Food in Israel: The experiences, the things I learned, and the pics!

The experiences:

 

-There was a gluten free menu at one of the restaurants I visited -yay!

 

-One of the restaurants told me that they had a gluten free option…turns out it was a plate of rice and potatoes.  Yum.  (Ew.)

 

-A chef at a restaurant tried to convince me that couscous was GF.  I think he was a little offended when I refused to eat it….

 

The things I learned:

 

-I learned that in Israel, ordering a small decaf coffee means, “Please give me coffee with milk.” Let’s just say that when I re-ordered I had to be very clear that all I wanted was coffee…without milk.  I think they thought I was an alien. 

 

-The gluten free products in Israel are absolutely incredible!  The bread is the fluffiest GF bread I’ve ever had in my life.  Greenlight is the main brand there; their bread products and baked goods are fantastic!

 

-Dairy alternatives are just not a thing in Israel.  There was soymilk in ONE of the 5 hotels that I stayed out throughout the trip, and it was nowhere else to be found-not in coffee shops, not in restaurants, etc.  Someone has got to get on that….

 

The pics:

 

Breakfast in Israel is incredible.  I love eating vegetables for breakfast, which is just not normal here!  In Israel, I could eat salad in the morning to my heart’s content!  Every hotel had a huge buffet with so many options! A typical breakfast for me was a plate of eggs, fish (sometimes), a few types of salads, and some fruit. 

 

Lunch and dinner for me, considering that I don’t eat dairy or red meat, were pretty much always chicken and veggies.  This lunch was from a food court!  I had grilled chicken, salad, pickled carrots, and pickles.  The chef cleaned the grill for me when I told him I needed a GF meal.  Where in America can you find a healthy GF meal at a food court?!

The food in Israel was absolutely incredible!  It was a huge part of my trip. Although I did miss out on some things because of gluten and dairy, I have a list of things that I am going to try to make GF and DF at home! Stay tuned for that post! 

Good Airplane Food? That’s a first!

Okay, let’s get over the paradox and focus on what was so great about the meals I was served on the airplane. 
First of all, I didn’t even know that a gluten free meal was an option on the plane. Last time I flew to Israel, my method was simply eating around everything that had gluten, asking lots and lots of questions, and in return, of course, receiving some pretty sassy comments from the flight attendant.  My personal favorite was, “We can’t guarantee that this is gluten free, but you should be fine!”
But this time around, I guess I filled out some form somewhere and checked a box that said I was GF. A flight attendant woke me up from my nap saying, “Moriah? Seat 52G? You ordered a gluten free meal?” The half-asleep me took the meal and muttered out a “thank you.” I woke up and took a look at what was in front of me:

 

My full name, seat number, and the words “gluten free meal” were a label on the tray. (Bonus: this meal was kosher meat meal, so I didn’t have to worry about dairy! Yay!)

I opened up the hot entree and was pleasantly surprised to find chicken, roasted veggies, and roasted potato. It was delicious!  Also in the meal was a rice cake with hummus, a small salad, and some fruit salad.
For the first time ever, my airplane meal was actually edible-and delicious! I was so impressed with the way that El Al handled gluten free food.

After the meal, they came around with coffee. I automatically said, “no thanks” because coffee without milk is simply yucky (in my humble opinion) and coffee creamer, as fake and artificial as it is, usually contains dairy.
But then I had a light bulb moment!  The coffee creamer had to be dairy free (because of the meat we had been served)! I enjoyed my coffee; (a decision that I regretted, considering that I had originally intended to sleep on this 14 hour flight….)  I just couldn’t resist the parve creamer temptation.
I am so grateful for the way that El Al airline handled my food!

For breakfast on the flight, I was served an egg atop a bed of spinach, squash, mushrooms, and carrots, fruit salad, orange juice, and a rice cake with earth balance (vegan butter) and jelly. (I was also served strawberry yogurt, which I gave to my friend.)
Happy tummy from airplane food?!  This is definitely a first!
I am so impressed with the way that the airline handled everything regarding GF food: the options, the labeling, and the food.  Not having to worry about getting glutened on a plane was a huge relief! 

