So Holland & Barrett have taken the lead in promoting Free From Foods in the UK. Have you taken a look yet?
With over a 1000 free from lines available on their website (rising to well over 3000 by the end of the summer) & a massive brand new Free From Store newly opened in Chester…You can definitely tell they are a shop on a Free From Mission! With more free from stores due to open, the future is certainly looking bright for Free From. Here are some of my top gluten free products you can pick up in-store and/or online.
1. Sweet Mandarin Sauces
Living in Manchester I feel that it is an absolute disgrace that I have not yet visited the Sweet Mandarin Chinese Restaurant, the gluten free is supposed to be amazing. I will soon! In the mean time I was extremely excited to find that Sweet Mandarin have increased their range of sauces. They now do a wide range of sauces that many gluten free eaters can hardly ever eat, unless it’s homemade! From a Nut Free Satay Sauce (sounds an amazing innovation!) to the two bottles I purchased last week… Gluten Free Black Bean Sauce & Gluten Free Hoi Sin Sauce. I am really impressed that Holland & Barrett stock such a variety of flavours. I cannot wait to cook up some Chicken in Black Bean Sauce & some Peeking Duck with Hoi Sin.
2. Choc Chick Starter Kit Raw Chocolate Making Kit
I found this in Holland & Barrett and am incredibly excited by the prospect of trying this out. I think a chocolate making kit is the perfect present for anyone. For it to be gluten free & dairy free is an absolute bonus! Holland & Barrett also stock a chocolate making kit designed for children in a much more child friendly packaging. This kit contains everything you will need to start making your chocolates straight away from cacao butter & powder to the recipe booklet & some mini baking cases. It is of course also vegan, egg free, soya free amongst many other free from allergens. I know quite a lot of people who would love this as a gift, its a bit quirky & different! I have even sent a Choco Chick Set in the post already as a present 
3. Eskal Gluten Free Ice Cream Party Tubs
As soon as I saw these Ice Cream Tubs I knew I had to grab them. Me & Mark declared that would very soon be ice cream sundae time! It is great that by using Dairy Free Ice Cream such as the delicious Swedish Glace ice cream or the amazing Booja Booja Dairy Free ice cream, we can make an amazing ice cream tub that we can both indulge in. Right now I am thinking of making a tasty Banana Split Tub for us both… Bananas, Dairy Free Ice Cream, Dairy Free Caramel Sauce & some grated Cocoa Libre Dairy Free Chocolate in an epic Gluten Free Cone Boat! Sounds pretty epic right… it will be! You can grab these on Holland & Barrett online right now
4. Amisa Organic Gluten Free Pancake Mix
I have been a pancake fan since the day I was born & I’m always really excited when Pancake Day comes around. Holland & Barrett stock a Gluten Free (Dairy Free, Vegan) Pancake Mix from Amisa Organic, which I had to try! It is a mix of buckwheat & rice flour & the box has 2 separate packets, for 2 different ‘Pancake Days!’ I have to say these might be the nicest pancakes I have ever had, they were amazing! Really fluffy & so easy and quick to make. We put them alongside a mix of toppings including my homemade cinnamon apple compote & homemade dairy free healthy nutella (Deliciously Ella recipe!). Totally recommend this mix & will be buying it a million more times!
5. Delicious Alchemy Gluten & Dairy Free White Bread Mix
Delicious Alchemy are a company I am hugely fond of. They have a huge range of Gluten Free & Dairy Free products from cake mixes to rice flakes, all of which are delicious. I have used a many of their cake mixes before, for instance making a Gluten Free & Dairy Free Cheesecake Brownie using their brownie mix – click here for the recipe! But when I was recently in Holland & Barrett I decided to pick up their Gluten & Dairy Free White Bread Mix. I am quite attached to a few brands of gluten free bread these days so I decided to use the mix in a different way and make some Gluten Free Iced Buns (recipe here!). They worked really well, which really shows the versatility of the mix. It’s definitely a product I would recommend trying out!
6. Cocoa Libre Milk Chocolate Alternative Sheep / Cocoa Libre Milk Chocolate Alternative Bar
One really positive thing I noticed in the new Holland & Barrett in Chester was their vast selection of not only gluten free but dairy free chocolate. For once, this chocolate wasn’t just dark in flavour either they actually did a wide variety of Dairy Free Milk Chocolate! The brand that appealed to me most was Cocoa Libre. I bought a couple of their products home to try out, one being a packet of dairy free milk chocolate sheep (How could I resist!). I have seriously fallen in love with them and cannot wait to get some more. It is great to see brands providing dairy free chocolate that tastes like everyone’s old favourite.. milk chocolate! These are really fun too, so for anyone with children who cannot eat dairy, this is a great product to give a try.
