Eating healthy and gluten-free can seem challenging enough in your everyday life but it can seem particularly tough when special circumstances come up: weddings, parties, traveling, etc.
GF for Special Occasions is a new series I'm inspired to write to show how with a little preparation and compromise you can eat not only gluten-free but healthy and also easy in just about any given circumstance.
These are just some little things that I did that I thought ended up working really well, so feel free to adjust and tweak to your taste and circumstances.
My first post in this series explores how to eat vividly and gluten-free while... camping!
Enjoy!
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Fall in most parts of the country means the beginning of brisk temperatures, that tell tale nip in the air that promises chilly days ahead.
In Texas, fall means a break in the heat and the perfect time to start spending out doors.
In non-drought years October is when this break is most advantageous for camping. Granted October can be a make-or-break month because it is also notoriously weather bipolar: one week can be sweltering while the next is a deluge.
Fortunately this year, October decided to be mild and kind to us, allowing us to enjoy it's last week in the great outdoors.
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| That's my SPF hat. |
Hubby's and my priority was to spend time together in the great outdoors, hiking and enjoying that sunshine (not so much for me, thanks to gluten-allergy induced vitiligo) and fresh air.
We didn't want to spend a lot of time fussing about the meals and the fire. Nothing messy, nothing complicated, no messy raw meats and contamination issues.
To help us simplify and pack lighter, our food compromise was to eat the same basic thing for lunch and dinner: hotdogs! But we'd mix it up with different veggies, snacks and treats.
Here is our basic set up: a grill atop the fire pit with a special pan made specifically to grill veggies over an open flame. The percolator was for coffee in the morning and for hot water to drink tea and of course, hot chocolate!
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| Hotdogs, asparagus, broccoli and zucchini squash grilling away. |
Kinnikinnick makes pretty good tapioca rice hot dog buns, but we only took the lone hot dog but we had in the freezer since we were trying to save money and use what we had. We also used Glutino Fiber Bread for "buns".
Our hot dogs were also a specified gluten-free brand.
I don't know about you but ever since I was little (in the pre-gluten-free days of course) my mom always toasted our hot dog buns. Whenever I ate untoasted buns they just seem to feel limp and flat.
To me toasting the buns just tastes better! Plus the bread holds up better to my favorite fixings -- ketchup, mustard, and kraut. In the spirit of simplicity though, we only brought along ketchup and mustard.
Since you almost always have to toast gluten-free bread to make it palatable, the transition to gluten-free hotdogs worked out well.
Plus on our grill they get those nice little grill marks.
After an hour-long struggle with the tent and a quick walk to get to know our area, this was a nice meal to finish up our day.
A balance between easy and fuss free prep with a little bit of junk food and of course not forgetting our veggies. Hey you need to keep yourself regular with that fiber!
All in all we managed to grill zucchini, broccoli, asparagus, eggplant, fingerling potatoes and baby carrots, then salted and peppered them and drizzled just a bit of olive oil that we brought for breakfast.
My tip is that I cut some of the larger veggies into smaller pieces before packing it and sliced some on site, so that means even less prep at the campsite.
Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2: breakfast!
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