Not being in a full flare helped a lot. I'm not in remission but not in the worst of a flare. Would never attempt this a couple months ago when I was running to the bathroom 5 to 8 times a day. Knowing when you may have to go soon helps a lot. Sometimes it just hits you with out warning and you have to go... NOW. However other times I can feel it coming. Usually if I eat something... I have to go soon. While this was somewhat helpful in predicting... it was frustrating everyone. I found myself holding back on snacking, especially on the road, when everyone else could.
Finding food was a bit of a challenge. However making my own lunch as needed or packing one along was always an option. It's tough on the road because fast food was out of the question. The only fast food place I ate at once 9was KFC; their grilled chicken was OK.
I eased up on my restrictions which helped as well. My only regret were the spicy chicken wings at one restaurant =P We shared an order as an appetizer. The menu said it was "sweet and tangy"... it was spicy! I ate 5 and regretted it that night and the next morning. We stopped at a couple famous cupcake shops. I ordered the gluten free one at a particular shop not thinking to ask about the other ingredients. A couple bites into it I was like "oh this is amazing! Wait... it's TOO good... it's full of dairy!" I ended up eating half of it and honestly didn't have a bad reaction to it. I've always been quite sensitive to dairy but for whatever reason this time was OK... thank God.
Here's somethings that work:
- Bananas are easy to find. Nearly every gas station has them. Towns along the way have grocery stores, Super Wal-Mart, or Super Target. Buy several and keep them handy. They don't last long though. Toss the peels at every stop or your whole vehicle smells like bananas =P
- Cold cuts are great. They keep well in the cooler for days. The fewer ingredients in them the better. Again it's not hard to find a store with a deli, butcher, or just some in the meat section.
- Mayonnaise is nice to have too for the sandwiches. I use Kraft mayo made with olive oil. Just keep it burred in ice.
- Precooked carrots in snack baggies. They didn't spoil and lasted over a week! So packing precooked food is great.
- Panera sourdough bread was a life saver. My wife found out the starter they use breaks down the gluten. I ate it a couple days before we left and on the whole trip. No major side effects. It's wonderful because it fills me up. Only side effect is my mind feels a little foggy... like when I eat sugar.
- With that bread I could make sandwiches on the road and also bring them when we walked around DC. So if we knew finding UC safe food was going to be a challenge I would pack a lunch and bring it along.
- Listen to your body. Any movement at all in your gut... speak up and say you'll have to go soon. Start planing the next stop and locating the nearest bathroom. Sometimes beggars can't be choosers; I had to use some pretty nasty ones. However I'll take a close call in a gross bathroom over an accident!
- At restaurants don't be shy; ask what's in everything. Sometimes the menu is lacking details or they use fancy culinary words. A lot of restaurants have allergen guides; again just ask. Most of the hotels we stayed at served breakfast. A lot of times there were scrambled eggs. I always had to ask if they had dairy because some did and some didn't. Restaurant menu's lack details on ingredients or use unusual words. A lot of times you can swap sides for steamed veggies even if they aren't on the menu... just ask!
Thank you to everyone who reads my blog. It means a lot to me and I had no idea so many did. Wish I had posted something sooner; I actually started this a couple days after getting back. However summer is super busy. As soon as we got home we had to remodel one of our daughter's bedrooms for her birthday, get ready for the birthday part, and we also have our entire entryway torn up as that's our current remodeling project.
