One question that I get asked all the time is: What do you take in your lunch?
One thing about being a Gluten Free Kid, as you know, is that you pack a lot of lunches for school. I have never had anything from the school cafeteria! This means what I like to take for lunch goes in cycles. I get bored with some thing, try new things, and of course new cool products come out all the time in the gluten free world. {See a list here of Gluten Free products}
This last year, some things I
like to take include Cheetos, a sandwich on gluten free bread (Rudis or Udis), gluten free chips, Stagg chili in a thermos, a Tillamook yogurt,
Motts applesauce, an apple or banana, and a couple of Glutino cookies.
But there are many more
products, like pretzels, soup, crackers, and other things you could take. You could
take frozen yogurt, Gogurt,
soup or chili in a thermos, make your own gluten-free lunchables,
pack some carrots and other vegetables/fruits, leftovers...there's tons of
things you could take...here's a list of categories with examples of
food you could take in a lunch.
Note:
Remember to always
check ingredients, even if you've bought it before, because sometimes
ingredients change. Also, if it says “produced in a plant that also
produces wheat” or something along those lines, it is not guaranteed
to be gluten-free, unless it says something like “product contains
less that 500 ppm of gluten,” meaning that 1 particle in every
2,000 can be a gluten particle, which is safe. Some things are also
never gluten-free unless you buy gluten-free varieties. For example,
only gluten-free labeled soy sauce is actually gluten-free, and for
some reason, blue cheese is also not on the Celiac approved list.
Dairy (keep cold with an ice pack)
- Yogurt
- Greek Yogurt
- Frozen Yogurt
- Cottage Cheese
- String cheese
- Sliced cheese
Chips,
Crackers, and Stuff
- Pretzels (Glutino ones are good)
- Cheetos
- Chips like Lays
- Crackers
- Cracker “Sandwiches” with peanut butter, or meats/cheese
- Cookies (Pamelas, Glutino, Mi-Del)
Hot
(In A Thermos)
- Soup
- Chili:
- Baked beans
Cold
(Can Be In A Thermos or other container with an ice pack)
- Enchiladas (See the recipe here)
- Other leftovers
Gluten-free
“Cheats”
- “Lunchables” made with gluten free crackers, meat, cheeses and add a Glutino oreo-like cookie
Produce
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Salad with the dressing in a separate container
I hope this gives you some ideas to start packing your own gluten free lunch. There are so many more options than the ones I list here, so these are just a few to get you started. They work for camp or school. Having Celiac does not mean you have to miss out on great, yummy lunches.
