Erin Smith, Gluten-Free Globetrotter
Hi everyone and welcome to Gluten-Free Globetrotter.
My name is Erin Smith, welcome to Gluten-Free Globetrotter.
I have been living with celiac disease since I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 1981 and have been traveling the world while eating gluten-free ever since.
Growing up, I did not know one single person with celiac disease which felt isolating at times. It wasn’t until I was a teenager and joined a local support group, that I met others with this condition. Over time, my involvement in the celiac and gluten-free community has grown. I became a founding organizer of the New York City Celiac Meetup group in 2005, where I led the group for more than a decade. I founded the Santa Cruz Celiac support group in 2016. To this day, I continue to be involved with multiple celiac support groups, both online and in-person. I feel that connecting with other people with celiac disease is an important way to manage this disease.
In 2011, after visiting the Czech Republic and drinking GF beer on tap for the first time, I wanted to share my gluten-free travel experiences with the others. I launched this Gluten-Free Globetrotter website as both a personal travel blog as well as a resource for others who want to travel and must eat gluten-free. Over the past 12 years, I have connected with thousands of gluten-free travelers across the world through this website and my social media channels.
Today, I continue to be a passionate Gluten-Free Globetrotter and a staunch advocate for people living and thriving with celiac disease. I am excited to share my gluten-free travels with you and hope that it will inspire you to live your gluten-free life to the fullest!
Email me at gfglobetrotter@gmail.com
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Hi Erin! I just found your site via Gluten Free Traveller on twitter and happy to have found another gluten free travel blog! I write about my adventures traveling (mostly in the US & Canada) and cooking gluten free. I recently just expanded my blog to cover restaurants, lodging, and fun things to do. Looking forward to reading about your travels!
Hi Adina, welcome to Gluten-Free Globetrotter. I look forward to reading your blog too. Thanks for the comment.
So glad to see all the feed back on here! I have been strictly GF since I was dasinoged in 1990 6th person in the nation with Celiac Disease GF food has come so far!!! We have to be vigilant due to soooo many are simply not educated on Celiac Disease! I have two older children(tween & teen) that were tested & dasinoged in 2005 with CD! It’s hard keeping track god myself much less two school age children! Just an FYI it’s not necessarily that the restaurant isn’t vigilant enough about cross contamination as many with CD will also find down the road after much frustration & less than tasty food that they are still not feeling great when they eat out other than at home . Been there done that Thought it was restuarant . Come to find out I have an intolerance to acidic foods(tomatoes, citrus) Eggs!!! Almost died as an infant from dairy!!! It’s proven in research that most percentage of CD’ers have other food allergies or will at some point get them! Keep in mind that most docs dont tell you, watch for basic foods like meat, eggs, cheese . That these are bi-products of animals that very well may eat grains!!! Unknown unless you monitor them 24/7 & possibly caged of grass feed, not always a guarantee!!!
Three years ago I decided to go lugten free after googling about gastro-intestinal issues and thinking that there was a link. Of course it was an interesting learning experience to avoid buying/eating anything with wheat, but not wasted learning. I also would not worry about any Celiac type medical issues from eating lugten, I know I won’t get any allergic reaction.But I have noticed that my knees hurt less. I’ve always been triathlon training, I am running tremendously more miles than ever before (49 y.o.), and my lungs and breathing are clearer than before. One habit of GF diets I find strange is trying to re-create all those breads, cookies, cakes, and pies with GF materials. Sorry, but in most cases it’s impossible! Rice bread? yeah right. Find something else to eat like ice cream, or GF brownies (the general non-structure allows GF to work) or skip dessert. I may not need to go GF, but by doing so, it carves out donuts, cookies, cake, and other useless (yet so easily available!) foods so I have to think about getting rice, potatoes, oatmeal, vegetables, and other really nutritious items prepared. (i’m wondering what Donna H’s sister is eating to gain weight.) It restricts what I order at the restaurant, but it is my choice now. Did you know the proportion of lugten in wheat grown in the U.S. today is significantly higher than a few decades ago? It’s part of our great agricultural revolution, but it raises questions in my mind about whether that is appropriate for us to eat. It’s one form of genetic engineering I choose to avoid.I guess I would not classify myself as Gluten Free, but rather as avoiding wheat-based products. The GF label is just easier for people to understand due to the growing fad. What annoys me is when people look at me with sad eyes: Oh, you can’t have any cake? and I’m like, No problem, I choose not to have some, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. Don’t worry about me!
Hi Erin,
I’m planning a trip to NYC in the next couple of months. I live in a small town in New Mexico and the eating options are very limited. I want to try some new things. So I am very excited about all of your comments on the different restaurants. Can you recommend any good Asian, Jamican, Indian, etc places? I’ve seen some online-but would love some extra recommendations.
Thanks!
