When You Travel

[CarolinaKip]

I'm traveling for the first time as a celiac. I was wondering some of your "must haves" when you travel. From food to other products. It's 6 hours away, so I'm bring what I feel I need and my personal products as a first timer. Do any of you bring your toaster etc?

[kareng]

I bring toaster bags that you put your bread in. Google toaster bags gluten free and they come up. I got the ones in the green packaging "Toast it". Make sure you get the full size, some I saw only covered the bottom of the bread. These were originally made for people in dorms to heat pizza or grilled cheese in a toaster.

[GlutenFreeManna]

If I'm staying at someone house I bring my own pan to cook in as well as a good knife and cutting board. If I'm staying at a hotel, I take plenty of food that is ready or easy to prepare and picnic ware (plastic spoons, plates, foil, saran wrap, containers to put leftovers in etc). I pretend I'm going camping and try to think of everything I could possibly need if I didn't have access to a store.

I also figure out ahead of time where the nearest grocery stores and safe restaurants are and make up a binder with directions to them from my hotel. I include in the binder the lists of safe and unsafe food from this site. I also put in the printed gluten-free menu's of the places I plan to eat (if available online). I also try to find out where there are wifi hotspots if I'm going to be in a big city and away from my hotel for extended periods of time. I have a GPS so I just write down the names of the places and addresses, but it helps to have printed directions as well if I know I will be goign from one place to anohter (sometimes my GPS routes me a funky way and online direction or asking people who live there can give a more direct route).

Three musts in a hotel room are: microwave, fridge and highspeed internet. If I'm staying for more than a day or two I try to get a suite with a kitchenette at one of those extend-stay type places. They usually have a stove to cook on and a full size fridge with freezer as well so it makes it possible to cook meals in room and save money (or avoid boredom having to eat at the same place for a week if there's not a variety of gluten-free friendly restaurants).

I hope you have a good trip! I love to travel and have always planned my travel out, but being gluten free takes extra planning. You cannot over-prepare or over-plan IMO.

[JCastro]

I always take my own toaster. I also take any gluten free food I might need like my pasta and breads. We are lucky because when we vacation we usually either go to my husband's parent's condo in Myrtle Beach or my family's house in Long Beach Island so we always have a kitchen. I research the area I am going to and find restaurants and grocery stores that have gluten free options. I love my Smartphone and couldn't live without it. IMHO anyone who eats gluten free should have one. Having internet access at my fingertips anytime has saved me too many times to count. I can check for restaurants, see if a product is safe, or find restaurants in the area. That's just what I do. Enjoy your first gluten free vacation, don't forget to have fun!

[CarolinaKip]

If I'm staying at someone house I bring my own pan to cook in as well as a good knife and cutting board. If I'm staying at a hotel, I take plenty of food that is ready or easy to prepare and picnic ware (plastic spoons, plates, foil, saran wrap, containers to put leftovers in etc). I pretend I'm going camping and try to think of everything I could possibly need if I didn't have access to a store.

I also figure out ahead of time where the nearest grocery stores and safe restaurants are and make up a binder with directions to them from my hotel. I include in the binder the lists of safe and unsafe food from this site. I also put in the printed gluten-free menu's of the places I plan to eat (if available online). I also try to find out where there are wifi hotspots if I'm going to be in a big city and away from my hotel for extended periods of time. I have a GPS so I just write down the names of the places and addresses, but it helps to have printed directions as well if I know I will be goign from one place to anohter (sometimes my GPS routes me a funky way and online direction or asking people who live there can give a more direct route).

Three musts in a hotel room are: microwave, fridge and highspeed internet. If I'm staying for more than a day or two I try to get a suite with a kitchenette at one of those extend-stay type places. They usually have a stove to cook on and a full size fridge with freezer as well so it makes it possible to cook meals in room and save money (or avoid boredom having to eat at the same place for a week if there's not a variety of gluten-free friendly restaurants).

I hope you have a good trip! I love to travel and have always planned my travel out, but being gluten free takes extra planning. You cannot over-prepare or over-plan IMO.

