Coeliacs, Food and Health stuff

Final note

Things gradually improved for me after Mongolia where I lost quite a lot of weight and was starting to get a bit low as a result of the poor quality and variety of food available to me – despite knowing I shouldn’t have when so many people always have so little choice.

The first village we came to in the Russian Altai may have had rather too many drunks lolling around for comfort (the only place we actually had this experience other than in the Gobi in Mongolia) but at least it did have a shop with a great selection of fresh fruit and veg neither of which were a problem anywhere we went after that.

Shashlik – kebabs – were available pretty much everywhere in Russia, as was plov. Main courses tend to be rather small in quantity and we realised that the locals always tend to have soup or another starter with their meal as well.  Borsch and plov were usually a good tasty option – didn’t find any more pasta in the latter.

I did get fed up of showing my translation sheet and invariably being offered plain fish and vegetables – particularly when everyone else around was eating what looked and smelled so good. So started taking more chances and having some delicious meals as a result – in Ekateringburg  I had salmon in a creamy caviar sauce followed by a prune meringue on one occasion and on another a delicious stroganoff with crispy bits of potato on top. Did pay the price a couple of times though.

Arriving in Hungary we almost immediately spotted a Tesco and half heartedly went inside to see if there was anything GF available (not very optimistic after Czech and Slovakia). I showed an assistant my Coeliac translation sheet and was taken immediately to a large special diets section where there was an excellent selection – including some Gullon Maria biscuits and some thin savoury waffle biscuits – both of which I bought in large numbers as I haven’t found anything like them here. Each of the Tesco’s we visited in Hungary had a good selection of GF food and when we ate out seemed quite GF aware. My only negative experience was at the French Cultural centre restaurant where I asked the woman at the front desk about the dish of the day and was assured that it was GF (chicken in a creamy sauce). When it came the sauce didn’t look GF and as soon as I put some in my mouth I knew it wasn’t. I got the waiter to check with the chef and was told it was not safe for me. They did then kindly bring me plain chicken and chips which was very tasty – but a lesson in making doubly sure.

Slovenia was also great with a fantastic selection of GF stuff in Interspar which was pretty common. Restaurants were variable with, as most of us are used to, some having no idea and others being very aware and offering anything from the menu and being prepared to adapt it.

On the last leg I had more positive experiences at German motorway stop,  a mediocre but GF meal in a restaurant in St Johann in Austria but not very good ones in Belgium – an over priced salad was the best I managed at the latter. I also went optimistically to a Carrefour hoping to find the excellent croissants I had bought in France a couple of years ago but the only thing available were two types of bread, neither of which were great.

Great to be home to more supplies of Livwell pitta and home baking!

16 August

An on going theme has been lack of fresh fruit and vegetables which started to improve once we arrived in Khovd as much more is grown locally. We found a market selling the usual plus beetroot, cabbages, garlic and melons by the truckload. We were also able to buy bananas, grapes, satsumas, apples and what seems to be a type of plum but big and almost nectarine-like - a real treat. We could not though find a single tin of vegetables - something we like to have with us for when we don’t see a shop in several days - just a few glass jars of pickles which don’t travel that well on the local roads.

On the way to Khovd we stopped at a village called Darvi and I did a trawl of the high street shops - about eight of them. What you really notice when shopping for a number of specifics is how long it takes when you don’t know the system or the language and there isn’t a supermarket! We have been spoiled. What was interesting was that despite one of the shops being part of the Nomin chain and another with aspirations (see pic)- they were all exactly the same inside - same spacious layout with a large empty floor space in the middle, same goods (alcohol, fizzy drinks, sweet things, dried goods, a few cosmetics and clothes) all very neatly placed on the shelves. A lot of the soft drinks here are Sea Buckthorn or Aloe based - we have seen the former growing so assume both are locally available products. Only one shop had a freezer or fridge which we assume is because the electricity supply is so often interrupted - these just had bottles of drink in them. None had anything fresh at all or any tins other than ones containing huge amounts of fruit salad. It seems that as the Mongol diet is predominantly meat and dairy and most people have some sort of animals they are either self sufficient in these products or buy directly from each other.

We have not eaten out much since UB as it all feels rather difficult for me with wheat being a main ingredient in most meals and not having an explanation sheet in Mongolian - Coeliac UK don’t stretch to the more unusual languages - and we struggled to find people who spoke - or would admit to speaking - much Russian or English. We stayed at a hotel in Khovd though and ate in the restaurant twice as well as at another in the town. Each was quite good for me with chicken, rice, chips and cucumber twice and lamb with rice and cabbage. Not particularly exciting but tasty enough and also safe. Mike went for the beef options twice - a goulash and something else with pasta - unusually both times he was unable to finish the dish - meat too chewy and not enough taste. He went for the chicken option the third night. Lamb dishes are OK but tend to be more fat than meat.

