Overwhelmed Travelling New Celiac

[GINAHOLLY]

Hi I'm a recently diagnosed celiac travelling in the USA on what was to be a holiday of a lifetime and have found living in a hotel relying on others to cook my food almost impossible as so few seem to know about gluten-free where I am. I thought I had this new lifestyle under control when I left home but now eating out has become a nightmare and I'm feeling like I need to stay at home and become a hermit and never travel again. I tried to find something for lunch today when out shopping with my 6yr old, had to resort to a banana, at dinner I cried as there was no option for me. I can't believe this once happy , outgoing and easy going person is becoming a social nightmare and snivelling mess.

This website is so good- I joined the celiac society at home but never was there a mention of shampoos, cosmetics, dish cloths, utensils etc. This disease is consuming me and right now I think I have to not worry about being glutened and just get on with it or I'll ruin my family's holiday. I've tried so hard and I'm so sad. If anyone has any words of wisdom I'd be very grateful.

[lmvrbaby]

No words of wisdom, sorry But this May I will be traveling and although it is only for four days, I am worried about being able to eat as well. I do plan to pack snacks for myself incase something like this happens. Usually in the warmer months I tend to eat more salads, so I am hoping not to have to use that as a last resort. I have looked up online the past few days where we will be going, what restaurants they have in the area and even looked up supermarkets that carry gluten free foods, I guess more to check it out to see what products for gluten free people they may carry that I can or not get at home. As for shampoos and other toiletries, I plan on taking my own. I am the only one with celiac, so I can keep things for myself seperate. Good luck and I hope you can enjoy the rest of your trip.

[ravenwoodglass]

If you are in an area that has a Wegmans, they are not national but all over the upper east coast, they label all their gluten free food. If you are near one they will make finding something easy. Also look for any 'natural' or 'health' food stores where you are. They should have some safe choices for you. In regular stores see if you can find some of the Thai Kitchen noodle bowls, the ones that are gluten-free are labeled as such. Add a bit of hot water and you have a filling meal. There are other quick things that you can fix with just a hot plate, pick one up at a discount store cheap and tuck it into your suitcase. That will at least ensure you can eat something.

[Wonka]

I am recently diagnosed as well but have been eating gluten free for a few years (or so I thought). I am travelling to Panama in a week but luckily I will be staying at friends (they are doing research at the Smithsonian research station and have a house with an extra bed) so I can cook there). I will be bringing some of my gluten free items along with me.

In September, when I was in Malta, I ate alot of salads, seafood and fresh fruit. We were staying in Valletta (a small walled city - a UN heritage site), I was amazed that in a very small little grocery store (the size of a convenience store here) they actually had a section of gluten free foods.

Hang in there. When we travel, it is hard to know where to get our food. Why don't you let people here know where you are travelling and perhaps the ones who live in the areas you are or are planning to go to can chime in with suggestions of safe places to eat. Higher end restaurants are often more aware of the disease and cook fresher, grilled foods, Indian restaurants are pretty safe (just don't order anything bready). If you purchase some wheat free soy sauce you could go to a sushi place but order carefully (I tend to order chirachi bowls - these are raw fish on sushi rice only), miso soup, edamame (fresh soybeans) and sunamono are pretty safe bets.

[dbmamaz]

You are traveling IN the US, right?

There are some websites which list restaraunts which have gluten-free options - these are the first 2 I found: Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Chipotles isnt on these lists, but also has gluten free options, lots of them - its kinda mexican style fast food, but really good - like subway for mexicant style stuff.

You probably need to plan a little - dont wait until dinner to figure out where to eat, and try talking to the hotel cook when it isnt a lunch rush, to see if he can accomadate you - the wait staff doesnt have to understand as much as the cook does.

I hope you enjoy your trip!!

[Phyllis28]

In my opinon the key to sucessful Celiac travel is to limit the reliance on others to cook for you. It also, takes extra effort and planning to travel gluten free.

If I am traveling by car I always bring a cooler full of food cooking tools. Replenish the ice once a day. A cooler can be purchased at a sporting goods store this time of year. I also rent a room (condo, cabin, house, extended stay hotel) with a kitchen. I stop along the way to replenish the food.

I also pack a daypack with my lunch each day. I use a soft sided lunch box, with blue ice.

Use the internet. I find health food stores by searching the internet, call them to confirm that they have gluten free food and print out a map.

Hope you have a super trip.

[GINAHOLLY]

Many thanks. I'm currently in Vail on a ski trip but haven't managed to ski yet as my 6yr old is vomiting and we are cooped up in a hotel room. Seems all goes wrong at once. Have got some fruit and salads and steak last night($34 and no veges)! As we are travelling with a group I'm finding it hard as I have little say over restaurants etc and feel socially frustrated. This celiac thing is not much fun!

[psipsina]

When I travel I usually bring a stash of goodies with me in my suitcase. Its nearly impossible to eat in an airport and I want to have something with me just in case I end up in a desperate situation. I usually bring a bag of veggie booty, some gluten-free cookies, some fruit bars, some gluten-free snack bars, and some fruit. The hardest meal for me is always breakfast so I bring some instant grits packets with me too. Before I leave I search on the internet to see if any of the big gluten free friendly chains are in the area (you can find info on them on the board) and I know where they are ahead of time. I make it clear ahead of time to my traveling companions that we might have to shop around for a restaurant that even knows what gluten-free means and that I can not compromise on this. Before I enter a restaurant I ask the hostess if they can accomodate my gluten-free needs and if I get a clueless look with no offer to go find out then I turn back around. I have found an amazing response in many surprising places so its always worth it to ask. I went to Emerils in Vegas on a whim and they even had dessert for me and the server didn't put bread down beside me! Its also useful to ask online if anyone knows good gluten-free places in that area so you can suggest where to go once you get there. If you like sushi that is always a safe option no matter where you are as long as you bring some gluten-free soy sauce with you (you can buy them online in little travel friendly packets). I also like to call ahead to my hotel to make sure they know whats going on and have some options for me. If you have the option of picking your hotel you can try to get a kitchenette which makes things even easier. I know how anxiety producing traveling can be but with a little organization and planning you can make it home un-glutened. The hardest part for me is being assertive with your travel companions. Sometimes finding a gluten-free restaurant means it will be more expensive or you'll have to walk away from a place they really want to eat at but you have to stand up for yourself.

[Mango04]

Sorry you are struggling. Now that you have celiac disease, you have to change your mindset about food, especially when you travel. Food will no longer a major part of travelling, or a major part of socializing while travelling, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to find things to eat.

Try doing a quick google search to see if there are any health food stores near the town you're staying in. Try to get to one and stock up on some goodies. After that, bring food with you everywhere you go.

Whole Foods, Wild Oats and Trader Joe's are a few of the major US stores that have tons of gluten-free options, but I don't know if they have locations in Vail. There are probably some smaller health food shops near you though.

While googling, I just found a somthing called "Gillian's Foods, the best in wheat, gluten and dairy-free products". It's carried at a health food shop in Vail:

Alfalfas Vail #57

141 E Meadow Drive

Vail 81657

970-476-1199

You might want to check that place out.

Good luck and I hope you get to enjoy some of your vacation. You are in such a beautiful area!

Btw, If you happen to be headed towards Denver at any point, there are tons of gluten-free options there (pizza places, gluten-free cafes etc.)

p.s. Most health food stores in the US are HUGE compared to the ones in Australia, so don't be afraid to find one. If you do, it will likely have everything you need.

[tarnalberry]

Many thanks. I'm currently in Vail on a ski trip but haven't managed to ski yet as my 6yr old is vomiting and we are cooped up in a hotel room. Seems all goes wrong at once. Have got some fruit and salads and steak last night($34 and no veges)! As we are travelling with a group I'm finding it hard as I have little say over restaurants etc and feel socially frustrated. This celiac thing is not much fun!

Speak up in restaurants! Ask to talk to the chef. Ask lots of questions, have a little write up. Be your own advocate. Yes, it may seem like an imposition, but you have to take care of yourself. And you are part of that group, so you *do* have some say over restaurants. At those nicer restaurants, chefs *can* make meals that are safe for you, if you talk with them and let them know your needs. (You can even get up, away from the table, and talk to the manager in private to let him/her know your needs and address them away from your party if you find yourself embarrassed about the situation.)

[Takala]

Ah, okay, I meant to reply to your other post but I misplaced it. Welcome to the United States, it is not so much we don't have safe food here but you are stuck in a situation where you are having problems accessing it !

I live in CA north of Sacramento, the state capitol midstate, so we are within driving distance of Lake Tahoe skiing. I am sorry I am not that familiar with the Colorado skiing area. What you should do right now is call up the hotel's concierge on the phone, or go down to the front desk and ask for him/her, and tell them you need to find a health food store or regular grocery with a decent health food aisle, and have them find the closest decent one, and take a cab over to it and stock up on safe munchables. Call the store up before you go and find out what they stock. You also need a room with a refrigerator if you don't have one.

If you can, try to find lundberg brand rice cakes and mission corn tortillas, both are gluten free and can act as a carbohydrate base for any sort of other stuff you put on them. Jiff peanut butter is also supposed to be safe, but read the labels. Packaged tuna in little foil single serving pouches is good. Hard cheeses are usually sturdy and travel well, and you can buy individually packaged organic string cheese sticks as well. Hormel brand packaged turkey slices in the brown cardboard package labeled "Made without Gluten" is safe. Plain nuts are safe, hershey's chocolate kisses plain are safe, ghiradelli semi sweet dark baking chocolate bars are pricey but reliably safe, found in the baking section. M&M plain and peanut candies if made in the US are supposed to be safe, don't eat Canadian ones. Many dried fruits are safe, try to find something like raisins. Dried pineapple is great if you are not sensitive to sulfites. Lara bars are safe. Jennie's coconut macaroons are safe. Hard boiled eggs are safe (you could ask for these at a restaurant "to go" in the morning when you eat breakfast, and then carry them with you ). Fresh fruit is of course, safe, but at a grocery you can also find pre packaged chopped up vegetables such as "broccoli medley" which has broccoli, carrots, and snow peas in a package that would make about 4 servings, and they can be eaten raw or microwaved. You also would need a box of small, zip lock sandwich size plastic bags. I will double bag little salads of broccoli or coleslaw mix and eat them right out of the bag with a plastic spork. Many of the groceries now carry real fruit or carrot juices in small individual size bottles in the refrigerated section. V8 juice is safe. You can also find little bottles of vinegar and little bottles of oil to use as your own salad dressing mixings, these do not need to be refrigerated. Best Foods Real Mayonaise is safe.

Rice dream brands of rice milk and soy milks may have minute amounts of gluten IN SPITE OF their labeling, because of the way they are processed, and some sensitive people do react to them, so I don't think they fall under the "safe" category. This is why, if I buy a little aseptic carton of "alternative milk product" such as a nut milk, I don't use those brands. (this is based on personal experience as well as what I have read here about what the company says they use in processing.)

Watch out for some of our dairy products, because some of our yogurts and sour creams you think should be safe, are not because of added thickeners.

I keep some tea bags with me also, because it seems that most places at least have hot water and it's hard to screw that up.

Also, I would go ahead and get a little ice chest to stash food in when you are day tripping, and what I call a "to go snackbag" which is a little tote bag I keep filled with munchables that I can grab as I go out the door. I can last for a long time on some homemade trail mix of nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, and a piece of fruit and a chunk of cheese. Add a rice cake and some tuna and some raw veggie and it's a fast SAFE meal. The trick is to keep drinking lots of water, to keep yourself hydrated, especially at the higher altitudes, which is very drying.

When you get to Reno, since it is a legal gambling state with casinos, you should have much more food "grazing" options because they have a lot of buffets with EVERYTHING on them in some of the hotels/restaurants connected to said casinos. And even more amazingly I have found waitstaff who are really nice when I say I need something without wheat, as they are more used to dealing with travellers. I tell ya, when somebody says, okay, how does some PLAIN rice sound as a side dish with that steak, and we can do some fresh plain veggies, and it arrives as PLAIN rice without some sort of gunk on it, and some perfectly cooked vegetables, you nearly want to kiss them in gratitude !

I do know there is Jimboy's Taco's in the Reno and Tahoe areas, and that Jimboy's ingredients other than their wheat tortillas tend to be very celiac friendly. They can steam the corn tortillas separately and put the fillings for other things on them in the items that have tortillas.