Thank you both so much! I brought some food and did find some places with gluten-free menus. I have a good store to go to, bought foil etc. I have my own pan too. I am still learning so much!!! I stopped at a Wendys and got a baked potato. I didn't tell them about the cleiac. I watched as the girl make a burger then unwrap the potato! So, I stopped them and the girl who toook my order said "are you allergic to bread" so, they had the girl change gloves. I know now to tell everyone everytime! I'm learning!

[Tina B]

I'm traveling for the first time as a celiac. I was wondering some of your "must haves" when you travel. From food to other products. It's 6 hours away, so I'm bring what I feel I need and my personal products as a first timer. Do any of you bring your toaster etc?

I don't bother with any of that. thee are always choices on restaurant menus. I don't need a specially labeled one. When we flew to Europe for 2 weeks I made sure I had gluten-free snacks in my carry on for the trip over. For the trip back, there were grocery stores everywhere so I got fruit and nuts and snacks for the trip back. While there, we only needed to find restaurants with a menu in English.

[one more mile]

I have a "Kitchen bag" for when I traval. paper plates, a can opener, knives, a cutting board. packets of oatmeal, laura bars, nuts tuna or salmon in a can.

My cooler usually has things in it like yogurt, hot dogs, almond milk. leftovers from the night before I left. some fruit and vegies. I try to eat when the same way I do when I am at home. That way my system gets messed up less.

If I get glutened, mint tea, 4 wintergreen tums and a nap.

[i-geek]

Food. Enough safe food so that you won't starve during the time you're away from home. I'm on day 8 of an 11-day Japan trip right now and quite frankly it feels like I've been here forever. I wish I'd packed an entire suitcase of food. Restaurants are a disaster. The Japanese love their gluten/MSG-filled foods, the language barrier is huge and the dining card freaks people out so I can't use it if I want to eat. We just moved to a hostel from a hotel yesterday which means there's a kitchen and beautiful fresh foods at the market, but considering I just watched someone battering food in flour in the kitchen this afternoon, I'm probably CCing myself when I cook in there (although it's got to be better than restaurant food, and is going to be the best I get until I get home).

[sb2178]

For flying, I always carry 6-8 larabars, a bag of trail mix, and a couple of apples. Sometimes carrots. But I'm one of those people who gets stuck in airports and on runways about half the time. I've had nutella taken away, so no hummus or PB anymore :-( Rice and beans made it through (without salsa).

For visiting people, I generally take pancake mix and plan to buy gluten-free pasta there. Otherwise, I eat rice and potatoes. Everyone has owned some stainless steel that I just scrub down well. And I'm not much of a toast person. I have used other people's cutting boards (as little as possible) without problems, but that's probably not the wisest idea.

I haven't done any car trips, but my mom always packed a cooler for the car when I was small. So that would be a nice way to eat something other than dried fruit and nuts.

[NorthernElf]

I always pack Pepto Bismol tablets and tylenol, advil and rolaids....for if I get zinged.

If I'm in a hotel - we quickly find a styrofoam cooler & stock it with what we can. Breakie is milk & cereal in the room (bring the cereal if nothing nearby). I pack rice crackers, Riceworks chips, lara bars, nut bars, my own salad dressings in small containers, any treats (cookies, whatever). I generally bake my own stuff but it doesn't travel well so I might by some. We buy lots of fruit. Annie Chun's rice bowls are great - esp. if you have a microwave.

Also in the cooler - gluten-free sliced meats, cheese, yogurt, etc.

Most of the chips & crackers I pack in small containers or ziplocs so I can take servings with me. I ALWAYS carry food & water in a small sling backpack....I get into trouble if I'm hungry & I don't have any of my food !

I also scope out the area on the internet looking for gluten-free food stores or health food stores and restaurants with gluten-free menus. We recently went to Nashville for a week and this plan worked well. My only real setback was eating gluten-free pasta at the Old Spaghetti Factory and suffering stomach cramps, D, and headaches all night long...and almost passing out getting ready the next morning. Ugh. I pack & plan so much because of incidences like that !!! Everytime we eat out, we take on some risk !

[Gemini]

I don't bother with any of that. thee are always choices on restaurant menus. I don't need a specially labeled one. When we flew to Europe for 2 weeks I made sure I had gluten-free snacks in my carry on for the trip over. For the trip back, there were grocery stores everywhere so I got fruit and nuts and snacks for the trip back. While there, we only needed to find restaurants with a menu in English.

