What I Eat - Travel Edition

This week's blog post is coming to you from the road!  I'm sitting in my hotel room in Thunder Bay, where I've traveled to give a presentation.  I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to share how I manage to travel with my dietary restrictions, especially with the additional challenge of getting through airport security.  I've traveled all over the world avoiding gluten and nuts, and I've never let it stop me from going on an adventure.  On this trip, I made sure to get a hotel room that had a microwave and a fridge.  

Dinner - Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients
Brown Rice
Black Beans
Chopped Roasted Red Peppers (from a jar)
Organic Steamed Broccoli
Balsamic Vinegar
Hot Sauce
Chopped Red Onions
Garlic Cloves (pressed through a garlic press)

I was so hungry, I ate most of this dish during my layover before I remembered I needed to take a picture of it.   When I went through security at the airport, I was told that they appreciated my translucent containers, because it allowed them to see what was inside.  These containers are very old (I don't think they come in blue anymore).  In fact, they even went on a three-month backpacking trip with me back in the day.   They've never been in the dishwasher or the microwave (to limit anything transferring from the plastic to the food) and they NEVER leak or break (which is the only reason I use plastic).  The two other containers in this photo contain my breakfast and lunch for the next day.  

I packed a lot of my foods in this plastic container, which also served as a bowl and something to boil water in.  Under no other circumstances would I recommend putting plastic in the microwave!

Snacks - I brings snacks like these - macaroons, protein powder, chocolate, ReBars, and sunflower seeds.  

Breakfast - Oatmeal with Mango

This instant oatmeal comes from a company called GlutenFreeda.  This is a good opportunity for me to discuss the issue of oats and their gluten content.   I've noticed that the packaging of this particular oatmeal (pictured below) no longer mentions that it is gluten-free.  There is a lot of confusion, in general, regarding how oats come to be contaminated with gluten.   GlutenFreeda has her/their own explanation.  I believe that the packaging has changed for legal reasons, but that the product continues to be gluten-free.  Generally, you can treat 'wheat-free' oats the same as 'gluten-free' oats because oats are inherently gluten-free.  Avena Foods, the makers of Only Oats (a gluten-free oat product mentioned previously in this blog) has this explanation for packaging changes.  

Lunch - Salad

Organic Baby Kale
Roasted Cauliflower
Steamed Beets
Avocado
Hemp Hearts
Daiya Shredded 'Mozzarella'
Poppy Seed Salad Dressing 

This salad dressing is handy for those times when you really miss mayonnaise.  I use it sometimes to make tuna or salmon salad, but it's also delicious on salads. 

Dinner - Steak Dinner

I wish that it weren't so, but it's often easier to eat out at fancy restaurants.  The chefs tend to use more 'whole food' ingredients and/or make everything themselves, and they are also very accommodating   This is my first time in Thunder Bay and Caribou Restaurant came highly recommended (and, it was right across the street from my hotel) so I decided to check it out.  My meal was delicious!  

Emergency Meals - Pictured above are some of the things I bring to eat as emergency meals (or, possibly, just dinner tomorrow night on my layover).  I've picked up tuna in this kind of package before for travel, and I was disappointed to notice that this particular brand is made with vegetable broth.   It's probably fine (labeling laws make it pretty unlikely that it contains gluten) but please use caution if you're seriously intolerant!