Immediately following a Celiac diagnosis, it is extremely common for people to stay in their homes and avoid going to public events or traveling all together.   Over time, this will hopefully wear off, but for some people, it doesn’t.

Things are slowly changing (improving) and restaurants are attempting to service people on a gluten free diet.   Hotels, vacation resorts, and grocery stores are also doing what they can to help.   In addition to this, several gluten free travel sites have popped up which have good resources on them for people traveling.

The Savvy Celiac recently featured a new one called Gluten Free Travel Site, which aims to provide you with the information you need to successfully travel gluten free.

People with celiac disease can have just as great a time on vacation as anyone.  But having your vacation be a gluten-free success takes a little research.  “I’d probably say that lack of planning can lead to the most disappointments.” Broussard recommends calling your hotel or resort in advance to speak with the chef, but also check on the availability of the restaurants where you would like to eat. “Don’t be shy,” she said, “be sure to communicate clearly with the chef before each meal.”  She also recommends Triumph Dining cards if you’re travelling internationally.  “They’re bilingual and are available for at least 10 types of global cuisine.”

Always pack gluten-free snacks, “…unless you’re positive there’s a reliable grocery store nearby that stocks your favorite gluten-free items,” Broussard said.  “There will be times you just want a quick, safe snack without having to chase down a chef!”  That is so true.  Sometimes you can just get sick of explaining yourself to people.  And when you’re on vacation, it’s nice some nights to have a bedtime snack while watching TV for sitting on the deck outside.

According to a lot of the feedback I’ve gotten, traveling gluten free outside of the United States seems to be easier than traveling within the United States, so just make sure to plan your trip in advance and pack snacks and you should be fine.

Chances are if you do any traveling, you are very familiar with Celiac Travel and their restaurant cards.  But what if you are having to travel unexpectedly and don’t have time to print the appropriate travel cards?   How about accessing them via your iPod or cell phone!

Enter the Gluten Free Restaurant Card application, which gives you access to them from your cell phone (currently only available on your iPhone or the iPod Touch):

Product Description:

Finding good gluten free foods that can be stored and traveled with is often one of the biggest challenges for someone who is in the workforce and following a strict gluten free diet.  Because of this, a couple of months ago we wrote about staying gluten free on the go.   But what about eating breakfast on the road?

If you enjoy reading Celiac blogs, you’re probably familiar with Gluten Free Gobsmacked.   Kate has published a list of her favorite gluten free breakfast items to take “on the go” and is looking for everyones help on additional ideas.   Here is what she has so far:

• Quick oatmeal: 1/2 cup of GF quick oats + 1/2 cup boiling water + 2 Tablespoons maple syrup.  Pour it all in my thermos and by the time I get to school, you’ll have breakfast.
• Yogurt with berries (Especially fat free greek yogurt with strawberries and a touch of honey)
• Bananas
• Cheesy Egg “muffins” (no flour) from Kalyn’s Kitchen/South Beach Diet
• Peanut Butter Granola Bars (or broken into cereal chunks)
• Gluten-Free Oatmeal “Bars” or oatmeal to go
• Dried fruit and roasted nuts (Such as pineapple, cherries and almonds)
• Celery sticks and fresh hazelnut or almond butter
• Mochi/Red bean cakes (Jill just posted some gorgeous looking ones with mango inside..oh yum!)
• Yogurt, berries and banana smoothies

In my opinion this is already a pretty nice sized list, but I’m sure many of you have other ideas you can share to help Kate out.   If you’d like to submit an idea to Kate, please leave a comment on her post!

If you live in or are considering visiting the Maui (Hawaii) area in the near future, Eva recently took the time to provide some tips on eating gluten free in Maui.   In her post, she provides 10 locations in Maui and some information about each one taken from her recent trip there.

Here are a few:

- 1) Advanced notice is always a good thing. I called in to make reservations a week ahead of time & asked the hostess to add a special note to the reservation that said I had a gluten allergy – every single restaurant I called seemed very appreciative of the advanced notice.

- 2) Down to Earth Food Market. As soon as you leave the airport, drive 1.5miles to this organic supermarket. They have a great selection of organic foods, including gluten-free options! Bread, cookies, cereal, snack bars, crackers, chips…the works. They also have a casual food bar with organic foods such as brown rice, steamed vegetables, tofu, etc – and all ingredients are listed, including their use of wheat-free soy sauce.

- 3) Lahaina Grill. The restaurant is pricey, but the food was delicious and their gluten-free service was superb. As soon as I sat down, our waiter – Richard, also the head sommelier – came over and asked which one of us had a gluten allergy (see Pt #1…advanced notice is a good thing!). He was very knowledgeable about the menu and what I could/could not eat. I eventually chose the Warm Pecan Crusted Goat Cheese & Baby Arugula Salad (with pears, roasted beets & olive oil instead of the Poha berry honey-mustard) & the Seared Lion Paw Scallops (with corn, spinach & asparagus instead of the celery root mash & lobster champagne essence). Both dishes were great…the scallops were some of the best I’ve ever had.

Click over to check out the other 7!

Here is a collection of gluten free travel resources I’ve collected.

• Celiac Travel - Includes Gluten Free Restaurant Cards, and more!
• Celiac Handbook - More restaurant listings in all sorts of countries.
• Gluten Free Restaurants Awareness Program - This resource covers places to eat gluten free throughout the United States and the rest of North America.
• Celiac Site - Gluten free information for cruise lines, travel sites, and more!

Have some we missed?  Let us know in the comments below!

I’ve always personally felt that the toughest part of being on a gluten free diet is finding a decent meal for lunch. Whether I’m traveling, at work, or busy with some other activity, it can often be difficult find something you can take with you that is both gluten free and portable.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, I recommend you check out Sure Food Living’s recent post, 4 Gluten Free Lunch Ideas.

Ideas include:

1. Gourmet on the Go
2. Quick Quesadilla
3. Array of Appetizers
4. Piece of Pizza

Click over to get the full details!