Vacationing W/ Other Families

[sarahluther]

Hi there everyone!  Hopefully someone out there can give me some good advice.  I was diagnosed w/ Celiacs in the beginning of May, so I am fairly new to this world.  I have been gluten free since and except for the occasional accidental glutening, I feel a lot better.  Problem is, I have my first vacation in almost 20 years coming up in August.  (Obviously planned before my diagnosis.)  We will be sharing our vacation house with 2 other families- I am the only one with any food restrictions.  I obviously don't want to get sick on vacation - but I also don't want to be a burden to the 15 other people we will be staying with for the week - harrassing everyone about keeping their gluten to themselves, haha.  I need to know if anyone else has been through this and what is the best way of going about it.  I am pretty sure that I will need to bring my own pots/pans, cooking utensils, etc.  I thought about cooking and freezing meals before hand and transporting them.  Help!  Any suggestions would be appreciated- thank you! =)

[cyclinglady]

Sounds like you have it down. I like the idea of preparing meals in advance. I do this while camping or traveling in our RV. Makes my vacation more enjoyable.

I am currently vacationing with my extended family at the lake. I have a bin of cooking pots and pans, utensils, parchment paper and foil. I use toaster bags (Amazon) so we do not have to buy a toaster or worry about someone using a gluten-free toaster the rest of the year. I use plenty of paper towels. We use the parchment to line dishes and the foil on the grill. I keep gluten-free food stashed in our bin and away from the family.(kept in our room). I do purchase gluten-free things and share except once it is opened, we do not eat it again! We are always first through the buffet line and I am in the kitchen supervising the prep. All dishes go through the dishwasher. We use lots of paper goods too since we are all on vacation. Squeeze bottles for mayo, etc are a must. We get first dibs on scooping ice cream too.

I also keep an ice chest around depending on the crowd and in my room.

My family is pretty good about it. Took a lot of training. But it seems everyone has allergies or intolerances. We make it work.

Have fun!