Authentic Greek Foods that are ulcer 'friendly' ?

Cindi,
You can find out about Greek dishes and their ingredients by reading a cookbook from your public library.

What has your doctor said about the kind of foods you should avoid with your condition?

Yes, check with your Doc. He may suggest limiting the retsina and ouzo.

Can you at least educate us a little bit and tell us what you can't eat and what's on your "ulcer friendly" food list?

Keep in mind that a lot of "Greek" food you find in the US is little like the food they actually serve in Greece. More similar at touristy spots catering to the American idea of Greek food, but otherwise not as much. You'll find lots of fresh seafood and fish, lots of roast lamb, lots of fresh salads. Having mezedes (Greek version of tapas) is a great way to try different things and you can order what will be ok for you or skip that particular plate if others in your party want it.

I agree with the others, it would help us help you to know what types of dietary restrictions you are on.

All the areas you are visiting are touristy so the menus should be in English and all will speak English. In remoter parts of Greece, they may not speak English and they do not have menus - they just show you what is in the kitchen fresh that day. If you want authentic, do not eat in the hotels.

Greek menus are exactly what they say - no frills, so a starter of green beans means a side plate full of boiled haricot beans and not even a slice of tomato as a garnish! Be prepared for "authentic" Greek places to serve the dishes in a random order, so the dishes you order as a starter may well turn up at the same time as your main dish. Best treated as meze/tapas and take it as it comes. Greeks do not like their food too hot, so be prepared to have some tepid dishes, although this has improved over the last decade.

Starters will include hummus, tzatziki and taramasalata plus beans, dolmades (hot vine leaves stuffed with rice, veg and herbs), grilled halloumi cheese (not spicy), tomato salad (just tomatoes!), Greek salad, spanahopitta (filo pie with spinach and goats cheese) and squid (calamari) or small fish such as whitebait.

Main courses could include kebabs (souvlaki), meatballs in tomato sauce, lots of grilled meat or fish all served with limp greasy chips (American fries), kleftico (roasted lamb), stifado (beef casserole) or moussaka. They usually bring a platter of raw fish to show you what is fresh that day - priced by weight. There is usually plenty of pasta on the menu too. Limited choice for vegetarians usually. They tend to use herbs rather than spices, but avoid the sausages as these will be spicier.

Puddings are more limited - ice cream or things laden with nuts and honey such as baklava or Greek yoghurt with honey.

Usually those of us with ulcers have to avoid foods high in acidic content. Things like tomatoes, citrus fruits, any foods with a rich tomato base, spicy foods, and greasy/oily foods. I don't want to go into a restaurant and appear to be 'picky' it may seem offensive. I always try to have the attitude, "When in Rome", and want to experience new things, but I also can't make myself sick. So this is the answer to the question most of you had to my original question. Thanks for any suggestions.

Cindi,

There's a wide variety of Greek foods, but as Douglas mentioned these are often different than the versions served in this part of the world. For example, the Chicken Souvlaki that I found in Greece (this photo was at a restaurant in Santorini, but it's typical of what I found in various parts of the country) was different than what is served in the Greek restaurants in this area. The main difference is that in Greece they serve French Fries, while in this area they substitute rice and potatoes.

You might be able to substitute a Caesar or something instead of the Greek salad (which I believe is called horiatiki insalata in Greece), and thereby avoid the tomatoes.

Cindi

Many Greek ingredients including all their stews and pizzas will contain tomatoes as this is one of the Mediterranean staples and they tend to fry everything else! Salads tend to come ready dressed in olive oil. All Greek places do pasta - pick one without tomatoes and the pies with cheese and spinach would be OK.

Ask for salads without tomatoes etc or leave them - waiters are always willing to assist.

One word ....omeprazole

Hi Cindi --
Here's a very useful thing to print out. http://www.greecefoods.com/restaurants/ordering.htm -- it tells you how to pronounce the Greek for various dishes. You really don't need to know this because as others say, you probably will be eating in tavernas (restaurants) in tourists sections... and waiters are fluent in english, also menus are in 4 diffeent languages. That being said -- this is useful because it tells you, in general, what is IN each dish. Besides, Greeks are SO tickled when you make an effort to use some greek; when you say " Koh-TOH-pool-loh" instead of "Chicken," or KRAH-see KOH-kee-no Instead of "red wine", the waiter will say "Bravo" and he may even refill your glass! And then you can raise your glass and say YAMmas (that's a toast).

When I was in Greece many, many years ago we ate a lot of grilled fish. It seemed like it was either Big FIsh or Little Fish and it was all lovely. So, when you are checking out the link you might want to look at other ways that fish is prepared that is not too spicy for you.

Pam

Omeprazole (from a prior post)--amen.
You can get it over the counter here--get it before you go.