Outback Steakhouse is a national chain of steak restaurants here that also has a gluten free menu which you can find on their website. When you order, say you want that gluten free menu and specify that they DON'T put that seasoning stuff on your vegetables. You can put their sour cream on your potato, but I like to ask for stuff on that to be brought to the table on the side so I can do it myself.

Some of the more tradional Mexican restaurants tend to have foods that I don't react to, like carne asada dinner plate, which is beef, rice, and refried beans, typically with a garnish of salsa or guacamole. You have to watch out for what they might marinate the meat in, and also, if the beans are homemade they will tend to be okay.

Restaurant Butter In America.

DON'T let restaurants butter your stuff for you, ask that it be brought to the table so you can spread your own. If it only comes as a melted butter product, avoid it like the PLAGUE, because melted "butter" in restaurants has all sorts of other flavoring things in it. If it is solid and yellow, and better yet arrives in a little foil packet that says 100% pure dairy butter on it, with a picture of a cow, it is probably okay. Don't let other people poke their crumby knives into YOUR butter. Butter is one of those things you have to get, uhm, possessive about. There is their butter, and your butter.

Salads in America.

There is this wierd obsession with putting stale bread cubes on salads in this county. Make it a habit to order the salad to be made WITHOUT THE CROUTONS. Say it with me "Salad, and make it with NO croutons." If they say "but it doesn't come with croutons" act really happy and thank them that they are friendly to people with wheat allergies.

What, you said "allergies", I thought I meant "intolerant."

Yes, you know and I know that we are intolerant, meaning that we're just going to get sick later, but the restaurant personell act a lot more CAREFUL and pay attention if you say "allergy." My husband starting doing this when I ordered in a restaurant, if the waiter doesn't seem to "get" what I just said, he pipes up SHE'S ALLERGIC AND SHE'LL GET SICK IF SHE HAS THAT. At first I wanted to kick him under the table when he did this, but it does work.

Their faces will light up most of the time, because they think you might croak right there at the table like a person with a peanut allergy if you get accidently croutoned.

You see, when you say "no glutens" their brains are usually translating this as "no croutons". The words sound so much alike, they think you just don't like croutons. And "no wheat" usually means "white bread not brown." So we're going to help them by using different words.

Scrambled Eggs in America

Some really ditzy places like IHOP put pancake batter in their scrambled eggs. If you order eggs, again, if you don't stick to fried or soft boil or hard boiled eggs, specify that you have "allergies" and that you need plain eggs, NO WHEAT products.

When you reach California, try to find a Raley's, Belair, or Knob Hill grocery because they have a very good health food sections aisle with a lot of gluten free items. Depending on how ambitious you wanted to be, you could even buy ingredients to make your own hot drink mixes to add to hot water, and carry them in zip lock sandwich baggies. (pure cocoa powder, instant freeze dried high quality coffee, some sort of sugar or sugar substitute, = mocha mix)

Don't overlook the cafeteria type snack shops at the ski slopes, sometimes I have found more edible food there a la carte than at the restaurant we tried to eat at later. If I have a homemade gluten free sandwich or muffin in my pocket I can microwave and add it to their salad and fruit and candy bar, and get a hot drink, I can sit there and eat with another person and look out the window at the scenery, and be perfectly happy.

[GINAHOLLY]

Thankyou so much for your detailed reply, I really appreciate your effort and great advice. I only have to survive one more day here then I'm going to Tahoe where I'll have my own kitchen. I got to ski today for the first time since we arrived a few days ago and now feel much more human!

Ah, okay, I meant to reply to your other post but I misplaced it. Welcome to the United States, it is not so much we don't have safe food here but you are stuck in a situation where you are having problems accessing it !

I live in CA north of Sacramento, the state capitol midstate, so we are within driving distance of Lake Tahoe skiing. I am sorry I am not that familiar with the Colorado skiing area. What you should do right now is call up the hotel's concierge on the phone, or go down to the front desk and ask for him/her, and tell them you need to find a health food store or regular grocery with a decent health food aisle, and have them find the closest decent one, and take a cab over to it and stock up on safe munchables. Call the store up before you go and find out what they stock. You also need a room with a refrigerator if you don't have one.