7 August was a sad day for me as I had my last pitta bread for lunch. Thanks to Livwell for sending me a supply direct from the factory I have been able to spin it out for almost 4 months. The best by date was in early July and although it was past its best by the end it was still pretty good and I am really going to miss it. Since then I have been eating crackers for lunch although these are also running a bit low so have been cooking a bit extra in the evenings and having the balance for lunch the next day. This has been great when it is felafel but am not a fan of cold pasta or rice so am planning to make some flatbreads - Phil Vickery’s recipe is a good one. Have discovered making pancakes with fruit juice instead of milk - my favourite is apricot - lovely subtle flavour and great aroma! (see pic)

Since we have been in the west of the country we have been given gifts of food - two types of cheese with some onions picked from the mountains at one camp site, cheese from a truck driver and some fermented mare’s milk (airag) from an eleven year old herder.

Mike tucks into some Mongolian cheese - one type had a chalky type appearance but Mike said it tasted good. The other was also very hard but less dry and tasted rather sour.

Mike is given some Airag

15 July

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The last few days in Kaz and in Russia we discovered indoor markets which sold  fresh meat - great for pork and beef but not a chunk of lamb to be found anywhere!

Smoked and salted fish is a Russian speciality and especially a fish called Omul from Lake Baikal. I thought I would try this as a starter one evening - it comes with raw onion and lemon and it’s sold in vast quantities at the side of the road - but let’s just say Mike had to help me finish mine! I am sure if I had had it fresh I would have liked it - next time.

Sweet treats

Haven’t bought many so far but discovered lots of nut brittle in Russia. You can buy a multi pack with peanut, sunflower and sesame seed bars in it and even convince yourself it’s quite healthy! Have also found something like nut fudge but less sugary.

Was hoping to save my meringue stash for making our way across Mongolia but all the shaking about has been reducing them to powder so have now eaten them sprinkled on fruit - still a nice treat.

Lamb - my favourite!

Oh the joy of being back in a country where lamb is in abundance! Our first meal out in Mongolia was at the excellent hotel restaurant when we arrived. There were several lamb dishes available - unfortunately most included flour but I opted for fried lamb and onions with rice and salad - it was so delicious I could have eaten it several times over - the salad was also the best I have had for a long while. The Luxoil Hotel may not be in the most salubrious position but it does deliver in other ways!

Fried lamb and onions, Hawaii salad, Mike's lamb and dumpling broth and salad with mashed potato and rice

We also popped into a supermarket nearby to see what things were available and joy of joys a whole freezer full of lamb which will be a great enhancement to some of our Tab meals.

The Mongolian diet is not really great for Coeliacs, especially those with a lactose intolerance, as it is basically comprised of meat, dairy and wheat. Most savoury dishes are lamb (very fatty) cooked up with either pasta or dumplings. There are also a variety of very tasty looking and smelling pastries with lamb inside. Hot milk, which tastes as if it is watered down, is a common drink which we have been given a number of times. Neither of us are very keen but have tried to show willing!

Mike (with Radna left) gets two bowls of mutton and dumpings, I just about manage a bowl of warm milk whilst suffering the usual embarrassment of not being able to explain why I am not eating something which everyone else is enjoying

Fruit is very expensive as it is all imported, as are most vegetables other than the ubiquitous potatoes, carrots and onions, but we are able to find bananas, nectarines, apples and watermelon easily in the capital and a good selection of dried fruits including cherries, kiwi and peaches.

We have both had upset stomachs since arriving here, mine the result of too much dairy produce but Mike’s more acute and surprising as he very rarely suffers in this way. He actually threw up and then struggled to eat properly for several days. We are not sure whether he had a bug (unlikely as I didnt’t get it) or whether it was something he ate.

Carol with lovely Unur (Flo) after enjoying a meal at Spice Road

Of course here in UB you can get pretty much anything and we have had some great meals out (thanks to Unur for introducing us to the Spice Road restaurant which does excellent Mediterranean food where I have had some delicious fish - something I have really missed). We also found the Organic Club cafe & shop which sold quite a bit of Gluten Free stuff (Bob's Red Mill - American I think - not a make I have come across before and a few Nature's Path Cereals) - all horribly expensive of course and unfortunately mostly mixes for baking cakes and bread which I can't do in Tab.

25 June

When is Plov not Plov - or On the joys (not) of being a Coeliac

One of the things Coeliacs have to learn is that they can’t take their eye off the ball when it comes to eating. Gluten sneaks into all sorts of food just when you are not expecting it and can spoil a meal out as well as make you ill afterwards. This happened towards the end of our stay in Kazakhstan in Semey. I had read about Plov in the guidebook and thought it should be fine and had then eaten it out - and it was fine (see earlier note in Atyrau). So I of course then became over confident and went into a restaurant without my explanation sheet in Russian from Coeliac UK (most Kazakhs speak Russian as a second, if not first, language and it is used as an important means of communication). I just ordered the Plov and looked forward to my meal. When it arrived my only observation was that there wasn’t any carrot or onion in it but when I took my first mouthful I realised that there were thin stingy bits in it. At that point I called the waitress and showed her my sheet which she misunderstood and said yes the dish is fine - the bits are macaroni! I asked for some plain rice but was told they didn’t have any. As Mike was already half way through his pizza (grhhh) I decided to eat the meat and order some chips - a risky move as chips are often cooked in the same oil as other food in batter or containing wheat and they then become contaminated - enough to make some Coeliacs very ill. Fortunately I was OK afterwards. Interestingly the next evening when we ate somewhere else I asked what I could eat there and was told "Plov"! I asked if the waiter was sure there wasn’t macaroni in it and he looked at me as if I was crazy.

