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05 June 2025

A beginner’s guide to Gluten Free – start your journey.

Blog - Beginners Guide to Gluten Free

Starting Your Gluten-Free Journey: A Beginner’s Guide to Embracing a New Way of Eating

Embarking on a gluten-free (GF) journey can feel overwhelming at first. Whether you’ve just received a diagnosis, suspect a gluten sensitivity, or are exploring dietary changes for other health reasons, the world of gluten-free living can seem daunting. From understanding labels to navigating social situations, there’s a lot to learn. But don’t worry – you’re not alone, and it’s far more manageable than you might think!

At Voakes Free From, we understand this journey intimately – as Laura our founder was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease herself, way back in 2011 and this is the very reason Voakes Free From exists today. Our mission is to make delicious, genuinely gluten-free food accessible, so you can enjoy your meals without compromise. This beginner’s guide is designed to clarify the basics and provide you with simple, actionable steps to confidently start your gluten-free life.

What Exactly IS Gluten?

Let’s start with the basics. Gluten, to put into basic terms is  a family of proteins found in certain grains, most commonly wheat, barley, and rye. It acts like a “glue,” giving dough its elasticity and bread its chewy texture. While it’s naturally present in these grains, it can also be found in many processed foods as an additive.

Coeliac Disease, Gluten Intolerance, & Wheat Allergy: What’s the Difference?

Understanding why you’re going gluten-free is crucial, as it impacts the strictness of your diet.

  1. Coeliac Disease: This is an autoimmune condition where ingesting gluten leads to damage in the small intestine. This damage prevents nutrients from being absorbed properly, leading to a range of symptoms and long-term health complications if untreated. For someone with Coeliac Disease, even tiny amounts of gluten can cause significant harm, requiring a 100% strict, lifelong gluten-free diet. It’s vital to get tested for Coeliac Disease before removing gluten from your diet, as doing so can affect test results.
  2. Non-Coeliac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) / Gluten Intolerance: People with NCGS experience symptoms (like digestive issues, headaches, fatigue, or brain fog) after eating gluten, but without the autoimmune response or intestinal damage seen in Coeliac Disease. While still requiring gluten avoidance for symptom relief, the tolerance level for accidental exposure might vary.
  3. Wheat Allergy: This is an allergic reaction to proteins found specifically in wheat. Symptoms can range from mild (hives, nausea) to severe (anaphylaxis). A person with a wheat allergy must avoid wheat, but they can typically consume gluten from other sources like barley or rye if not otherwise sensitive.

No matter your reason, knowing the distinction helps you manage your diet effectively and communicate your needs.

Your First Steps: Embracing a Gluten-Free Lifestyle

Starting a gluten-free diet doesn’t have to be daunting. Here are some immediate actions you can take:

  1. Read Labels Like a Detective: This is your superpower! Always check ingredient lists for wheat, barley, rye, and oats (unless certified gluten-free). Look for “Gluten-Free” certifications on products – this is your best assurance. Be aware of hidden gluten in sauces, seasonings, processed meats, and even some medications.
  2. Focus on Naturally Gluten-Free Foods: Build your meals around whole, unprocessed foods that are naturally gluten-free. Think fruits, vegetables, unprocessed meats, fish, eggs, dairy, and naturally GF grains like rice, quinoa, corn, and potatoes.
  3. Stock Your Kitchen Cupboards Strategically: Gradually replace your gluten-containing staples with GF alternatives. GF pasta, flour blends, and bread are widely available. You’ll be surprised how many delicious GF options exist off the shelf in UK supermarkets. !
  4. Beware of Cross-Contamination: This is especially critical for those with Coeliac Disease. Use separate chopping boards, toasters, and utensils for gluten-free cooking, or clean thoroughly to avoid accidental gluten exposure.

Seek Reputable GF Brands: Look for companies that specialise in gluten-free products and understand the complexities of the diet. This drastically reduces the guesswork. Naturally we’re one of those specialists so you’re in the right place already.

Making Your Gluten-Free Journey Delicious with Voakes Free From

This is where Voakes Free From comes in. We understand that going gluten-free isn’t just about safety; it’s about not missing out on the joy of truly delicious food. We take pride in crafting gluten-free pies and pastries that taste just as good, if not better, than their traditional counterparts.

  • No Compromise on Taste: Our award-winning pork pies, hearty savoury pies, pastries, quiche, scotch eggs and delightful sausage rolls are baked to perfection in our dedicated gluten-free facilities. This means you can enjoy those classic comfort foods you might have thought were off-limits.
  • Convenience Delivered: We deliver our freshly baked free-from goodness directly to your door to almost everywhere across (check our delivery exclusions). This takes the stress out of finding safe, tasty options in supermarkets, making your transition much smoother.
  • Trust and Safety: As a dedicated gluten-free manufacturer, we employ stringent processes to ensure our products are genuinely free from gluten, providing you with peace of mind with every bite.

