As you all know, eating gluten-free while traveling can pose certain challenges. In these days, it is not hard to find something to eat that is gluten-free, but it is hard to find the things you want to eat that are gluten-free. Any convenient store has Fritos (only has corn, oil and salt) or Snicker’s bars, also gluten-free, but we all know that while those may be good occasional treats, they aren’t meals.
If you have a lot of space when you travel – such as taking your own car with plenty of room – packing gluten-free necessities isn’t a big deal. However, if you are flying or are limited on space, bringing a lot of your gluten-free “staples” may not be possible. Thankfully most mainstream grocery stores have some sort of gluten-free pasta, cereal, bread, etc – they just may not be the brands you prefer.
We recently ran across this in North Carolina while vacationing. Other than Ener-G bread, we weren’t able to locate any bread. No Udi’s, no Kinnikinnick, nothing. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on some Van’s Gluten-Free Blueberry Waffles at the second grocery store that I hit, so we used those for sandwiches in addition to Food for Life Brown Rice Tortillas. I thought that we would be able to find Gluten-Free Bisquick, but struck out there as well.
Obviously we had access to plenty of produce, rice, protein, dairy & such – it was just the extras and specialty items that we were missing. It really goes to show you how spoiled we are here in Columbus, Ohio with the selections of gluten-free food we have.
We ate most of our meals at the beach house, so dining out wasn’t a big issue. We did visit Margaritaville and got ice cream out from a couple of different places. Margaritaville does have a nice gluten-free menu, including buns for their burgers. However, after the introduction of Udi’s, Rudi’s and Canyon Bakehouse gluten-free buns, these were horrible. I hate to say that, but they had no flavor, bad texture & crumbled easily. I ended up taking the bun off of my sandwich and focusing on the amazing french fries and stealing bites of Jon’s gluten-free brownie sundae.
Volcano Nachos
A lot of the little shops in North Carolina carry Blue Bell ice cream. I was concerned that I hadn’t contacted them previously, but was able to find this list on Gluten-Free Appetite:
Blue Bell Products Suitable for Those Avoiding Gluten
Standard Ice Cream Flavors:
- Banana Split
- Buttered Pecan
- Butter Crunch
- Candy Jar
- Caramel Turtle Fudge
- Century Sundae
- Cherry Vanilla
- Chocolate Chip
- French Vanilla
- Homemade Vanilla
- Mint Chocolate Chip
- Mocha Almond Fudge
- Mocha Madness
- Moo-llennium Crunch
- Natural Vanilla Bean
- Peaches & Homemade Vanilla
- Pecan Pralines ‘n Cream
- Peppermint
- Snickerdoodle
- Southern Hospitality
- Strawberry
- Strawberries & Homemade Vanilla
- Tin Roof
- White Chocolate Almond
- Standard Ice Cream Flavors
- Banana Split Buttered Pecan
- Butter Crunch Candy Jar
- Caramel Turtle Fudge Century Sundae
- Cherry Vanilla Chocolate Chip
- French Vanilla Homemade Vanilla
- Mint Chocolate Chip Mocha Almond Fudge
- Mocha Madness Moo-llennium Crunch
- Natural Vanilla Bean Peaches & Homemade Vanilla
- Pecan Pralines ‘n Cream Peppermint
- Snickerdoodle Southern Hospitality
- Strawberry Strawberries & Homemade Vanilla
- Strawberry Cheesecake Tin Roof
- White Chocolate Almond
Regional Ice Cream Flavors and No Sugar Added:
- Banana Nut
- Banana Split (No Sugar Added*)
- Black Walnut
- Buttered Pecan (No Sugar Added*)
- Coffee
- Country Vanilla (No Sugar Added*)
- Lemon
- Dutch Chocolate (No Sugar Added*)
- Pineapples & Homemade Vanilla
- The Great Divide (No Sugar Added*)
- Pistachio Almond
- Banana Nut Banana Split
- Black Walnut Buttered Pecan
- Coffee Country Vanilla
- Lemon Dutch Chocolate
- Pineapples & Homemade Vanilla The Great Divide
- Pistachio Almond
Light Ice Cream Flavors and Market Specific Ice Cream Flavors:
- Homemade Vanilla
- Café con Leche
- Southern Hospitality
- Mango
- The Great Divide
- Mardi Gras
- Tropical Paradise
- Yogurt Flavors
- Banana Split Nonfat
- Sherbet Quarts
- Country Vanilla Low Fat
- Lime
- Strawberry Nonfat
- Orange
- The Great Divide Low Fat
- Pineapple
- Rainbow
- Homemade Vanilla Café con Leche
- Southern Hospitality Mango
- The Great Divide Mardi Gras
- Tropical Paradise
- Yogurt Flavors
- Banana Split Nonfat Sherbet Quarts
- Country Vanilla Low Fat Lime
- Strawberry Nonfat Orange
- The Great Divide Low Fat Pineapple
- Rainbow
*The No Sugar Added uses Aspartame.
I had the Peaches with Homemade Vanilla and fell in love. The peaches were nice, big chunks and the vanilla was one of the best I have ever tasted. Perfect end to a long day on the beach!