Another example is that Mike saw a tin of buckwheat kasha (porridge) in the shop and thought it would be nice to buy it for me. Unfortunately when I checked the contents list there was wheat flour in it.

On a more positive note:

Eating locally and seasonally has now become much more enjoyable with the arrival of courgettes and various fresh fruits - notably apricots, cherries & nectarines. They are all much smaller than we are used to but have bags more flavour - the nectarines are more the size of plums but quite delicious. So instead of having pitta bread for breakfast occasionally I have started making gluten free pancakes (I love them with made with coconut milk instead of dairy) which with a fresh fruit salad and a drizzle of smetana and cherry jam or honey are turning out to be a bit of a favourite!

Woman selling fruit at the market in Moshkovo

Eating out
We have eaten out a couple of times more recently in Russia. The first time was at our truckstop in Moshorova. We had soup to start (see pic below) - Mike’s was a broth with chicken omlette in it (bit bland) and mine was a clear soup with olives. Bacon, dill and a blob of smetana - delicious and rather simliar in flavour to the Borscht we’d had previously. Mike then had beef and vegetables in a creamy sauce and I played safe with fried fish called Keta (?) and vegetables - tastier than it looked.




The other day we ate at a roadside caf - Mike ordered Chicken Ostraya and I went for Chicken Hrystyashaya - we didn’t really know what was in them but when they arrived they were both exactly the same! The waitress had written down two different things but I think they decided in the kitchen that we wouldn’t know the difference and it was easier to produce just the one dish. It was chicken with red and yellow peppers, cooked cucumber and walnuts - really tasty despite the fact that I’m not fond of peppers and they really don’t like me (I picked most of them out but the rest was great).
Like all the meals we’ve had so far these were tasty and excellent value - and a welcome break from cooking in the Tab.

Our first night in Ulan Ude we ate in a typical Russian restaurant. When I showed the waitress my sheet she immediately went to see the chef and then told me I could have a tomato & cucumber salad followed by fried salmon with rice and vegetables (sweetcorn). I always feel a bit disappointed when I have no choice but this is pretty much the norm at home unless I am eating somewhere with a special Gluten Free menu. The meal was tasty but I did have an upset tum the next morning. Mike had sliced tomatoes with horseradish and garlic on them followed by pork in a mushroom sauce which went down well! He also had ice cream with nuts and chocolate - ice cream is another thing Coeliacs have to be careful with as many have wheat in them. I treated myself to a delicious strawberry ice cream coated in kiwi sorbet and paid the price.

Here in Ulan Ude the Mongolian influence is strong and one night we went to eat in a Mongolian restaurant which serves Mongolian classics with an modern twist. The dishes all looked delicious but most had noodles or dumplings in them. Many were spicy. There were several salads available and I had one of lettuce, radish, tomato and cucumber with pear in a pear and honey sauce - lovely. I then had fried chicken which was gently spiced with something delicious I couldn’t identify which came with rive, chips and salad. Mike had a lamb broth with meat and vegetable dumplings followed by a dish called "Gengis Khan" - a spicy beef and vegetable dish with rice.






12 June

What are we eating in the Tab - to end of May 

We both have fruit & cereal - my granola & cornflakes are still holding out - and Mike has now started buying local flakes - we haven’t found any muesli or granola. Most cereals seem to have chocolate on or in them but I did find some cornflakes which I think are gluten free. Occasionally to spin my cereal out I have been having some pitta bread instead - a good start to the day is one filled with almond butter, honey & banana!

At lunchtime Mike has gotten into the habit of a salami, cucumber & mayonnaise open sandwich followed by a cake of some sort (two if he can get away with it) whilst I have been having a pitta bread - started the second half of my supply at the end of May - with either jam - a very good blueberry - soya slices which I brought from home, eggs or cheese triangles with cucumber and crisps (if you haven’t tried crisps in sandwiches they are highly recommended by both of us), marmite or salami. Sweet treats for me have been ‘Free From’ Jammy Wheels, a pack of iced cherry bakewells, bits of halva (Mike found some in a shop for me - tasted like it might have wheat in it but seems to have gone down OK), and when I found some frozen raspberries I had them with meringues from my stash and smetana on top. (Mike points out how good he has been by not yet raiding my stash!).

