Kungsleden - Glutenfri / Gluten Free

[coffee_hiker]

Hi -- I was wondering if anyone has experience doing the northern part of the Kungsleden on a gluten free diet? If there is anything that I can rely on finding in the cabin shops it would be great, otherwise I have to pack all the food with me 😭 So far I've only found this menu which says there is gluten free bread, but not sure if its actually reliable or not.

Thanks 🙏

 

[Fjällkjell]

I´m quit shure that if they say gluten free it also is gluten free. The "knäckebröd" is a hard bred manufactured in big industries and they do not risk their reputation by lying to their customers.

 

[coffee_hiker]

@Fjällkjell Ofcourse I didn't doubt that it was really gluten free 😅 I was just not sure if this item actually is in stock in most stores, because the menu says that sometimes things aren't. Was also wondering if there are any others available that aren't marked on the menu.

 

[Kimkim]

Hi -- I was wondering if anyone has experience doing the northern part of the Kungsleden on a gluten free diet? If there is anything that I can rely on finding in the cabin shops it would be great, otherwise I have to pack all the food with me 😭 So far I've only found this menu which says there is gluten free bread, but not sure if its actually reliable or not.

Thanks 🙏

They might run out. Call them and ask? Then you can also ask what brands the freeze dried food are so you can check the ingredients.

Personally I wouldn't rely on the food you can buy in their stores. I need better food

In theory you could survive on mashed potatoes and Bullens pilsnerkorv. The mashed potato powder is listed a an item that might run out though.

I couldn't make your link work but
you can find lists of what they have here: https://www.svenskaturistforeningen.se/guider-tips/fjallen/fjallstugornas-butiker/

Two different lists but I think you can understand what lists are for what places.

The items in italic are items that will not be resupplied during the season but you might find them in the store if you're lucky.

 

[smux]

If you need some special food I wouldn’t trust that the cabin shops has the full assortment as advertised. It’s often they run out of some items in particular later in the season as they normally restock during winter.

 

[coffee_hiker]

@Kimkim @smux thank you both. Fully noted that I can't rely on anything to be in stock. Great idea to call and ask, I'll try to do that. I'll update here if I get any useful info, for anyone else that might be interested.

 

[Kimkim]

@Kimkim @smux thank you both. Fully noted that I can't rely on anything to be in stock. Great idea to call and ask, I'll try to do that. I'll update here if I get any useful info, for anyone else that might be interested.

When I'm going to Norrland I always make calls to ask stuff. And often get good advice about other stuff while doing it

If you have time in Kiruna (or another Swedish town/city) you can probably find a shop with the norwegan brand Real Turmat, it's food with a lot of energy and they have a lot of gluten free options.

 

[elinalicia]

Hi! I did the Kungsleden section Abisko-Nikkaluokta 2018 and I have celiacs disease. Me and my boyfriend (who doesn't have celiacs) brought with us some of the food, but resupplied in the huts along the way. This is what I usually ate:

Breakfast: Gluten free "knäckebröd" from the brand Wasa (https://www.apotea.se/knackebrod-gl...MIo8rRqrDE8QIVRtiyCh3Lsg_vEAQYASABEgJ_QfD_BwE) with "renost" (https://www.fjallbrynt.se/produkter/rokt-renost/). The "renost" is a kind of soft cheese/cheese spread.

Lunch: Some pre-packaged freeze-dried food, for example Indian Chicken Stew from the brand Blå Band (https://www.outnorth.se/bla-band/indian-chicken-stew) with some olive oil for extra calories.

Dinner: We usually made instant mashed potatoes (https://www.felix.se/products/klass...MIzdao8bLE8QIVCGgYCh2pnwnuEAAYASAAEgLmOvD_BwE) that we ate with mackerel in tomato sauce (https://www.mat.se/butik/makrillfile-tomatsas-eldorado-375g). And again, olive oil on top.

Snacks throughout the day: Snickers, the gluten free "knäckebröd" with "renost", nuts and dried fruit, different kind of bars, soups from "Varma koppen" (for example https://varmakoppen.se/product/potatis-och-purjolokssoppa/ and https://varmakoppen.se/product/svampsoppa/ and https://varmakoppen.se/product/blabar-och-hallonsoppa/).

As far as I can remember we didn't have any problems finding something gluten free (for example the instant mashed potatoes, the mackerel in tomato sauce, Varma koppen etc) in the shops in the huts, but we did bring some stuff with us from the start. For example the gluten free "knäckebröd", the cheese spread and some freeze-dried food from Blå Band. I would recommend to visit a large ICA (or similar) in advance to stock up on some gluten free snacks and stuff you might want on the trail. The products for dinner we purchased in the huts when we arrived. With that said, please pack some extra emergency food just in case you find yourself in a hut with nothing gluten free and filling in the shop!

Are you going to walk the same section of Kungsleden as we did?

 

[coffee_hiker]

@elinalicia wow amazing tips, thank you! so these "Varma koppen" are available in the huts and are gluten free? If so that's great.

Right now I'm leaning towards just bringing enough food for 3 meals every day, total of 8 days. For breakfast and dinner freeze dried meals, and for lunch energy bar + snacks. Mostly because I want to have some variety, eating mashed potatoes every night is a bit rough

And yes, we're doing the same route as you + the Nallo loop.

 

[elinalicia]

Yes, the "Varma koppen" is usually available (as far as I can remember) in most shops in the huts. These are more of a warming snack than a meal in my opinion, but at least it works wonders when you just need something quick to get some energy. Always read the ingredients though (if there's no ingredients in English - ask someone to translate for you) since a couple of the "Varma koppen" contain gluten.

Yes, it might be wise to bring your food for the trip if you want to be 100% sure of what you are going to eat during the trek, especially if you need some variety I mean, when having food restrictions there's less room for improvisation. Do you have celiacs disease as well?

Nice! It's an amazing trek. We will be trekking this summer as well, but an alternate route.

Happy trek!

 

[coffee_hiker]

Yes, celiac as well It's why I'm so careful about it. It's nice to meet a fellow celiac trekker! I bought 2 X 8 = 16 GF freeze dried meals. I'm going to try this trick of moving them to freezer bags to save weight / volume. I hope it works.

Happy trek to you too!

 

[DoktorGlas]

Varma koppen may have some gluten free products, but they are also basically nutrient and calorie free. Their chicken soup contains 408 kcal/100g and powder for one serving weighs 20g... Can't live on chemicals alone.