I agree. When I go to Europe, it's so easy to be gluten-free. High awareness and most people speak English also...at least in the cities, where I tend to stay. I can't speak for all of Europe but western Europe is easy. I do carry some snacks on board the plane, in case there are delays, but other than that, I wing it. Haven't had a problem or gotten sick yet.

[bigbird16]

For business travel where I can't necessarily choose the hotel and ammenities (and often nowhere near a grocery store), I bring a mini electric skillet. I pack pouched tuna and tinned kippers (both from brands that pack their fish in just plain water, no broth), Larabars, instant potatoes (thank you TSA for ripping a hole in the box last time and not returning said box to the plastic bag it was in to keep potato flakes out of my clothes), dehydrated or canned veggies, roast beef hash from Trader Joe's (comes in a handy foil pouch), rice noodles, DariFree powder (for my coffee), and Enjoy Life chocolate bars. I get fresh fruit from the hotel. Last big trip I jerked my own meat with a dehydrator, but ended up with food poisoning, so won't be doing that again--veggies yes, meat no. Because I have to be on the ball at every moment when traveling for work, I don't risk eating out until the last night. I'm excited about the next trip, because we'll actually be near a Whole Foods and I can go grocery shopping when I get there instead of lugging a ton of food.

[Char]

I am a very light packer (usually one carry-on for a trip, no matter how long), so my list is shorter.

I'll always bring a few snacks (cheese and fruit if traveling for a while or (as long as there aren't any border crossings!), nuts or bars otherwise), a container of gluten-free soy sauce (I use a small re-usable 3-oz container), and at least one packet of a boil-in-the-pouch dinner (more if I'll be gone for more than a week). The Trader Joe's hash is good, and so are Tasty Bites (Indian food).

I tend to buy anything else I need if I'm cooking -- in asia, rice and rice noodles; in eastern Europe, grits and potatoes; in South America, quinoa and corn. (Western Europe tends to have a ton of health food stores that sell gluten-free food) Most places I've traveled to have rice cakes, which totally work as "sandwich bread" in a pinch.

-Char

[Reba32]

I recently had 3 days in a hotel in downtown Toronto for FanExpo, and we were on a budget, so we took a cooler rather than try to find restaurants. We didn't have a microwave in our room. We took a nice big bowl of salad, sliced deli meats, hard boiled eggs, cheese strings, Doctor's gluten free CarbRite snack bars, macadamia nuts, peanuts, peanut butter & crackers, almond milk, and gluten free soy cereal.

At the end of October I'm going to Charlotte NC for an event, and I emailed the hotel and the organizers ahead of time to let them know my food requirements. I know a couple of the organizers, so they had already started working on the menus for me anyway Plus, another attendee is also Celiac and she lives near-by so she said she'd drive me over to the nearest grocery store so I could get some snacks. My shopping list will probably look much like above.

For snacks when flying, I take nuts, CarbRite bars, sliced veggies, cheese strings or Baby Bel, and maybe some crackers. Airlines don't allow you to take liquids, gels or anything similar onto flights, unless you buy it in the airport. So peanut butter or other nut butters or even cream cheese would likely be confiscated at security. Plus you can't take cooler gel packs or ice packs, nor frozen water/juice bottles thru security! so don't take anything that will spoil before your flight is over!

To save money I also always take an empty water bottle with me through security, and then fill it up at a fountain at the gate. A bottle of water at the convenience store or in-flight is just rediculously expensive! They know they've got you hostage and if you're thirsty you'll pay it!

[nowheatpete]

Toaster bags are deinitely a good option. Also if you stick to basic things like cheese and fresh fruit you will avoid being glutened.

I found this blog Open Original Shared Link about travelling with gluten a list of links here Open Original Shared Link Advertisement.de/eng/use/travel all related to travelling with food allergies.

[anabananakins]

I spent four weeks travelling around the states. Sometimes in hotels, sometimes with friends, travel mostly by train.