Our evening meals in the TAB tend to be something which can be quickly cooked in just one pan where ever possible. Our mainstays are:
- pasta with pesto (I bought 6 jars with us which each last several meals) plus tuna/salmon & salad. Tuna is available in the bigger supermarkets here but in the smaller shops tinned fish is mainly mackerel or herring. (So far the tinned meat we have tried has been disgusting - we have not yet tried the one with a nice picture of a horse on the front),
- a type of Nicoise salad based on tuna, potato & mayo, plus whatever else is available
- chicken stewed with veg & rice, flavoured with mixed herbs & stock (when we can buy frozen ones - we have never see it fresh)
- bean & sweetcorn salad with tuna/mackerel
- plov (see earlier post)
- stir fry (Mike’s dish of choice when he is cooking)
- fried veg (including potato & garlic) with eggs stirred into it
- risotto - usually mushroom

Any suggestions welcome!

I also have snacks mid morning, afternoon and before bed to keep my blood sugar as level as possible. These are usually dried fruit, nuts, oatcakes or fruit. My favourite last thing at night are crackers with almond butter & honey. My own honey ran out the other week so I bought some from a bee keeper who was selling his various honeys at the side of the road - one very dark one was produced from bees foraging on buckwheat - it tasted rather strong and the man said it was for putting in tea rather than on bread. Having tasted four different types I came away with the smoothest and thickest one - I couldn’t establish what the bees had foraged on for this one but it tastes quite familiar and I imagine it was a broad based one. The other two were very granular.
We both have fruit & cereal - my granola & cornflakes are still holding out - and Mike has now started buying local flakes - we haven’t found any muesli or granola. Most cereals seem to have chocolate on or in them but I did find some cornflakes which I think are gluten free. Occasionally to spin my cereal out I have been having some pitta bread instead - a good start to the day is one filled with almond butter, honey & banana!

At lunchtime Mike has gotten into the habit of a salami, cucumber & mayonnaise open sandwich followed by a cake of some sort (two if he can get away with it) whilst I have been having a pitta bread - started the second half of my supply at the end of May - with either jam - a very good blueberry - soya slices which I brought from home, eggs or cheese triangles with cucumber and crisps (if you haven’t tried crisps in sandwiches they are highly recommended by both of us), marmite or salami. Sweet treats for me have been ‘Free From’ Jammy Wheels, a pack of iced cherry bakewells, bits of halva (Mike found some in a shop for me - tasted like it might have wheat in it but seems to have gone down OK), and when I found some frozen raspberries I had them with meringues from my stash and smetana on top. (Mike points out how good he has been by not yet raiding my stash!).

Our evening meals in the TAB tend to be something which can be quickly cooked in just one pan where ever possible. Our mainstays are:
- pasta with pesto (I bought 6 jars with us which each last several meals) plus tuna/salmon & salad. Tuna is available in the bigger supermarkets here but in the smaller shops tinned fish is mainly mackerel or herring. (So far the tinned meat we have tried has been disgusting - we have not yet tried the one with a nice picture of a horse on the front),
- a type of Nicoise salad based on tuna, potato & mayo, plus whatever else is available
- chicken stewed with veg & rice, flavoured with mixed herbs & stock (when we can buy frozen ones - we have never see it fresh)
- bean & sweetcorn salad with tuna/mackerel
- plov (see earlier post)
- stir fry (Mike’s dish of choice when he is cooking)
- fried veg (including potato & garlic) with eggs stirred into it
- risotto - usually mushroom

Any suggestions welcome!

I also have snacks mid morning, afternoon and before bed to keep my blood sugar as level as possible. These are usually dried fruit, nuts, oatcakes or fruit. My favourite last thing at night are crackers with almond butter & honey. My own honey ran out the other week so I bought some from a bee keeper who was selling his various honeys at the side of the road - one very dark one was produced from bees foraging on buckwheat - it tasted rather strong and the man said it was for putting in tea rather than on bread. Having tasted four different types I came away with the smoothest and thickest one - I couldn’t establish what the bees had foraged on for this one but it tastes quite familiar and I imagine it was a broad based one. The other two were very granular. (See pics below).

As we are mainly away from big towns we are buying most of our food in small village shops which we really enjoy but it does limit what we can buy. Fresh veg is potatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots, carrots and more carrots. Even in the supermarkets there is not much more but at least we have found frozen green beans occasionally and rely a lot on tins of sweetcorn, beans & peas. We are also having difficulty finding fresh meat - even in the supermarkets there is very little. We have seen no fresh meat in villages but that is maybe because we do not yet know what to look for - for example some shops seem to be just private houses and do not even have a shop sign on them. We have only known about them because helpful villagers have taken us to them.

No one has suggested putting jam in our tea yet but Mike has been buying bottles of iced tea which are very widely available and these come with various fruit flavours, favourites being peach & apple.

