More on my California trip and staying vigilant July 9, 2008

I reported that I had eaten some oatmeal at the hotel breakfast buffet.  I won’t do that again.  The more I think about it that was not a smart move.  I don’t know for sure if I had a reaction to the oatmeal but I haven’t been feeling well.  I remember that the enterologist who did my biopsy told me if you do get some gluten it will affect you for 2 weeks.  That oatmeal was not worth the risk. 

The lesson is that I need to be sure to be prepared.  That is the key to successful and satisfactory travel while staying on your gluten free diet.  If I had some of my instant quinoa cereal with me, or some rice cakes, I wouldn’t have been tempted to try the oatmeal.

I forgot to mention that while we were in the Monterey area we went to the Central Avenue Bakery in Pacific Grove for lunch.  They had gluten free bread and we had a good sandwich which is always a real treat for a celiac.  They also had some gluten free desserts ~ cookies and cake ~ but we were too full from the sandwich to try them.

My Gluten-free trip to California July 5, 2008

I visited central California last week for a wedding and a brief vacation. I met my son in Cupertino. He is from Maui and also has celiac disease.

As usual, since I was flying, I took some snacks with me. It is hard to find nutritious and gluten-free choices in airplanes and airports. I like Prana and Boomi bars:

 

 

The first night I went to dinner with a large group of friends to a restaurant in Los Gatos, at Manresa. This is a very nice restaurant and the waiters were really helpful with my gluten free questions. I placed an order and after the waiter talked with the chef he returned and told me everything was gluten-free except the dessert and he listed the desserts that I could safely eat. (This was a restaurant that offers a 4 course dinner ~ you make on choice from their list of each course.) They also offer several small appetizers to the table before the 4 courses begin and one of them was a fried ravioli so they brought me another appetizer (shellfish) which was gluten-free. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone in the area whether they need to be gluten-free or not but I feel it is especially nice for a GF patron to be able to enjoy the delicious gourmet food with confidence.

The next night I ate a good dinner at Dio Deka which is a Greek restaurant in the Hotel Los Gatos. It was a nice Greek dinner which was prepared for a large group (a wedding rehearsal dinner). There were things which I couldn’t eat, of course. When the waiter learned I couldn’t eat the pita triangles with the hummus he brought me some freshly sliced cucumber which was greatly appreciated.

I had done some research ahead of time and found out about Dana from Gluten-free Gourmet from Book of Yum’s blog. Dana sells her goods at the Saratoga Farmers Market at 14000 Fruitvale Ave. in Saratoga on Saturdays from 9-1. We had the morning free so we found the market and bought some cherries and blueberries and then we found Dana. She had samples for us to try. We bought the carrot cake and a berry cobbler. The carrot cake was especially delicious and the cobbler was good, too. It is such fun to find something good to eat which you didn’t have to bake yourself. Dana was really friendly and surprised that we had come so far to find her!

We also went to a Whole Foods in Cupertino and found some gf granola, an apple pie (which my son loved) and some other goodies. We don’t have a Whole Foods where I live so it was fun to check out their gf options.

In Monterey we noticed a Thai restaurant, Amarin. We loved our meal. We told the waitress we couldn’t eat gluten or regular soy sauce. We weren’t too worried and really enjoyed the curries we ordered. It is near the Monterey Aquarium.

I did a first since I’ve been diagnosed with CD. At the breakfast offering at the Hotel Valencia in San Jose – on Santana Row – I had a small bowl of the oatmeal. I did fine with it but I don’t know if I’ll do it again. Oatmeal still worries me a little. Do any of you eat oatmeal regularly?

Overall we had a great trip and enjoyed many wonderful gluten free meals and snacks. I’d say these areas in California are friendly for gluten-free travel.

Gluten free in Ireland March 20, 2008

Gluten-free in Los Angeles has a nice entry about a trip to Ireland and the gluten-free food they found.  It sounds wonderful.  I can’t wait to go.

Gluten free treats in the Dominican Republic February 19, 2008

I’m in the Dominican Republic now and went to a grocery store in Sosua (on the north shore, near Puerto Plata) looking for some healthy snacks.  I found the usual tortilla chips and salty nuts but I was surprised to find some items that weren’t expected.

I found these casabi crackers.  From the package:  They are the bread prepared with the yucca plant by the Taino Indians when Christofer Columbus arrived at La Hispaniola in 1492.  Casabi is 100% natural, organic, with a high content of fiber and enzymes.  It is also gluten-free and low in calories.  Because of its nutritional benefits, it still forms part of the Dominican culture.  They were available in onion or cinnamon flavor, I bought the cinnamon.  They are crunchy and tasty.  5 crackers has only 25 calories.

I also found some rice cakes made in Spain.  There is more and more available for the gluten intolerant traveller.

Another gluten-free option in Bonaire February 4, 2008

We went to a popular Italian restaurant here in Bonaire, Capriccio, which is run by an Italian couple.  We hadn’t been there since I found out I had celiac disease because I am always hesitant about eating at an Italian restaurant.  I heard that they had good grilled fish, which is what I usually have good luck with at any restaurants here.  I learned that they have Italian corn pasta that they will cook for you in separate water!  The owners pick it up when they are in Italy. I haven’t tried it yet but I will the next time I go there (soon!).  It is exciting to find a restaurant that knows about gluten and has gone to extra measures to satisfy their gluten-free customers. 

Gluten free in Bonaire-reading food labels in Dutch January 7, 2008

In Bonaire you find many food products from Holland.  The ingredient lists are printed in Dutch so I looked up some of the key words to look for:

Flour is bloem

Wheat is tarwe

Rye is rogge

Barley is gerst

Oats is haver

There are many fresh, naturally gluten free foods available. 

