First Trip In A Long Time

[GlutenGalAZ]

I am so nervous..

I have been on the gluten free diet for almost a year now but haven't been away from the house more then just day trips.

How do you:

1.) Travel with Gluten Free Food (that you make i.e. bread, pancakes, muffins etc )??

2.) What is the best way to pack it while in the car? The travel time to CA takes approx 4.5-5hrs.

3.) What do you usually do when you are staying at a hotel? We will be gone for about 3-4 days.

My husband and I moved from Southern CA 2 years ago. Luckily my parents come and visit every couple of months so I am not terribly home sick and his parents moved to the same city we live in so we do have some family here.

I really miss my 3 older brothers who I haven't seen in 2 years. I am already nervous that I am going to start crying when I see them but am also nervous about leaving my gluten free environment that I am in everyday..

Did anyone else have this problem on their first trip? (the gluten free part not family )

How did you deal with the feelings and how did you do?

I am planning on buying some of the Hormel Natural Choice packaged meat and corn tortillas when we get there.

I have so many worries, questions and nerves about this -- But the above is the short version =)

Thank you in advance for any advise!!!

[julirama723]

BRING A COOLER and a hard-sided food box!

Bring more food than you think you need.

Pack your cooler with those blue ice packs or blocks. They stay cold for many hours. In the cooler, you can pack pre-cut/pre-washed veggies, cheese sticks, hardboiled eggs, fruit, dips/dressings/condiments, beef jerky, corn tortillas, grilled chicken breasts, yogurt, etc. (I'm not sure what your food limitations are, omit any ideas that don't work!)

In your hotel room, you might have a fridge/freezer to keep food and ice blocks cool. If not, you could borrow your relatives freezer to refreeze blocks, OR you can always get ice from the hotel vending machine. (Bring gallon-sized bags for this!)

In your food box (I use a rubbermaid container), bring nuts, sunflower seeds, peanut butter, gluten-free crackers, gluten-free bread, gluten-free cookies, jam, canned veggies, as well as disposable cups, napkins, plates, and flatware.

Bring enough food to eat 3 meals a day for as long as you'll be there, or bring enough for a couple days if you plan on grocery shopping.

When we travel, we do a mix of camping and hotel stays for 2 weeks. We've done this every summer for 3 years, and never had any problems! I've only been gluten-free for a short while, but I've had various dietary restrictions for a few years so I've just preferred to bring my own food. It's cheaper, easier, safer, and much more convenient!

Also, before you go, search the internet to find gluten-free stores or restaurants, and print maps to these locations!

[GlutenGalAZ]

Thank you for the reply and the great ideas.

I really don't like store bread plus they all seem to have tapioca flour in them, so I guess I am worried/not sure how long my bread or rolls (I would make day or two before we would leave) would last in the ice chest. So things like that (how long in the ice chest) worried me. I am use to freezing or refrigerating anything I make (but cookies) but I guess an ice chest is pretty much a refrigerator as long as I keep it cold enough.

Thank you so much for the pointers and ideas. I appreciate it.

[celiac-mommy]

We take frequent road trips, I always bring a small cooler in case the room doesn't have a fridge, and then I can refill using the ice machine. I bring non-perishables that are a little more sustaining-LARA bars, nuts, peanut butter and jelly, crackers, pretzles, fruit, cereal, granola, organic chocolate milk (from Coscto-no refrigeration needed), pudding/applesauce cups, etc... In the cooler, I take a loaf of homemade sliced bread, homemade muffins (usually banana), hormel naturals lunchmeat/pepperoni/salami, sliced cheese, cheese sticks, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, etc.. I bring a roll of paper towels and some plastic utensils too.

I also map out grocery stores, restaurants, etc.. Most of the times we stop for lunch or dinner on the way we stop at a grocery store for more (and safer) options-the kids like it too because there's more to choose from

[dandelionmom]

We make sure our hotel room has a microwave and mini fridge and we look up the local health food stores before we go.

We try to only travel with the food we need for the car (cereal bars, juice boxes, and chips) and buy everything else at our destination because our car is to small for a cooler.

[Sweetfudge]

Here's what I take w/ me when traveling:

Tuna w/ crackers, nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit, veggies, jerky, gluten-free trail mix/granola, cream of rice (w/ brown sugar and cinnamon mixed in already), muffins, breads.

Went on a trip w/ my mom, and brought a huge ziploc bag full of homemade cheese-it crackers (pre-dairy free days) and coconut-lemon muffins. That's all we ate the whole time.