I always had a food bag with me, it's contents varied. I kept rice cakes and larabars for emergencies, but barely touched them. Chex was awesome, I could eat it dry on the train or with milk and I enjoyed it even when I was feeling awful from a previous glutening. Carry a bunch of ziplock bags, they are handy for left overs (such as went I was running low on chex and wanted to ditch the big box) or to divide up a large bag of nuts into smaller servings for your purse. I also had a knife, a chopping board, a plastic bowl and plate (ikea kids ones) and a vege peeler. Oh and I had to buy a can opener so next time I'll take one of those.

[nowheatpete]

I guess that 2nd website is not in this forums good books then?

Toaster bags are deinitely a good option. Also if you stick to basic things like cheese and fresh fruit you will avoid being glutened.

I found this blog Open Original Shared Link about travelling with gluten a list of links here Open Original Shared Link Advertisement.de/eng/use/travel all related to travelling with food allergies.

[Lostfalls]

Something no one has mentioned - along with Imodium, Tylenol and Pepcid AC for accidental glutening, I also pack some enzymes I got from Super Supplements called "Gluten Free" supposedly when taken before a meal they break down the gluten before it reaches your small intestines, it also has enzymes to help break down lactose and something else too, I can't remember... but its affordable so I always keep some on hand and even when eating off of a "gluten free menu" i will take it. I have never gotten "sick" while taking "Gluten Free" but I have found that while it spared me from an evening in the bathroom, it did not spare me from the bloating, exhaustion, and migraine headache that i usually experience when I have been glutened, so use at your own risk. I was grateful not to spend the night in the bathroom, but now know to be prepared to deal with my other symptoms. One of my jobs when I travel for work is arranging dinners with clients so I can't always just politely skip dinner, I participate as safely as I can.....

[MegRie]

The actual "traveling" part is what I think is the hardest. I try to take several things that are high in protien to help me stay feeling full. It sucks when you are surrounded by resteraunts you can't eat at and you are starving.... Here's my must have list.

Lara Bars

Horizon milk cartons- don't have to be refrigerated and I looovve them

cheese

Fruit

Gluten-Free beef sticks

and a can of Gluten-Free soup in case you arrive late and don't feel like cooking.

[K-Dawg]

Hey there:

1) Pre-plan -- I look up a whole foods as I know I can get gluten-free food and snacks. I have vacationed several times and the pre-planning saves me. I travel with a binder with the addresses of the Whole Foods (from state to state) and gluten-free restaurants (and locations of fast food places I can eat at for the road trip...Wendy's or Outback, etc)

2) Snacks - I bring my own snacks. Always. For flight, it's cheese, crackers, trail mix, a pizza (that I cook at home..I like cold pizza mid-flight).

3) I always book a resort with a full kitchen -- I clean the pans (scour) them OR I buy my own. Note of caution - be careful with convection ovens. If I can't get a full kitchen, just a kitchenette, I'll buy a hot plate from a hardware store, usually with 2 burners and a really cheap toaster oven. YOu can cook ANYTHING in a toaster oven!! I just leave them at the hotel.

4) I sometimes pack (in my suitcase) my fav corn pasta! MMMMMMMMM

5) Toaster bags (in case I can't find a toaster oven..yes, it has happened)

Good luck and have fun

KDawg

I'm traveling for the first time as a celiac. I was wondering some of your "must haves" when you travel. From food to other products. It's 6 hours away, so I'm bring what I feel I need and my personal products as a first timer. Do any of you bring your toaster etc?

[K-Dawg]

PS -- sometimes it's easy (e.g. New York city -- so many gluten-free or gluten-free Friendly restaurants...no need to spend big bucks on room with kitchen...just got a reg hotel room and paid the extra $ for a mini fridge where I kept snacks (like camp food) so taht I could hike around all day and not worry

[Tina B]

I agree. When I go to Europe, it's so easy to be gluten-free. High awareness and most people speak English also...at least in the cities, where I tend to stay. I can't speak for all of Europe but western Europe is easy. I do carry some snacks on board the plane, in case there are delays, but other than that, I wing it. Haven't had a problem or gotten sick yet.

DITTO!!!!!! I DO NOT LET THIS RUN MY LIFE. 20 years ago my duodenal biopsy came back "severe celiac disease" and my common sense approach has worked since then. I cant even imagine bringing toasters, coolers, cookware etc. What a drag that would be and not just for me but for anyone who was traveling with me. If I don' eat any bread so what. There are plenty of other things to eat.