Traveling Gluten Free? With Kids?

My husband and I have been traveling quite a bit with four kiddos ranging from 6 years old to 5 months. One of my children has Celiac disease. How in the world do I travel in the van for multiple hours, on a tight budget, with 3 picky (ok, selective) children? One of which is strictly gluten free?

Well, I've been taking notes these past few trips and I have some ideas. I would appreciate yours also.

(To make some of these ideas cheaper, you can make it homemade or watch for the sales!)

**Quick breads (I have found my daughter to enjoy GF banana bread, cranberry bread, etc for car food than any other bread. The bread tends to stay moister for a longer period of time than does the regular GF yeast breads.) Slather with butter, peanut butter, and/or jelly.

**Jell-O jigglers (Kraft brand will specify gluten containing ingredients on their food labels) or Knox blocks. Use the jiggler/blocks recipe not the regular jello recipe- it's too soft for the car. The jigglers hold together much better for little fingers.

**Chips (check ingredients, there are chips that are naturally gluten free.)

**Make your own Lunchables. Take rice crackers (or homemade) and cut up GF deli meat and cheese into bite sized squares. My four year old daughter enjoyed this as well as my six year old and my two year old. And it takes them longer to eat it, so great temporary entertainment for the car!

**Lara bars

**Fruit (gotta love grapes! Apples, peach slices, and canned fruits are great too.)

**String cheese

** GF Granola bars

**Yogurt (great for a snack or a breakfast car food, remember to bring a spoon, though, oh, and napkins/wipes.)

**Pudding (again, Kraft brand will specify gluten containing ingredients, or make your own. And again, bring a spoon and wipes)

**How about vegetables? Carrot sticks are practical, but my four year old doesn't particularly enjoy the texture. I tried the V-8 Fusion this last trip. It was a great alternative to just juice or water. My kids liked the Blueberry Pomegranate flavor. We also tried grape tomatoes. Loved 'em! Just be careful with the choking possibility. Slice them in quarters before hand and bring a fork and a bowl.

**Pre-cooked hot dogs work for a quick dinner.

**Jerky can be "if-ey", but we make our own venison jerky. Sometimes our GF daughter likes it, sometimes not...

**Applesauce

**Luna bars

**Popcorn!

**Fruit roll-ups and fruit leather tend to be on the sticky side.

**Does your child enjoy cold leftovers? GF mac n cheese is a fav.

**How about dessert? I try to stick with fruit. Filling kids with sugar when they are stuck in a small space isn't my idea of a good time. But there is a time for chocolate or some other nice alternative. Homemade GF cookies, frosting slathered on some GF banana bread is what I did last time, skittles or starburst is GF as well as Reese's peanut butter cups.

Some tips for traveling:

Bring a cooler. Definitely a must.

Bring plastic bowls. I bring three: one for each kid.

Bring forks and spoons for each child.

Bring lots of wipes. I wipe out each bowl after eating to reduce the cross contamination issue.

Bring a sense of humor and plenty of patience.

Plan out each meal and have ideas for snacks- it makes the trip go so much smoother.

Do some research on restaurants in the area you are traveling. It's good to be prepared!

And lastly:

Enjoy the trip! I've been told over and over: these days with our kids are short, so enjoy them!

Happy summer to you!

Burger King

Sometimes it's nice to just go out and grab a burger. Check out Burger King's list below for some gluten free items:

Click here for Burger King's list.

Hardee's Fast Food

Hardee's now has some gluten free options. Check it out.

Dining Out

Ask Shelley Case: Eating Out - Resources & Tips

September 6th, 2009

Question: I just got diagnosed with celiac disease and my two children also have food allergies. Can you give me any tips on eating out safely… and easily?

Answer: Eating out can be a real challenge, especially when you are first learning about the gluten-free diet, so I recommend mastering the basics of the diet before venturing out to eat in restaurants. But once you’re ready to eat, there are a growing number of restaurants that are gluten-free (GF) friendly. Many have a GF menu or they’re willing to make adaptations and substitutions in order to meet the needs of the GF customer. Also it’s exciting to see initiatives like the Gluten Free Restaurant Awareness Program (GFRAP) from the Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) that includes educational and training materials for restaurants and their staff. Once they meet specific criteria they are listed on the GFRAP website so that individuals can search participating restaurants in North America by restaurant name or city and type of cuisine. Check out www.glutenfreerestaurants.org

There are many other great resources to help you eat out and travel safely:

1. The Celiac Scene™ features a free database and downloadable maps of restaurants that locals with celiac disease trust in cities across the USA and Canada. Owned and updated by an individual with celiac disease. Many restaurants bear the special symbol of the Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program.

2. Glutenfreeonthego.com is another free online global directory of over 6000 GF listings of restaurants, bakeries, hotels, resorts, spas, cruises and more. Recommendations are submitted by individuals with celiac disease or others following a GFD, as well as individual GF eating establishments.

3. Glutenfreepassport.com has a variety of resources on safe GF travel and dining. One is a great book called Let’s Eat Out with Celiac and Food Allergies that provides practical information on eating out in regular and ethnic restaurants. It includes 7 international cuisines with hundreds of menus items showcasing common ingredients, hidden allergens and food preparation techniques used by chefs and restaurants. In addition they have cuisine specific pocket size guides that include sample menus, menu dish descriptions, preparation techniques, quick reference guides and questions to ask to ensure safe meals. Another handy resource is the multi-lingual phrase pocket guide that has over 1200 translations from English to French, Spanish, German and Italian. The phrases include dining requests, ingredients, specific preparation requests, sample menus and over 300 health phrases in 4 languages. They have also just released new iPhone/iPod touch applications for some of their resources.