Ready to start your gluten-free journey with deliciousness guaranteed? Explore our full range of pies and pastries today, and discover how easy and enjoyable gluten-free living can be. Simply CLICK HERE

Thank you for reading – we hope you found this useful as you start your gluten-free journey.

Written by adopteddigital · Categorized: News & Blog · Tagged: beginner's guide, coeliac, gluten-free

26 April 2015

And the winner is…

What an exciting week we’ve had! On Wednesday 22nd April, we attended the Free From Food Awards at the Royal College of Physicians in Regents Park, London. Around 300 Free From enthusiasts gathered to hear who would be awarded the prestigious awards for their products and, of course, who would be crowned the champions of the Free From World and be presented with Marble Mo, the FAIR Trophy for the Best Free From Product.

Free From Awards 2015
Collecting our certificate for winning the Foods-to-go category from Free From Food Awards Patron Antony Worrall-Thompson.

With such tough competition, we were hopeful for a mere mention at the ceremony, and were so excited when our Traditional Pork Pie won the ‘Foods-to-go’ category! With our new gluten and dairy free Steak & Ale Pie being awarded a Highly Commended in the ‘Meaty Ready Meals’ category too, we were on cloud nine by the time the final award, the overall winning product of the competition was announced. We were absolutely astonished when Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, the director of the awards mentioned that we were in the running for the prize, but when the room was filled with ‘pork pie’ murmurs when she asked the crowd who should win the competition and we were soon after announced as the winners, we almost fell to the floor! We made our way to the stage to collect Marble Mo, who was presented to us by patron of the awards Antony Worrall-Thompson and we were absolutely overwhelmed by the cheers from the crowds! It was such a proud moment for us, having worked so hard for three years to only dream of an achievement such as this.

Free From Awards - group photo
The winners! Check out all the fantastic winning products on Free From Food Awards website.

We want to say a huge THANK YOU to all our lovely, loyal customers, who keep us very busy making lots of pies! Without your continued support, we would not be here today sharing this incredible news with you!

If you have been meaning to try our products but haven’t as yet, now you know our product has been voted the Best Free From Food of 2015, what better a time to do so? You can order our products, search for your nearest stockist or find out about upcoming events here on our website. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter

 

Free From Awards 2015

Written by Laura · Categorized: News & Blog

26 March 2014

Voakes Free From products win
Highly Commended Free From Food Awards

Nick and Laura at Free From Awards
Nick and Laura at Free From Awards

26th March 2014

Success for Voakes Free From at the FreeFrom Food Awards!

The FOUR products are:

  • Free From Traditional Pork Pie – Highly Commended
  • Free From Special Pie – Highly Commended
  • Free From Steak Pie – Shortlisted
  • Free From Game Pie – Shortlisted

Voakes Free From is delighted to announce that two of our products were “Highly Commended” and another two were shortlisted in the prestigious FreeFrom Food Awards 2014.

Voakes Free From Special Pie was awarded Highly Commended in the “Foods for Christmas” category. Voakes Free From Steak Pie was judged Highly Commended in the “Meat Based Meals” category.

The freefrom market is now estimated at over £385m and a record number of products – more than 350 were entered into this year’s FreeFrom Food Awards. Each product was tested by a panel of expert judges earlier this year, with the winners announced at the Awards ceremony in London last night.

Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, who launched the awards in 2008, said “The quality, and number, of products entered this year was higher than ever which made judging extremely exciting. The freefrom industry has come a long way since we first launched the awards and that was evident from the choice of innovative and great tasting foods we got to judge this year. We’d like to congratulate Voakes Free From and all the winners and runners up.”

The judging panel comprised: manufacturers, chefs and cookery writers; dietitians and nutritionists; coeliacs and allergy sufferers, as well as freefrom and gluten-free bloggers. Between them, the judges tasted products from 16 categories including a number of new ones for 2014 such as breakfast and after dinner foods.

The FreeFrom Food Awards have been instrumental in driving new product development and improving the quality and choice of freefrom foods that are available, and the products on the list this year highlight this success. Judging was therefore incredibly difficult but at the same time incredibly satisfying too. The judging panel comprised: manufacturers, chefs and cookery writers; dietitians and nutritionists; coeliacs and allergy sufferers, as well as freefrom and gluten-free bloggers. Between them, the judges tasted products from 16 categories including a number of new ones for 2014 such as breakfast and after dinner foods.

For more information on the awards visit: www.freefromfoodawards.co.uk and for information on food allergy and intolerance visit: http://www.foodsmatter.com/

You can also follow on Twitter @FFFoodawards and @FreeFromFood (#FFFA14) or on Facebook www.facebook.com/FreeFromFoodAwards

 

Written by Laura · Categorized: News & Blog

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