The Dopamine Diaries: Gluten Free in Greece

I recently travelled to Greece and spent two weeks relaxing in the fabulous city of Kos Town.

Whilst there, I recorded some of the delicious meals I had in case it helps anyone who is gluten free who may travel to Greece.

It can be tough going on holiday when you have food issues and sometimes (not all the time!) hotels can't cater for you. This is why we decided to go self catering. I didn't want the stress of worrying about relying on someone else to feed me!

The best thing about cooking abroad is all the fabulous ingredients that you don't necessarily get in England.

My favourite ingredients were the amazingly large & fresh tomatoes and salads, and the devine halloumi & feta. They also have these amazing big Kos lettuces that can be used as wraps.

However, it can be a bit annoying having to cook for yourself some nights so some people might not like self catering holidays - I, on the other hand, don't mind because I love cooking!

For me, self catering is the way to go. You may not get the luxury some people might require from their holiday but you do get the peace of mind.

We basically had one(!) hob ring but I made it count. If you can cook, you will be alright.

The Town.

Kos Town is a beautiful, vibrant town with a stunning harbour. There are plenty of shops, bars & restaurants.

The issue that there might not be any food in the shops I could buy played on my mind a lot before going but it was fine. There was plenty of fresh veg, meat, bacon, salad, cheeses etc and most importantly it was only €2.50 for a bottle of wine!

There are many fabulous restaurants in the town serving lots of grilled food (meat, fish etc). I had tasty grilled chicken and grilled pork loin a few times. They served them with rice, chips or potatoes.

Grilled chicken fillet

Grilled pork loin

There are also many great bars, some serving fresh fruit platters, crisps or nuts free with your drink.

If you aren't sure do try and ask about gluten, luckily I didn't have to and managed a whole 2 weeks without being glutened!

Here is a gluten free code I made before travelling:

χωρίς γλουτένη = gluten free

γλουτένη = gluten

περιέχει γλουτένη = contains gluten

σιτάρι = wheat

περιέχει σιτάρι = contains wheat

αλεύρι σίτου = wheat flour

κριθάρι = barley

My cooking

To make my life easier I took 2 packs spaghetti, 1 bag pasta, 1 bag rice, 3 loaves bread, 5 bread rolls & 1 box cereal with me. I'm not sure how I managed to bring that along with all my clothes but I did!

For snacks I had lots of fresh fruit, sandwiches, yogurts, crisps (some have the ingredients written in English too). My favourite was Origano flavour. There is a Greek brand of crisps called Iris potato chips. These didn't have gluten in (but always check the labels).

Below are some examples of the food I cooked and some of them are pcitured: