Dairy Free Baby and Me: February 2018

"Oo! Look! You can get a ski-through Mc Donald's in Sweden... and they do gluten free!"

It was something that I saw on a friend's Facebook news feed.

Little did I know it, but that was all the encouragement The Hub needed! Before I knew it, he'd done some research and booked the entire trip!

I know! Close my jaw for me, why don't you??

We flew in via Oslo, Norway (because that was the nearest airport), and hired a car. A two to three hour drive and we were there!

The Ski Lodge lit up for Christmas

The Ski Lodge in which we stayed, is run by Ski Star, who run the entire resort. We stayed in Salen (pronounced Sollen), but they have other resorts elsewhere.

Now, normally I don't blog about places we have stayed - usually I just head straight to Trip Advisor and post them there, but for this trip, I have made an exception. This is partly because travelling abroad can be fraught with difficulties, and worry, but this place was so great, I'd really recommend it. However, also, I think that this post illustrates how you can still do things that you loved doing before life with allergies took over.

Comfy apartment.

We stayed in an apartment that was in a large complex. However, on the inside, it's all very cosy and tasteful.

The kitchen is bijoux

The kitchen is small, but contains enough for a week, including a dishwasher. You might decide against using the cast iron frying pan as you can't guarantee who's used it and what is therefore in the patina. There's no oven, in these particular apartments, but there is a hob and a combi microwave. Although there isn't a freezer space in the apartment itself, there is a freezer in the ski and boot room.

Loads of space for dairy free ice cream!

We made sure we wrapped our freezer food in an extra bag to avoid any cross contamination and placed it in the top drawer to avoid anything else that might potentially drip down. In actual fact, not many people seemed to use it.

Padlock obtainable from Reception for the boot locker

Food was very easy to come by! The supermarket was just across the car park from the Ski Lodge. Although 'out in the sticks' it contained a good range of dairy free and gluten free food, including Oatly ice cream (unavailable in the UK). For further detail on this, read this post).

Bit like the Tardis, the supermarket holds more than you'd think!

The Free From aisle was bigger than some UK supermarkets! There was also a Free From section in the freezer, and the chiller!

Free From aisle!

One of the things I loved about the ski lodge, was the fact that The Hub and I could have a cheeky Apres ski refreshment in the Ski Lodge bar, as just across from the bar was a small children's play area. Staying in the lodge, meant that once we had set up an ipad baby monitor, we could also sneak down once Kiddo was asleep!

Cheers!

There was also:

a pool complete complete with slides, jacuzzi, heated outdoor pool, toddler pool & wave machine
sauna
a shopping arcade
a bowling alley
a coffee shop
restaurants (not that we tried them out)
a spa
a laundrette
ski hire
ski parks
a cinema...

I could go on, but if you've ever been to Centre Parcs, just imagine THAT with snow and mountains... right outside your back door, because that's where the green runs started!!

Ski school starts right on the doorstep!

In terms of skiing, for me and Kiddo it was perfect. The Hub, who is a much more adventurous skier, might have preferred more challenging runs, but as we went early season, they weren't all open. However, that said, there was certainly enough there to keep us occupied for a week. This was helped along as more slopes became available as the week progressed - due to the piste keepers continually working on opening more slopes, whilst snow cannons constantly produced more snow.

There was an extra special bonus element to skiing in Sweden, in the early part of the season. As it gets darker much earlier in the day, there's a whole series of lights to keep you skiing until around 6pm, which was great fun. In fact, the green slope at the back of the lodge is covered with kids right up to the end of the day and beyond! Once the ski lift stops, out come the sledges (you can borrow one from Reception)!!

Sledges are great for transporting worn out Kiddos!!

The Swedes are very friendly and great with kids. There's no snobbery - everyone hangs out with their kids on the slopes (they encourage them to ski/snowboard from a VERY young age - think toddlers), and there are warm rooms (Varmestuga) with picnic facilities, microwaves and clean toilets.

I've tried skiing a few times since food allergies hit and for me, this was the best place I've been, so far, in terms of time on snow and catering. Okay, the scenery wasn't Matterhorn-esque, but we were there for the snow and the skiing, and we did far more of that than we had in other places, because it was all so convenient and close, so it was all good!

Just by way of comparison, the first time we tried skiing with food allergies, we stayed in a catered chalet, in France. In those days, we were 'just' dealing with dairy. The chalet staff were young and inexperienced and although they had a folder to give them ideas, it was all a bit hit and miss, and I really relied on the bank of food supplies that I had I taken 'just in case'. So we left it for a few years, until Kiddo was a bit older, before trying again.

Our second attempt involved self-catering with family in Switzerland. We did find some good food options, however, the resort was spread out over a wide area, so we spent most afternoons wondering around trying to find the best places to source food. Whereas, in Salen, because everything was so close together, we were able to self-cater really easily, which maximised our time on the snow (as did the close proximity to the runs). In fact, we loved it so much, we can't wait to go back!!

Oh yes, and in case you're wondering, ski-through Mc Donald's, complete with gluten free burger, was ace!

Please note:
This post is not an advert. I have not been paid to write this post. I am not sponsored in any way, even by advertising. I do not receive products free to review, although I have often been offered them. This is to try and maintain an unbiased approach. All views expressed are my own (unless I've asked for The Hub's or Kiddo's).

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