We just got home from an eight day vacation. Before leaving I was a little concerned I would be unable to find food that I could eat. Because of this, I decided to call the local grocery store where we would be staying to see if they had the products that I would need. Food Lion in Avon, NC was very helpful. The lady wrote down all the items I was looking for, went to look for them, then called me back. I asked about gluten free flour, tamari, Udi’s gluten free white sandwich bread, lactose-free milk, and gluten-free pasta. They ended up having everything I needed, minus the gluten free flour, so I packed this in my checked luggage.
Day 1
I was unsure I would be able to find food in the airport, so I packed myself two peanut butter sandwiches on gluten-free bread. I also brought some pre-popped popcorn and Meijer Rice Crackers with Sesame seeds. We flew into Atlanta airport and I was lucky enough to find a Five Guys restaurant. I ordered a hamburger in a lettuce wrap, french fries, and a bottle of water.
Five Guys does not add seasoning to their hamburgers or regular fries. Here is the nutrition and allergy information for their food. It was very good.
After arriving in Norfolk, we had a 30 minute drive to our hotel. We were tired and didn’t feel like going out, so my husband ran to Target. He bought Lunchables for my boys, frozen burritos for himself, and got me some frozen white rice, strawberries, and some Malbec wine. I also ate some peanut butter, from the jar I packed in my checked luggage. It wasn’t too bad of a supper for only having a microwave available.
Day 2
The hotel provided a continental breakfast. I was unable to find anything I could eat except for the decaf coffee. All they had was milk, so I drank my coffee black. I was lucky, though, and my husband had found some Udi’s Blueberry Muffins at Target the night before. I had a half of a one for breakfast, because the sugar content was fairly high. The muffin was delicious! I microwaved it to thaw it out and it tasted great.
We then went shopping at Target, because my husband had found a lot of products I could eat. I bought myself some Udi’s White Sandwich bread, Udi’s pizza crusts, Udi’s Soft Tortillas Shells, and Smuckers Natural Strawberry Jelly. They did not carry Gluten-free pasta or Tamari.
We then left the hotel and stopped at Wendy’s for lunch. I have found Wendy’s and Five Guys to be the top two fast food places to eat while following the FODMAP diet. I had a baked potato (no sour cream), a side salad (no onions, croutons, or dressing), and a hamburger patty (no bun, cheese, or mayo). It tasted good and filled me up, so I was happy to have found Wendy’s while traveling. We had a long drive to our beach house, but I didn’t get hungry until supper, because of the large lunch.
When we got to the house everyone ordered pizza for delivery. I ran into the local grocery store and bought myself tomatoes, spinach, pizza blend cheese (cheddar and mozzarella cheese), and dried basil. I used the Udi’s pizza crust, put tomato and spinach on the crust, topped it with 1 cup pizza blend cheese (1/2 cup per half pizza), and sprinkled basil on top. The pizza turned out very good! I was surprised at how good it tasted with no sauce. I made sure to eat only half of the pizza to keep the amount of cheese I ate below one ounce.
That evening, my in-laws went shopping, so I gave them a list of foods that are suitable on a low-FODMAP diet. I made sure to include, lactose-free milk, gluten-free pasta, tamari, spices to make my FODMAP chicken and taco seasonings, and ingredients to make garlic infused oil and low FODMAP ketchup.
Your pizza looked so good! I was glad you had something comparable to us. I learned a lot shopping with you list and was unaware of all the “extra” things in so many foods. I was surprised the “off” brands or local store brands tended to be more appropriate for you (and probably all of us) because they had more basic ingredients and fewer additives.