Sylvia
Hi Sylvia, thanks for your comment. I will send you an email now! You will love NYC, there are so many great gluten-free options.
is truly surprising how many dfeeirfnt symptoms people have who are diagnosed with celiac disease. Most of the people in the video were diagnosed by lab test and biopsy. One of the reasons it makes it so difficult to get diagnosed and tested. Please keep spreading the word.
just found out i have this , my mother got colon ccaenr because of untreated celiacs disease , it is no joke , but i am glad i know i have it , i was depressed and did not have a normal bowel movement for a year , then i started to feel like i would vomit after each time i ate , in two days of not eating gulten i was almost back to normal , thank god i found out , hope this helps
Hi Erin, congratulations on your blog. I was amazed to read and see all the things you share and it’s comforting to know that we have the resources to live a happy life being gluten free.
I’m 25 years old, I live in Brazil (Belo Horizonte) and was diagnosed earlier this year. It didn’t came to me as a shock because my mother was diagnosed with CD in 2006 and we’ve been very cooperative to her struggle on seeking a healthier and happier life style ever since.
In Brazil all product packages must contain information whether it has gluten or not, which helps me a lot at the supermarket. Literally any product you buy in Brazil will have information about gluten. But gluten free products such as cakes, bread, cookies, pizza etc aren’t tasteful at all!
The only brands of Gluten Free beer we can find here are Estrella Damm Daura from Spain and Celia from Czech Republic. Both are very good but kinda expensive.
Anyway, I just wanted to share a bit of my experiences here. Hopefully I’ll visit NY soon to check out those amazing places you’ve listed. Thank you so much for that.
All the best!
Hello Natalia! Thank you for visiting my blog. If you are ever in NYC, drop me a line!
Natålia,
I am traveling to BH next week and am looking for recommendations on gluten free restaurants in the area. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you for your help!
Interesting and helpful blog ,, Good Luck …
So glad to find your blog, and the info about GF eating in Prague. I will be there in the Spring, possibly solo, and have been concerned that I might have to live on GF protein bars for 4 days. I will now enjoy all parts of the experience, albeit without red meat (ceased eating it 22 years ago).
Robin, I also went solo to Prague. Definitely make a trip to the 100% GF restaurant Na Zlaté křižovatce, it is totally worth it. Enjoy your trip!
Very inspiring to read about your travels! I am a teen with life threatening allergies and I often wonder about how I will travel! Love you blog 🙂
You have already inspired me, for the main reason that you inspire others by motivating them to travel no matter whether they are a Celiac or not. I am so excited be stumbling upon not just a travel blog but a Gluten Free travel blog, that’s awesome, well done!
I’m so glad I found you! I’ve recently been told that I need to go gluten-free by my doctor (who hopes it’ll cure my migraines!) and I’ve been thinking that my biggest hurdle with a GF diet will be traveling the way I want to. I can’t wait to read my way through your blog for inspiration!
Hi! I nominated you for a Liebster Award because I love your blog! You can find the details here for participating: https://spiceoflifeblogdotcom.wordpress.com/2015/05/13/liebster-award/. Best Regards, Kristen
Thank you for this list ! I m going in new yor for my next hollidays.I ‘m coeliaque too, so it will be helpfull. If you need advice in paris i can help….
Thank you Laurence. I am hoping to get to Paris in October. I would love recommendations!
Hello…
I’ve been following you on IG, and have enjoyed reading about your travels and eating in great “Celiac-Friendly” restaurants. I’ve been diagnosed since 2011…but have in last few years been suffering from added “food allergies”, including corn and chicken.
May I ask, do you have any other food sensitivities?
Are you immediately aware if you get “glutened”?
I have stopped traveling since my diagnosis, and you are “encouraging” me to step out of the comfort of eating my own safe home cooked food. I only try new things once in a while…testing for any adverse effects but don’t know if my body could manage eating out for a whole trip.
I’ll keep watching your adventures and maybe soon I’ll summon the courage!
Thank you for showing such a wonderful side of life living with a disability 🙂
BTW, have you ever tried these Spanikopita from GeeFree? They are GF, corn and soy free as well…..just wondering…
https://www.geefree.com/collections/all/products/geefree-spanakopita
Have a great day!!!
JJ Snelten
Hi JJ. Thank you for your comment. I do hope that you start to travel again once you become more comfortable with your diagnosis. In addition to celiac disease, I have a shellfish allergy as well as seasonal oral allergy syndrome which randomly pops up sometimes from different triggers. I actually never considered my celiac disease or other food allergies a disability. I have been living this way my entire life and do not know any other way of life. It does take some learning and getting used to speaking up in public, but it is totally manageable. Have you found a support group yet? I am happy to make some recommendations to a local group for you. Email me any time at gfglobetrotter@gmail.com