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Italy!

dancer29

By dancer29
in Traveling with Celiac Disease

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dancer29 Newbie
dancer29
Posted

Hello all

I'm a high school teacher and I have the opportunity to supervise a school trip to Italy... obviously I'm also gluten free. I've held off from committing to the trip 100% because I'm unsure I'd be able to maintain a healthy gluten free diet while I was away.

If I were travelling by myself, it wouldn't be a concern at all... but I don't want to end up getting glutened because it would render me completely useless to the other teachers on the trip - not to mention making it difficult to be around students.

I've done a bit of research and found it all to be conflicting. The most consistent advice I've seen is simply advising people with celiac to take their own food with them on trips. Though I can take some things with me, the trip is 14 days and we're staying in hotels... I can't cook in the room!

Any advice?! I don't speak a word of Italian, so that also doesn't help...

Thanks!

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Jestgar Rising Star
Jestgar
Posted

GO! GO! YOU HAVE TO GO!

It's easy enough to order non-gluten things in the restaurants (I think its 'sans glutino' but there are cards you can find on the internet). In the stores you can buy cookies and stuff without gluten.

We were at an agroturismo for several days and I brought them a package of gluten free pasta from the store and asked them to use that when preparing my food. Everyone knew what I was talking about and I had no trouble.

The two times I accidently ate gluten while I was traveling I had no reaction. I don't think their wheat is bred to be high gluten like ours is.

kenlove Rising Star
kenlove
Posted

Hi,

I worked in Italy 2 months this summer and found it easy to find gluten-free foods just about everywhere. At least everyone in restaurants is aware of celiac. If they dont have something safe they will tell you.

Most places will find something you can enjoy. There are farmacia's everywhere which do have good selections of gluten-free foods/snacks. There are lots of places to get fruit and cheese too. There are many lists in English of restaurants, even pizza places that have gluten-free pizza on the internet. A very active Italian ceoliac Restaurant Assoc. checks these places frequently and I had no problem eating at any of them.

Should be a great trip for you and the students.

Ken

Hello all

I'm a high school teacher and I have the opportunity to supervise a school trip to Italy... obviously I'm also gluten free. I've held off from committing to the trip 100% because I'm unsure I'd be able to maintain a healthy gluten free diet while I was away.

If I were travelling by myself, it wouldn't be a concern at all... but I don't want to end up getting glutened because it would render me completely useless to the other teachers on the trip - not to mention making it difficult to be around students.

I've done a bit of research and found it all to be conflicting. The most consistent advice I've seen is simply advising people with celiac to take their own food with them on trips. Though I can take some things with me, the trip is 14 days and we're staying in hotels... I can't cook in the room!

Any advice?! I don't speak a word of Italian, so that also doesn't help...

Thanks!

theceliachusband Rookie
theceliachusband
Posted

You will be fine. Some of the best gluten free dishes are from italy. Just think, Risotto, Polenta, etc.

Italy has teh highest screening ratio per capita in the world. They lead the way when it comes to gluten intolerance.

The Celiac Husband (Google)

angieInCA Apprentice
angieInCA
Posted

You should have no problem. When most people think Italian food the first thing that comes to mind is Pizza and Pasta. Truth is when I was there I found very little of either. You had to actually go to a Pizza place for pizza and pasta is considered kind of a side dish. Every where I ate had wonderful fresh meats, vegetable and fruits. I would be more concerned if you can't eat dairy. Cheese and cream are everywhere.

dksart Apprentice
dksart
Posted

"Io sono celiaco." That is what Shauna James Ahern, of Gluten-Free Girl fame, said was all that she had to say anywhere she went in Italy on her honeymoon. Here's a link to her blog.

Open Original Shared Link

I think I may have an allergen/intolerance card written in Italian somewhere. I'll try to find that for you as well.

Good luck, have fun and I am sooooo jealous!