Health - to the end of May
We have done quite well so far, just a couple of minor stomach upsets on my part (cause unknown) and a lots of bites for Mike on his arms which flared up and needed antihistamines. I also started getting cramp in my feet at night so have upped my salt intake - hence the crisp sandwiches (wouldn't touch them otherwise of course!) and this seems to have sorted that out. The only other thing of note is that with humidity levels only about 35% most of the time and a lot of dust occasionally, my dry eyes are drier and require twice as much gel as usual. My nose has also been drying out, splitting and scabbing which is a bit uncomfortable but now seems to be controlled by the topical application of my eye gel! Mike continues in rude health and manages to consume endless amounts of rubbish which would hospitalise a coeliac.


As we are mainly away from big towns we are buying most of our food in small village shops which we really enjoy but it does limit what we can buy. Fresh veg is potatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots, carrots and more carrots. Even in the supermarkets there is not much more but at least we have found frozen green beans occasionally and rely a lot on tins of sweetcorn, beans & peas. We are also having difficulty finding fresh meat - even in the supermarkets there is very little. We have seen no fresh meat in villages but that is maybe because we do not yet know what to look for - for example some shops seem to be just private houses and do not even have a shop sign on them. We have only known about them because helpful villagers have taken us to them.


No one has suggested putting jam in our tea yet (but thanks for the idea Paul) although Mike has been buying bottles of iced tea which are very widely available and these come with various fruit flavours, favourites being peach & apple.

Many bee-keepers manage their bees and sell their honey from the side of the road

Yummy! This jar of over a kilo of honey cost about £7.50

Health - to the end of May
We have done quite well so far, just a couple of minor stomach upsets on my part (cause unknown) and a lots of bites for Mike on his arms which flared up and needed antihistamines. I also started getting cramp in my feet at night so have upped my salt intake - hence the crisp sandwiches (wouldn't touch them otherwise of course!) and this seems to have sorted that out. The only other thing of note is that with humidity levels only about 35% most of the time and a lot of dust occasionally, my dry eyes are drier and require twice as much gel as usual. My nose has also been drying out, splitting and scabbing which is a bit uncomfortable but now seems to be controlled by the topical application of my eye gel! Mike continues in rude health and manages to consume endless amounts of all the sorts of things which would hospitalise a coeliac!

22 May - Naurzum

Having arrived at Nauzum Nature Reserve we were fortunate enough to experience much read about Kazakhstani hospitality at first hand when the warden, whose garden we were staying in, & his wife invited us for tea. It seems Kazakhs generally drink milky tea whilst Russians are more inclined to take it black. As you will see from the photo we were also offered some great food. Unfortunately for me there was wheat flour in the fried doughy things and the little fudge like things which Mike said tasted more like halva. Although I don’t generally have much dairy produce I risk it occasionally and decided this was the time to do it - there was some very thick smetana (soured cream) which tasted particularly delicious. Also some crumbly bits which were also made from milk but tasted very salty - I think these are called Kurt and are little balls of dried curd. There was some blackberry jam which I made the most of and was very good with the smetana. Everything was home made and the milk hand milked from their own cows.







18 May - on the way to Kostanay (posted 27 May)

My favourite bread comes up a treat even on the embers of our Kelly Kettle (note handy toaster)

 

18 May - western Kazakhstan

We ate out a couple of times in Atyrau as we were staying in a hotel. Both times we had a very pleasant surprise. The first with Shashlik - skewered lumps of meat (beef for Mike, chicken for Carol) spiced & cooked over hot coals, served with raw onion & carrot salad plus mayonnaise or ketchup (apparently a Caucasian speciality) - really tasty - although the Russian salad (raw salty fish, boiled potato & gerkin) was not so much to my liking. The second night we went to an Uzbek restaurant where we were encouraged to have what they called their national dish - although it seems to be popular throughout the region - плов (Plov).  This was a rice based dish served with lumps of meat (lamb we think!) plus caramelised sticks of carrot & onion and sultanas. Not sure what the spice was but it reminded me of something Moroccan and I found it REALLY delicious - and no repercussions so will be looking out for that again. The next day we found some chunks of meat in the supermarket and decided to have them for dinner in a korma sauce I brought with me - not such a good move as we think it was beef this time and it was so tough as to be virtually inedible! Probably needed much longer cooking than we can give it.

Carol tucks into a pate of Plov

Made a veggie version the other day with nuts instead of meat - also pretty good. Mike enjoyed his with lashings of smetana!


10 May - Eastern Ukraine & Russia
If you like pork in all its various guises you’ll love it here! The array of salamis & sausages is amazing (but not great for a Coeliac as you can never be sure what else is in them). We bought some minced meat which was mixed pork & beef and was much nicer than it looked or smelled! Vegetables of the moment are carrots, potatoes & cabbage and there are some huge apples around which seem to have been grown locally and taste more like cookers that have matured well rather than eaters.

