<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Hi everybody!
Here is my summary concerning Israel and Dead Sea:
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Don't worry because they have lots of wonderful rice everywhere you go in
Israel. Eats lots of grilled meats and the freshest vegetables and fruit
on the planet. You will love the hummous, eggplant salad and lots of
delicious eggs. I suggest you bring lots of rice crackers with you and a
loaf of your own bread, just in case. Schar's crackers from Glutano are
good, but very expensive, but this is a vacation for you. They love bread
in Israel, but they have only gluten bread except in major cities. Arad
is a very interesting place. It has one of the first ever built water
desalinization plants in the world. This is how they are able to bring
fresh drinking water into the dessert. The place you will be staying is
very relaxing and healthy. Try to get to the healing waters of Ein Gedi,
and see if your trip allows you to bath in the Dead Sea. Try to bring
back a rock of dead sea salt so you can use it at home. I have used it
for DH, and it works! The people are lovely, and the country is
wonderful. Have a safe and meaningful trip.
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I just was in Israel (jerusalem and the dead sea) for two weeks. I don't eat
bread and it was during passover;) so bread wasn't an issue for me. We were
at one of the large resorts and gluten free was really easy. My father in
law is fluent in hebrew so he went to talk with the chef with me.
When we were ther two years ago, it wasn't during passover and there was
still an abundance of gf goodies....just the normal buffet food, but plenty
to eat. In Jerusalem, we didn't go to restaurants b/c of recent events so
ate mostly at my inlaws home...except for one meal at the restaurant and the
larome hotel.
I brought some gf cookies from home for my daughter. If I relied heavily on
gf packaged/processed foods, I think I definitely would have had to bring
them from home.
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There is a small town a few miles south of Beer-Sheva, named "Omer" that has
an American-style supermarket in its center. You can find rice cakes and
food with clearly marked labels in English--this will enable you to check
for gluten in foods.
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Yes, there is a lot of GF food you can buy in the supermarket, but almost
no special brands that purport specially to be GF. Those you have to buy
in a health store. Inquire if there is a health store in Ein Bokek. If so, you
may be able to find crackers, bread, pretzels, etc. that is GF.
Each supermarket, also, is different. Try each chain. Especially if there
is a Mega or Super Center or Hyperneto.
In Israel, if an item contains gluten, it MUST by law state that it includes
gluten. The ingredient list is at least 1/3 of the time in English or other
languages. If it is only in Hebrew, people in the supermarket will all help
you translate the items you desire from Hebrew to English. All store
personnel will help, but also passersby in the store usually all love to help.
There is a puffed rice cereal in the "health" section of the supermarket
that is GF. In the regular cereal section, there is a Corn Pops cereal
(Name is Top Miel) that is GF and also some chocolate cereals that
are GF.
If you are staying in a hotel, you can eat a lot of what is served in
the lunch and dinner buffets, meats, veggies, salads, beverages, etc..
For the breakfast buffet, you can have the eggs, cheeses, fruits, salads,
drinks, etc. For questionable foods, ask the chefs, who are readily
available. In my opinion, if you are at a hotel, there is probably no
need to go to a store during your stay, as long as there are 3 meals
per day -- it's more than anyone can eat.
I have a list of deli meats that are GF if you are interested
in that. Some of the ones we use for my son's lunches are: Tirat Tzvi's
Turkey Breast Paprika, Yechiam's Cognac Salami. The supermarkets
have quite a few American brands of foods here and there (Heinz
Ketchup, Skippy Peanut Butter, etc.). There are also numerous GF
snacks on the "chips" aisle - Doritos, Potato Chips, Carmel Popcorn
(delicious!), Apropos, etc.
All your standard vegetables, fruits, and most cheese are GF.
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You may wish to contact The Israel Coeliac Society at Rehov Rabinowitz 9,
ISR-96549, Jerusalem, Tel +972 2-412635. Ask for Adina Aharon.
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You asked about GF food in the Dead Sea area. I understand that you
will be staying at the resort hotel in Ein Bokek? If so, you need to
do what you would do at any restaurant - ask the chef how he made
things. In general, stay away from sandwich meat (processed
cold-cuts). You need to ask about each sauce and gravy, including
salad dressings. There are many foods which are GF and Israeli law
says that the presence of gluten must be noted on the ingredients
list. Unfortunately not all companies abide by the law.
If you want to order food, including bread, you can call the store at
Gan Shmuel (located near Hadera) at 06-6320892, 06-6320071 or
06-6320078. Mirta Oren was the head of the GF section of the store
when I was shopping there. I also know that they make deliveries all
over the country but I don't remember how much it costs.
There is also supposed to be a cooperating grocery store in Beer
Sheva, if that is closer to you than Jerusalem. It's called "Super
Maimon" - No. 1 Shuk Eroni. Tel.: 07-6274179. It won't have the
selection of Gan Shmuel but it's better than nothing. If you can
bring some packages of noodles with you, that would be less hassle.
It's only for 2 weeks. Then there's always rice cakes....
As for food in the supermarket, there is a very limited selection of
soups, and rice comes in all varieties. Go by labels and common
sense. It's not so hard because, like I said, there's a lot available.
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I have also got a restaurant card in Hebrew - if somebody needs it,
contact me and I can fax it or scan it and send it with E-mail.
Thank you very much for all your help and your good wishes for the
journey!
Maria
Germany
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