Gluten Free, R U?: Gluten Free in Iceland

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Gluten Free in Iceland - Breakfast

Breakfast in Iceland is a very European buffet. Lots of eggs, beans, deli items, fish, breads and pastries.

And it was all delicious no matter where we ate.

Grand Hotel Reykjavík had 4-5 types of eggs available: scrambled, hard boiled, fried, sunny side up, and soft boiled in addition to them making omelettes if you wanted. There were many types of Skyr to have, some sweet some not so sweet. There was gluten free cereal and all kinds of milks: cow, almond, soy, etc. Also all kinds of juice: orange, carrot, beet and so many others I honestly can’t remember. Fresh fruits of all kinds and lots of pastries although none that were gluten free that we could find.

Hotel Dohlery had many of the same options as the Grand Hotel. Just a few less egg types and they did offer gluten free bread two of the days. The fruit here though was beyond compare. There were even items I don’t know what they were. Kiwi, bananas, oranges of three types, catawaba, watermelon and as I said more that I couldn’t even identify. It was all fresh, juicy, tasty and amazing.

I had read that gluten free bread is not common and it did appear that way. I was ok not having it for the 6 days I was there and perhaps next time I would take my own or check out a store upon arrival to pick some up.

No comments:

Post a Comment

My gluten free history

When I turned 30 years old, I started to gain weight that I couldn't lose and I was getting back to back colds. The final straw was I got bronchitis and I had to take an antibiotic to help me get better. The side effect for 4% of people on this antibiotic was gastrointestinal issues. Yes, I was part of that 4%. The medicine basically stripped away whatever had been protecting me through my first 30 years of life. You see I have always had gastrointestinal issues since I can remember. My father also had the same issues and my paternal grandmother too. I was so sick from the medicine (or so I thought) that I had to go back to the doctor and do a series of tests. During this time I was following the BRAT diet (Banana, rice, a, toast). Saltines and toast were my go to comfort, little did I know they were NOT what I should be eating. My co-worker gave me an article about food allergies and there was a quiz. You only needed to answer 4 of the 8 questions with yes to fall under their designation and I had answered 6 of the 8 with yes. I was on my way. My husband and I cleaned out all our cabinets of the 7 allergens… all that was left was rice. After a few weeks, I was feeling somewhat better when I stayed at a home where they told me to eat whatever was in the fridge. I saw the rice and started eating. Within a hour I was violently ill. I couldn't understand. I took the rice with me to work the next day and when I told my other co-worker about my issue she asked to see the rice. It was orzo… pasta… gluten/wheat filled pasta! I had my first allergen to check off the list as being an issue. It turned out at the time dairy and eggs were also triggers but I have since been able to add them back. My husband and I went on a full gluten free diet and within a few months I had lost my weight, stopped living in my bathroom, looked healthy and was not terrified to eat things any more. Now it has been 15 years and while I have gained some weight back (darn those yummy gluten free cookies and pretzels) my issues are still in check and I couldn't be happier to figure out what was wrong with my body and be able to fix it.