DF/GF Traveling

Dear Flight Attendant,

No thanks on the pretzels.

Oh, and hold the bread with that meal.

Wait, does the sauce on the chicken contain flour?

Lots of love and sorry for being “that annoying person on the plane”,

Moriah and the rest of the GF people on the flight

Traveling GF can be a little bit stressful; you never know what restaurants will be in the airport, you never know what they’ll serve on the plane, and you never know who, in a foreign country, will understand you when you tell them what you can’t eat.

This is my first time traveling to a foreign country being both gluten and dairy free, so here’s what I’m bringing with me:

Packed lunch:  I hate dealing with airport food.  I don’t like eating in a rush, I don’t like the limited options, and I don’t like “settling” for my best option-which may just be lettuce on a plate with some vinegar.  Since I don’t know what to expect, I’m definitely bringing a lunch to eat on the plane.

Bars:  For that awkward moment when my tummy rumbles and they hand out pretzels 😦

Agave: To keep in my purse for coffee.  These little packets are perfect for on the go!  Nothing to do with being GF or DF, but this way, I can avoid those tempting bright-colored little packets of aspartame and refined sugar at the coffee shop.

Almond Butter:  Well…just because you can never go wrong with nut butter!

I’m leaving on a two-week trip in just about 24 hours and haven’t started packing, so I’m going to stop blogging and get to it.
Stay tuned for a post about what worked and what didn’t (if anything) regarding food on the trip!

I can’t wait to return to Israel and indulge in my favorite food in the world!  It’s about to be an amazing two weeks!

(I’m looking forward to not being judged for eating salad for breakfast!)

last friday night, yeah we danced on tabletops….

Haha, totally kidding.  I spent Friday night in my kitchen.  Baking.

It was a LOOONNNNNG week, and after school, I ran to the gym, and then came home to bake.  Baking is like retail therapy; I always feel so much better after I’ve created something delicious.
Okay, I really shouldn’t actually be calling it baking because everything that I made last night was completely raw.  Two fabulous concoctions were created in my kitchen on Friday, and both were 100% paleo, vegan, raw, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, soy free, peanut free, and refined sugar free.  Woahhh.

I actually only intended to make one delicious creation last night, but it turned into two.  More on that later.

If you’ve read this blog before, you know that I’m completely obsessed with Hail Merry’s Miracle Tarts.  Obsessed is an understatement.  I’m addicted.  Last night, I figured I would try to make my own.  (Okay, I’m gonna be honest…I tried this a few weeks ago and it was a TOTAL FAIL.)  I don’t even know what went wrong, but I decided to try again.

Success!  Still not the same as Hail Merry’s, (I don’t think anything can match up) but they’re pretty good for starters!

I used mini muffin pans so that I could make bite-sized tarts…but my portion control plan was utterly unsuccessful. I ate like 7 of them.  And licked the spoon.  Oops.  Somehow I’ m not guilty at all.

I can’t take credit for this amazing recipe; I found it here.  http://www.buddinglotusbody.com/nourish/mini-gluten-free-chocolate-tartes/

I used the chocolate mint recipe and omitted the mint extract.  (Although I’m sure it would be fabulous with it.)

The only ingredients in these tarts are: almonds, cocoa powder, agave, coconut oil, coconut milk, and a pinch of salt!
How perfect is that?!

The tarts turned out fabulously delicious:

I’m definitely making these again!

So…here’s where the second dessert comes in.  I had too much of the filling, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not fit it into the tarts.  Although eating it with a spoon was a totally valid option, I opted for a different plan.  I made salted caramel brownie bites!

The top layer is equal parts dates and raw macadamia nuts (with a pinch of salt) and the middle is the tart filling! Simply throw the macadamias and dates into the food processor, spread out thin on plastic wrap, freeze until firm, cut into squares, spread some chocolate tart mixture on, and viola! You will not be disappointed.

Try these recipes out…everyone deserves a treat.

I hope your Friday night was as fun as mine…..