Gluten Free Road Trip Snacks for Your Summer Getaway

With summertime upon us and vacations already on the calendar, it is time to start strategizing about gluten free road trip snacks for your summer getaway. Living a gluten free lifestyle does not have to mean skipping vacation or settling for the occasional safe bag of chips or cheese stick from a random gas station. With a little advanced planning and some amazing creativity, you just may eat better gluten free on vacation than you do at home!

Eating Gluten Free on Road Trips Can Bring Challenges

When going on a road trip, it tends to hijack one’s normal eating habits and schedule. This can be for a couple of key reasons, including:

• You do not find the same grocery brands or restaurant food on the road that you have in your home and town
• Mealtimes can shift if you are traveling with other people
• There are not many places to stop that offer actual gluten free food options
• Eating something with gluten can quickly ruin a road trip fast for those with celiac disease

While the above scenarios can be true, it does not mean the only choice left is abandoning road trips all together. In fact, the truth is far from it. What it does mean is that advanced planning will be required, but that can be a part of the fun.

 

The Basics of Gluten Free Road Trip Snacks for Your Summer Getaway

The nonnegotiable here is that you will need to bring a variety of gluten free food for your vacation. This is to make sure you have access to safe food along the way. Whether it is going to bed hungry because you couldn’t find anything safe to eat or because you accidentally ingested gluten, neither is the way you want to spend your vacation.

A good way to get started on choosing snacks is to divide potential snack choices into three main categories:

1. Fresh
2. Packaged
3. Homemade

Let’s start with the basics of fresh food as gluten free road trip snacks. If you are unsure of what to bring, here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Fruit: Think apples, bananas, oranges, mangos, peaches, and blueberries. The goal is to choose fresh fruit that is easy to eat on the go and does not require preparation other than washing it before you leave. However, if you only eat apple slices and cannot eat a whole apple due to wearing braces or dentures, consider buying prepacked bags of apple slices. Just beware that once fruit is cut it tends to shorten its shelf life.
• This category may require a little prep because there are few veggies that people eat whole outside of mini tomatoes or sugar snap peas. Consider slicing up a cucumber or bell pepper and bagging it before you hit the road. The same could be done with broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, squash, and a number of other vegetables. Prepping them before you leave home prevents you from having to bring cutting utensils. If gluten free dips or hummus are something you like to have with your vegetables, consider prepackaged containers you can buy directly from the store.

The great thing about eating fruits and vegetables for snacks is that they can be a good source of fiber and help you save some of your calories for a big gluten-free meal later in the day.

The second category of snacks is those that are prepackaged. This can include mixed nuts (make sure no one in your road trip crew has peanut or nut allergies), trail mix, dry cereal, protein bars, pretzels or candies, as long as they are gluten free. While half the fun of a road trip is the snacks, it is important to remember to strike a balance between healthy and more indulgent packaged snacks. The plus side of this category is that many of the products in it have a longer shelf life than fresh fruit or vegetables and may be less affected by the heat (assuming they do not have to be refrigerated).

The last category of gluten free road trip snacks for your summer getaway we recommend is homemade items. This can include homemade foods that are either made by you personally in your home kitchen, or that are bought online or from the freezer section of your local grocery store. For example, if you are looking to have some road trip snacks that can double as a foundation for lunch, you may want to consider making sandwiches using gluten free English muffins. Whether you like peanut butter and jelly, or you prefer meat and cheese, English muffins are an ideal base for any sandwich. On the other hand, If you have a sweet tooth that fruit won’t cure, take along some gluten free chocolate chip and snickerdoodle cookies.

 

Take the Right Equipment

Depending on which of the above categories your snacks come from, intense heat could make food go bad faster. It is a good idea to bring a cooler filled with ice or ice packs on a road trip to keep any perishable items fresh.

Road trips are made for a crowd, so if you have multiple members in your crew, make sure to bring a sharpie so you can write a person’s name on their leftovers and snacks. This cuts down on confusion and chances of cross contamination…especially if you are traveling with people who are not gluten free.

 

Don’t Forget About the Ride Home

As the excitement of going on a trip builds, packing yummy and safe snacks for the road is a priority for many people as it is an integral part of the experience. However, the part many forget about is the ride home.

Epic road trips take place over a day or more with at least one overnight stay before coming back home. If you are road tripping somewhere to stay for several days or a week or more before returning home, some snacks may not last that long.

For the ride home, you should be able to find fresh fruits and veggies at a local grocery store. Gluten free packaged foods may potentially be a little bit harder to find if it is a smaller store with fewer options. If this concerns you, be sure to bring extra non-perishable gluten free snacks with you for the trip back home.

 

Finding fun and delicious gluten free road trip snacks for your summer getaway is all about planning ahead and bringing along your favorites to enjoy. A little planning before leaving can provide the peace of mind you need to relax and truly enjoy the journey without worrying about feeling bad from gluten.