Traveling For The Holidays.

[Googles]

So this is the first year that i am going to be traveling significantly for the holidays. This will be my longest travel yet, before this only overnight and one three day trip for school. I am going to my brother's house for about 5 days. I am going to be doing my own cooking while i am there. I am driving by car so pretty much whatever I want to take with me is a possibility. I was wondering if people think that I should take my own pots/pans etc to my brothers to reduce the chance of cc. This will be my first time at someone else's house except for when i lived with a roomate (who was almost never there). I don't want to get sick while I am there, but I don't want to go overboard. Suggestions?

[LauraTX]

I am going on a car trip soon to my inlaws house.   They understand what I cant eat, just not what I can eat, if that makes sense.  For breakfast I am going to bring cereal and instant gluten-free oatmeal packets.  I'm bringing plenty of snack bars, other snacks for the car ride, and my toaster and george foreman grill.  I know their grocery store will have gluten-free sandwich supplies and I figured I can survive on that, plus also pick up some chicken breasts and frozen steam-in-bag broccoli so I can make my own thing separate from everything else when nothing in their meal is gluten-free.  So, if you don't mind eating sandwiches for lunch every day, I would bring your toaster (unless you have a bread that is good enough to eat at room temp) and maybe check out what grocery store is near your brothers house to see what you can get there and need to bring.  

 

And as for pots and pans, I would say maybe bring one big skillet and one medium sized pot, that way you don't have too much but you aren't getting CC'd with their cookware.  I would also bring a big roll of foil so you can use their baking sheets and just cover it up.  For the drive there, I know there are Wendy's everywhere and I can go with the old standby of chili and a baked potato, and I will try to scout out Chik Fil A and Outback along the way.  It is a 14 hour drive and we will probably do it in one day going there, and split it up into two on the way back.  So hopefully I can find a hotel and an Outback near each other somewhere around half way, haha.

[cyclinglady]

Whatever you can stuff into your car!  An extra pot or two and don't forget your own toaster.  I just spent a weekend in a hotel with friends.  I brought all my own food and used the microwave and my ice chest.  We found one gluten free restaurant.  No luck the second night, so I had a Go Picnic in my purse.  It held me over while the rest of the gang dined.  I think I ate better than they all did! 

 

Have fun and enjoy being away from home!

[Googles]

Thank you both for your advice. i'm nervous about being gone from home for so long.

[cyclinglady]

You'll be fine!  Each year, I spend two weeks at Christmas and five weeks in the summer at my parent's house out of state!  This year was the first time I was gluten free (husband's been gluten-free for 12 years), but I was freaked out this past summer after I fractured a vertebrae doing nothing!  (Yeah, I have osteoporosis thanks to celiac disease!)  Because we fly, I keep a bin of my cooking stuff stashed at my parent's house.  Everyone's pretty nice about eating lots of gluten free items and I oversee the cooking or do it myself.  If there is a potluck, my husband and I always go first before any cross contamination can occur and we eat only the things we've prepared or watched being prepared.    

 

You'll be fine!  Have lots of fun and listen to your intuition.  If you feel safe, go for it!  

[AVR1962]

My biggest concern in a home that was gluten-free would be the pots and pans, the pasta strainer, the toaster and the cutting boards. Can you stuff some of those into your luggage?

 

Annette

[notme]

i used to bring a toaster, now i just use their oven (with tinfoil) to toast or thaw whatever.  i used to bring a cutting board and knives, but now i just clean one of their stainless steel ones really good and cut on paper plates (i double up the heavy duty ones)  if i cut through them or they start getting cut apart, i throw them away, get new plates, finish cutting.  strainer i would still bring.  a small pot, i usually bring.  i bring my own sugar for my tea that i know hasn't been double dipped with a flour spoon while baking lolz.  ziplocks, wooden spoons, a little frying pan, maybe a spatula or tongs.  i used to bring my whole kitchen (my poor husband had to fit all this into the car lolz ) and my own little grill <which i wore out!!  i want another one!!) 

 

last year, we had a tragedy and i had to fly in a hurry.  i couldn't even think of what i needed to bring with me much less fit it into a suitcase.   when i got there, i went to the restaurant i knew i could eat all their stuff safely, and i ordered 3 or 4 dinners to go.  got me some udi's bread and some lunchmeat and i survived and was able to concentrate on what needed to be done without being concerned about what i was going to eat/how to prepare it safely with no equipment.  

[howlnmad]

i used to bring my whole kitchen (my poor husband had to fit all this into the car lolz ) and my own little grill <which i wore out!!  i want another one!!)

It's a good thing that I pack light.

 

I put my foot down on trying to get the stove in the trunk.