  • 5 weeks later...
kmcmahon Newbie
kmcmahon
Posted

Ciao,

I am currently in Italy and have absolutely no problem getting gluten free food. I don't speak much Italian either, but it is no problem at all. Where exactly will you be traveling to in Italy??? I live in the Friuli Region, but have done a bit of traveling around.

First off the Italian Celiac Society has a website you should look at, as it lists restaurants in each region, many of which have websites. www.celiachia.it. Second, you can find anything and everything you want in the pharmacy. They offer breads, pasta's, etc. Also there are many hotels available that offer gluten free meals, provided you let them know ahead of time. Not everyone knows what celiac is here nor are all the gluten free restaurants open(got to love the Italian lifestyle here) but if you carry around a card in Italian that says you are, it will be no problem. Do not forget that card, as many Italians do not speak much english, other than in the big tourist cities. There are also DS pizza points where you can go with no reservation and get a gluten free pizza!!! What a concept!! These are just regular restaurants that got certified through DS to serve gluten free pizza's in a seperate area, seperate oven, etc. I have not gotten glutenated yet and have eaten all over northern Italy, Croatia, and Austria, so do not worry!!! Also if you could let me know what area you will be in, I can give you a better idea of restaurants! And when in doubt just get some risotto and fish!

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lovegrov Collaborator
lovegrov
Posted

Easy.

richard

  • 3 weeks later...
Char Apprentice
Char
Posted

Celiac Chicks had a post about this recently:

Open Original Shared Link

(about halfway down the page)

Have a great time! Italy's amazing :)

-Char

  • 3 weeks later...
idahoengineer Newbie
idahoengineer
Posted

Hello! My husband and I booked a 2 week trip to Italy before I was diagnosed with Celiac, so I was very disappointed, to say the least! But, it was no problem at all! A few restaurants even had gluten free pasta and almost all knew exactly what I was talking about. In fact, there was a young woman with celiac eating in a small bar in Rome when I was trying to order and she was very helpful.

I copied a card out of a book called "The Gluten-Free Guide to Italy". However, some servers seemed to read it too quickly and thought I also couldn't eat any of the foods it listed as "OK". So I might suggest a different version I found in "The Gluten-Free Bible" by Jax Peters Lowell.

"English:

I do not speak your language.

I have celiac disease and cannot tolerate gluten.

If I eat any food, product, chemical additive, or stabilizer containing even a trace of wheat, rye, oats, barley, triticale, malt, or any derivitatives of these grains, I will become ill.

I am able to eat foods containing corn and rice.

If necessary, please check with the chef to make sure my food does not contain any of the ingredients listed above and help me order a meal I can safely enjoy.

Thank you very much!

Italian:

Nonparlo Italiano.

Sono affetta dal marbo Celiaco, e nontolleroglutine in alcuna forma.

Se mangio del cibo contenente prodotti o solo trace di grano, avena, segala, orzo, crusca, malto e germogli di questi cereali, me sento molto male.

Posso pero mangiare cibi che contengano riso e granturco.

Laprego di consultargi con il cuoco per assicurarsi che il mio cibo non contenga nessuno dei prodotti sopra elencati, e mi aiuti a ordinare un bon pasto.

Grazie!"

I ate a lot a steak and cheese. I'm not much of a seafood/fish eater, but beware that their seafood usually comes with "eyeballs and chewies" as we like to call them (i.e., heads and legs intact). Breakfast was the most challenging. The Italians love the pastries! A couple of the hotels we stayed in didn't have meat and cheese for breakfast, so I would strongly suggest you take along some of your own favorite cereal or bars. I got glutened once in Tuscany from cingale (boar stew). Must've had a flour thickener in it. We found that some of the eggplant parmesean had breadcrumbs, but some did not and it was my favorite. I also was served KELLOGS CORN FLAKES for breakfast on the Delta flight from Altanta to Venice.

I have the names of most of the restaurants we ate at - my husband kept a journal of the trip if it would be helpful, although I think since you are travelling with high schoolers, you'll probably be frequently the trattorias rather than fancy restaurants.

Good luck!

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