Gluten-free Ireland

[maestraz]

So, maybe some of you read my previous post about being all stressed out over an upcoming trip to Ireland.

I just got home, and let me assure you that if you are looking for a country in which to try gluten-free eating overseas, it is Ireland.

When we arrived at our first B&B, we went to a local Tesco supermarket where there was a very nice GF section. I got GF snacks and a loaf of GF bread to take along for the rest of the week. I had emailed ahead and asked about GF breakfast options at each B&B/hotel. I had no problem with breakfast at any of our accommodations.

We were traveling with a group of friends for part of the week, and at every restaurant I was able to find entrees, or appetizers, I could eat. Most had clearly identified "coeliac friendly" items, or they were very willing to tweak things to make them GF. I ran into a problem only once, when I ordered a hamburger w/o bun, thinking, who would put anything in a burger, and the burger had bread crumbs in it, so it was really more of a meatloaf burger. The server immediately offered to replace it with broiled salmon, which was fine. I ate a lot of fish, seafood, chicken, salad and veggies, avoiding stews which could have flour thickeners. I found the servers to be knowledgeable about gluten in all but the smallest pubs, and never once was I made to feel bad about asking for ingredient details.

Apparently Kinsale (which we did visit) and Kenmare (which we didn't) are sort of "gourmet" food destinations. I had three lovely GF meals in Kinsale. We also went to Killarney and Galway, so I can speak to those locales. In out of the way places it might be trickier.

I think it would be a little harder to avoid dairy than gluten there, but not impossible. Watch out for soups; most seemed to be puréed with cream, or were cream based chowders.

In all, the trip gave me confidence that my travel life was not over. :))))))).

[JLH]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1576718/

[Sheila]

I was in Ireland a few years before MC and celiac entered my life. I know that Ireland has areas that have many more celiacs than normal, specifically SW Ireland. Who would imagine Irish setters would also have celiac genes. From reading articles about dog's diet issues, I was aware many dogs don't tolerate "cereal" additives to their food. My little Rosie eats GF for this reason.

I'd love to go back to Ireland and it's good to know eating would be safe and easy. Thanks.

Sheila W

[Lesley]

When we lived in Oxford 43 years ago a friend's baby was hospitalized with constant D and weight loss. He was dx'd withe coeliacs disease. They knew how to dx it and treat it all those years ago.
When in England last year I found gluten free oat cakes, so there was something I could eat.
Unfortunately there is so little I can "safely" eat I mostly ate potatoes.

Sheila, Licorice eats NO grains. When I first got her she had D issues for which the vet prescribed antibiotic 3x in a month. I am no longer going to that vet.
Licorice has been on a raw, grain free diet and is dong so well other than a D slip last week. I gave her cooked chicken, no rice for 3 days while her gut was healing, and then added in her regular diet slowly. She is fine!