job at the moment is Oumph!
2. Any supermarket gluten-free sandwich
Whenever a new one comes out, everyone is so excited. ‘Oooh, I can grab on the go! There are so many new options’ we declare. But I’m sorry, all the ready-made sandwich options I’ve tried are crap. I was particularly excited about the made without wheat duck wrap by M&S but I think it should be changed under the trade descriptions act as surely the small slither of duck my wrap contained in contrast to about twenty pieces of cucumber means it should be renamed duck wraps instead? I also think the bread is poor in most supermarket sandwiches-like the boots ones I blogged about last year.
There are some really good gluten free alternatives on the market now so why don’t high street chains partner with them to make their sandwiches rather than trying to invent their own bread? The Boots one was very dry although this was a while a back so it might have improved since as I know it’s been rebranded. Save your money and pack a lunch.
3.Marks and Spencers (kind of)
Okay, that’s a lie. M&S is often worth a purchase-they have come out with some amazing vegan options recently like their mozzarella sticks (which are also gluten-free) but the reason I’ve mentioned this supermarket is two-fold. Firstly, if you’re dairy-free like me, then 99% of the new gluten-free product launches will be unsuitable and if you think their vegan range will work then you’re wrong because 99% of that contains gluten. They do some amazing gluten free things and amazing dairy free things but never the two shall meet it seems.
What’s also is annoying is that the labelling is really inconsistent, so these don’t have gluten free on them but the ingredients are gluten-free and there’s no factory warning. So whilst the products themselves might be worth a purchase, it can be a stressful shopping experience going on a treasure hunt by reading the back of every single thing.
4. Green Pea/Bean Pasta
There is a lot of green pasta in the free from the aisle at the market. I don’t know how huge the market is for people who want to eat pasta that’s green but it seems it’s big because you can’t look for packets declaring that it’s exactly like pasta but its made of green beans or peas. I will let you into a little secret as to what this pasta tastes like. It tastes exactly like… green beans and peas.
This is kind of my own fault. I mean what did I expect it to taste like? It’s not magic. It’s perfectly fine if you want to eat green beans or peas in a different way but if you want to actually eat pasta then just buy the actual gluten-free pasta from corn and rice. And then just buy some actual green beans and peas. It’ll probably be cheaper too! One thing I do if I am trying to be healthier is mixed this with regular pasta which can be good if you can’t manage lots of fibre. As mentioned in my fibre post with Genius, I will often mix their chickpea pasta (Which is actually quite nice but spoiler alert: tastes like chickpeas) with regular pasta so it’s a little healthier-and it’s easier to digest than whole chickpeas.
5. Tesco Free From Ready Meals
I do think its great we can get more gluten free ready meals but I find all the Tesco ones disappointing. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you might remember the one pictured from a while ago. But I’m an idiot and I brought it again. Because I was out one day and I really fancied macaroni cheese and I thought I was exaggerating the last time but it turns out I really wasn’t. I have a lot of free time now in the middle of the night with my newborn baby keeping me awake and I’m considering starting a petition to take this off the shelves because it really is such a disappointment and doesn’t taste cheesy in the slightest. It’s worse because Amy’s Kitchen do an amazing gluten free, dairy free macaroni cheese but I can’t find it anywhere (they stock the gluten free one with regular cheese in most supermarkets). Life is cruel. However in the interest of fairness, I do think Tesco has some amazing gluten free products, just not the ready meals so spend your money on the rest of the range!
6. Old El Paso Corn Tortillas
I really like the big Old El Paso gluten-free wraps you can get in their fajita kits but my supermarket only stocks the tiny ones still for some reason. And I keep buying them and then end up making the world tinniest wraps for lunch and the filling keeps falling out. And then I leave them in the cupboard and forget about them. They’re only £1.50 but I just don’t think they’re worth it. So if you’re reading this Old El Paso, I’m loving your work but please knock these on the head and just sell the bigger wraps everywhere (which are £2.99 but worth it!)
7. Gluten Free Hobnobs (well most GF biscuits actually)
I was excited these were launched and they’re not bad. It’s just so expensive compared to a regular Hobnob and they’re the type you can just dip in your tea without really noticing-and suddenly a packet is gone and you’ve spent £1.70 working out at something like 25p a biscuit. They don’t really taste of much for the money!. There are cheaper gluten free biscuits they tend to use so many preservatives and have such long ingredients lists that it puts me off. Tesco do some lovely posher biscuits but they all contain dairy free unfortunately!
So that’s my seven products I wouldn’t recommend purchasing. Do you agree or disagree?
Hobnobs had ginger added and went straight to cheesecake. And pea/ bean pasta – so awful
It’s very helpful article !