Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

For Those Who Need Food Ideas For Long Road Trips


Carriefaith

Recommended Posts

Carriefaith Enthusiast

I just traveled a very long distance by car (PEI to Alberta) and I just wanted to give everyone food ideas for long distance traveling since a lot of us cannot eat out at restaurants. The best approach is to buy canned food such as Green Giant vegetables, Heinz beans, ect and bring a microwavable dish with a cover and a can opener. Almost all the big truck stops have a microwave and a sink to clean your dishes. In Canada, go to Petro Canada Truck stations. Thai kitchen rice noodles are also good to microwave Open Original Shared Link

Other ideas are fruit to go bars, trail mix (dried fruit and nuts), gluten free bread and peanut butter, and candy!


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



2Boys4Me Enthusiast

Thanks Carrie. I may be trapping myself in a van for two days with two kids and was trying to figure out how to do it. I think I'll have to pack a suitcase of food anyway, I'm not sure what's available where we're going...if we go.

kabowman Explorer

When you pack the suitcase full of food - you have empty space for souviniers on the way home!!!!!

I always take my own cooler and bag of food for any trip...works better and is safer.

AndreaB Contributor

We are heading to a family camp meeting next week. The people are primarily vegan as far as I know and we just left that diet. They have a kitchen you can plug in stuff and probably cook stuff (not sure, never been) but I have to worry about cross contamination. I'm trying to figure out what I can pack for the whole family (4) for five days that we can eat cold. My husband is used to eating all his food cold, the rest of us are not.

Mango04 Enthusiast
We are heading to a family camp meeting next week. The people are primarily vegan as far as I know and we just left that diet. They have a kitchen you can plug in stuff and probably cook stuff (not sure, never been) but I have to worry about cross contamination. I'm trying to figure out what I can pack for the whole family (4) for five days that we can eat cold. My husband is used to eating all his food cold, the rest of us are not.

I see you're allergic to some beans, but can you do cans of garbanzo or kindey beans? You can put beans on salads for added protein. You'll have a fridge right? Can you do gluten-free lunch meat on corn thins or corn tortillas? Or does it have to be vegan? Rice crackers with hummus? All sorts of veggies and fruits with peanut and almond butter. Nuts and seeds. Trail mix. I like Go Raw stuff. Open Original Shared Link (the granola is gluten-free) It's expensive but healthy and fills you up when you are hungry and without a kitchen. Organic Food Bars come in handy as well.

Guest Viola

My favourite thing to do is ...rice crackers, small cheese pieces already cut and a bowl full of strawberries. Then I eat while I'm driving and just stop long enough to gas up and pee. :D That of course if I am traveling alone.

When both myself and hubby are traveling I fix things for picnic style for myself and hubby picks up a sandwich at a gas station deli and we stop at the nearest picnic place so our dog Sheba can get some excercise and lunch too. Things like gluten free cup puddings, yogurt etc. are good to travel with as well.

AndreaB Contributor

Mango04,

We've left the vegan diet due to my allergies. I'm not too concerned about some people getting offended with us having meat. Can't do kidney beans, I'm allergic. I've never had any symptoms that I can remember so all of this is interesting. My husband doesn't do well with beans in general so we will probably be eliminating them with the exception of trying lentils again. I'll check out goraw. We don't mind the expense of good food. Our problem now is that the raise that came with driving doubles and gave us the increase we needed for the extra expense disappeared when the driver whose truck he was driving came back to work. They didn't know he was coming back. So he's back to single and that pay rate and we're hoping for doubles again soon. The camp has a walk in refridgerator. It's about an 8 hour drive from us which should be interesting with the kids. Somehow I think the baby will take to it better than the other two. We'll be stopping for a break every 2 hours or so. We leave bright and early on the 31st. and won't be back til late the 4th. I'll be really behind on the forum by then. Just learned a friend of mine has a friend whose allergic to gluten. Don't know about her but I left my friend know about this site just in case her friend hadn't heard about/found it.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



corinne Apprentice

Thanks! I didn't realise that anyone could use the facilities at truck stops. I can only eat well-cooked fruits+veggies, meat+eggs right now. I'm moving to California this summer and will be spending 3 weeks on the road (Montana to Glacier Park to Calgary to Edmonton to Vancouver to Seattle to Portland to southern California) hiking and visiting family/friends. I was planning to bring a camp stove, but having access to a microwave will make for some quick easy meals.

Guest moorkitty

We bought a small cooker at Canadian Tire that plugs into the car lighter. It is shaped like a lunchbox. We can make up small meals in foil trays, keep in a cooler and pop in to heat when hungry. It takes about 40 minutes. You can even hit the grocery store and buy canned food to heat in it. I have bought small packets of frozen cabbage rolls, etc and it works real well. I wash out the foil trays each night in the motel and reuse them. I always travel with my hemp seed, dried fruit and almonds in case of hunger pangs and not being able to find food. Hard boiled eggs travel well, as do pre-popped bags of micro popcorn. I find Wendy's chili, baked potato, and salad good (and cheap) in a pinch. I have been glutenized so many times in restaurants I am extremely careful of what I order.

penguin Community Regular
We bought a small cooker at Canadian Tire that plugs into the car lighter. It is shaped like a lunchbox. We can make up small meals in foil trays, keep in a cooler and pop in to heat when hungry. It takes about 40 minutes. You can even hit the grocery store and buy canned food to heat in it. I have bought small packets of frozen cabbage rolls, etc and it works real well. I wash out the foil trays each night in the motel and reuse them. I always travel with my hemp seed, dried fruit and almonds in case of hunger pangs and not being able to find food. Hard boiled eggs travel well, as do pre-popped bags of micro popcorn. I find Wendy's chili, baked potato, and salad good (and cheap) in a pinch. I have been glutenized so many times in restaurants I am extremely careful of what I order.

Do you happen to know the name of the brand that makes the in-car cooker?

Guest moorkitty

Koolatron. Unfortunately, I don't have the original box so that's all the info I can offer. It snaps shut like a lunchbox and has a carrying handle on top. The inner lining is metal and is easy to clean but I still use the foil trays which I purchase at the dollar store. Best forty bucks I ever spent. Good luck.

  • 4 weeks later...
kristi Rookie

We got a seal-a-meal to package up my adult diapers. This really helped on the added bulk in my suitcase and makes them easy to transport. Foods I packed and was glad to have them from home: Jay Robb's Egg White Protien powder mix vanilla flavor (Wild Oats Market), individual packets of mashed potatoes (Costco)...This was a huge help on the the many plane rides!, Gerber Graduates Mini Fruits freezed dried banana and strawberry, Aunt Candice P&B Choc chip bars(New Seasons Market), Ener G WF Pretzels, Almond butter, Nana's Banana gluten-free bar cookies, Pamela's Biscotti, Cliff Nectar dark choc & walnut bar, Tillamook Country Smoker Old fashion Steak Nuggets, Trader Joe's dried bananas, plain rice crackers and lots of preserved ginger for my tummy. I did OK most of the trip but near the end when the imodium couldn't keep up I was glad to have also packed Oral rehydration salts and some Cera Lyte 70 Rice Based Oral Elecrtolyte powder.

