Road Trippin' with Celiac's Disease

Traveling with medically necessary dietary needs is a trip...literally! From traveling to Uganda where I packed my own food and only ate that for eight days to weekend getaways - I had to prepare and plan ahead; it isn't easy but with a pair of positive pants on and a lot of research we can still enjoy traveling.

I'm going to share how we handled our most recent weeklong road trip here:

1. I write out each day, like a meal planner, maybe this sounds like being way too wound up, but it really helps me see how many meals I need to prepare for.

2. I use FindMeGlutenFree to search Celiac safe places near our stops. If I find locations, I'll call them to confirm that they have the proper protocols in place, I'll confirm their hours, etc. Then, add that to my "meal planner".

3. Know what you'll have available - fridge? Microwave? This will help you plan better. But don't put much faith in a hotel fridge- most barely keep food safe. This was our first road trip traveling with very few perishable items, and then it was just for the beginning of the trip where we stayed with friends and family. Prior trips we've had a lot of waste with perishable items gone bad.

4. I look for sales early and start buying trip friendly food. These items are almost always extra expensive, but absolutely necessary. My favorite places to shop for these items which I'll list below are Thrive Market and discount stores - here we have Ocean State Job Lot and Marden's. If you have some regional discount stores near you, they're worth checking out!

5. Supplies! Do you have coolers? We used two small lunch bag coolers with four slim ice packs on this trip. I bring supplies like paper plates, plastic utensils, paper towels, wipes (baby and disinfecting) water bottles, small trash bags for the car, etc. Is it very budget/earth friendly? No, but think of all the money/trash we're saving by not going through the drive thru 3 times day for 7 days.
   

So, what did we actually bring and eat?

Day 1. We left our home in Maine after lunch, so it was a packed GF ham and cheese sandwich for dinner on the road. Our first stop was with friends in New Jersey - they were so thoughtful and picked up a pack of Gluten Free Oreos for dessert!

Day 2. Before leaving home, I had made and froze our favorite Protein Breakfast Biscuits to pack/reheat before leaving our friends' home in NJ. Our friends were so sweet to create space in their fridge for us to keep our perishable packed food, they even cleaned their microwave and countertops to ensure we stayed healthy! Lunch was on the road, cheese sticks, fruit (blueberries and cuties), GF crackers. By dinner time we were in North Carolina at my twin's home, she and her two kids have Celiac's disease and she's a bomb cook! A safe and simple meal of chicken nuggets and mac and cheese was happily had there.

Day 3. Celiac safe breakfast of eggs, biscuits, cinnamon rolls and a hearty taco lunch with all the fixings - everything gluten free. Needless to say, we feasted here! Dinner was literally the fruit we packed because we were so full!

Day 4. Breakfast was leftover baked goods from my twin. Lunch, I had a delicious quiche from an all GF bakery and the Silly Yak had a GF pizza from a surprisingly safe local pizza place we found in a pinch. Dinner was cuties (these travel so well), applesauce cups and peanut butter sandwiches made in the hotel room. BEST TIP: travel with shelf stable GF bread; Schar or Canyon Bakehouse and a jar of shelf stable peanut butter. This will save you!

Day 5. Protein shake for the Silly Yak and GF Oatmeal packets that I brought with me, I just used a bowl, spoon, and hot water at the hotel breakfast bar to make it.

Lunch was Chick-Fil-A. We have only had great experiences at Chick-fil-a(s) but always ask if they have dedicated friers, always ask for the grilled chicken and GF bun, always state that you have a SEVERE GLUTEN ALLERGY. This is vital in eating safely here. Dinner was an incredible experience at Jen's Splendid Ice Cream (yes, we had ice cream and ice cream only for dinner)!

Day 6. 11 hours on the road, but first a hotel made-from home GF oatmeal and protein shake breakfast. Lunch was peanut butter sandwiches made in my lap on the road, applesauce and snacks (listed below). Dinner was Annie's GF mac and Cheese cups microwaved in the hotel that night plus more cuties (clementines? Halos? whatever they're called they need to on the top of your travel list!)

Day 7. We're getting repetitive here: my GF oatmeal and my daughter's protein shake. Early lunch before checking out of our hotel were the last of our lil' GF mac and cheese cups. These are wrongly overpriced, but they're a hot meal option.

Dinner this day was our favorite of the whole trip - we were attending a Phillies game at Citizen's Bank Park and they have the best dedicated gluten free cart we've ever seen! We got to eat Philly Cheesesteaks on these huge GF rolls with all the meat and cheese one could want!

Day 8. We hit the road for home at 4:30am and arrived safe and sound by 11:00am. In that time we consumed countless bars, beef sticks, GF crackers, popcorn and dried fruit. We were coming home and no longer had to ration our food stash!

Coffees: I have to be careful here too, so coffee was only drunk from homes we stayed in, one sweet local to my twin shop, and Starbucks (thanks to gift cards saved from Christmas and birthday)

Snacks: meat sticks (Chomps and Snack Mates), Solely dried fruit, Made Good bars, mini Larabars, olives (yes, you can get tiny packets of these on Thrive)! Popcorn bags (Lesser Evil or Thrive Market brand), GF crackers, Love Corn, GFB Bites, applesauce cups, Cuties, apples, blueberries, cheese sticks.

Maybe you're reading this and like "Tara, woah, that's a lot of pointless info!" But I hope it helps the person who still wants to drive to see family, catch a major league baseball game or three, see some sights and make memories with their loved ones. It's a challenge but one that's worth it. If you're traveling and need a GF buddy to help, reach out!