Traveling With Celiac?

[HeatherB.]

Hi,

Me and my family will be moving to California in a week from New York. I was recently diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes as well as Celiac.

Does anyone have some suggestions for gluten-free food that are easy to eat on the go, things that could be packed into a container like peanut-butter, crackers, etc.?

I'm trying to find some healthier foods for the long drive that are okay for a week in a car and simple.

Thanks in advance.

[BurningItOff]

Hi,

Me and my family will be moving to California in a week from New York. I was recently diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes as well as Celiac.

Does anyone have some suggestions for gluten-free food that are easy to eat on the go, things that could be packed into a container like peanut-butter, crackers, etc.?

I'm trying to find some healthier foods for the long drive that are okay for a week in a car and simple.

Thanks in advance.

I just discovered Quest Protein Bars. They sent me a free sample (there is an add on here that I saw) and they are really tasty, good for you and gluten free. www.QuestProteinBar.com

[Takala]

Rice cakes (Lundberg are reliably gluten free) are good for this sort of activity.

I would be baking some heavy duty, high protein almond nutmeal & amaranth skillet quick breads, or flatbreads in the cast iron, and then cutting them in to wedges or slices, and then freezing them in plastic ziplocks in individual servings. Amaranth flour is mold retardant, I have an experimental "gallette" type flatbread sitting in the refrigerator right now made of it with some buckwheat, it's over a week old and hasn't started to go fuzzy yet. Originally with the first batch we made ham and cheese sandwiches for a picnic, and toasted them for mini pizzas, and this was the leftover.

Can you take along a mini - microwave to use in your hotel room ? You can also pre make "mixes" of gluten free type flours measured into the sandwich sized ziplock baggies (using dried egg whites) to just add water and oil to, then bake it in a ramekin in the mic, to make fresh "bun-in-a-cup" type single servings of gluten-free bread. (You can do this with a gluten free mix such as Pamela's, also). Some types of homemade gluten free flour mixes can be done this way without requiring egg, depending on what kind you use (almond, buckwheat, amaranth all are good for this) You can also bring along tomato paste, oregano and cheese and put it on a rice cake or a gluten-free corn tortilla and zap it.

I would take an ice chest along, and pack some fresh fruits and vegetables, along with:

Hard boiled eggs

nuts

cheese (or dairy free cheese product, if nec)

A ketchup picnic type squirt bottle container of olive oil

A ketchup squirt bottle container of safe gluten free vinegar, such as pure apple cider or some balsamics

neither of these, the oil nor vinegar require constant refrigeration, and then you can dress your salads and vegetables with a simple dressing

gluten free ketchup (Heinz. have not had good luck with the so- called "organic gluten-free ketchups." )

gluten free mustard

jerky

gluten free pepperoni

gluten free lunchmeat such as sliced turkey (buddig, hormel)

canadian bacon

peanut butter (try this link here Open Original Shared Link )

Imagine brands makes some gluten free boxed soups, you can just pour out as much as you want for a serving.

Dinty More beef stew is gluten free

canned tuna (you will have to check the label, be wary of broth ingredients) or canned salmon or chicken

canned beans (drain and rinse, then add some oil, ketchup, mustard, and artificial sweetener for "baked beans" with no sugar )

I would also pack teabags, styrofoam or travel cups, artificial sweetener, boxed gluten free nut milk or canned coconut milk, and a brand of instant coffee I liked, and then just get hot water at fast food or mini marts at gas stations, because I have been glutened ONE TOO MANY TIMES by supposedly "safe" coffee drinks from coffee shops.

For checking status of gluten free brands, try googling "gluten free name of the product" before you shop, so you can pull up some links. Some reviews may be outdated, so it is always good to read labels before purchasing.

[sreese68]

Canned tuna works. I know Crown Prince and Wild Planet are safe. They also don't have extras added in. If you have access to a microwave, Minute Rice's instant rice in a cup isn't bad for an instant rice.

[GlutenFreeManna]

I take a large cooler (for lunch stops) and small cooler (for cold snacks in the car). You can refill the ice at the hotels you stay at and be sure to get rooms with mini fridges and microwaves.

In the big cooler (I keep in the trunk):

Cooked, diced chicken

a big bag of salad

dressing (double ziploc bag it or take unopened bottles)

german potato salad

cold spring rolls

a loaf or two of gluten-free bread (Udi's or Rudi's)

lunch meat/tuna

condiments (mustard, ketchup, mayo--you can get all these in little packets to save space or just put the ones from you fridge in there if room)

pickles

frozen water bottles (they become water later for an ice cold drink)

In the small cooler (kept in the car where we can reach it while driving):

carrot sticks and other raw veggies (sliced cukes, celery, califlower, bell peppers, whatever you like)

hard boiled eggs (peeled--these are almost always for breakfast)

cold drinks (water and soda)

apple slices (coat with lemon juice so they don't brown--they will need ot be eaten the first day)

bananas

fruit cups (don't need to be kept cold but taste better that way)

In the car to snack on or for when we stop for meals:

Almonds

Craisins

banana chips

dried fruit

corn/potato chips

homemade trail mix

rice cakes

peanut butter

jelly (unopened--will go in the big cooler once open)

Be sure to make a little bag up with everythign you will need to prepare food-- plastic ware (or silverware and lots of ziploc bags if you are envoiromentally conscious and want to wash the silverware at the hotel), plates, bowls, extra food containers and zipolc bags, napkins/paper towel, wet wipes, etc.

On the first day we stop and make salad with chicken, almonds, craisins and fruit. The potatoes salad and spring rolls are good for the frist day or two. If I'm on a really long trip I will replenish the cooler with more salad and pre-cooked chicken at a grocery store. Or with just a glass pyrex dish I can cook more boneless skinless chicken in the hotel room microwave. There are also lots of soups--like the Progresso gluten-free options that you can just heat up if you take microwave-safe bowls.

I also always try to plan out where the gluten-free menu restaruants are along the way and have those addresses written down to put into the GPS. I have a binder with gluten-free menu options printed out for all the Fast food places I can safely eat at (Although I now pretty much know what I can have and can't and how to ask questiosns this will help you be prepared). The binder list is mostly for emergency use only for me however--as in we are stuck someplace wiht no grocery store and they only restaurant is a Wendy's--what can I have? Havng internet in the hotel helps but we so often pull into the place we are staying for the night after several days of travel and we might be low on food or tired of what we brought and starving. I pull out the binder with my lists for those occaisions. I also try to map out where there are grocery stores or Super Walmarts close to the interstate so it's easy to pull of, refill on snacks and head on out again.