Listen to my podcast (scroll down to podcast #3) with Kim Koeller, co-author of “Let’s Eat Out: Your Passport to Living Gluten-Free and Allergy-Free.” It features an informative discussion on Kim’s newly released revised edition on eating out in regular and ethnic restaurants around the world and tips to eat out safely.

4. Triumph Dining has an Essential GF Restaurant Guide that features over 5000 restaurants across the US listed in a state by state directory and every listing is verified and updated each year by an individual with celiac disease. And the Guide has 80 GF lists from various chain restaurants. Triumph Dining also has laminated wallet sized dining cards for 10 different cuisines. One side of the card is in English and the other side in the foreign language.

5. Bob and Ruth’s Gluten-Free Dining and Travel Club is a company specializing in assisting individuals on a GFD. They offer escorted GF getaways to resorts, on cruises and tours of exotic places all over the world. All the arrangements are taken care of and you can eat safely in these various locations with fellow gluten-free travelers while enjoying a wonderful vacation. My husband and I booked a one week trip with Bob and Ruth a few years ago to the Caribbean. We stayed at the Club Med and not only was the food fantastic and safe, but we met so many nice people.

Here are a few tips for a safe and successful dining experience for those with celiac disease, as well as any intolerance or dietary restriction:

1. Call the restaurant the day before or earlier in the day and ask to speak to the chef or manager to discuss meal options. They can often substitute other ingredients or create an alternative menu or menu item.

2. If possible try to avoid peak meal times. Dining early or late will allow more time and easier access to the staff that can answer questions and usually accommodate special needs.

3. Explain your dietary restrictions briefly. The terms celiac disease is still often unfamiliar to many to those in the food service industry. So I often find it easier to explain that you have a serious food allergy and will get very sick if your order is not handled properly. Indicate that you must not have any foods or ingredients containing gluten which means no items made with wheat flour, breading, croutons, etc. It often helps to ask to speak to the manager or chef to make sure the order gets placed properly and prepared safely.

4. No matter whether the restaurant has a special GF menu or some GF items on the menu, it is still essential to ask specific questions. You need to inquire about cooking methods, specific ingredients that are in the item and how it is served.

5. Request that your food be prepared on a clean grill or in a clean pan. If this is a problem, suggest cooking it on clean aluminum foil.

6. When they bring your meal make sure you ask again if this is the special meal and were your instructions followed.

7. Don’t forget to thank the server, chef and manager. Leave a generous tip for good service and patronize the restaurant again.

Tips adapted from Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide by Shelley Case and Restaurant Dining by the Gluten Intolerance Group.

Dining Out

Here's a good article about eating out at restaurants and avoiding gluten to the best of your ability.

Gluten Terms on a Restaurant Menu

By Nancy Lapid, About.com

Updated: November 04, 2008

Au Gratin
Cooked with a topping of bread crumbs and sometimes butter and/or grated cheese; also referred to as gratiner.

Battered
Cooked in a coating that usually contains wheat flour, eggs and milk.

Bechamel
A white sauce made by thickening milk with wheat flour and butter.

Beurre Manie
A paste made from flour and butter, used to make sauces thicker.

Bisque
A smooth creamy shellfish soup that’s often thickened with flour.

Bread
To coat with bread crumbs or batter.

Coat
Usually, to cover with flour or crumbs.

Cordon bleu
Chicken or veal dish that often includes a bread-crumb crust.

Croquette
Pureed vegetables encased in bread crumbs and deep fried or sautéed.

Croutons
Cubes of bread, seasoned and lightly baked or fried, popular on salads.

Crusted or Encrusted
Thickly coated with flour or bread crumbs in order to bind ingredients to food item.

Demi glace
A rich, concentrated stock made from beef and veal bones, vegetables and tomato paste, with flour.

Dredged
Dragged through flour, cornmeal or breadcrumbs.

Dumplings
Dough shaped like balls or small pillows, sometimes stuffed with vegetables or meat, and poached with stews or soups.

Dusted
Lightly sprinkled with dry ingredient such as flour.

En groute
Baked in pastry.

Espagnole Sauce
A rich brown sauce thickened with flour.

Farfel
A soup garnish made of finely chopped or minced noodle dough.

Fillo
A flaky, paper-thin pastry.

Fricassee
A stew of meat or poultry in gravy, usually thickened with flour.

Fritter
Food dipped into or combined with batter and fried.

Gnocchi
Pillow-shaped dumplings made from a paste of flour, potatoes and eggs.

Gravy
Sauce made from meat juices, often thickened with flour.

Marinade
May contain soy sauce or other processed ingredients with gluten.

Meuniere
Dusted with flour and sautéed in butter.

Milanaise
Dipped in egg and bread crumbs, then fried in butter.

Phyllo
A flaky, paper-thin pastry.

Raspings
Finely ground bread crumbs.

Roux
A paste of fat (usually butter) and flour that is used to thicken sauces and soups.

Scallopini
Thin sliced meat usually coated with flour and fried.

Souffle
A dish (often a dessert) made from a sauce, egg yolks, beaten egg whites, flour, and a flavoring or puree and baked until puffed up.

Soy Sauce
Most soy sauces include roasted wheat or barley.

Streusel
A crumbly mixture made from flour, butter, sugar and spices.

Teriyaki Sauce
Contains soy sauce.

Tempura
Shrimp, seafood and vegetables battered and fried in a flour-based batter.

Veloute
Sauce thickened with flour; often used as a base for soups, stews and fricassee.

Welsh Rarebit
Cheese sauce made with ale or beer and served over toast or crackers.