Eating Low FODMAP in Corfu on Honeymoon

21/02/2024

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If you read my blog post Baking my Own Wedding Cake then you would know that in June 2022 I married my favourite person. Two days later we jetted off to Corfu, Greece to spend two weeks in the sun for our honeymoon. Here is may experience of Eating Low FODMAP and gluten free in Corfu.

Check out My low FODMAP journey to learn more about the low FODMAP diet.

Travelling with a low FODMAP diet

Anyone who lives on a low FODMAP diet knows the occasional feeling of dread when going to a new restaurant for food. The need to check the menu beforehand to make sure there is at least one meal you can eat. I myself have a small handful of favourites where I know I can safely find something to eat. But the thought of going to a foreign country where I don’t speak the language and trying to eat well and not be ill while on honeymoon was actually quite challenging.

Don’t get me wrong I know how truly lucky I was to be able to go on a lovely honeymoon! But being such a foodie and food being such an integral part of my travel experience. I really didn’t want to be disappointed and to struggle to find food I could actually eat that were low FODMAP on honeymoon.

Whenever I am going on a trip somewhere new I usually pack my trusty pack of low FODMAP safe cereal bars as my ’emergency’ food. Just in case I literally can’t find anything to eat one day, but I wish it was easier and I didn’t have to do it.

Gluten free and low FODMAP seafood pasta

Gluten free and low FODMAP salmon spaghetti

Eating Low FODMAP and gluten free in Corfu

Now the honeymoon food experience was actually a really positive one. Initially, though I had struggled, I’d expected the food in Greece to be very similar to that from my other Mediterranean trips abroad. Mostly grilled fish, meats and salads which is perfect for me. Simple food but really showcasing the flavours of the local seafood and meat. But my previous experience was more from the Spanish islands and I’d never been to Greece before.

I was really surprised to see the extent to which pork rather than sea food made up the local cuisine. Especially for a country boasting over 6000 islands! I’m sure with so many islands the local cuisine will vary a lot. But for Corfu at least, although there was seafood, it was often incorporated into stews. Stews are a low FODMAP diets worst nightmare. You just know it’s going to be packed full of onions and garlic and all sorts of other hidden high FODMAP foods. I found it really hard looking at all the delicious food I couldn’t try, and it all smelt amazing! Despite this I was really enjoying the salads. Always sprinkled with Greek feta which is a relatively low lactose cheese. Goats milk in general is lower in lactose than cows milk anyway.

My experience

I did however get to the point where I really wanted to try something other than a salad. Thankfully we were really lucky with the hotel where we were staying. After a conversation with the head waiter they were able to make me up some off menu food which I was so grateful for!

For the rest of the trip I ate very well. They made me gluten free pasta with mixed fresh seafood. Just really simply cooked and topped off with some olive oil, fresh basil and pepper. Spaghetti was another meal, with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and one of the biggest salmon steaks I’ve ever had – so yummy! They even made me gluten and dairy free puddings. Including raspberry and meringue tart, coconut panacotta and blueberry tart with edible gold leaf!!! It was all delicious! And safe to say I definitely came home heavier than I left.

So really, the moral of the story is you don’t know what you can get if you don’t ask! I really wish I’d told them of my dietary requirements earlier. If I had who knows what other dishes I could have tried! Now I know this isn’t the case in many restaurants, especially chain restaurants. It’s often the smaller independent places that are much happier to cater for menu adaptations. That is how I’ve discovered some of my absolute favourites.