Going on a trip? Whether you or your children have celiac disease, gluten or other food intolerance or food allergies, travel is something that requires extra meal planning and safety preparation.

As an example, this is what I bring when we travel by airplane:

• Food
  • sandwiches placed in a small, soft cooler pack with an ice pack
  • dry snacks (so it isn’t messy) like chips, crackers, dried fruit, beef jerky, cereal, bars — these will also last if needed during the vacation or to save for the plane trip home
  • rice milk in no-spill cups for my daughters (airlines allow passengers to bring milk for children — just let the security guards know)
  • a few lollipops (either Yummy Earth or Dum-dums for any child-bribing that needs to be done!)

  • I also bake a loaf of bread before the trip and bring the rest of the loaf (after making the sandwiches) to my destination. It can be used for more sandwiches or toast at breakfast.
• Medicine
  • Bottle of Benadryl

  • Epi-Pen and a doctor’s note
• Wipes, wipes, and more wipes for hands, the seat tray, the armrests and the windows (depending on the severity of the allergy)

We never eat any airport or airplane food. The big treat for my daughters is that they get to have apple juice on the plane (and sometimes a goodie that I have brought as a surprise).

This is our routine and my daughters know what to expect with regards to food. They have become quite the little airplane travelers… see my daughter’s first time by herself on the “people mover” (as my husband explains it)!

My travel list above is a quick one, but many others have written extensively on traveling with food allergies and traveling gluten-free. Here are some articles with great tips to get you going on your next trip!

Traveling With Severe Food Allergies from Delicious Baby

Traveling With Food Allergies from Kids with Food Allergies

How to Manage a Child’s Food Allergies When Traveling from Parenthood.com

Traveling with Food Allergies and Restricted Diets from About.com

Gluten-Free and Allergen-Free Meal Availability by Global Airlines from Gluten Free/Allergy Free Passport

Airline Travel Tips from FAAN

Food Allergies and Travel for Teens from Kids Health

Food Allergy Travel Tips from Allergic Girl

Staying Gluten-Free in Hotels from About.com

If you would like to go on a gluten-free getaway, check out Bob and Ruth’s Gluten Free Dining and Travel Club

Filed under: Babies & Kids, Travel | 1 Comment »

When I was on my honeymoon in India, my stomach never felt better. Most people would think that you might get sick eating the food in India, but for me it was the best that I had felt in a long time. I know now that it was because I was eating almost entirely gluten-free for 3 weeks, without knowing it. The Indian diet, aside from the breads (naan, roti and chapati) and some snacks, is gluten-free. Rice, chickpeas and lentils, and flours made from all of these, are used in much of their food.

When I returned home, my stomach problems became worse than they had ever been — of course, because I was eating American gluten-laden food again! At the time I chalked up it up to stress at work, although I really wasn’t stressed at all, but I had no other conclusion. Right before my wedding, I had a bone marrow exam because of my severe anemia. I delayed calling the doctor for the results until I came back — I figured if it was cancer, I didn’t want to know about it before my honeymoon. Luckily, it wasn’t, but the doctors still didn’t know what was ailing me. 2 months later I was diagnosed with celiac disease. I do believe that trip to India helped me get to that diagnosis sooner.

Needless to say, I love Indian food! While I was there, my husband and I took a cooking class from an Indian woman named Nimmy Paul in her home in Kerala, India. Here I am making palappam which are “lacy rice pancakes” (but these also contain a little semolina or cream of wheat).

In addition to the main dishes, the dal (lentils) and the rice, there are lots of other foods that are gluten-free and can be found in an Indian grocery or online. Indian people are probably the nicest people on earth, so go ahead and wander into a restaurant or market and ask for help!

Here are some of my favorites:

Papadum (there are a lot of different spellings for this word) - this thin crispy wafer is usually made from lentil flour and spiced with chili or black pepper. It starts as a round hard disc and when fried in oil, puffs up (great entertainment for the kids!) If you want a less oily version, you can microwave it until it puffs up - it won’t be a crispy as the fried one, and a little chewier, but still good. I found these mini plain versions, which also contain rice flour. They are a great size for kids and have no spice except salt. I love these and my 18 month old loves them too!

Papadum before and after frying:

Dosa - these are thin pancakes or crepes from lentil and rice flour that are usually served with sambar, which is like a stew. I loved having these for breakfast in South India. You can buy a Dosa mix and make your own! (Stay away from maida dosa or rava dosa, which contain wheat.)

Idli - these are little flying-saucer shaped cakes made from black lentils and rice. They are also served with sambar or chutney. There is an Idli mix you can buy, but you also need an idli steamer (Stay away from rava idli, which contain wheat.)

Snacks - many are made with chickpea or rice. Watch out for the spicy ones! The chips shown are made from chickpea flour.

Tip: When checking ingredients, don’t worry if you see the word “gram.” This is not the same as our word graham, which is wheat. Gram means a lentil or chickpea (garbanzo bean). For example, black gram (also called urad or urad dal or udad) is a black lentil and is gluten-free. Gram flour, or chana flour, means chickpea flour.

Beware of other allergens: nuts and dairy are used in Indian cooking.

Filed under: Food Ideas, Celiac Disease, Gluten Intolerance, Symptoms, Travel | 2 Comments »

For anyone on a gluten-free diet, finding a place to eat while traveling can be difficult and at the very least requires some effort. So how could one even consider traveling to Italy, the land of pasta and pizza? Seems like it would be really tough, doesn’t it?

Actually, Italy is one of the countries with the highest prevalence of celiac disease. Because of this, apparently all children are screened for celiac disease by the age of 6, whether they are showing symptoms or not. If someone of any age shows symptoms, the awareness is there to recognize that it could be celiac and get it diagnosed right away. In an article on the University of Chicago Medical Center’s website, Stefano Guandalini, MD is quoted as saying, “In Europe, it typically takes a few weeks to go from the first symptoms to a diagnosis. In the U.S., the average lag time between onset and diagnosis is 11 years.” Boy, we have a long way to go!

I have not been to Italy since my diagnosis of celiac disease, and have wondered if it would be difficult or if the awareness is really there. If you have wondered the same thing, then you must read Gluten-Free Girl’s post eating gluten-free in italy. It will make you want to go there ASAP!

Filed under: Gluten Intolerance, Restaurants/Bakeries/Stores, Travel | No Comments »