Eating out every day in Israel (or any country for that matter) is hard to do, especially if you have a food restriction like celiac disease. The incredible amount of research and trepidation to try new places without a strong vocabulary in the national language can be overwhelming and honestly, it is often easier to make your own food.

Maybe one day this will change, but I have not yet stayed in hotels when I have traveled to Israel, or even a BNB. When I lived in Jerusalem in 2011-12, I stayed in SW Jerusalem in someone’s house and did most of the cooking myself for my family. Otherwise I have stayed in hostels or one step up from a hostel.

There is actually an advantage to hosteling that keeps me going back to it. The social aspect of travel. I love meeting people from around the world, sharing food with them, creating alliances…so much easier when you don’t have TV waiting for you back in your room. It forces you to mix more with regular folk. I am one of those regular folk.

One thing, if you have celiac disease or other food restriction, is that you have to consider the reality of cross-contamination in a shared kitchen environment. For me, that meant that when I arrived at the Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem and later in Tel Aviv, I needed to have my own cutting board, knives, foil or parchment paper, and pan to prepare food safely. Fortunately, there are dollar store places all around the hostels to find these items.

I also don’t travel anywhere without bringing toaster bags with me. If you think about it, where are you most likely to get cross-contamination but a toaster?

With these extra precautions, I set out to grocery stores to find myself some regular food.

One evening my daughter and I were heading down to the Old City for a Citadel of David light show, and she wanted to head to a place we knew and loved from 2011–Jacob’s Pizza, just inside of Jaffa Gate. I assumed there would be nothing for me there, so I looked in a grocery store for something that might satisfy that “pizza passion”. Lo and behold, I found a frozen pizza from the same company that supplied the delicious bread I tasted at Aroma Coffee in Tel Aviv with my shakshuka. Green Lite.

Mind you, this is not pizza house pizza. This is frozen pizza. However, in the world of frozen pizza, this was pretty good. In the world of gluten-free frozen pizza, this was really good.

One final note. Bamba. It is the addictive peanut-flavored “puff” that you really need to experience, especially if you do not have a peanut allergy.

However, if you are celiac (and I did not know this before), please be sure to find the “lelo gluten”, or gluten-free Bamba. I did not. I regretted not researching this product product properly the next day. <Le sigh>

In all, know that you can more than survive in Israel with celiac disease. You can thrive. Google your locations. Check websites of restaurants on things like Trip Advisor. Ask questions of Gluten Free Israel. Print out your celiac-travel restaurant cards. Carry snacks.

There are restaurants I never got to try this last trip and some surprising places to find food that are not normally advertised. Don’t let your food restrictions restrict your travel.

When I go to Israel next, I will explore more places and share what I find out. Are there any places you have visited or know about in Israel that work well for celiac travelers? Let me know in your comments.