Eating safely gluten free while abroad….
…is no easy feat! Eating in another country, with another language all together, isn’t necessarily the easiest. Now try communicating with them that you are gluten free, that you can’t have anything cross contaminated, that yes indeed spelt is wheat. Here are a few of my tried and true tips for you lovelies!
when you can communicate “gluten free” effectively to restaurants, you end up eating lovely dishes like this one~steamed lentils with indian spiced creme and local pea shoots!
- Learn how to say “gluten free” in that country’s language. I know this seems like a “duh”, but trust me there are some people who wouldn’t think of this (you’re one of them aren’t you!!).
- Luckily, I can have dairy. And because of that I can always have some lovely cheese for dinner if I don’t feel comfortable with the gluten free-ness of a restaurant. But what about the bread? you might ask. I carry gluten free crackers with me at all times so I am guaranteed to have a beautiful dinner no matter where I am (because when you are in Europe, there is always good cheese!). My two favorite gluten free crackers to travel with are: Schar and Le Pain de Fleurs.
- Bring literature with you that describes gluten free-again-in said country’s language. This tends to be easier than butchering a description of what you need in terms of food. And, holy moly, there is a really fabulous website that has gluten free cards in 51 LANGUAGES! Here is the link, please just donate a little bit for them to maintain the website and for providing this invaluable tool for travel.
- Be sure to bring snacks for the plane. I can’t emphasize enough what a 10 or 12 hour flight with no safe food will do to you! Plus, plane food-even on the nice airlines-still is not the most amazing of quality so why not bring your own and ensure you have a lovely experience? (and may I suggest being sure to bring a bar of chocolate? Nothing helps an agonizing flight go by faster than enjoying a beautiful bar of chocolate bit by bit :)) Some flights do offer special meals when you purchase your ticket, also, so check and see if you can do gluten free for your meal.
- Do your research before you go. While many restaurants abroad have no clue about gluten free foods there are a surprising number who do! So check before you go and you might be surprised at the array of wonderful options you have.
signing off, happily healthy ~kendra
