This past month I have realised how much work the supermarkets have been putting into improving their free from range and I am actually struggling to keep up with all the new products that are coming out!
As you can see in the photo, this is just my haul of new things from Asda today! Yes, quite a few of them were packet mixes but trying to make Gluten Free Vegan cakes and fresh dough from scratch is not only difficult but also very expensive! These packets only cost around £1.50 each, I know for sure the Brownie mix comes out with a great result so I can only hope for the same about the rest!
I'll start off with Asda as I'm here, I have found them to be one of the best places for my food shop. Not only do they have wonderful vegetables at reasonable prices, great boxes of salad that don't break the bank and good offers store wide. They also have an amazingly large Free From section in all aspects, fridge, freezer and cupboard section. Their personal brand is growing by the minute and I often go there for all the things I need.
They offer so many types of Gluten Free pasta's, a wide selection of sauces, a crazy amount of cakes and a Gluten Free bread section that would make a baker cry. Not only that, they offer almost the full range of Violife cheese, a wonderful own brand Gluten Free Vegan Puff Pastry which doesn't break the bank and even stock some hard to find Amy's Kitchen products in their freezer only sold before by Ocado at sky high prices.
The only issue I have with Asda is their fresh section, they have the odd ready meal and the random Free From product but usually they focus on just Gluten Free and there is rarely any vegan products. So this is where I go to Sainsbury's...
Sainsbury's is another store that I go to often, now their fresh fruit and veg is a little more expensive than Asda however it is right next to work so is more convenient than making a special trip for food.
Where Sainsbury's really come into their own is the way they help us when shopping, they have a specific Free From fridge section keeping everything in one place rather than other supermarkets where they are mixed in with the normal products. If I'm looking for the one thing I can have in a shelf of 100 products it is so much easier if that 1 item was in a section with others like it!
Anyway, not only that, it is the products they are selling, such as their own brand Mac n Cheese which is completely Gluten Free Vegan and wonderfully delicious. They are the only supermarket to stock the White Rabbit Pizza Co, who do a full range of Gluten Free pizzas and they have chosen to supply the Vegan ones out of the range (Genius idea, 2 birds 1 stone).
I have heard on the Vegan grapevine that they have now launched a brand new Vegan chilled range which, having just checked it out online, looks brilliant! I for one cannot wait to try the BBQ Pulled Jackfruit, something I have wanted to try for over a year as getting hold of an actual Jackfruit itself is very difficult! You can definitely look forward to me blogging, maybe even vlogging that one!
Then, not only are they helping/catering to the demand of Vegans they are also really looking out for those who cannot eat Gluten as well. Their fresh bread in their bakery has a new section of freshly made Gluten Free Vegan bread! I have only tried a baguette so far and I can tell you it is amazingly fresh, I compare some of the mainstream Gluten Free Vegan bread to something created to survive a nuclear war, so to enjoy something with a date of tomorrow on which tastes to me like the real thing is wonderfully inclusive of them.
The bit I find let's Sainsbury's down a little is their cupboard range, there are some strengths of course such as the amount of snack bars they sell and they have more cereal than any of the other supermarkets. However I find that Asda and even Tesco are ahead when it comes to cakes (apart from their Mince Pies of course), biscuits and packet mixes. Leading me nicely on...
Now I have had a love hate relationship with Tesco for years, resulting in me writing them a strongly worded email when I first started this diet over 2 years ago. At the time, they had decided to reduce the Free From range that they already had very little of and to make things worse it was during a very stressful part of my life. The excuse they had was that they were taking a step back and looking at their range for the future. Unfortunately Mr Tesco, people still have to eat and to reduce without replacing still leaves me angry to this day causing a little piece of me to always be a tad biased against them.
However, their range now has grown considerably and they are now catering for diets like my own in a good way. They pretty much match where Sainsbury's are, perhaps with a few additions of having some packet mixes and additional touches such as the Focaccia which is a nice change to have with Pasta.
They are they only supermarket to stock the Vegan Ben & Jerry's though sadly they never seem to have the one I need which is the Chunky Monkey as all the others contain Gluten. I won't take away from the fact they sell it though as it still surprises me that the other two still don't and it is something the whole Vegan population went crazy for when it was announced.
Having a look recently they seem to really going after their own brand Free From chilled desserts which I would say they are the best at in the game. Having trifles, mousses and so many yoghurts available for those who cannot eat Milk, Wheat and Gluten with most of them also being free of Egg. I know I look forward to going in there to get a cold treat, as most other treats that aren't fresh can be quite dry and sometimes you miss a good chocolate mousse or yoghurt pot!
All in all, they compete well with the other supermarkets but they just don't blow me away, plus they have such a hill to climb to bring back my trust I'm not sure I'll ever have them as my first choice. That being said, I do look forward to what this year brings as there are rumours of them having brought in a Vegan chef to create some amazing Vegan Ready Meals and dishes for the chilled section!
I am happy to say that nowadays it isn't so hard for me to pop to a shop and get something substantial to eat, as for a long time that really wasn't the case. Just yesterday I was in need of something for dinner, I popped to a local Co-op to find that they have made all of their fresh soup Gluten Free and the majority of Vegetarian ones were also Vegan. They also have an end aisle covered head to toe in Free From products, something that has really developed in the last year.
Gone are the days where I settle down for a salad for dinner when away from home or when I simply couldn't be bothered to scour the aisles of a new supermarket. Each shop has something for me, whether it be a pot noodle, a fresh soup or even a prepared pizza.
I would like to thank the supermarkets for listening to us, maybe it is due to sales and the demand increasing but that didn't mean you had to create anything. You could have stocked up on the brands already supplying our food, yet you stepped up. You started creating beautiful dishes, desserts and some of the best bread in the industry. You brought in dedicated chefs to create more fresh ranges and you made it easier for us to shop anywhere at anytime.
For that I would like to thank you from the bottom of my... stomach. No more boring bland dishes or extreme cooking with 100s of ingredients costing me a months salary. Thank you. Please keep it going, I'd hate to have it and then lose it again like I did my normal diet!