Childen's Hospital Boston 300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 355-6000
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Clinical Services (Celiac Disease Program and Support Group):
Strategies for Eating Out
Breakfast
Most resort hotels usually have one or two places for breakfast and by speaking with the breakfast chef either before or upon your arrival you can determine if any of the breakfast meats (bacon, sausage, ham) are gluten free. Both the ingredients and preparation must be gluten free.

Many breakfast buffets may serve gluten-free bacon or sausage but they present it in a large container lined with bread to soak up the fat. If this is the case, they can always hold some aside for your child. Eggs are usually a safe choice; just make sure that they are not made on the same grill as the pancakes, etc. If there are eggs set out in the buffet speak to the chef about what is really in them first. Sometimes we will order a couple of hard-boiled eggs to take with us as part of a GF lunch on the run.

Lunch
Remember the old days -- pre-diagnosis -- when you could just run into any place for a bite to eat? You can still approach lunch this way if you pack a gluten-free lunch box in your hotel room at the beginning of the day:

  • PB & J on GF bread or crackers with some chips and a GF dessert and you're all set.

    To vary the meal, pack some GF cold cuts in a sandwich. If your travels take you to a very warm climate, don't forget to insulate the lunch box with a cold pack.

    • Dinner
    The options are endless depending on where you are. The best advice I can give is to call the restaurant in advance and discuss your needs with the chef. Certain restaurants (ethnic in particular) will not be able to accommodate a full gluten-free meal (ie. they may not serve baked potatoes or plain rice), which leaves one with the choice of dining elsewhere or supplementing the dinner from your hotel room stash. The lunch box comes in handy at dinner too; pack it with several condiments to compliment the meal: ketchup, margarine, salad dressing, cheese and crackers, and a GF dessert.
    NEVER ASSUME. It may look gluten-free, but it still may not be safe. We were dining in a Mexican restaurant once and the tortilla chips looked fine and smelled fine. However, they were fried in the same deep fryer as the flour tortillas! Yikes. Who wants to take the chance of ruining their vacation by that kind of slip? Beware of any large side of meat they offer in a buffet. Ask the chef what was used to season or coat the meat with. Did they use any wheat flour for the ham glaze? Often the side of meat itself is pure but any au jus (sauce) served as an accompaniment may contain wheat flour. If a turkey is offered, find out if the meat was injected with anything before cooking because it is a common practice. It is best to discuss these things before you leave for dinner.
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    which can only be given to you by your personal health care professional.
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