Gluten free eating

[monique]

Hi, I recently discovered I am allergic to wheat which is very disappointing as I'm planning to walk the Le Puy route in France next year and would relish eating French bread and pastries. I previously walked the route from St Jean to Santiago and found the dietary options pretty limited in Spain (albeit I could still eat wheat then). Has anyone requiring a gluten-free diet walked the Le Puy route recently and if so, how did you go managing your dietary requirements?

 

[Kitsambler]

(I don't have food allergies but I do pay attention to nutrition issues.) For breakfast, you can shop for your own fresh fruit and yogurt (and save yourself the steep price of a French breakfast). For lunch, I became very fond of fresh apples or carrots, and tinned tuna preparations of various sorts. Actually landing a baguette sandwich was a rarity. For dinner, at the demi-pension gites, the menu occasionally had pasta, and of course there was always bread on the table (are you allergic to wheat in proximity? Or is it only trouble if you ingest it?). Generally the starch was potatoes, and occasionally rice.

I think your trouble might arise when there is wheat as a minor ingredient (noodles in soup, thickener in sauce). I don't think gluten-free bread would be available, outside the very large cities.

Many gites offered cooking priviledges, with well equipped kitchens. Any of your efforts would be much more likely of success if you spoke French (or had a travelling companion who did).

 

[gittiharre]

I just follow on from kitsamblers advice, there is quite a bit of organic rye bread around, not sure of wheat content of it, but may be you may find you can tolerate that. Lots of the dinners were vegetable soups for starters and meats and veges, potatoes, not much pasta. French breakfast is mostly a joke, I need fruit and yoghurt and perhaps an egg, which one almost never gets. Bread and jams just leave me hungry. For lunch I usually had fruit, dried apricots, almonds and a bit of cheese or sausage, pure meat, with or without bread, I usually pinched a couple of slices at breakfast or dinner, as I ate lots less than others at those times and felt entitled to help myself to a couple of pieces. Cheers, Gitti

 

[monique]

Thanks so much for your suggestions! There seems to be some possibilities there - especially if the accommodation has potatoes, other veges and rice as an alternative to pasta. Fruit and yoghurt would be fine for breakfast and your lunch suggestions sound good too. That's reassuring - thanks!

 

[Kitsambler]

Yes, I think it is definitely possible. You will just need to add some phrases to your phrase-book. And have a plan. It is the hardest thing, at the end of a long hard day when you are just out of gas, to have to fight the additional battle of procuring dinner. So you would want to always carry a "safe stash" with you.

I'd forgotten about rye bread, as I don't recall seeing seeing anything other than "white bread" or "multi-grain" bread at the local boulangerie. You might be able to find good fresh rye at the market days, or (perhaps) packaged German rye in the grocery stores.

I love wondering around other people's grocery stores, actually. Shelves full of mystery!

 

[gittiharre]

There was Rye on the Via Gebenennsis and the Robert Louis Stevenson trail and in Le Puy at the Saturday market, can't remember the rest too much, it sure lasts ages, we bought some at the Le Puy market and ate it for days and days, one slice was almost too much for lunch. Cheers, Gitti

 

[Anniesantiago]

Monique, are you from Europe or the US?

If you are from the USA, I would suggest you TRY eating the fresh bread and pastries on the Camino.

I assumed I was allergic to wheat also. Here in the US, if I eat wheat, I am sick for days with swollen joints, brain fog, and pain. But in Spain, I ate bread all day every day and didn't have any adverse affect.

As I posted earlier on another thread, the wheat in the US is treated with BROMINE which is highly toxic. They do it to protect it from rodents and bugs; however, it's also toxic to humans. Greed speaks here.

Anyway... it's up to you, but those pastries are awfully tempting
You might just give it a try after walking a week or so to get your blood moving.

Annie

 

[kolkarls]

Hi! We were 4 Norwegians walking 20 days from Le Puy to Moissac i Aug/sept this year, and one of us are highly allergic to gluten. We brought along a good supply of Swedish crispbread (crackers) for safety, but as her doctor at home had written a letter (in French) which explained her allergy, we had few problems on the way. We produced the letter everywhere necessary, and the landlords at the gites and at various restaurants would always come up with something she could eat (fantastic service). In Espalion and Moissac we found well stocked shops specialized in "produits sans gluten".
Probably other places too, but we did not check before Espalion.
Good luck and bonne route !

 

[kaylfrazer]

My daughter who is gluten free walked the camino a few years ago and for part of it was walking with a couple of pilgrims who were also gluten free. They all found that they could eat small amounts of wheat without any problems. That was until one of them was injured and they had to stop walking and stay for a couple of days in Cacabelos, where all their usual symptoms reappeared. They felt that somehow the walking had protected them. I have absolutely no idea what happened but thought I would throw that in anyway! I should point out that they were all gluten free rather than actually coeliac.. I certainly wouldn't recommend experimenting if that is the case .

 

[Tia Valeria]

We have a problem with additives in food at home but could eat the bread etc in Spain quite happily. However when buying food in the supermarkets we always read the labels very carefully to avoid E450 & 451 (di and tri-phosphates), also artificial sweeteners.
We both remember seeing Rice cakes/crackers in the supermarkets in towns along the Primitivo so they are probably fairly widely available. There were also some packets labelled 'Sin gluten'.
Buen Camino
Tia Valeria