There are a lot of shops called Продукты (Produce/products?) - these seem to be slightly bigger than the standard shops and have several counters around the edges, each selling different things - all food stuffs as far as we have seen, usually dried fish, pork products, a few bits of fruit & veg, sweets & dairy produce. It is a bit like going to a small inside market as the person behind each counter has to be paid separately.
We have not been able to find natural yoghurt which we use a lot with our meals - probably because the people here use smetana - sour cream - of which there is plenty.

There is an abundance of cherry and peach juices & jams - great as they are my favourites.

Ate the last slice of my sultana & cherry cake from home In Ukraine - it was getting a bit dry by the end but still good - now I have a few pre-packed things in reserve but mostly am just watching Mike as he munches his way through various wheat-filled local delicacies! Buckwheat is used in Russia and Mike inadvertently had some for his breakfast one day in the form of porridge (“kasha” - which can be made from a whole range of grains, including semolina so I need to be careful) which was actually quite tasty so will have it myself sometime.


April 30th - Ukraine
The in some ways rather too frequent Tescos & Lidls of Czech & Slovakia are now non existent and local & national Ukrainain? ones have taken over. These vary considerably from the small "Магазин" (pronounced magazeen from the french) which stock a few basics such as drinks, milk, cold meats, sweets & biscuits - to the larger ones which are pretty much like any you would find in the UK but with even more difficult to read labels. There is certainly plenty of fresh fruit & veg plus chicken, pork & fish (not much in the way of red meat that we have found) so we are buying as we need and cooking for ourselves (mainly) in the evenings.
We really hit lucky with our truckstop on the 28^th which had a great restaurant. As it was Mike’s 65^th we thought we would treat ourselves. The place was immaculate and we had a very enthusiastic young waitress who couldn’t have been more helpful. I showed her my Russian Coeliac UK translation which she took into the chef and came out to tell me the Borsch would be fine and that they would do me some chicken & rice. When the waitress couldn’t find the word "grip" in my phrasebook (sorry Marina I had not remembered it!) She actually went to the kitchen and brought out a mushroom for me to see!
Not being a beetroot fan I was surprised just how delicious the Borsch was. The rice came full of veg and was very tasty and the chicken was stuffed with mushrooms & cheese - delicious - we couldn’t fault it. (Think this was an unbreaded version of the dish Mike had in Slovakia). I even got my cup of camomile to finish with. (We would have had desserts but were too full). In the morning we went to the café for coffee and were wowed by the standard & what was available - more German that UK!

Carol very happy with her GF chicken & rice

Mike enjoying his first Borsch (with bread - unlike some!)

21 April
Went shopping this morning on the outskirts of Prague and thought I'd check out possible special GF products! Tried Albert supermarket first - the woman I asked had no idea what I was talking about and as the CUK Czech guide has pictures of peppers on it (??) she seemed to think that is what I wanted (also happened yesterday). As there was a Tesco down the road we popped in there - same response! They did though have a speciality food area which although mainly for diabetics did have a variety of rice cakes, corn cakes and some sort of soya biscuits which I'm afraid didnt look very appetising. I found soya milk but sadly no Alpro yoghurts. There are a number of Tesco stores around and also Lidl - the latter felt just like being in one in the UK.



20 April
Eaten out twice so far. The first at a German service station - wonderful selection of salads, cold meats etc - all fantastically fresh - and desserts chich looked like they should have been in a smart restaurant. I didn't ask about the hot meals (which alos looked great and am sure there would have been something GF) as the antipasta looked so great and we just wanted a snack - it was great - and no repercussions. Today we had lunch in Prague. I really wanted to try some Czech food but by all accounts they use a lot of wheat and in the end I took the easy option and went to an Italian (there are lots in the city) and had a delicious seafood risotto. I went armed with my Coeliac UK Czech text but the waitors (Itailian) seemed to prefer to read the English!

13 April
My pitta bread arrived Wednesday morning ready for the big pack - a relief - best before date is 2 July so that should cover me for half the trip. I have also filled a 22L box with crackers or various sorts! I have made a couple of batches of granola - a great start to the day (for as long as it lasts) and really easy for anyone wanting to give it a try. Just add about 300g flakes of your choice with loads of seeds, nuts etc to a mix of about 100ml syrup - I use Agave or Maple - plus a couple of tablespoons of honey and a couple of oil. Mix all together and bake in oven at about 150C - I give it 15 mins, stir around then a few more lots of 5 mins to make sure evenly brown all over. Add some dried fruit at the end.

This one is buckwheat & millet flakes with seeds, flakes almonds, maple syrup, coconut flakes & dried papaya.

And this (looks very similar I know) is GF oats, seeds & almonds with Agave syrup, more coconut flakes & dried apricots. I eat mine with added fresh fruit & a soya yoghurt or fruit juice (preferably lychee or guava!).
Baking (along with a bit of dancing to R2) seems to be good at keeping the anxiety levels down - am feeling a cake baking session coming on!

