We were just in Venice and Milan this spring and the menus were all clearly marked with GF and Vegan options (many overlapping). Our family with Celiac’s brought an entire suitcase of stuff home with them ; )
Yes to booking/planning restaurants ahead of time!
My kid has type 1 diabetes and celiac. I cannot eat gluten (not celiac), dairy, avocado, salmon, nuts, chocolate and some citrus. Some are allergies (I have Epi-Pen) and some are intolerances. Honestly we don’t have any trouble finding things to eat or trouble at restaurants. College was very accommodating. And yes Italy is great for GF.
My only tip is that Canyon Bakehouse makes the best bread. We had a delicious vegan gluten-free apple pie at Christmas, wish I could remember the baker. We love pizza and find places that have a dedicated oven beforehand. I have sorbet when kid has ice cream.
Do you know if the pasta in Italy is made with the “deglutened” flour or with traditionally non-gluten grains? I still have not worked up the nerve to try the gluten removed flour but feel like I need to do it soon so that I know if I can have it when traveling.
I know it’s not exciting, but when I travel in the states, I keep a list of chains that I know are safe such as Garbanzo, CAVA, Modern Market, etc.
Our family members with Celiac’s only tried the traditional non-gluten grains in Italy as they won’t risk exposure of any kind. And that’s what they brought back as they thought it was better than the gf pasta we can buy in the states.
I do have a friend who is gluten intolerant (not Celiac) who says she was able to eat the pasta in Italy.
The risotto and polenta are also outstanding in Italy!
Our Venice hotel had a bunch of GF options for breakfast inclusive of GF bread options.
Found a new to us pasta that my daughter says is life changing (Rummos, it’s made in Italy but my local ShopRite carries it). Bfree makes good flatbreads. I’ve been looking for carbonaut bread locally but can’t seem to find it. One daughter was diagnosed 15 years ago, another 2 years ago.
BFree mystifies me. Some of their stuff is so good and some is just awful. I never thought I’d meet a baguette that I couldn’t at least finish off and had to throw the BFree one out it was so bad. Yet their naan bread is fantastic is you heat it up like it says on the package. And then there is the pita, which should be decent as the naan is so good, but it’s barely passable.
Be careful with Carbonaut as there is a non gluten free version that looks just like the GF one. Carbonaut is one of the few GF breads that is better nontoasted. It’s very “strachy” though.
I’ve been buying Three Bakers lately as it’s the only thing I can find that is sandwich sized and the only thing I really use it for is taking a turkey sandwich to work.
Whole Foods carries a brand called Greenlite that comes in a frozen loaf that everyone raves about. I just can’t get it to cook all the way through. If I could, it would be great.
As I’m making my New Years Eve appetizers, I have to recommend Sweet Lorens pizza dough and puff pastry. So much easier to work with than Schar’s.
Can you get it in a store, or do you have to order it?
I used to order Garafalo gf pasta from Amazon. It’s an Italian brand that is very good and tastes very much like regular pasta. Now I use Barilla which I can get in all the stores I regularly shop in, is less expensive and seems the same to me. I use it in dishes for my foodie non gf family and they all like it. The only thing I notice is it gets a weird texture when it’s refrigerated.
I get ours at Wegman’s!
Glad to join this thread!
3 of us are GF in our family.
My fav GF pasta by far is the fresh GF fettuccine from Trader joes.
I’m in MA and have gotten it in Target and Stop and Shop
Where is it in your Wegman’s? I’ve looked but haven’t found it but I might be looking in the wrong place.
Don’t you hate it when grocery stores can’t decide where to put stuff? Our Wegman’s just had a reorganization, plus I rarely shop there so it was confusing. Anyway, I found it in the cold case next to butter, etc…
Is anyone aware of a list or other resource for evaluating GF dining on campus? D25 is celiac and a long-time vegetarian (by choice). I’m concerned that college eating might be rough.
Edited to add: I just did a google search and came up with this!
S23 is at Oregon State, and while it is possible to find GF vegetarian options, it would be the same couple of things recycled over and over again.
The problem with the above list is that it’s just too small of a sample size. You could look up FB pages for "(Specific School) gluten free " and may come up with some info.
I was able to look up menus at the schools we visited. Bigger schools will more likely have more choices (more dining halls). Even with more dining halls, the choices will become monotonous by the end of the first semester. Once there, buddy-ing up to the dining manager is always helpful. Also, check out if they can use dining dollars at on-campus food courts or nearby establishments. S23’s school has a local soup place, Subway, Garbanzos and a burger place on campus that have lots of choices and accept swipes.
One thing to consider is if students are required to live on campus for 4 years. Many students find it easier (or at least not as redundant) to cook for themselves. Having good grocery stores nearby and transportation is also helpful.
I had a food allergy blood test a year ago, and it revealed a high intolerance for dairy (a 5 out of 6) and lower for gluten (2 out of 6). I don’t eat dairy at home, but I carry lots of lactaid pills in my purse if needed when I eat out. As for gluten, I don’t experience any digestion issues; I have several issues with my throat that last for 5 to 6 weeks if I have gluten 2-3 times in a week. So, I avoid gluten, except for rare times when something is too good to pass up (like gravy at Thanksgiving). I tried a gluten pill from Whole Foods but it did nothing for my throat problem.
Eating too much gluten will cause my throat to be full of mucous all of the time, and at random times with no warning, I experience the most intense tickle that results in a huge coughing fit and losing my voice. If I’m driving and one of these tickles occurs, I have to pull the car over. If I’m in a store, I have to leave the store immediately. I was also constantly having sore throats, but not being sick. My doctor ordered a camera down my throat twice before suggesting allergy testing.
Does anyone else have throat problems related to gluten?
Nope, mine is all in my guts….but I am hoping that going gluten-free will also help with inflammation in my hips. I just ordered some Glute Guard pills from the Australian company, in the hopes that I could tolerate some gluten without symptoms.
My hip pain went away slowly over the course of 6 months after I went gluten free (now 13 years ago).
No throat issues for me; I have severe gastrointestinal issues.
This is actually my reaction to dairy. And lactose pills will not do anything if you are allergic to the proteins in milk. I can’t even have milk baked into bread or cross contamination. My suggestion would be to completely give up milk for at least 3 weeks to see if those symptoms go away.