4. Traveling Gluten Free

Traveling Gluten Free ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` 

When I hear the word vacation, I am just giddy inside… like yes PLEASE… sign me up!  My bags are packed in my head and we are already there… but then…

Then the second, and the third, and the fourth thoughts enter my head… can we really do this… can we go there and be gluten free... safe? How would we be safe? How would we not get glutened and still enjoy our vacation?

Do you find yourself in this rut as well? I am sure I am not alone… but this episode has been so therapeutic for me to brainstorm and draft up… As I reflect on things we have done really well and then things that WOW I wish we would have done… so stay tuned as I share my Top 11 Traveling Gluten Free Nuggets with you…

Intro-

Today we are dissecting traveling-gluten free in great detail to help you not lose your mind and actually enjoy the time away with the people you love most.

You guys- I am here to say that IT IS WORTH IT! We have got to get out and LIVE the life we have always dreamed of.  Maybe we can’t just pick up our bags and go wherever the wind blows, like we used to, but guess what? The internet and technology are beautiful things… with some research and some planning, we can go to the most exotic and beautiful places around the world AND have a blast doing it! 

Last month our family, all the 6 of us, went to Hawaii!  It was my kids FIRST.TIME.EVER. on a plane…that is what happens when you have 4 kids in 5 years… the only getaway I was taking was to the hospital to give birth… but for reals… anyways, you can only imagine the excitement of my 9, 8, 6 & 4 year old preparing and going on a plane and then having our destination be Hawaii!!!! 

Yet I knew I would lose my mind ~ heading to Hawaii with the kids before having the chance to go and scope out how I would do this with the kids.  How would I ensure their gluten free safety? 

So unselfishly (and maybe a little selfishly), last year, I went to Hawaii with my husband.  BEST. IDEA. EVER!  We scoped it all out. This way I was familiar - learned the good safe spots. Had an idea of how I can make this as stress-free as possible with kids. Cause lets face... vacationing with kids is stressful in and of itself... then you throw in celiac disease... times 3... oh forget it... haha I know my limits and so I knew I needed to have visuals in my mind before taking the little ones so I can mentally and physically prepare. Seriously... Favorite Idea of the Century!  Of course any excuse to go anywhere alone with my husband is a WIN but then to go in preparation mode was therapeutic for me. I am an organizer and a fixer so yes I want to have things mapped out and in control!  

You better believe I am going to keep that tradition alive and have a trip with my husband first as I establish my comfort and safety measures before I take the kids. I highly recommend this to any of you out there!!! 

So BEFORE I went to Hawaii, even the first time, I did A LOT of research.  And then this last time I went I did EVEN MORE research prior to going.  I am used to the find me gluten free app which helps me get a good idea of what restaurants and fast food places would be safe for us.  I looked on Pinterest for ideas and blog posts. I messaged Friends that I knew had been to Hawaii who are also gluten-free.  I sent messages to other bloggers that I knew had gone there as well. I packed everything super well. :) Believe it or not, I even packed my seasonings since I didn’t want to buy huge containers of seasonings that would be safe while I was there in Hawaii. Each child had a Gallon Ziploc bag and filled it with snacks and fruit and other food for the plane ride to Hawaii. Once we were there and all checked into our hotel we went to Walmart and Costco.  We loaded up on lots of groceries, snacks and safe foods. I also bought aluminum foil and paper plates. You might be thinking why foil?  Well we use aluminum foil on the bottom of the pans in the hotel so that the food never touches the pan.  

Speaking of the hotel and dishes... when I got to the hotel I put all the dishes that I believe we would be using in the dishwasher and wash them in a cycle before we use a thing.  This is truly for peace of mind and a great tip Courtney from getaway Gluten Free shared with me.  It makes so much sense!  Don’t put the silverware back into the drawer because those drawers are the collection of every crumb that ever lived.  So once the utensils are washed, I put them in a cup facing up and that is where we stored everything. The hotel provided us with a new sponge in its package I knew we were safe in that regard. I did my research and decided that there were enough restaurants and we could eat out one meal a day. That would keep my sanity and my stress levels down by just eating one meal a day out.  I then cooked the rest of them in the hotel. I’m so glad We did that!  

