Thursday, March 6, 2014

EE-meh ah-ler-yee-KEE sti gloo-TEH-nee


Ee-meh ah-ler-yee-kee sti gloo-teh-nee, I think that's how you pronounce it. Hopefully people won't look at me like I'm an alien. It's bad enough I don't speak the language and can't read the alphabet. I guess I will have to rely on the kindness of Greeks to go out of their way to understand my "issue."






My grandmother's Greek cooking has influenced my cooking style to such an extent that I am hoping to enjoy the food in this country as a way of connecting her culture. Before I leave for my trip to Greece I am going to make sure I know Greek food back and forth so that I know what to avoid. After all, that is my responsibility. A lot of celiacs have this conversation: "I may not eat for two weeks. No, that's an over reaction. Sometimes I am sure that a food is gluten free but then it gets me. I can taste the gluten but its too late. That makes me never want to eat another bite of anything that doesn't come prepackaged. Maybe that's what I will do, I will buy a whole bunch of meal bars and bring them along. Or maybe a whole case of ensure. I haven't left yet but this trip is already making me exhausted." I am going to dedicated this trip to eating gluten free, though I am not gluten intolerant, to understand with and empathize with people who are gluten intolerant. I found these allergy translation cards that might be of help. I am going to order them so I have them for the trip!






I bought a bunch of mint stabilyze bars from Costco to stash in my backpack for the flight. They're a little small but since they're low glycemic they will keep me full for longer. They taste similar to the mint Genisoy bars that I used to love but with less of an overwhelming mint flavor. I will have them with me just in case I have a hard time finding gluten free food when I first arrive. When I'm on vacation I hope to challenge myself to embrace the food culture while staying away from gluten.

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