I found a new dairy product, Kwark.  I researched it on the internet and found out that it is like creme fraiche.  It is very sweet and rich and good on fruit, such as strawberries, for a dessert. 

Gluten Free in Bonaire December 26, 2007

I’ve been able to find some gluten free products and gluten free friendly restaurants while we’re in Bonaire so I thought I’d share some for other people who might need the information.

I always bring some gluten free pasta with me.  We can always enjoy a home cooked pasta dish.  I also pack some spices so that I don’t have to buy big spice containers for a few weeks.  I brought some “Mighty Tasty GF Hot Cereal” this time, too.  I add apples, raisins and walnuts for a hearty breakfast.  I have found rice cakes at a few grocery stores.  I have a rice cake with some almond butter I brought with me, which is quite filling.  Sometimes I find rice noodles at the More For Less store which also has organic vegetables.  I also make an open-faced sandwich with a rice cake, some Dutch cheese and some cucumbers and tomatoes.  The cheese is the secret to a tasty sandwich like this.

We went to BobbeJan’s barbeque and I ordered sateh.  Somehow I miscommunicated and also got a barbequed chicken breast with barbeque sauce.  The peanut sauce on the sateh seemed to have soy sauce and I only ate one small piece.  I ate more of the chicken breast.  I also ate all of the rice.  I felt sick in the morning.  Jim loves BobbeJan’s so I told him he can get take-out and I’ll make myself something but I won’t eat there again.

The next night we tried The Old Inn.  I had the local Bonaire beef stew.  The chef assured me there was no wheat.  It would have tasted good if it hadn’t been so salty.  The beef was nice and tender and cooked in a spicy broth.  I had rice with it.  White rice of course, which is all I ever see on the island.  I don’t know why they don’t ever use brown rice.  I was fine after this meal.

Last night we went to a new Peruvian restaurant called Plazita Limena.  I had grilled catch of the day, wahoo.  It was covered with some tasty spices which were a new combination for me (I’ve never eaten Peruvian food before) and the fish was very fresh.  It came with rice and I asked for vegetables and I got onions and potatoes which were sauteed and fresh.  I feel the dish was gluten free.  I’d like to try this restaurant again, there were many items on the menu that looked good. 

AltiPlano Gold Instant Hot Quinoa Cereal December 16, 2007

Traveling when you have celiac disease can be hard because you may not find gluten free options in many places where you need to eat.  This product from Altiplano, Instant Hot Quinoa Cereal, is a great thing to have on hand for travel.  It comes in individual serving packs which you can easily carry with you.  When you are at a hotel and want breakfast you quickly notice there is not much choice of gluten free foods at the breakfast bar.  You can have fruit, of course, but if you want some cereal you can pull out your packet of instant cereal, pour it in a bowl, add hot water and you have a good gluten free meal.  Quinoa is high in fiber and protein.  You can add milk, banana and/or walnuts, which are all usually available.

 The cereal comes in a variety of flavors and you can buy a variety pack so that you can try all of them and see which one you like best.  I like the Spiced Apple Raisin and the Oaxacan Chocolate flavors.  You can purchase at the AltiPlano Gold website or at Amazon.

Gluten-Free in Greece November 5, 2007

This summer my husband and I went on a special trip to Greece.  I was concerned about being able to get my gluten-free restrictions across to people in restaurants.  I had some good experiences and some bad.  Most of the time I found people who spoke at least some English but sometimes “gluten-free” is a hard thing to get across.

Before I left I printed off several gluten-free messages in English and Greek that I found on celiactravel.com.  I took several because sometimes if you give the card to a waiter and it goes to the kitchen you don’t get it back.  These cards were helpful.  I also studied Greek recipes before we left so that I would be familiar with how different dishes were cooked and with what ingredients.  For instance, Moussaka is made with Bechamel sauce, possibly with wheat flour, and bread crumbs so I know I couldn’t order that dish. 

The first part of our journey was a bike tour so we had 3 English/Greek speaking guides who helped me communicate with the chefs at restaurants.  This was a big help.  I enjoyed many delicious Greek specialties like Briami, Giant Beans and many fish dishes.  I also had taken some gluten-free bars which came in handy.  The bike tour (cyclegreece.gr) staff had treats for rest stops like figs, apricots, nuts and fruit which were all gluten-free and  nutritious.  At breakfast I missed not having some carbs.  I needed more than fruit and eggs and yogurt, all of which was great but I wanted bread.  I didn’t find gf bread but I did find some rice cakes in a small store in a small village.  What a treat they seemed to be!   I carried them with me and then found more in various stores throughout our trip. 

One naturally gluten-free Greek treat was yogurt with honey and walnuts.  I have found Greek yogurt here in Idaho.  It is much thicker than the yogurt we’re used to.  I love this treat although I don’t have honey as good as the honey in Greece.  The creaminess and tartness of the plain yogurt combines well with the sweet honey and crunchy walnuts.

Another treat I found at breakfast bars at restaurants was tahini (sesame seed butter).  I spread it on my rice cake and dribbled sweet honey on it.  Yum!  Greek salads were always a good choice and always fresh and wonderful. 

I had a few bad experiences when we were staying in Prasonisi, Rhodes for the windsurfing part of our trip.  The 2 restaurants there did not offer many choices that were gluten free and I did get sick.  They just weren’t the kind of restaurants we had been visiting on the other islands.  I was desperate and had quite a few rice cakes with peanut butter and yogurt and fruit.  It is hard to eat those all day, though.  I must have had something fried in contaminated oil.   Other restaurants on Rhodes were very good and helpful with my special diet.

 Overall the trip was wonderful and it was fairly easy for me to get gluten-free food.  Enjoy your trip to Greece with confidence and safety with some simple planning.