If you can, try to find lundberg brand rice cakes and mission corn tortillas, both are gluten free and can act as a carbohydrate base for any sort of other stuff you put on them. Jiff peanut butter is also supposed to be safe, but read the labels. Packaged tuna in little foil single serving pouches is good. Hard cheeses are usually sturdy and travel well, and you can buy individually packaged organic string cheese sticks as well. Hormel brand packaged turkey slices in the brown cardboard package labeled "Made without Gluten" is safe. Plain nuts are safe, hershey's chocolate kisses plain are safe, ghiradelli semi sweet dark baking chocolate bars are pricey but reliably safe, found in the baking section. M&M plain and peanut candies if made in the US are supposed to be safe, don't eat Canadian ones. Many dried fruits are safe, try to find something like raisins. Dried pineapple is great if you are not sensitive to sulfites. Lara bars are safe. Jennie's coconut macaroons are safe. Hard boiled eggs are safe (you could ask for these at a restaurant "to go" in the morning when you eat breakfast, and then carry them with you ). Fresh fruit is of course, safe, but at a grocery you can also find pre packaged chopped up vegetables such as "broccoli medley" which has broccoli, carrots, and snow peas in a package that would make about 4 servings, and they can be eaten raw or microwaved. You also would need a box of small, zip lock sandwich size plastic bags. I will double bag little salads of broccoli or coleslaw mix and eat them right out of the bag with a plastic spork. Many of the groceries now carry real fruit or carrot juices in small individual size bottles in the refrigerated section. V8 juice is safe. You can also find little bottles of vinegar and little bottles of oil to use as your own salad dressing mixings, these do not need to be refrigerated. Best Foods Real Mayonaise is safe.

Rice dream brands of rice milk and soy milks may have minute amounts of gluten IN SPITE OF their labeling, because of the way they are processed, and some sensitive people do react to them, so I don't think they fall under the "safe" category. This is why, if I buy a little aseptic carton of "alternative milk product" such as a nut milk, I don't use those brands. (this is based on personal experience as well as what I have read here about what the company says they use in processing.)

Watch out for some of our dairy products, because some of our yogurts and sour creams you think should be safe, are not because of added thickeners.

I keep some tea bags with me also, because it seems that most places at least have hot water and it's hard to screw that up.

Also, I would go ahead and get a little ice chest to stash food in when you are day tripping, and what I call a "to go snackbag" which is a little tote bag I keep filled with munchables that I can grab as I go out the door. I can last for a long time on some homemade trail mix of nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, and a piece of fruit and a chunk of cheese. Add a rice cake and some tuna and some raw veggie and it's a fast SAFE meal. The trick is to keep drinking lots of water, to keep yourself hydrated, especially at the higher altitudes, which is very drying.

When you get to Reno, since it is a legal gambling state with casinos, you should have much more food "grazing" options because they have a lot of buffets with EVERYTHING on them in some of the hotels/restaurants connected to said casinos. And even more amazingly I have found waitstaff who are really nice when I say I need something without wheat, as they are more used to dealing with travellers. I tell ya, when somebody says, okay, how does some PLAIN rice sound as a side dish with that steak, and we can do some fresh plain veggies, and it arrives as PLAIN rice without some sort of gunk on it, and some perfectly cooked vegetables, you nearly want to kiss them in gratitude !

I do know there is Jimboy's Taco's in the Reno and Tahoe areas, and that Jimboy's ingredients other than their wheat tortillas tend to be very celiac friendly. They can steam the corn tortillas separately and put the fillings for other things on them in the items that have tortillas.

Outback Steakhouse is a national chain of steak restaurants here that also has a gluten free menu which you can find on their website. When you order, say you want that gluten free menu and specify that they DON'T put that seasoning stuff on your vegetables. You can put their sour cream on your potato, but I like to ask for stuff on that to be brought to the table on the side so I can do it myself.

Some of the more tradional Mexican restaurants tend to have foods that I don't react to, like carne asada dinner plate, which is beef, rice, and refried beans, typically with a garnish of salsa or guacamole. You have to watch out for what they might marinate the meat in, and also, if the beans are homemade they will tend to be okay.

Restaurant Butter In America.

