In my last blog, I told you how about the gluten-free bread I was served in Europe, as well as the gluten-free bread I found in stores.
Grilled Fish with Roasted Veggies & Potatoes
But what about the other food?
This photo shows the delicious gluten-free meal I had one evening at our hotel: simply-grilled fish served over vegetables (ratatouille), with roasted potatoes. It was beautifully-seasoned with herbs and lovely to look at, so I was happy. But not all meals turn out this well, so here are my 3 suggestions to make sure you always have something gluten-free to eat:
Prepare Ahead of Time
Before the trip, I check out as many travel sites as possible to gather relevant information on my destination. “Googling” can be immensely helpful. I especially like to locate the addresses of restaurants and health food stores so I can plug them into my portable GPS system in the rental car.
Pack Wisely
Travel is a game of chance; in some large cities I end up nowhere near the places I located, so I always pack wisely so I have something to eat. I always choose gluten-free items for my carry-on bag that are sturdy and non-perishable so they don’t mash, spoil, or mold …and that will survive TSA scrutiny, such as:
[1] muffins, preferably a spice or bran muffin made with pureed beans (they stay fresh longer).
[2] bars, such as Lara’s
[3] dried fruit/nuts, such as cherries, cranberries, prunes, apples, almonds, and cashews
[4] crackers, such as Mary’s Gone Crackers, Crunchmaster, and Flackers
[5] cereals that just need hot water to reconstitute such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Muesli or Eco-Planet cereals (in handy individual packets)
[6] green tea bags (nothing beats a hot cup of my favorite tea, Jasmine Green from Trader Joe’s)
In my suitcase, I have a “safety-kit” of back-up portions of the above items but I also pack sandwich bread (this trip, it was Canyon Bakehouse and Dr. Schar’s Multi-Grain Ciabatta Rolls that make terrific sandwiches). I always carry “Toast-it” Bags so I can make toast in any toaster. All of this goes into a small, but very sturdy shoebox that protects against crushing in my suitcase. Once I eat all the food, the shoebox can be used to bring home delicate souvenirs (or tossed). Your safety kit might look different than mine, so choose foods you like to eat.
Once at my destination, I use my list or I query the hotel desk about nearby health food stores so I can stock up on foods that travel well. In cooler months, I often keep them in the car trunk where they do just fine since northern Europe is cool during Autumn. Increasingly, I find that people are more aware of gluten-free diets and better able to help, but that isn’t always the case.
Stay Flexible
At least once on every trip, I encounter a waiter who doesn’t care and just wants me to order something, anything…quickly. Even the dining card doesn’t always help because the restaurant simply isn’t equipped to handle special diets. On those rare occasions, I pull out my food stash from my purse and “make-do” ?knowing that all the other wonderful meals I will have will “cancel-out” this disastrous one.
