Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Gluten Free Guide to Prague


Hi Everyone,
For the longest time I’ve intended to put together a gluten free guide for Prague. I’m very familiar with the gluten free life, as I’m allergic to gluten/wheat. I’ve been living gluten free for just over 14 years.

Czech Cuisine

Czech cuisine is not conducive to a gluten free diet. The traditional Czech diet is saturated with wonderful breads, dumplings, desserts and so much more. Many of their traditional dishes have dumplings on the side. What torture it is for those of us who are gluten free! 

Soups and sauces are also part of traditional Czech cuisine. Many dishes make use of some type of sauce, as Czechs don’t enjoy eating their meat dry. Delicious sauces are another hazard for those of us who are gluten free. 


Additional foods that may contain gluten are parký and klobasa (two types of sausages). It’s best to avoid these, as they generally use fillers that are not gluten free. I have personal experience with this one! A couple of the grocery stores do sell gluten free versions of these traditional Czech sausages.

Gluten Free Living in 2006
When I moved to the Czech Republic in 2006, it was possible to find a few gluten free products in the stores. Rice cakes were prevalent at the grocery stores, and some health food stores carried gluten free flour. However, the variety of gluten free products I had been used to back in the States didn’t exist here when I first arrived.

Current Availability of Gluten Free Products

Since then, gluten free products have become more numerous and easier to find. We still lack the variety that’s available back in the U.S., but you can find a wider variety of gluten free products in Prague these days.

Not only is there a greater variety of gluten free products in the stores, but you’ll also find restaurants that have gluten free menu items. There’s even a pizza place, with several locations in Prague that serves gluten free pasta dishes. I wish they also served gluten free pizza--but I’m happy with the pasta!

I’ve put together a list of gluten free resources on my Czech Off the Beaten Path website. This is a PDF that’s free to download--you don’t have to sign anything or leave your email, etc. It’s completely free, with no-strings attached!

While creating this list, I was saddened to find out that one of my ultimate gluten free restaurants has gone out of business--Na Zlaté Křižovacte. This place was completely gluten free and had the most wonderful food. I had my first taste of svíčková na smetaně there--including dumplings. They also served gf streudal that was heavenly. It’s too bad they had to close. You would have loved it.

Please let me know if you find additional gluten free resources in Prague and the Czech Republic. I’d like to keep this list updated for people who visit or come to live in Prague.

If you’re interested in gluten free living, be sure to check out my new blog:  Thrifty and GlutenFree. The blog’s goal is to help people live a gluten free life, while keeping the costs low. The gluten free diet is expensive, but there are ways you can hold down the costs, while enjoying healthy gluten free cooking!


Here's the link, again, to the free gluten free guide to Prague! If you don't feel comfortable downloading the guide, just send me an email with "Gluten Free Prague Guide" in the subject  line, and I'll send you a free copy!

Have a great day!

God bless,
Sher

Asthma’s Nothing toWheeze At!

Monday, January 6, 2014

What's a Crock Pot?



Hi Everyone,
Today was the first day back to a somewhat normal schedule after the holidays. It was strange to be home alone, after Jiri was home with me for the past couple of weeks. I had to laugh this morning, when seeing Jiri off to work, our neighbor was also leaving for his job. Both Jiri and he had their briefcases in one hand and a garbage bag in the other. Really funny!

We had a very nice Christmas and New Year’s. One of my favorite gifts this year was a crock pot. Jiri and I bought it with Christmas money from my folks. A crock pot would seem to be a rather ordinary and mundane gift. However, I’ve been looking for a crock pot since moving here seven years ago.

Missing a Crock Pot

Slow cookers are one of those conveniences that I have missed since moving to Prague. We don't have a car, an electric dryer, etc., but I don't miss those things. A crock pot, on the other hand, I've missed quite a bit. It's not only the convenience a crock pot offers, it's also the smell of something really good cooking all day long. While I don't need a car--I do need a crock pot! It's one of those common place things that creates a cozy atmosphere at home--along with some very good food.

What's a Crock Pot?

