Eating gluten-free during a road trip in mainland Greece

We recently returned from a wonderful family vacation in mainland Greece. Because we were road tripping and traveling to remote areas well outside of Athens, I translated into Greek my dietary needs and provided this translation to restaurant staff when necessary. This was very helpful as I sometimes found that even in restaurants that advertised gluten-free options online, the waitstaff didn’t always know what I meant by “gluten”.

What I ate:

Stuffed Grape Leaves

The dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with rice, meat, or a mixture of both) were delicious (not as good as my mom’s though!). However, they were not always a gluten-free option. One restaurant told me their meat stuffing contained bread crumbs. They also said sauces served with grape leaves might not be gluten-free. The two times I was able to order dolmas, I was provided with just a lemon wedge.

Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers and tomatoes became a bit of a staple. Generally speaking, the filling contains rice, tomato sauce, herbs/spices, and sometimes pine nuts. Potatoes and salad seem to be typical sides.

Moussaka

A restaurant in Athens—Greek Stories—deserves a shout out. We ate there twice because the gluten-free and vegan moussaka was so good. I was told on both occasions that the entire restaurant was gluten-free.

I also enjoyed grilled vegetables with a thick balsamic glaze.

A fun tidbit is that restaurants in Greece often provide a complimentary dessert for the table. On most occasions, I was provided with watermelon and in one instance plumped up raisins when the rest of the table was provided with cake. I so appreciated being included in the dessert course.

Hotel Breakfasts:

Most of the hotels included a full Greek breakfast. This was great for my husband and son. While I notified all of the hotels about my dietary issues months in advance, with one notable exception, no special effort was made. The options for me were basically fruits (I can’t eat eggs or any milk products). BUT at our last hotel, I was presented not only with a fruit bowl but with almond yogurt and honey, almond milk for my tea, bacon, crispbread, toast, and biscuit cookies. That first morning I was so touched and shocked I teared up. If you are ever headed to Nafplio, Greece, I highly recommend Hotel Navria.

Groceries:

I did not fare well when trying to supplement snack food I brought with me. Even at the AB stores that were recommended online, there were very few gluten-free snack foods or bread products. I was able to buy nut butter and gluten-free crisp bread to make a sandwich of sorts. I found gluten-free protein balls (in Shell gas stations with markets) and gluten-free cookies (In a mini market in the Meteora area of all places) but overall, it was slim pickings.

As a whole, I was very happy with the meal options available to me in restaurants. However, I struggled once again to take in enough calories and was unable to maintain my weight. Next time, I’ll bring even more protein bars!