Travelling Gluten Free by Danielle Paananen
My family and I took our family vacation last week, and thus the inspiration for the topic of this week’s column happened. It can be incredibly frustrating for those on gluten free diets to travel far from home, for any length of time, especially when it is more than a couple of days. It can involve a ton of prep-work, as well as a lot of work while you are away.
When it comes to our family travelling, I need to start preparing for it days ahead of time. It involves making enough bread and snacks to last until we get home, as well as packing half of the contents of my kitchen to bring with me (pastas, granola bars, fruit snacks, lunch meats…). I need to ensure that my son will be able to eat well while we’re gone, and stay out of the restaurants as much as we can.
More and more restaurants today are starting to offer gluten free choices on their menus, which does make it easier to eat away from home. I have a list of some of the places in Ontario, including chain restaurants, that offer at least some gluten free choices. Some offer an allergy guide on their menu, making it easier to see what is gluten free. Some of these places include: Montana’s, Swiss Chalet, and Kelsey’s.
There are now also many pizza places that do offer gluten free pizza crust. Just make sure that you inquire about some of the ingredients that you would like, as not all of their ingredients are gluten free (eg. many types of pepperoni contain wheat). Pizza chains that offer this are: 2-4-1 Pizza, Mamma’s Pizza, New Orlean’s Pizza, Pizza Delight, Boston Pizza, Pizza Pizza, and Topper’s Pizza.
A few chain restaurants offer separate gluten free menus, that give you several different options that are made with gluten free ingredients. It is nice to be able to go and sit down at a restaurant and have a couple of options to choose from. Some of these restaurants include: Boston Pizza, Casey’s Bar & Grill and The Keg.
Knowing your options when it comes to restaurants that offer gluten free options can make travel much easier. One thing to keep in mind, however, is, while the food may be prepared with gluten free ingredients, they may not be 100% aware of the cross-contamination issues. Make sure that you make the staff aware of your allergies, and that they know to be extra careful not to contaminate your dish by using a knife that was previously used to cut a sandwich, or stirring your pasta with the same spoon used to stir someone else’s glutinous pasta. They need to know that even the tiniest slip up could possibly have serious implications for you.
For a complete list of chain restaurants in Ontario that have gluten free options, you can visit www.glutenfreeontario.ca
As always, share your questions, comments, ideas for Danielle below or if you would like advice on how to get started, contact her at GlutenFreeWadge@gmail.com“Like” Gluten-Free Wadge on Facebook to hear about special offers, new products and more — it’s also a great place to connect with others who are eating gluten-free or who had a loved one with special dietary needs, a little ecouragement can go a long way.
RELATED LINKS
- ORDER some delicious Gluten-free foods from Danielle directly on her website at www.GlutenFreeWadge.ca
- Gluten-Free Manitouwadge on Facebook
- Gluten-Free Gab Column Archives
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