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When you are first diagnosed trying to figure out which foods contain gluten can be a real nightmare. Your mind races as you look through the ingredients of every single item wondering “what the hell is gluten anyway???”

Soy sauce. Most soy sauces contain gluten because wheat flour is used a thickener. But don’t worry, the gluten free version is not too difficult to come by – it’s called Tamari and can be found in most Free From sections.

Pre-made soups. This very much depends on the brand but you have to be very careful with soup – they often use wheat flour to thicken them as it’s cheap. Lots of soups are gluten free, including some of Heinz. Watch out for supermarket own brand or cheaper brands as they often sneak wheat in!

Corn Tortillas. You would think, given the name, that these would be a safe bet. Whilst corn tortillas are made predominantly with corn flour, as you would expect, they do also use wheat flour in their ingredients! For example Old El Paso:

Cornflakes. Just like the tortillas, the word “corn” is deceptive – cornflakes often do contain gluten. Big brands use Barley Malt Flavouring as a sweetener, see Kellogg’s here. However, you can now buy gluten free cornflakes, just make sure you read the packet to get right kind!

Meat Substitutes. Quorn and other brands have only recently branched out into gluten free products. However, all of their products contain barley. Read more here.

Yeast Extract. Marmite is not gluten free – they use barley. And whilst some people argue that it’s a tiny amount and should not affect Coeliacs, it is worth noting that you can get completely gluten free versions for a fraction of the cost. ASDA’s version for example.

Gravy. Most gravy is thickened with wheat flour and therefore not gluten free.

Dry roasted nuts. Whilst nuts themselves are naturally gluten free, dry roasted flavours often contain wheat flour to give them that addictive taste.

Couscous. Made from wheat, couscous is definitely not gluten free, but because little is known about it’s production, people usually presume it is a completely different food stuff all together. You can get gluten free couscous made from maize.

Tomato Juice. Tomato juice, especially in bars and restaurants, will often have Worcestershire sauce already mixed in. Be careful when ordering at a bar and make sure to ask your server to see the bottle before drinking. Check the ingredients in supermarkets.

Are there any you’ve discovered that you’d add to the list? Have you ever been caught out by these foods?

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