7. Feel Free Vegetable Suet Mix
For years my mum used to search for gluten free suet for me so I could enjoy her stew & dumplings, but to no avail! Now, many years on when I live far away from Mum’s stew & dumplings, I find vegetable suet! This vegetable suet comes from the lovely folk at ‘Feel Free for Gluten Free Food‘, a company full of friendly folk & great products. What drew me in to buying this was the amazing picture of a jam roly poly on the front of the box. I actually decided to make one with some delicious black cherry jam the other day for some dinner guests… it went down a treat served with steaming hot dairy free custard. It’s not until you can’t have suet that you miss it… so it was great to find this in Holland & Barrett!
8. Glutamel Pizza Bases
These pizza bases from Glutamel are gluten free, wheat free & dairy free. The box contains two bases which are individually wrapped. This is great as it means the other one can stay fresh for another day. I often find this to be a problem with multiple gluten free pizza bases in one box, so this was a huge plus point. The pizza base is the perfect size for an individual pizza & crisps up really well in the oven without getting hard. Whilst I am used to having my gluten free pizza on a Venice Bakery UK gluten free base, which is really thin & crisp, this was a really nice change. It felt much lighter & less greasy than many oil filled pizza bases. I chose to fill my pizza with a mix of Dairy Free Cheeses from Violife to Mozzarisella as well as plenty of ham & pineapple! I will definitely be buying these bases again – they are perfect for a quick, light pizza night in!
9. Violife Dairy Free Cheese
Oh Violife, you are the love of my life! Now you will see that there are a few mentions of Violife around the blog, as well as a post about them from a few months ago (click here to view it). Violife is made from coconut oil predominantly, yet tastes nothing like it! It is 100% dairy free, & for that reason is the cheese you will always find in our fridge! As Mark is Lactose Intolerant we use this cheese with everything & I must admit I don’t miss normal cheese at all. There are so many different flavours, from cheddar to mozzarella & I hear they are creating a parmesan variety at the moment too! Violife is great on pizza, in pasta & definitely in a toasted sandwich! I was so glad to find such a massive variety of flavours in the new Holland & Barrett Chester Store. If you haven’t tried Violife before and need to cut back on dairy, then Violife is a delicious, versatile cheese that you won’t be able to resist!
10. The Foods of Athenry Cookies
So before venturing into the new Holland & Barrett store in Chester I had never even heard of this brand. I’m so so glad that I found them though because their cookies are insane; plus they are all gluten free & dairy free! The Foods of Athenry do a huge range of different gluten free foods that I never even knew about; so I am excited to try other products in the future. We ended up buying 3 different flavours of cookie, and have now had a try of all of them. For me, the lime & coconut cookie was the Cookie King. The lime taste really comes through & blends well with the coconut. It almost tastes like a mix between a key lime pie & a cocktail! Mark was a massive fan of the chocolate & raspberry cookie. Again, the fruity flavour of raspberry played a staring role; they really seem to be able to get the fruity flavour to be at the forefront of these cookies which is amazing. In terms of texture these cookies are both crumbly and melt in your mouth all in one… I would highly recommend getting your hands on some!
11. Eat Real Lentil Chips
Last year we put up a review of the Eat Real Lentil Chips, but the Tomato & Basil Flavour. However I have found an even greater discovery in terms of flavour in Holland & Barrett… Chilli & Lemon! I always knew they did this flavour but have never been able to find them until now. These crisps are gluten free & dairy free (as well as being vegan). The flavour of these is literally amazing, the lemon compliments the chilli to ensure that they are more warming than spicy. They really are a nice change from your regular potato based crisps & also have a lower fat content too… bonus!
So, there you have it my top 11 gluten free products from Holland & Barrett. Now it’s your turn! Have you tried any of these products & what did you think of them? Leave a comment below or via Facebook / Twitter. Also have I missed out any of your favourite gluten free products… I definitely couldn’t include everything!
Click here for a Guided Tour of the brand new Holland & Barrett in Chester.
Click here for information on the new Holland & Barrett Free From Concept!
Thanks for reading,
Becky xxx
11 New Gluten Free Products you NEED from Holland & Barrett
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