Taking in gluten free lunch to the parks

[Kittypurry]

we're a large family with teens and myself who are gluten free. Last visit pre diagnosis we took in our lunches we'd love to do that again as it means we can afford to eat out for dinner each night. What I'd like to know is what gluten free items do you take in with you? Or suggestions you'd think would be suitable coming from Aus I've no idea of good gluten free items.

 

[mjkacmom]

DD likes Udi's whole grain gf bread for sandwiches. She also packs rice crackers and cheese, bars (Kind are her favorite), fruit, nuts. Hard boiled eggs and cold cut roll ups work well.

 

[heath92681]

I take Larabars and Kind bars with me. The nice thing about Disney is they are very accommodating for those with food intolerances/allergies.

 

[Sagginit]

I am a celiac and sometimes bring my own snacks to Disney. I always have snacks when I travel too. In the US we have tons of bars but not all are created equal in flavor lol. My favorites are KIND (mostly nuts and dried fruits so get sticky but don't melt in heat) and Luna bars (lots of yummy flavors- coated in chocolate so not good for heat). I think the best bread that is widely available is Canyon Bakehouse. Udi's is available in many places but sometime has holes and the flavor isn't the same. Nuts can be surprisingly hard to find as they are often sorted in the US on equipment as wheat (trail mix?). I find plain nuts at Trader Joes or a brand available more places is Wonderful (Pistachios/Almonds etc). I feel like raisins aren't filling so I don't bother with them. Enjoy life is carried by Disney themselves as they are top 8 allergen free and can be easily found nowadays too for all sorts of snacks. Peanut butter and GF crackers is an option, but pack in a plastic container rather than bag so they don't get crushed. Pretzels are widely available GF now and handle better than chips (less bulky too). US brands I like are Gratify and Glutino.

If I am eating the snack shortly (such as breakfast while at RD) I bring in string cheese, apple slices, carrot sticks, and celery slices if I can get them in their own bag. Whole fruit like apples, bananas, and oranges will last longer. There are also some meat jerky brands that are GF. If you plan on stopping at a store I can let you know how good their selection may be. Pantry items can also be bought online at a place like Amazon and shipped to the hotel. There is a brand called Go Picnic that sells these boxes that are a collection of small snacks and select boxes are GF. The entire box for me is a snack, not a meal, though. I have bought these before travelling when I don't have time to gather a collection of GF items for the plane ride.

We have decent labelling laws here, if it states GF it should be below 20 pp in testing. Just read labels as we are in a phase where everyone wants to have GF items and some brands are making mistakes in a rush to put that on the shelves of stores (labelling something with wheat based soy sauce as GF). I truthfully also don't trust some brands as they have had recalls for making mistakes with their products and I feel like there are enough proven brands out there that specialize in these foods.

Also if you do QS meals you can often substitute the side with a bag of fruit or veggies that they give with the kiddie meal (for ex. get a bag of grapes with your sandwich instead of fries). When on the meal plan I do that to stay healthy and sometimes the cast member is relieved as they may need to bake the fries to make them GF which can take awhile. There are actually some fantastic QS places if you are GF (Sunshine Seasons and the sandwich at Be Our Guest for lunch was huge).

 

[Kittypurry]

Thank you so much that's really helpful it's hard enough choosing decent gluten free items in my own country. We will most likely be staying in a condo or Wyndham bonnet creek so will have a full kitchen to prepare in most likely to go to Walmart for shopping is that a good place to go?

 

[Sagginit]

Walmart can be a very good and easy GF shopping option these days. They carry a lot of the major brands and some smaller brands in local stores, I find it will vary a bit by location. We actually do a once a month trip to the Super Walmart by me (they have a full grocery store, not all Walmart's are equal so check which kind you have near you) as they carry certain items I can't get elsewhere. They do have a GF section and other items are mixed in with the rest of the store such as protein bars, sauces/dressings/, chips, and GF wraps for quesadillas or sandwich wraps. We will typically do frozen meals on vacation if we have a day where we do not feel like going out or cooking the night we get there. Evol and Amys are both widely found in US stores these days and have fantastic GF options including frozen burritos, breakfast cups, and if you have a full oven with a large pot/pan they make family size meals. If you have an oven you can also pick up some GF frozen pizzas, there are a few GF brands now but they should have Udis which is 100% GF brand so it takes the guesswork out if you are unfamiliar with the US brands. I don't know if you will get blocked by cookies but Evol, Udis, Schar, and Enjoy Life all often have online coupons available on their sites or US coupon sites. Schar is european so you may have had them before, they are also widely available now and my local Walmart has some of their items.

 

[kcp1377]

We do subscribe & save through amazon and bring it with us (we have a camper, so that does make it easy.) Lunch-wise we do yogurt, GF deli meats, tuna lettuce wraps to take with us to the parks. Snack wise we bring in string cheese, carrot sticks, apple slices, homemade beef jerky (super easy to make and so good!), GF cookies, granola bars, GF pretzels. The best thing about Disney is how accommodating they are though. Don't be afraid to ask what they can make GF. You'd be surprised! We've had some really great GF meals there even at counter service restaurants. Just tell them at the counter that you need GF and they'll send someone out to talk to you. Only down side is that it can take a few more minutes than normal to make the food so just give yourself some extra time if you do decide to grab a meal.