Ice Chest Will Travel…
…and a zucchini spiralizer, waffle iron and juicer! On our motorcycle trip to Canada from California I wasn’t sure I was going to find places where I could eat…so I brought my machinery, the compartment behind my seat is what I called my kitchen. My clothes for 3 weeks is in the side compartment. Yep, bare minimum but it is what I had to do to feel confident that I would be able to eat even in the most remote places. Once we decided what little town we were going to hit next, I would google gluten free restaurants to see what was available. If they listed Pizza Hut as a gluten free place I knew that town didn’t have anything for me. So I would book and Airbnb and we would go to the grocery store for some basics such as veggies for my juicer, zucchini so I could make noodles and some olive oil and garlic for a “pasta” dish and maybe some chicken or steak. It was a real treat if I could find green plantains so I could make my plantain waffles with fresh berries. My stand by for breakfast is always poached eggs on a bed of fresh spinach. Most breakfast diners can accommodate this simple breakfast and preparing poached opposed to fried eggs eliminates any possibility of cross contamination.
The Ice Chest.
My dear friends and family are so kind and supportive but they don’t understand what is truly gluten free nor do they understand cross contamination. I didn’t even begin to explain the AIP diet… actually I did, but I could see their eyes glaze over as I start talking about the concept of the elimination diet, leaky gut and why I can’t have nightshades.
When my husband and I were invited for dinner they would buy, what seemed like a $100 worth of gluten free items for me. Unfortunately, a lot of gluten free items do not have any nutritional value and sometimes are loaded with sugar to make them taste good or they would make a big salad and pour store bought salad dressing on it that had gluten. So it took me a while but I eventually learned to tell people up front don’t worry about me, I am going to bring my own food. If they said they could accommodate me, I was insistent and said I prefer to bring my own. And you know what? They were fine with it, I actually think they were relieved. They didn’t have to put any thought into it and spend the extra money and I felt confident I was eating something safe and nutritional. Thus, the ice chest. I bought several different sizes to accommodate a snack, lunch or dinner for whatever the occasion. I use the big ice blocks that you keep in the freezer so I don’t have to deal with melted ice.
At first I felt a little embarrassed with bringing my own ice chest to a dinner party but over time I got over it. I also learned to match what the hosts was serving so it wasn’t quite obvious I was eating something different. I would prepare my plate in the kitchen, zap it in the microwave and go sit down. What was interesting was if there were new acquaintances they would eventually ask about my meal and I would explain I have Celiac disease and Sjogren’s Syndrome and I control my symptoms through diet. And then the questions would start…they are fascinated by someone who is actually doing this. Either themselves or someone they know suffers from an autoimmune disease and they want to learn more about what I do so they can share my story. It is because of these encounters that I wanted to start my blog.