25 March
General
For me travel has always been a great adventure and a very important part of my life. I particularly love to be in countries where the culture is different to our own and I feel privileged to have been able to live and work with local people in the Middle East, India & Sri Lanka for short periods over the years. I also prefer to travel on public transport where possible but unfortunately this has become increasingly difficult over the years because most of the destinations we like to travel to have no concept of gluten free food and tend to use a lot of other things which affect me, such as citrus, dairy and tomatoes, in their dishes. As a result I have spent many a trip gradually becoming unwell and then taking weeks, even months sometimes, to recover afterwards. 

Having decided that for future travel I would have to be able to self cater for the most part we have done a lot of camping, spent a few years motorhoming and now have a small caravan for our trip to Mongolia.  This along with finally getting my diet under control - giving up such a lot has been a toughy for a foody like me but has really paid off - has meant that I could finally start to think about planning a trip like this after years of feeling genearlly too unwell to contemplate it.

As we go along I plan to write about food and health generally but specifically what is available for me to eat both in shops and restaurants. I hope you will find this interesting - and for fellow Coeliacs inspiring & informative.  Coeliac UK is one of the charities we have chosen to support through our trip so please check them out through our charities page if you haven't already.

Planning
This has been particularly important as I have had to think about what I really need foodwise and what we can fit in the vehicles - fortunately we have quite a bit of space. Afraid I don’t have the courage to set off with no food supplies and try to manage (past experence and the inability to live on plain rice, meat & veg for a prolonged period!). I have always loved food and especially have a sweet tooth - although I’m using this trip to try and curb it as Coeliacs are prone to diabetes (amongst other things) and my blood sugar was higher than it normally is before we left.

So in terms of gluten free supplies the key things for me are some bread, pasta, cereal & oats, flour & crackers. My favourite bread for travelling is pitta bread as it packs & lasts well (unless it gets in the sun and condensation forms on the inside of the packet causing it to go mouldy) and doesn’t easily break up. I normally get Livwell on prescription and when it arrives it usually has about a month left on it before "Best Before". I contacted Livwell to ask them how long the bread usually lasts from time of production and was told 84 days. So I have now arranged for some to be sent to me directly which means I will have a supply of bread for at least half of the trip as well as a a few packs of each of the items mentioned above.  I have also included a variety of sweet biscuits for those moments when nothing else will do! (But much less than I had originally planned!).

Our toaster!

Coeliac UK provide information on their site for travellers with specific details for 38 countries - including retail outlets & hotels/restaurants providing GF food, GF brands and where applicable a translation into the local language of some key phrases to use when eating & buying food. Although the key countries of Kazakhstan & Mongolia are not included Russian is widely understood in both and so I will take paper copies of this to show people when needed. You can also download this info as an app (I believe!).

One of the things Coeliacs have to learn is that they can’t take their eye off the ball when it comes to eating. Gluten sneaks into all sorts of food just when you are not expecting it and can spoil a meal out as well as make you ill afterwards. This happened towards the end of our stay in Kazakhstan in Semey. I had read about Plov in the guidebook and thought it should be fine and had then eaten it out - and it was fine (see earlier note in Atyrau). So I of course then became over confident and went into a restaurant without my explanation sheet in Russian from Coeliac UK (most Kazakhs speak Russian as a second, if not first, language and it is used as an important means of communication). I just ordered the Plov and looked forward to my meal. When it arrived my only observation was that there wasn’t any carrot or onion in it but when I took my first mouthful I realised that there were thin stingy bits in it. At that point I called the waitress and showed her my sheet which she misunderstood and said yes the dish is fine - the bits are macaroni! I asked for some plain rice but was told they didn’t have any. As Mike was already half way through his pizza (grhhh) I decided to eat the meat and order some chips - a risky move as chips are often cooked in the same oil as other food in batter or containing wheat and they then become contaminated - enough to make some Coeliacs very ill. Fortunately I was OK afterwards. Interestingly the next evening when we ate somewhere else I asked what I could eat there and was told "Plov"! I asked if the waiter was sure there wasn’t macaroni in it and he looked at me as if I was crazy.

Another example is that Mike saw a tin of buckwheat kasha (porridge) in the shop and thought it would be nice to buy it for me. Unfortunately when I checked the contents list there was wheat flour in it.

On a more positive note:

Eating locally and seasonally has now become much more enjoyable with the arrival of courgettes and various fresh fruits - notably apricots, cherries & nectarines. They are all much smaller than we are used to but have bags more flavour - the nectarines are more the size of plums but quite delicious. So instead of having pitta bread for breakfast occasionally I have started making gluten free pancakes (I love them with made with coconut milk instead of dairy) which with a fresh fruit salad and a drizzle of smetana and cherry jam or honey are turning out to be a bit of a favourite!

Woman selling fruit at the market in Moshkovo

Eating out
We have eaten out a couple of times more recently in Russia. The first time was at our truckstop in Moshorova. We had soup to start (see pic below) - Mike’s was a broth with chicken omlette in it (bit bland) and mine was a clear soup with olives. Bacon, dill and a blob of smetana - delicious and rather simliar in flavour to the Borscht we’d had previously. Mike then had beef and vegetables in a creamy sauce and I played safe with fried fish called Keta (?) and vegetables - tastier than it looked.




