Strict diet friendly stores

Hello all!!

My step mother is highly intolerant to loads of foods. She mostly eats fish, beans, salad without dressing and drinks nothing but water. When I say her diet is restrictive, it's restrictive. Because of that, she's not flying to England for my wedding. I understand, she gets very ill and has lots of issues with her esophagus and acid re-flux if she goes off her diet, and traveling to another country makes it hard. Cooking in a hotel is near impossible, and she can't eat at restaurants. Since me and my husband will be living in a tiny studio, we can't really house anyone and cook for them or abide to her diet. Additionally, we'll be going nuts with the wedding to really spend time with them. My dad is coming.

That being said, she and my dad DO want to come visit us once we're settled in. When that time comes, I want to make sure that we've got the options available. In the US there are loads of gluten-free products, natural/organic products (we have a wholefoods in town!) etc. How is the access to that sort of stuff in the UK? I don't mean to be so incredibly ignorant, but the grocery stores that I visited seem to be just like Walmart, where they don't focus on those types of products. However, I've only been in a really small area of Swindon and haven't branched out much yet. So the options are probably there, I just don't know where to look. I don't know the names of stores over there that are equivalents to places like "Whole Foods"

What are the store names that sell those types of products? Organic/gluten-free/keto-friendly.  I want to ensure when they do come visit (in the future) that we can buy the proper food and make sure my step mom doesn't get ill while she's here.

Thanks!

You will not have a problem finding appropriate food for her here. Everything is clearly labelled and we have huge "free from" sections at every grocery store. Also, you'll not have any problems at restaurants either.

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You will not have a problem finding appropriate food for her here. Everything is clearly labelled and we have huge "free from" sections at every grocery store. Also, you'll not have any problems at restaurants either.

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I forgot to include in my original post how much I LOVE the restaurant food in England. It just seems so much healthier. I'm from south Louisiana where everything is smothered in rice, meat and hot sauce.

Perhaps i'm stuck in this "nowhere is healthy mind set"

I forgot to include in my original post how much I LOVE the restaurant food in England. It just seems so much healthier. I'm from south Louisiana where everything is smothered in rice, meat and hot sauce.

Perhaps i'm stuck in this "nowhere is healthy mind set"

We have Holland and Barrett as a health food store. I buy some stuff from there. There are still a few Whole Foods open in the UK but not many. You'll also find local independent health food stores.

But even Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Tesco, M&S and Morrisons has an impressive array of "free from" foods.

And I've found restaurants very accommodating to any allergens and everything is very clearly labelled.

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So... I'm going to be a bit of a devil's advocate here. Gluten free and allergy friendly food is everywhere here, but it has SO MUCH crap in it. There were a lot better options in the US for someone like me with chemical sensitivities on top of food allergies and sensitivities.

However, just like in the states you can buy and cook whole foods. I still usually ended up sick when visiting from the states because of cross contamination in my husbands kitchen from roommates. I still get sick if I eat out 95% of the time.

There is amazon, planet organic, and buy whole foods online for bulk purchases (I get my rice pasta and GF oats on amazon). Doves farm is gluten free but has a lot of cross contamination with other allergens, so depending on needs it may not be appropriate.

For shopping in stores, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Morrisons and most other shops will have a free from section... But again, read the labels. Print out the E- additive translation sheet or have it handy on your phone. She may just want to get a doctors note and carry on plenty of her food in an extra bag. In most cases anything that's not an animal product can be brought over from the US.

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So... I'm going to be a bit of a devil's advocate here. Gluten free and allergy friendly food is everywhere here, but it has SO MUCH crap in it. There were a lot better options in the US for someone like me with chemical sensitivities on top of food allergies and sensitivities.

However, just like in the states you can buy and cook whole foods. I still usually ended up sick when visiting from the states because of cross contamination in my husbands kitchen from roommates. I still get sick if I eat out 95% of the time.

There is amazon, planet organic, and buy whole foods online for bulk purchases (I get my rice pasta and GF oats on amazon). Doves farm is gluten free but has a lot of cross contamination with other allergens, so depending on needs it may not be appropriate.

For shopping in stores, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Morrisons and most other shops will have a free from section... But again, read the labels. Print out the E- additive translation sheet or have it handy on your phone. She may just want to get a doctors note and carry on plenty of her food in an extra bag. In most cases anything that's not an animal product can be brought over from the US.

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I'll keep that in mind. It's serious enough that she doesn't want to fly over during my wedding for the reasons I listed above. I don't want her to suffer at all once they do eventually come visit

She can check labels on most shops online before she comes and you could have it delivered.

I love grocery delivery. Makes life easier sometimes.

I'll keep that in mind. It's serious enough that she doesn't want to fly over during my wedding for the reasons I listed above. I don't want her to suffer at all once they do eventually come visit

I honestly understand her fears. Flying is stressful and can aggravate a GI condition just from that alone. She'll want to make sure she's well prepared with her meds and anything OTC that helps too. I'll never forget puking my brains out and sending my husband to get ginger tea and him not realising he bought one with gluten in it... Needless to say the next few days were even less fun!

But travel with chronic illness really can be done, it just takes planning and including recovery days. Even the difference in how food is farmed can cause a GI disruption, and the water here is all pretty high in minerals so there's a lot that can change the delicate balance even on a good day.