Gluten free in seminary (and Israel in general)

amother

Wed, Aug 04 2021, 5:48 pm

DD who is leaving to seminary in Israel in a few weeks was just diagnosed with celiac disease. I haven't had a chance to speak with the aim bayit about how this will work in her seminary. Can anyone share their experience with this? Does Israel have as many gluten free options in the groceries as the US? Will she have trouble going places for Shabbos? Any guidance would be appreciated!!

FranticFrummie

Wed, Aug 04 2021, 6:00 pm

DD has celiac. Since she started going gluten free her health and mood have improved SO MUCH!

The initial adjustment is a pain, but once you get used to it it's totally worth it. Really, all she needs to do is Google "gluten free + the name of the city she's in." She can find all the resources she needs there.

Yesh grocery store has gluten free breads and rolls in the freezer section, usually at the end of the case. I believe Osher Ad and Rami Levy also carry them.

Most health food stores have frozen gluten free breads, too. If they don't, they probably know the names of some good gluten free bakeries. I know that there are several ones in Jerusalem that have excellent heksherim.

She just needs to buy rolls and bring them with her for Shabbos. I'm not sure if she needs to say hamotzi or mezanos, so check with the local rabbi. She may have to show him the wrapper so he can decide.

Celiac is not as severe as Chrohn's, so if there is a speck of gluten here or there at a Shabbos meal, it won't be the end of the world. She won't have to worry about things like spice blends and seasonings. It's always important to notify the host ahead of time though, just to be sure.

As for snacks, everyone in Israel lives on rice cakes! You can get them anywhere. Nuts are also a popular snack, affordable, and easy to find.

Teomima

Wed, Aug 04 2021, 6:10 pm

I live in Israel and my dh has celiac. The major supermarkets now carry a ton of gluten free options, mostly in the frozen section (Shufersal in particular has what they call a Green department that has a huge selection of GF cereals, snacks, frozen foods, and more). There's a small chain in Jerusalem called Gluless that's entirely GF:
https://gluless-shop.co.il/home-page/

Eating out for Shabbat will be hard. Hardly anyone can handle the level of caution needed for celiac (by which I mean a host could make a gf meal but it will almost definitely be contaminated. Lots of people don't eat gluten for one reason or another but with celiac there's no such thing as "just a little gluten"). Likewise I have no idea how it'll work for her in her seminary, keeping her food and equipment separate from everyone else's. I mean, it's probably doable, in college I roomed with non-Jews and had to keep all my dishes and my own sponges in my room to keep them from getting treifed up, so something like that is an option. Best to hear if someone here can answer you about that from personal experience of theirs/their daughter's.

Elfrida

Wed, Aug 04 2021, 6:33 pm

Is the seminary fully catered, or are the girls expected to prepare some of their own meals? The more she can cook for herself the easier it will be.

Its awkward timing, but use these couple of weeks to help her get acquainted with as many gluten free meals as possible. Send her with a gluten free recipe book. She'll have to adapt a lot of the recipes for locally available ingredients, but it will give her a starting point.

Shabbos won't be easy, but can be managed. The important thing is that she tell her host in advance. It feels awkward coming with extra requests, but the host would much rather know in advance than have someone sit at the table and nibble on salad (without dressing) because they aren't able to eat the schnitzel with breadcrumbs and the yerushalmi kugel.

A lot of people like to keep gluten free, because they feel it is healthier. They are not so careful about trace amounts in other ingredients, like soy sauce. Celiac has to be a lot stricter. Make sure she understands the difference.

Speak to the seminary as soon as possible. Work out a plan together. It might be a good idea to arrange a couple of meetings with an Israeli nutritionist. Someone who is familiar with the local market, and can help her develop a meal plan and how to eat. Depending on her, you could continue monthly meetings throughout the year, for guidance and support.

amother

Sunflower

Wed, Aug 04 2021, 9:04 pm

My dd was in seminary this past year, and I have a different daughter with celiac, so all my kids know all about gluten free. I asked my seminary dd if there was anyone with celiac in her seminary and how it worked out. She said there was nobody with celiac, but there were a few girls who were gluten free for other reasons. She said the seminary tried very hard to make sure there was always food for everyone, but there were a lot of girls with different food sensitivities and allergies so it wasn't always possible to accomodate everyone. She also said they ate a lot of rice cakes.

My dd with celiac visited Israel a few years ago and she was pleasantly surprised to find a large selection of gf food in the supermarkets.

Good luck with the whole gluten free situation. It's very overwhelming in the beginning, but eventually you'll find that it's not so hard.

amother

Thu, Aug 05 2021, 7:07 am

Thanks to all who responded. This is so overwhelming, especially since there's so little time to adjust and plan before she leaves to sem.

Teomima, can you explain more about contamination?

Also, can anyone recommend a frum dietician good for celiac who can do a remote appointment (zoom etc)? Tia!

amother

Crystal

Thu, Aug 05 2021, 7:22 am

FranticFrummie wrote:

Most health food stores have frozen gluten free breads, too. If they don't, they probably know the names of some good gluten free bakeries. I know that there are several ones in Jerusalem that have excellent heksherim.

.

Please share details of GF bakeries with excellent hechsherim!Thank you :-)

Success10

Thu, Aug 05 2021, 7:32 am

Regarding shabboses, there are also many families that have at least one celiac member. And I know at least one family that only makes gluten free since multiple members of the family have celiac. I'm not comfortable sharing names and numbers, but I think with time she'll find host families that already know how to deal with celiac, and hopefully they'll be happy to have her over.