The other day we ate at a roadside caf - Mike ordered Chicken Ostraya and I went for Chicken Hrystyashaya - we didn’t really know what was in them but when they arrived they were both exactly the same! The waitress had written down two different things but I think they decided in the kitchen that we wouldn’t know the difference and it was easier to produce just the one dish. It was chicken with red and yellow peppers, cooked cucumber and walnuts - really tasty despite the fact that I’m not fond of peppers and they really don’t like me (I picked most of them out but the rest was great).
Like all the meals we’ve had so far these were tasty and excellent value - and a welcome break from cooking in the Tab.

Our first night in Ulan Ude we ate in a typical Russian restaurant. When I showed the waitress my sheet she immediately went to see the chef and then told me I could have a tomato & cucumber salad followed by fried salmon with rice and vegetables (sweetcorn). I always feel a bit disappointed when I have no choice but this is pretty much the norm at home unless I am eating somewhere with a special Gluten Free menu. The meal was tasty but I did have an upset tum the next morning. Mike had sliced tomatoes with horseradish and garlic on them followed by pork in a mushroom sauce which went down well! He also had ice cream with nuts and chocolate - ice cream is another thing Coeliacs have to be careful with as many have wheat in them.

Here in Ulan Ude the Mongolian influence is strong and one night we went to eat in a Mongolian restaurant which serves Mongolian classics with an modern twist. The dishes all looked delicious but most had noodles or dumplings in them. Many were spicy. There were several salads available and I had one of lettuce, radish, tomato and cucumber with pear in a pear and honey sauce - lovely. I then had fried chicken which was gently spiced with something delicious I couldn’t identify which came with rive, chips and salad. Mike had a lamb broth with meat and vegetable dumplings followed by a dish called "Gengis Khan" - a spicy beef and vegetable dish with rice.
Another example is that Mike saw a tin of buckwheat kasha (porridge) in the shop and thought it would be nice to buy it for me. Unfortunately when I checked the contents list there was wheat flour in it.

 On a more positive note -eating locally and seasonally has now become much more enjoyable with the arrival of courgettes and various fresh fruits - notably apricots, cherries & nectarines. They are all much smaller than we are used to but have bags more flavour - the nectarines are more the size of plums but quite delicious. So instead of having pitta bread for breakfast occasionally I have started making gluten free pancakes (I love them with made with coconut milk instead of dairy) which with a fresh fruit salad and a drizzle of smetana and cherry jam or honey are turning out to be a bit of a favourite!

Woman selling fruit & veg at a market in Moshkovo

Eating out

We have eaten out a couple of times more recently in Russia. The first time was at our truckstop in Moshorova. We had soup to start (see pic) - Mike’s was a broth with chicken omlette in it (bit bland) and mine was a clear soup with olives. Bacon, dill and a blob of smetana - delicious and rather simliar in flavour to the Borscht we’d had previously. Mike then had beef and vegetables in a creamy sauce and I played safe with fried fish called Keta (?) and vegetables - tastier than it looked.



The other day we ate at a roadside caf - Mike ordered Chicken Ostraya and I went for Chicken Hrystyashaya - we didn’t really know what was in them but when they arrived they were both exactly the same! The waitress had written down two different things but I think they decided in the kitchen that we wouldn’t know the difference and it was easier to produce just the one dish. It was chicken with red and yellow peppers, cooked cucumber and walnuts - really tasty despite the fact that I’m not fond of peppers and they really don’t like me (I picked most of them out but the rest was great).

Like all the meals we’ve had so far these were tasty and excellent value - and a welcome break from cooking in the Tab.

Our first night in Ulan Ude we ate in a typical Russian restaurant. When I showed the waitress my sheet she immediately went to see the chef and then told me I could have a tomato & cucumber salad followed by fried salmon with rice and vegetables (sweetcorn). I always feel a bit disappointed when I have no choice but this is pretty much the norm at home unless I am eating somewhere with a special Gluten Free menu. The meal was tasty but I did have an upset tum the next morning. Mike had sliced tomatoes with horseradish and garlic on them followed by pork in a mushroom sauce which went down well! He also had ice cream with nuts and chocolate - ice cream is another thing Coeliacs have to be careful with as many have wheat in them.

Here in Ulan Ude the Mongolian influence is strong and one night we went to eat in a Mongolian restaurant which serves Mongolian classics with an modern twist. The dishes all looked delicious but most had noodles or dumplings in them. Many were spicy. There were several salads available and I had one of lettuce, radish, tomato and cucumber with pear in a pear and honey sauce - lovely. I then had fried chicken which was gently spiced with something delicious I couldn’t identify which came with rive, chips and salad. Mike had a lamb broth with meat and vegetable dumplings followed by a dish called "Gengis Khan" - a spicy beef and vegetable dish with rice.