What You Can/Can't Eat

🚫 What to Avoid When You're Gluten Free

Going gluten free means cutting out all sources of wheat, barley, rye and standard oats. Oats are naturally gluten free, but unless they're certified, they're often contaminated with gluten during processing - making them unsafe for people with coeliac disease.

You'll also need to watch out for 'may contain' warnings, especially if you have coeliac disease, which flag potential cross-contamination with gluten during manufacturing. It may seem overwhelming at first, but with the right knowledge, you can still enjoy a varied and delicious diet. Here’s a high-level guide to get you started but make sure you explore the rest of our guides for more in depth info.

👍🏽 What You Can Eat

There are tons of safe and delicious gluten free foods, both naturally gluten free food and gluten free substitutes! Here's a quick breakdown:

• ✅ Meat & Fish - Fresh, unprocessed meat and fish are naturally gluten free. Be cautious with processed meats like sausages and burgers, as they may contain gluten based fillers
• ✅ Vegetables & Fruits - All fresh vegetables and fruits are naturally gluten free
• ✅ Dairy - Most plain dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt are gluten free. Check flavoured or low-fat or flavoured versions for added ingredients
• ✅ Grains & Starches - Rice, potatoes, quinoa, corn, buckwheat, and certified gluten free oats are all gluten free and great alternatives to gluten containing items like couscous, noodles, pasta, barley
• ✅ Legumes & Nuts - Beans, lentils, chickpeas, and nuts are naturally gluten free, but check for ‘may contain’ gluten warnings on these products
• ✅ Drinks - Water, coffee, tea, and most soft drinks are safe - some soft drinks like cheap cola and brands of ginger beer contain gluten, as well as alcoholic beverages like beer and stouts

👎🏽 What to Avoid

• ❌ Wheat-based products - Bread, pasta, pastries, cereals and cakes (unless labelled gluten free)
• ❌ Barley & Rye - Found in malt vinegars, beers, and some breakfast cereals
• ❌ Hidden gluten in processed food - many soups, gravies, sauces, ready meals etc. contain hidden gluten
• ❌ Cross-contaminated foods - Even safe ingredients can become unsafe if handled with gluten-containing products

For more detailed information about each food category, our gluten free guides by product type are coming soon! 

🛒 Supermarkets and the Free From Aisle

Pretty much every major UK supermarket caters well to gluten free diets. Popular stores like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose, M&S, Morrisons and even Co-op have dedicated gluten free sections with ‘Free From’ branding that stands out, making it easy for gluten free shoppers. Lidl and Aldi also carry gluten free products but may not have a dedicated aisle depending on where you are in the country.

👉🏻 Check out our Supermarket guides to discover each supermarket's Free From section

These Free From sections in supermarkets are stocked with gluten free alternatives including:

• Bread, pastries, pasta, cereals
• Biscuits, crackers, protein bars
• Ready meals, pizzas, breaded products
• Special flours for baking, such as gluten free bread flour and self-raising flour

But remember: you don’t have to do all your shopping in the Free From aisle!
Many naturally gluten free products (like plain rice or tinned tomatoes) live in regular aisles alongside products that are gluten free by accident (they're not specifically made to be gluten free but it just so happens they are). Plus, not everything in Free From is just gluten free - some cater to multiple allergies (like dairy or egg free), and may cost more than what you need.

👉 Read more in our Free From aisle guide

🔍 Label Reading Basics

Reading labels is one of the most important gluten free skills. Look for:

• ✅ Gluten Free certification - Guarantees the product contains less than 20ppm of gluten
• 🕵️‍♀️ BROW ingredients - Barley, Rye, Oats (non-certified), Wheat - avoid unless labelled gluten free
• ⚠️ ‘May Contain’ warnings - Some products are processed in the same facility as gluten containing foods and may be at risk of cross-contamination

👉🏽 Need a refresher? Check out our full Label Reading guides

🔁 Gluten Free Swaps

Missing your old favourites? Thankfully, there are plenty of gluten free alternatives available today inside and outside of the Free From aisle.

👉🏾 Why not have a browse through our Gluten Free Swaps guides to find your old favourites