Food and Nutrition

My Gluten Free Breakfast/Snack Travel Kit

Shathiso @thegaboronerunner.com

I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance 20 (!) years ago and I can confidently say the hardest thing I’ve had to deal with is breakfast/ snacks when travelling, especially to places where there is less awareness of food intolerances/ allergies. It’s not a hopeless situation – most hotels have your typical cooked breakfasts as well as a variety of fruits and yoghurt. But if you’re looking for bread, cereal, muesli or oats you’re likely to struggle. If you’ve travelled for a conference, tea breaks usually consist of deliciously baked goods and finger bites, most of them off limits to the gluten-intolerant person. So to make my life easier, I always pack a small travel ‘survival’ kit for breakfast and snacks. With my upcoming work trip, I thought I’d share what’s in my kit!

1/ Muesli/ Granola. My go-to breakfast at home is gluten-free oats but as this needs access to a microwave or stove for cooking purposes, I never pack this when travelling. Instead, I take my home-made gluten-free muesli. To make it, I roast gluten-free rolled oats (bought at Clicks or Dischem) and add a variety of mixed nuts, super seeds and raisins which I get from Square Mart.

Once I’ve mixed everything together, I divide the mixture into small zip-locked bags. On the day I want muesli, I just grab a bag and add milk, yoghurt, berries or honey when I get to the restaurant. As I make mine quite high in fibre and protein, I usually feel satisfied until lunch.

2/ Crackers/ Rice Cakes. These are easy to have as a pre- or post-run snack or just a general snack during the day. But they also work as a bread-replacement on the days I fancy egg, cheese or cold cuts, etc. from the breakfast table. My favourite brand is this one from Woolworths.

3/ Snack/ Granola Bars. These have saved me several times especially when the airline/ travel agent has forgotten my GF meal request! Aside from being emergency plane food, they are great to have as a snack or even breakfast. I find most commercial snack bars are too sweet for my liking and much prefer these homemade ones.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get round to making them for this trip so ended up buying these from Woolworths. As a side note, the berry oat bar has been life-saver on my long hiking adventures!

4/ Dried Fruits and Nuts. Always a win! For this trip, I also added some roasted cashew nuts from Tanzania. Hands down, Tanzania has the best cashew nuts I’ve ever tasted! It’s easy to get carried away with these so I ration them out nicely so I don’t overdo it.

5/ Cookies/ Biscuits. As a treat, I pack these locally-produced sorghum biscuits made by AfriBites. They are super delicious, nutritious and full of flavour. A great treat to have at the end of a long day. I bought these from Square Mart but you can order them directly here.

This Gluten-Free Travel/ Survival Kit has saved me a lot of frustration over the years especially when travelling for work where there is less flexibility. There are times I’ve had to use it quite a bit but also trips were I’ve hardly had to touch it. Luckily, there are always plenty of options for lunch and supper and I love exploring the culinary tastes and delights of different cultures.

A Word Of Caution: When travelling with food, always check the destination country’s border restrictions as bringing in some items may be prohibited.

Do you have any food intolerances? What have you struggled with when travelling? What else would you add to this kit? Would you be interested in a blog about some of foods I try out? Can you guess where I’m headed?

Excited to be linking up with My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida for FIT FIVE FRIDAY! 

25 thoughts on “My Gluten Free Breakfast/Snack Travel Kit”

  1. Fortunately or maybe unfortunately I can eat everything.

    Though when I travel I make sure I have things to eat that I like such as oatmeal, coffee, healthy snacks etc.

    Glad you found something that works for you. What you eat is important and very important as a runner.

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  2. These are really nice options!! Like Darlene, I can tolerate almost anythingā€¦except Gu gels. I have thought about scaling back the gluten, though.

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  3. You’ve put together some nice options! I make my own grain-free granola, which can also be made into bars. It’s a bit of a pain to have all the ingredients on hand, but it’s so delicious!

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  4. I can only imagine how hard it must have been 20 years ago! Luckily there are way more options for you! I think even if you just want to be mindful about what you eat it can be hard whilst traveling. For example I never eat fast food. Never. Well except when we are traveling and there is just no other option. Usually on a car trip I plan and pack for the way to our destination but coming home is different. Obviously being mindful is way different to actual food tolerances.

    I have a slight intolerance to cow’s milk, depending on the product. So I try to do plant-based as much as possible. So glad options have changed in 20 years in this area as well.

    Where ARE you going??

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    1. 20 years ago was crazy!! When I think back to those times, it was tough! But what it forced us to do was to be creative with our meals, learn how to bake using different flours etc. But restaurants and explaining to chefs were an absolute nightmare. So it really is a different world.

      I’m on route… all shall be revealed if I get my first run done there tomorrow!

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  5. Oh yes- being vegan, I’m very familiar with “survival kits.” Your muesli sounds really good. Nuts are also great- very filling. It’s definitely easier now than it used to be- but if you have any restrictions it’s smart to bring something you know you can eat.

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  6. Looks like you have figured out some great options! I guess I’m lucky that I can pretty much eat anything – though I have to watch the dairy. It’s so important to find what works best for your body, especially when you’re on the road.

    Thanks for linking up šŸ™‚

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  7. When I travel by road, I’ll bring my mini crockpot. But that’s definitely hard to do when traveling! I also like a hotel or better yet an AirBnB so that I can have a kitchen (or at least a microwave and mini fridge!).

    I always travel with food. Always. You just never know when you’ll be stuck somewhere for hours when flying — or worse have to stay overnight somewhere. It’s happened to us a few times.

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  8. I am not GF, but this sounds so helpful for those who are. Where I live, I *think* there is greater access for people with food allergies and intolerances (the last conference I attended definitely had alternatives to the regular offerings. I’m glad you have found a way to make it work.

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  9. These are all great options! I am lucky I am eat pretty much everything. I do know I cannot have too many hot peppers or I will pay for it the next day. Haha! But they are still good. And yes I would love to read about the food you try out.

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  10. This is a great hack! It’s great that there are so many GF products on the market these days. I don’t have gluten intolerance, but I know I’ve kicked myself for not bringing healthy snacks with me while I travel! I hope you have a good work trip!

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  11. I don’t know how much converting the recipe would need for metric, but some of the new Superhero Muffins are grain free.
    I feel you on conference snacks, non-dairy creamers are also shelf stable. Why not have more than just milk

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