What's In Your Gluten Free Travel Gear?

[birdie22]

I'm new to being gluten-free and looking for ideas for portable snacks. For the holiday I'm traveling by car so space isn't too much of an issue and we'll stop for food or groceries. The following week I'm traveling by plane to an work conference. I've requested gluten-free meals (which will cover most lunches and dinners) but I'm on my own for breakfast, snacks, and at least one dinner. I have limited luggage space and won't have transportation once there.

Some questions I have:

1. Other than Wendy's what fast food/highway rest stop places do you eat at if you have to?

2. What would you look for gluten-free at a convenience store?

3. What shelf stable packable items would you put in your luggage for snacks, breakfast, meal substitutes?

[katecopsey]

plain potato chips are on the top of my pitstop snack list. Take some chex too. For the conference take the chex out of the package to make them smaller and put in your suitcase! I use them for early morning snacks or when dinner was lettuce leaves. gluten-free rolls are ok too - grab some butter and preserves from the breakfast table area.

A tip for the conference - find others on gluten free diets and vegetarian diets and sit with them - otherwise the rest of the table gets served while the server wanders off to find your gluten free option. Sometimes this takes a while, so having someone else there too makes you less conspicuous.

[Wenmin]

Cheetos, plain potato chips, funyuns, cool ranch doritos, corn chips, cocoa or fruity pebbles cereal bars, soy joy bars, gluten free crackers with peanut butter, bananas and other fresh fruit (if you have a cooler), canned fruits if not, Armour vienna sausage with crackers, Healty Choice chicken and rice soup (if you have access to microwave) with crackers, make some muffins ahead of time and tote those along for breakfast in a sealed container, corn chex treats (just like rice krispie treats), canned beets and other canned vegetables, etc.

The options are almost limitless......

Wenmin

[anabananakins]

I take chex, a loaf of udi's bread and a jar of nutella. They don't require refridgeration and the chex is yummy dry. I also have a mini folding colander, a thin chopping board, a knife, cutlery and a plastic plate and bowl (from ikea) which all fit in my little food bag; they make it easier to do some cut up veges if I get a chance to buy any.

Also I often find mini baby carrots and cream cheese, which is a nice change from the high carb chex/bread/nutella diet!

[Reba32]

for road trips I fill my cooler with cut up veggies, cheese, and nuts 'n' seeds trail mixes. When I drove from North Carolina back to Canada I ordered a bunch of stuff from netrition . com, like cheese chips, and Dixie Diner snack bars. I loooooooove cheese chips! I'm not sure if the shop here at celiac.com has them or not...?

Hard boiled eggs, canned tuna or tuna in a pouch, salads, and sliced meats are also good for road trips, and canned tuna is good for air travel as well on flights that don't offer meals, or for airlines that don't offer gluten free. The snack pack size have pull-tops, just toss out the crackers before you pack, and maybe buy some gluten free crackers to go with.

Remember when traveling by air you can't have a cooler with ice or gel packs because fluids are not allowed in the cabin, so you can either freeze foods beforehand and let them thaw while traveling, or only take stuff that does not need to be cooled/refrigerated. I usually bring an empty refillable water bottle with me, and fill it at a water fountain in the terminal before I get on the plane, because the price of bottled water at the terminal, or in-flight is completely ridiculous

[CeliacAndCfsCrusader]

I've got some other issues (allergies to fresh fruit being one), but it's doable (at least for a few days).

In no particular order:

Sliced luncheon meat by Hormel (Naturals line). It's all gluten-free and doesn't taste "too" processed. Most grocers carry it and you can eat it right out of the package.

Stax potato chips ( can won't be crushed, but other lines will do).

Tons of cashews (other nuts, but cashews seem to go with anything).

Yogurt, usually available someplace, no matter how small.

Peanut M&M's. Snickers. Payday bars.

Vitamin Water (read label).

Pamela's Cookies.

Cheese slices (read label).

Almond Butter (fresh ground at health food store, doesn't need refrigeration). Also available in mini-packets.

Chex.

Even Haagen-Daz is available at the convenience stores.

Good luck.

[Kelleybean]

I pack the shelf-stable packages of almond milk (my son can't do cow's milk). Gluten free granola bars, like someone else suggested a loaf of Udi's bread and peanut butter. gluten-free crackers or rice cakes topped with cream cheese or peanut butter or almond butter.

I've heard 5 guys and Jason's are fairly gluten free friendly. I think Wendy's has some options as well. My son doesn't eat meat so that limits our fast food options quite a bit so we haven't really tested that out.