frenchiemama Collaborator

If you have access to hot water (and most places do, even if it's a gas station) Alpine Aire dehydrated backpacking meals are not too shabby. The have a bunch that are gluten-free, I have seen them at REI but you can also order them online.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,549
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Blough
    Newest Member
    Blough
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Your post demonstrates the profound frustration and isolation that so many in the Celiac community feel, and I want to thank you for channeling that experience into advocacy. The medical gaslighting you endured for decades is an unacceptable and, sadly, a common story, and the fact that you now have to "school" your own GI specialist speaks volumes about the critical lack of consistent and updated education. Your idea to make Celiac Disease a reportable condition to public health authorities is a compelling and strategic one. This single action would force the system to formally acknowledge the prevalence and seriousness of the disease, creating a concrete dataset that could drive better research funding, shape medical school curricula, and validate the patient experience in a way that individual stories alone often cannot. It is an uphill battle, but contacting representatives, as you have done with Adam Gray, is exactly how change begins. By framing it as a public health necessity—a matter of patient safety and protection from misdiagnosis and neglect—you are building a powerful case. Your voice and your perseverance, forged through thirty years of struggle, are exactly what this community needs to ensure that no one else has to fight so hard just to be believed and properly cared for.
    • Scott Adams
      I had no idea there is a "Louisville" in Colorado!😉 I thought it was a typo because I always think of the Kentucky city--but good luck!
    • Scott Adams
      Navigating medication safety with Celiac disease can be incredibly stressful, especially when dealing with asthma and severe allergies on top of it. While I don't have personal experience with the HealthA2Z brand of cetirizine, your caution is absolutely warranted. The inactive ingredients in pills, known as excipients, are often where gluten can be hidden, and since the FDA does not require gluten-free labeling for prescription or over-the-counter drugs, the manufacturer's word is essential. The fact that you cannot get a clear answer from Allegiant Health is a significant red flag; a company that is confident its product is gluten-free will typically have a customer service protocol to answer that exact question. In situations like this, the safest course of action is to consider this product "guilty until proven innocent" and avoid it. A better alternative would be to ask your pharmacist or doctor to help you identify a major national brand of cetirizine (like Zyrtec) whose manufacturer has a verified, publicly stated gluten-free policy for that specific medication. It's not worth the risk to your health when reliable, verifiable options are almost certainly available to you. You can search this site for USA prescriptions medications, but will need to know the manufacturer/maker if there is more than one, especially if you use a generic version of the medication: To see the ingredients you will need to click on the correct version of the medication and maker in the results, then scroll down to "Ingredients and Appearance" and click it, and then look at "Inactive Ingredients," as any gluten ingredients would likely appear there, rather than in the Active Ingredients area. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/   
    • Scott Adams
      What you're describing is indeed familiar to many in the Celiac community, especially in the early stages of healing. When the intestinal villi are damaged from Celiac disease, they struggle to properly digest and absorb fats, a condition known as bile acid malabsorption. This can cause exactly the kind of cramping and spasms you're seeing, as undigested fats can irritate the sensitive gut lining. It is highly plausible that her reactions to dairy and eggs are linked to their higher fat content rather than the proteins, especially since she tolerates lean chicken breast. The great news is that for many, this does improve with time. As her gut continues to heal on a strict gluten-free diet, her ability to produce the necessary enzymes and bile to break down fats should gradually return, allowing her to slowly tolerate a wider variety of foods. It's a slow process of healing, but your careful approach of focusing on low-fat, nutrient-dense foods like seeds and avocado is providing her system the best possible environment to recover. Many people with celiac disease, especially those who are in the 0-2 year range of their recovery, have additional food intolerance issues which could be temporary. To figure this out you may need to keep a food diary and do an elimination diet over a few months. Some common food intolerance issues are dairy/casein, eggs, corn, oats, and soy. The good news is that after your gut heals (for most people who are 100% gluten-free this will take several months to two years) you may be able to slowly add some these items back into your diet after the damaged villi heal. This article may be helpful: Thank you for sharing your story—it's a valuable insight for other parents navigating similar challenges.
    • Beverage
      I had a very rough month after diagnosis. No exaggeration, lost so much inflammatory weight, I looked like a bag of bones, underneath i had been literally starving to death. I did start feeling noticeably better after a month of very strict control of my kitchen and home. What are you eating for breakfast and lunch? I ignored my doc and ate oats, yes they were gluten free, but some brands are at the higher end of gluten free. Lots of celics can eat Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oats, but not me. I can now eat them, but they have to be grown and processed according to the "purity protocol" methods. I mail order them, Montana Gluten-Free brand. A food and symptoms and activities log can be helpful in tracking down issues. You might be totally aware, but I have to mention about the risk of airborne gluten. As the doc that diagnosed me warned . . Remember eyes, ears, nose, and mouth all lead to your stomach and intestines.  Are you getting any cross contamination? Airborne gluten? Any pets eating gluten (they eat it, lick themselves, you pet them...)? Any house remodeling? We live in an older home, always fixing something. I've gotten glutened from the dust from cutting into plaster walls, possibly also plywood (glues). The suggestions by many here on vitamin supplements also really helped me. I had some lingering allergies and asthma, which are now 99% gone. I was taking Albuterol inhaler every hour just to breathe, but thiamine in form of benfotiamine kicked that down to 1-2 times a day within a few days of starting it. Also, since cutting out inflammatory seed oils (canola, sunflower, grapeseed, etc) and cooking with real olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, and coconut oil, I have noticed even greater improvement overall and haven't used the inhaler in months! It takes time to weed out everything in your life that contains gluten, and it takes awhile to heal and rebuild your health. At first it's mentally exhausting, overwhelming, even obsessive, but it gets better and second nature.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.