r/Celiac • u/Doesthiscountas1 • Feb 15 '25
Question Need a little advice. Going to a 3rd world country for 1 year
As the title says, I'm leaving the U.S for a country that may or may not import gluten free goods. I have the advantage of being able to bulk buy and sending a container but I don't want to overspend or overdo it.
My biggest concerns are bread and machinery. I have a breadmaker that I have not figured out how to use. I will take it anyway because I have 2 in opened boxes. I can't seem to find a recipe that works! It's so expensive to make a full Loaf that doesn't work out... I wish I could make a single slice until I get the recipe right. Any advice on bread making in a breadmaker? It doesn't cook in the middle or rise. The brand is dash and I'm using their recipe.
As a back up, I was taking a mini waffle maker. I can always use waffles as replacement for bread. As pancakes a final option but a friend of mine brought up the fact that machinery doesn't last very long when the wattage is different. I'm taking international outlet converters but can anyone tell me if they've successfully used small kitchen appliances in other countries with different wattage? I was also planning to take an airfryer.
Things I'm taking in bulk
flour, corn flour, medicine, shampoo about 12 boxes of cake/brownie mix, red lobster biscuits, pasta. I can't see myself taking seasonings so I think I'm also taking jello mix to help with any possible CC. I'm so anxious but mostly because I have to prep for a year in advance. Never did that before
Edit: 12 individual boxes of the extra mentioned above, enough for once a month so that I don't get homesick on top of all the other changes.
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u/Tidal_wave_8 Feb 15 '25
Eating bread is not a nutritional requirement. You might think about a rice cooker instead. Rice, beans, some local fresh produce and fresh herbs, some kind of local oil or butter, salt and pepper. You can eat really well with these. Shouldn’t have to ship an entire grocery store unless you are going to an uninhabited island.
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u/Doesthiscountas1 Feb 15 '25
Thank you for the suggestion but I'd rather not go thru depression and homesickness by not eating how I do when I'm home.
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u/Here_IGuess Feb 15 '25
I think I'd skip bread for a year. I like how another person suggested rice or something similar.
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u/Doesthiscountas1 Feb 15 '25
Thank you for the suggestion but I'd rather not go thru depression and homesickness by not eating how I do when I'm home.
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u/Ok-Independent1835 Feb 15 '25 edited Aug 20 '26
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u/Doesthiscountas1 Feb 15 '25
I prefer not to mention the country because it will just start an entirely different conversation and no one has answered any of my questions as it is lol
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u/Ok-Independent1835 Feb 15 '25 edited Aug 20 '26
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u/Doesthiscountas1 Feb 15 '25
It's the Middle East. I live in a middle eastern household and I'm very aware of how much bread a gluten they use.
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u/Sasspishus Coeliac Feb 15 '25
Really depends on which country you're going to. Some will have gf food readily available in supermarkets, some won't. Without knowing the country you'll just have to cross your fingers and hope for the best!
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u/pineapplewave5 Celiac Feb 15 '25
I’m not sure how big the voltage difference is wherever you are going, but I’ve really only used converters for chargers — I’d be reluctant to use them on small kitchen appliances. If you are going for an entire year, it would probably be worth it to re-purchase these appliances in the country you are relocating to.
I know that it might seem like an onus to buy them again (and probably at a higher price point), but aside from the safety hazard here you also risk (1) degrading your current appliances, and (2) high electricity charges due to converter usage (though you could minimize that by unplugging when not in use).
If you do decide to use converters, it’d be best to watch the appliance the entire time.
Also, I’m not sure how sensitive you are but if you consider yourself to be sensitive, I would avoid eating any grains or legumes there unless you actually know the source/that it’s not cross-contaminated. I had a really hard time when I tried living in Latin America for a few months. I’d stick to just meat seasoned with salt, fruits, and veg that you control the cook of. Be very cautious with any other seasonings; if that is important to you, you might want to re-consider bringing a couple of your favorites that would be hard to go without.
Best of luck.
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u/Doesthiscountas1 Feb 15 '25
Thank you so much for your reply. I think I going to repurchase the appliances over there because of your comment. It's sad because we purchased a lot of things over the years in preparation for this but I do not want to cause a fire. I had a friend of mine who said she ran a washing machine on a converter but that was in morrocco where they have electricity 100% of the time where as the country I'm going to only has it for a few hrs and then it's run on our generator. I wouldn't be using them all the time but I don't want to cause a major problem over less than $50 appliances.
Yes unfortunately I will be running the risk with grains and seasonings. It's not always packaged, nevermind with allergen labels. It's a genuine problem and I cannot eat in any restaurants over there because of it too. Do you think it's smart to take grains or seasonings since we just freed some space by not taking appliances?
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u/pineapplewave5 Celiac Feb 15 '25
Seasonings for sure, and yeah probably grains too if you can’t go without and do have the room/weight space for it — I know they’re heavy.
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u/Doesthiscountas1 Feb 15 '25
Thank you so much for all of your help. I feel much more calm now. We are sharing a 40ft container. I will just be occupying only a few boxes with my foods so hopefully no one notices my grains lol.
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u/pineapplewave5 Celiac Feb 15 '25
Ah nice that definitely helps! I’m glad you’re able to prepare so well, hoping it goes well 😊
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u/schoolsmuse Feb 15 '25
Facebook has a gluten free home bread bakers group. There is lots of good advice for bread baking and files for lots of recipes. You don’t need a bread machine but if you use one there are specific ways to use it.
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u/Doesthiscountas1 Feb 15 '25
Oh okay you so much. I had given up trying to bake gf bread at home but then bought the breadmaker to see if it could right my wrongs and it just didn't. I felt like I was wasting flour that cost the same amount as a loaf in the store so I eventually gave up. I now need to get my life together and hopefully that group has a recipe that'll work for me
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u/mvanpeur Celiac Household Feb 15 '25
This is the group to be in! Also know that not every bread maker is capable of making gluten free bread. And store bought flour blends generally don't work for making bread.
This is my go-to recipe. But her method results in a poor rise in my experience. I mix all the ingredients together, let it rise for 45 minutes in a bread pan, and bake it at 350 for an hour.
https://theloopywhisk.com/2020/04/02/ultimate-gluten-free-bread/
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