We are taking a trip to disneyworld next month, and since we are doing breakfasts in the room, I plan on bringing my own baked goods (pancakes, bread, muffins) and packing along my toaster oven. I have one of the cheap (like $20), smaller toaster ovens that i bought at walmart, and use for all my gluten-free toasting. I think that will do well for breakfasts.

I don't know if the room will have a fridge (we're requesting it), so I'm bringing my soft lunchbox cooler to stuff w/ ice if needed to store all the baked goods. I always freeze them a few days before flying out so they don't thaw as quickly.

Oh, don't forget the sweets! gluten-free cookies, chocolate, candy so you won't feel left out if you can't eat dessert w/ everyone else.

Good luck to you!

[GlutenGalAZ]

Thank you everyone for all of the great ideas.

I was nervous about bringing homemade bread/pancakes/muffins but after reading your posts it sounds like that is duable. Pretty much keep them in a cold cooler and they should do well

Some of the things you all mentioned totally slipped my mind...I was already thinking main meals and forgot about any type of snack food like nuts.

Luckily I grew up (25yrs) where we are going to go visit so I know where the grocery stores are (yea one point for me)...I haven't been to the local Whole Foods so am looking forward to that. I know there is a Henry's 5-10 minutes from my parents house so that will be interesting going there (I have only been in there pre-gluten free days).

Thank you again for all of the wonderful comments/ideas/pointers

Good Luck Sweetfudge on your Disney trip!! Hope you have a great time.

[harp1]

Great ideas. Thanks all!

[gadgetgirl]

On my last trip via car (4 hours), I did the cooler thing. My hotel had a small fridge and a microwave. I also brought along my toaster and my mini-electric skillet plus a few utensils. It worked out perfectly.

Traveling by air is different as I don't like to check bags if I can avoid it. I did pack a couple of gluten-free baked goods in my luggage with one of those ice packs. Worked fine. I had a rental car for this particular trip so had figured out where the Trader Joe's and grocery stores were located and just stocked up with items when I arrived. This hotel was actually an extended stay so I had a couple of electric burners and the basic kitchen stuff. Was a very successful trip.

With a little pre-planning, gluten-free travel IS possible!

[mandasmom]

I travel all the time!! 3-4 hours in the car should be no prolem....i always take nuts, fuit, crackers, peanut butter, canned fruit, dried fruit, protein bars and slimfast. I alwasy request a fridge for the room when I make my reservation. Once youve taken a few trips you will get the hang of it..hardest part is travel to places where locals dont speak english...thats the biggest challenge. Domestic travel can be done safely and easily. Just rmember that the risk of accidental glutening is way smaller than the risk of not having wonderful relationships with your family. You wont die from an accidental opps so in my mind the benefits of restaurants, dinner parties and family gatherings is way bigger than the risk of diahrrea...in all my travels i have occassionaly gotten sick..but far less often than you might think...Good luck! I bet those brothers of yours will be thrilled to see you..

[Sweetfudge]

Good Luck Sweetfudge on your Disney trip!! Hope you have a great time.

thanks! 2 1/2 weeks to go! hope your trip is a blast as well!

[GlutenGalAZ]

I travel all the time!! 3-4 hours in the car should be no prolem....i always take nuts, fuit, crackers, peanut butter, canned fruit, dried fruit, protein bars and slimfast. I alwasy request a fridge for the room when I make my reservation. Once youve taken a few trips you will get the hang of it..hardest part is travel to places where locals dont speak english...thats the biggest challenge. Domestic travel can be done safely and easily. Just rmember that the risk of accidental glutening is way smaller than the risk of not having wonderful relationships with your family. You wont die from an accidental opps so in my mind the benefits of restaurants, dinner parties and family gatherings is way bigger than the risk of diahrrea...in all my travels i have occassionaly gotten sick..but far less often than you might think...Good luck! I bet those brothers of yours will be thrilled to see you..

I think we are waiting till next month we have a lot going on this month. Figure wait till Mid Feb then my mom can come back with us (they are in the middle of moving here) and then my dad can come the next weekend with the dogs then bring my mom back to CA. Will be nice seeing my brothers, they have been giving me a hard time about not visiting them. My neice is excited, she is 12yr now and I have been hearing that she talks about us all the time saying that she is excited to see us soon etc. So this will be neat. After all of the great ideas everyone posted I feel more comfortable going now. Just one of those steps one has to make ahhh but scary too

thanks! 2 1/2 weeks to go! hope your trip is a blast as well!

Thank you!

You will have to do a post about your trip afterwards to let us know how it went and any pointers.