I want to go out and explore foods from other places as well, but more importantly I want to know they are safe and that no one‘s going to be sick. So mentally I knew I could handle one meal a day there. We would go and talk to the chef.  We are very thorough and we make sure that our food is gluten-free safe for us.

I have to tell you that this plan wasn’t fool proof.  I made an agenda that we used which planned out our itinerary of restaurants.  So the very first restaurant we went to when we got off the plane (which by the way we were hungry, that was a LONG flight) didn't go as planned.  Sadly when we got there we were told that they ran out of the oil that they needed to cook us fresh gluten-free foods in their designated fryer. Bummer! Literally we were all SO EXCITED to go to eat this fried chicken and french fries and literally we couldn’t eat anything there... nothing was safe. I didn’t account for that in my planning and I had no idea where to eat. By this time we were all REALLY HUNGRY. But I decided I wasn’t going to make that a big deal. I’m so glad I didn’t. Because my kids feed off of my body language (and I know that) so I need to be positive myself. 

So I told the kids we are going to find something... and something fast. We then called California Pizza Kitchen that was a few miles away and ordered our food to go. I explain the severity of our need for safe gluten-free foods and they assured me that they would be safe and take all precautions for us. What a great back up plan I didn’t have that on our agenda but we were able to adapt. I truly believe that it wasn’t even a big deal because I didn’t allow it to be a big deal in my mind and in my heart and even in my stomach which that’s the hardest part. 

Sometimes we have to run with the punches.  Sometimes it’s not exciting news. Sometimes it’s an inconvenience.  Sometimes pain is involved. Sometimes frustrations boil. But WE get to decide how we show up. Remember we didn’t go on vacation for the food. :)  We went on the vacation to make fun memories with my family. 

An interesting fact to note: when we went to Hawaii we were able to take fruit on the plane, on the way back we were not. You cannot bring anything agricultural back to the states from Hawaii. I learned that the hard way. So I’m letting you know so you don’t make the same mistake. You’re welcome! 

Preparation is key!!! It’s going to take some time… and a lot of planning. But the beauty of it is… there is A TON of gluten free research that has already been done for us. There are sooooo many locations and destinations around the world ~ its insane. 

SO I want to give you the step by step guide to planning your dream vacation. And also share my latest trip AND tips with you.

You guys, I am so excited to share with you the tips that will help to ensure your safety which will ease your mind while planning your next family vacation.  Hopefully it will be an exciting process for you!  I’ve narrowed it down to 11 amazing tips to help you have the best vacation (the best gluten-free vacation) your family has ever had.  Here they are:

1. Pinterest. I search for the place I am dreaming of and add the word gluten free. I know its basic right… but really- don’t skip this step. You will be linked to so many amazing blog posts and resources that will start getting you excited and motivated. DON'T be discouraged though if where you are headed isn’t posted about a ton or even at all… that does not mean that you can not go. 
2. Gluten Free guides. My favorite resources come from a few of my good celiac friends. Do you follow @getawayglutenfree or @forglutensakes on Instagram? They both are incredible and have poured their heart and soul into creating legit guides for us to places literally all around the world. Both are like a gold mine!
3. Once you have found the destination start looking for hotels. Now I love staying at Marriott resorts. And this is not a sponsored shout out for them… (although it should be) I love the fact that they have full kitchens. Now this may seem just like a good perk for the average person… but for us gluten free eaters and especially celiacs this is a gold mine. I mean really… being able to cook your own food to ensure it’s safety is music to my gluten free ears. I will be dissecting how I recently made my trip to Hawaii with my husband and all four kids (3 of us have celiac disease) and it was a serious success staying at a marriott resort in Hawaii.