Hey everyone! I’ve had several people wanting me to do a post about traveling while eating gluten free. This can be a tricky subject to talk about, but hopefully, my advice will help a bit.
I haven’t really had a whole lot of experience while traveling and eating gluten free. Since going gluten free, I’ve traveled to Washington DC, Orlando, FL, Nashville, TN, and other towns for shopping, etc. What I have found to be the most helpful is an app called find me gluten free. It’s a wonderful app and is available on the app store for iphones and I believe the google play store as well. While you’re using the app you can tell it the location you’re at and it will show all the gluten free places in the area, like restaurants or grocery stores. You can also put an address in for if you’re traveling and it will tell gluten free places there so you will know before you reach your destination. The app tells ratings, price range, how many miles away, address, phone number, any comments other people have left, and sometimes a link for a menu. I’ve always had good luck with the app and highly suggest downloading it!
Usually, before I travel I check find me gluten free and if I know anyone who has traveled to the area before who also eats gluten free, I contact them. It’s good to ask for other people’s input to see where the safest places are to eat and how their experience was. If you find a restaurant that sounds really good, you could contact the manager about their gluten free menu, if they practice cross contamination, etc. Joining a support group is also a great idea! You can ask others in your area about their traveling experiences, any tips they have, if they’ve traveled to the same area you are, etc.
Probably the most important thing you can do before traveling is to pack a snack bag! I usually don’t go anywhere without taking some sort of snack with me. You never know for sure if you’ll be able to eat somewhere or… when you’ll be hungry. Some things you can take are snack bars, chips, dried fruit, nuts, any of your favorite nonperishable gluten free snack. When my family and I travel we always pack a cooler with us. Eating breakfast out seems to be the hardest so we usually pack bagels or English muffins, fruit, boiled eggs, or pre cooked turkey bacon. These are great breakfast food and will keep with cold packs/ice in a cooler. And if your hotel has a fridge, even better! Another option is contacting the hotel you’re planning on staying at and asking about their breakfast. They might have naturally gluten free options or a menu.
I hope these tips have been helpful for when you’re traveling. I know it can be very difficult as I’m still learning every day. If you have anything you’d like to add please feel free to comment! Also, if you are interested in joining a support group for Celiac or Gluten Intolerance, contact me and I can add you to the one mom and I have started on facebook!
Safe travels,
Ciara
SincerelyC 