Gluten-Free Occasions: Road Trip Traveling Pt. 1

The Mister and I recently went on a quick and much needed beachy weekend get-away to the Kemah Boardwalk when it occurred to me that I hadn't written about a very important subject: how to eat gluten-free while traveling!
Of course "road trippin' it" (which is what we mostly do) is a very different form of traveling than say an airplane trip or a world wide tour of a country where you don't speak the language.  But I'd like to say that since our first trip together (which was our Colorado honeymoon!) and our trips since then, we learned a thing or two about eating gluten-free on the road, most of it the hard way!

The most important thing we learned to do was to pack food and this post will focus on that.
I can't stress how important this is!  It is soo simple and easy to do yet overlooked because it seems harder and more of a bother than it really is.  When we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere with no place to eat and nothing looming in the horizon before us, our lunch box was there to save both of us from hunger and cranky moods.
The things we always make sure to include are:

• Water! - Water keeps you from going insane because it helps calm hunger pains.  I found that having a snack with water left me feeling more satisfied than if I didn't drink water.  I think something about the water volume helps you feel fuller.  Also water, unlike sugary drinks, helps prevent you from retaining water on long road trips, that and stretching at every stop!  We usually avoid sugary drinks but allow ourselves one coffee, hot or iced, since it can help boost our mood on the road as well as quiet hunger.  As for peepee breaks, don't fret, most main interstate highways have plenty of rest areas and there are more bathrooms the closer you are to metropolitan areas; of course smaller state highways have fewer and the further you get from the cities or towns, the less bathrooms there are.  My advice is to gauge your water intake according to where you are traveling and drink more water when you know you are going to approach a metropolitan corridor.  It also helps to always take small sips as opposed to big glugs.

• nut crackers with turkey and cheese - These hold up pretty well in a cooled lunch bag and I find that they are substantial enough to satisfy and stave off hunger for a few hours.  Sliced turkey and cheese are best for when you are on the road since it is less mess.  If you are in your hotel room you can break out the Boursin or a nice herbed chevre like above but as delish as they are, soft cheeses are just too messy to eat in a traveling car.  Gluten-free tortilla chips are a price conscious alternative to nut crackers.

• fruits - Choose fruits that can hold up well to traveling, are not too messy or juicy and that you don't need a knife to peel like apples, grapes, bananas, clementine ("cutie") oranges or berries in plastic cartons.  Bags of frozen fruit can work double duty because they keep your lunch box cool and you can eat the fruit after it has thawed.  Fruit is a little easier to carry than veggies since they require minimal prep work; just a good rinse and you're good to go.
• veggies - Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cherry or grape tomatoes in plastic cartons are all good options.  Veggies require a little more prep work since they usually need to be cut into smaller portions and can be drier to swallow raw (and I prefer to avoid dressing for dipping) but they can hold up well to travel.  Also, pre-cut veggies in bags are available in most grocery stores now.
• dried fruit and nuts - Dried no sugar added fruit and berries with unsalted, non-roasted, natural nuts are mess free and and are full of good fats that will keep you from feeling hunger pains.  They are a bit more expensive but they are lifesavers.  The only word of caution I offer here is not to over do it; in my experience, too much of a certain thing, specifically raisins or peanuts, have upset my stomach. My favorites are dried sour cherries and walnuts since they are the ones I find tastiest and they don't upset my stomach.

• boiled eggs - This is a new one on the list, so new we added it during our weekend, but it instantly became an essential.  Boiled eggs really are substantial and "heavy" enough to calm hunger; they can be a little bit tough to swallow dry but a sprinkling of salt, pepper and small bites helps that.

• frozen gluten-free meals - This is a new one on the list too.  I had the idea to bring a healthy frozen gluten-free meal because I wanted to save a little bit of money.  But it ended up being harder than I thought because so many of the so called "healthy" gluten-free frozen meals had insane amounts of sodium and calories.  One serving of a children's gluten-free (and vegan) mac and "cheese" had 640mg of sodium!  My mom found the above "Helen's Kitchen" gluten-free meals on clearance for $1.99 (regularly $4.99) so I picked up the two with the least amounts of sodium.  I will post a review of those shortly.

• gluten-free goodies you CAN eat - Everyone likes to eat delicious sweet treats when they travel or go out and bringing along your own goodies assures that you don't feel deprived and take a risk.  The treats pictured above are gluten-free SunCups with organic chocolate and sunflower butter.  I'll post a review of these shortly.
• plenty of napkins or dish cloths - This is self-explanatory, right? 
• wipes - Not all rest rooms have soap believe it or not and you have to eat with your hands when you are road tripping it.
• zip top bags - To store snacks when you replenish your supplies and to put your trash when you finish.
• a small knife - Or in our case my Mister's swiss army switchblade on his key chain.  You might need to cut open a package or cut a snack into smaller pieces.

And that's pretty much it!  Pretty easy and it just takes a bit of preparation and a good sized cooler!
I should also mention that we always travel with our cooler in the back seat, usually in the seat behind the driver or on the ground so the passenger can easily access it and we don't have to keep stopping every time we are hungry.
Also note that if you take something like meat (sliced turkey) make sure it stays the adequate temperature.  We always carry an ice pack, frozen fruit, or pack ice from the hotel if we bring turkey.

Come back tomorrow to read the more about how I navigate traveling while being gluten-free!