DON'T let restaurants butter your stuff for you, ask that it be brought to the table so you can spread your own. If it only comes as a melted butter product, avoid it like the PLAGUE, because melted "butter" in restaurants has all sorts of other flavoring things in it. If it is solid and yellow, and better yet arrives in a little foil packet that says 100% pure dairy butter on it, with a picture of a cow, it is probably okay. Don't let other people poke their crumby knives into YOUR butter. Butter is one of those things you have to get, uhm, possessive about. There is their butter, and your butter.

Salads in America.

There is this wierd obsession with putting stale bread cubes on salads in this county. Make it a habit to order the salad to be made WITHOUT THE CROUTONS. Say it with me "Salad, and make it with NO croutons." If they say "but it doesn't come with croutons" act really happy and thank them that they are friendly to people with wheat allergies.

What, you said "allergies", I thought I meant "intolerant."

Yes, you know and I know that we are intolerant, meaning that we're just going to get sick later, but the restaurant personell act a lot more CAREFUL and pay attention if you say "allergy." My husband starting doing this when I ordered in a restaurant, if the waiter doesn't seem to "get" what I just said, he pipes up SHE'S ALLERGIC AND SHE'LL GET SICK IF SHE HAS THAT. At first I wanted to kick him under the table when he did this, but it does work.

Their faces will light up most of the time, because they think you might croak right there at the table like a person with a peanut allergy if you get accidently croutoned.

You see, when you say "no glutens" their brains are usually translating this as "no croutons". The words sound so much alike, they think you just don't like croutons. And "no wheat" usually means "white bread not brown." So we're going to help them by using different words.

Scrambled Eggs in America

Some really ditzy places like IHOP put pancake batter in their scrambled eggs. If you order eggs, again, if you don't stick to fried or soft boil or hard boiled eggs, specify that you have "allergies" and that you need plain eggs, NO WHEAT products.

When you reach California, try to find a Raley's, Belair, or Knob Hill grocery because they have a very good health food sections aisle with a lot of gluten free items. Depending on how ambitious you wanted to be, you could even buy ingredients to make your own hot drink mixes to add to hot water, and carry them in zip lock sandwich baggies. (pure cocoa powder, instant freeze dried high quality coffee, some sort of sugar or sugar substitute, = mocha mix)

Don't overlook the cafeteria type snack shops at the ski slopes, sometimes I have found more edible food there a la carte than at the restaurant we tried to eat at later. If I have a homemade gluten free sandwich or muffin in my pocket I can microwave and add it to their salad and fruit and candy bar, and get a hot drink, I can sit there and eat with another person and look out the window at the scenery, and be perfectly happy.

[osusanna]

I love to eat out so I have had to talk with the chef or manager at many restaurants and it is possible to work things out to have a safe delicious meal. Just be patient and like the other responses recommend try to contact the restaurant ahead of time or before or after the "rush".

You didn't mention which part of the country you are visiting? But many tourist areas have hotels and restaurants with gluten-free menus ie disneyland, disneyworld, dairy queen, outback steakhouse, mountain mikes pizza, etc.

And many more will accomodate you by making a protein or lettuce wrap burger, adjust sauces or check ingrediaents for you so that there will be something you can eat.

Good Luck

Hope the rest of your trip is wonderfull

[gfpaperdoll]

Hello, well glad to hear you are going to Tahoe. There is a PF Chang's in Reno. In South Lake Tahoe there is a fish & chips place called Freshies, everything is Gluten Free. the Chart House is excellent, I have eaten there a lot, the salad bar even has caviar, you can get anything grilled, baked potatoes, shrimp cocktail that type of thing. Any casino, in the nicer restaurant the chef will cook you anything...

I also love Raley's in South Lake Tahoe same side of the street as the Heavenly lift & in walking distance from there. Raley's is a grocery store but they will have the loveliest California fruits that you have ever seen, along with deli meats, all kinds of cheeses, and tons of stuff, you of course can also get gloves there & a cooler & backpacks to pack food in. I got a waistpack at the outdoors store right down from Raleys & used it to pack my food for the day & it had room for two water bottles.

If you go over the mountain into Genoa there is a 5 star restaurant there - very reasonable prices & most of their meals are gluten-free - just do not get the sauces on the meat items. The homemade ice cream is wonderful just remind them not to put a cookie on your ice cream.

Not sure if you know but Fritos are safe & they pack nicely.

Have a wonderful vacation - enjoy...