Crock pots are not at all common here. I have looked high and low in the shops, only to find rice cookers and other appliances. We’ve even asked our friends and Czech family if they knew where we could buy a crock pot, but they weren’t even sure what one was! Most everyone thought we were asking about an electric pressure cooker. Czechs seem to be familiar with those, but not with crock pots.

Just before Christmas I happened to come across a forum thread on our local expat website, Expats.cz. Someone else was also looking for a crock pot. A helpful fellow expat gave them links to stores that might have slow cookers. I followed those links and sure enough, I found our crock pot. I was happy to see we could finally buy a slow cooker in Prague.

I had a crock pot when living in the U.S. Everyone has a slow cooker there. It also seems that crock pots are common in Canada and the U.K. Why these nifty appliances haven’t caught on with Czechs is a mystery. One reason may be the price--our Czech crock pot was pretty expensive. The same slow cooker back in the U.S. would be less than half the price. 

Back in the States, I used my crock pot mostly to make yummy pot roasts or maybe a pot of beans. Now, though, I’ve been more adventurous with our new crock pot.

Our First Meal with the New Slow Cooker

Our first meal was cooked from frozen chicken breasts, then I tried to cook a duck, we also tried a pork roast and tonight had turkey breast. One experiment—baking a gluten free cake in the slow cooker—didn’t turn out quite as well. I had to finish baking the cake in the oven. Even so, I’m in heaven! All I have to do to fix a nice dinner is throw in some veggies and meat, turn the crock pot on and let it cook for several hours. By the time Jiri is home from work, we have a nice dinner all ready and I didn’t have to spend an hour or more preparing it!

If you’re living here, in Prague, and would like to know where we bought our crock pot, just drop me an email and I’ll send you the link! If you're in the U.S. and would like a crock pot, check out the one at the end of this post!

Have a great day!
God bless,


Sherry



Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Happy New Year 2014!



Hi Everyone,
It’s hard to believe another year just closed and today we begin the first day in the New Year of 2014. 2013 was a hard year for me; however, along with the difficulties there were many great things. One of the best things was to finally have a doctor diagnose me with a complex labral tear in my hip. I couldn’t walk without a cane, and was bent like a little old lady of 100 years. 

I had this condition for almost 2 years before it was diagnosed. My hip surgery was in June 2013, so I’ve just passed the 6 month recovery mark. I have to say I’m feeling great, don’t need a cane anymore and am happy to be out and about again. There’s still quite a bit of pain, but this pain is nothing compared to the excruciating pain of the previous 2 years. My Dad told me next time I break something, make sure to make it obvious and easy to find. I’ll keep that in mind, but the goal is to stay healthy!

This past year also saw the launch of my very first ebook—Asthma Tips & Advice. Putting an ebook out there was uncomfortable for me. In my long ago past, someone had once told me that I wasn’t smart enough, didn’t know enough, etc. to be a writer/editor/proofreader. Unfortunately, this has stayed with me most of my adult life—until the past few years. I’ve been writing this blog since 2007 and writing for BellaOnline’s asthma site for three years. These have been great experiences. But putting out an ebook was challenging due to the voice of that one person who said I couldn’t. 

My ebook’s now “out there” on the major ebook platforms, in spite of that long ago voice of negativity. As a result, I no longer listen to that voice. I don‘t claim to be a great writer. I’m OK with that. My writing about asthma is primarily done to help others. Writing Czech Off the Beaten Path has been (and continues to be) a cathartic method to learn about myself, meet others and share about expat life. Ebooks are a new venture, but if I can earn a little more income from a few book sales, then that will also be a benefit for me. The main benefit of writing online and off has been to get rid of that negative voice from the past once and for all. It’s finally gone--hallelujah.

2014 will bring its own challenges, happiness and learning experiences. I’m ready to embrace this next period of my life, my writing and other work. I also have reset the goal of learning Czech—I just have to do this. It’s a must. Another goal is to increase my income through various channels I’ve been developing. I’d also like to update this blog and move it to its own home on the web. 2014 will be a busy year—just with these goals. We’ll see how it goes!

I’d like to wish you all a very Happy New Year 2014! May your new year be filled with love, peace, health and happiness.

Have a great day!
God bless,
Sher