Gluten Free Travel Snacks That Don’t Suck

Dietary restrictions are a drag. Think about it: for whatever reason you just can’t eat certain things or ingredients and it limits your tasty landscape. No dietary restriction is fun, though some are easier to handle than others. Nut and dairy restrictions generally still leave a person with lots of options. But a wheat or gluten allergy, intolerance, or celiac disease? Wheat and gluten is in everything it seems, even yogurts and candy! Regular eating is challenge enough. Finding food while traveling? That’s a whole other situation.

I’m one of the estimated 18 million Americans with some sort of issue with gluten/wheat. I’m part of the 1% of the population that wrangles with celiac disease so for me it’s not just an allergy or a preference. Gluten makes me seriously ill. I also enjoy travel and often take my own snacks with me. But what about on trips where packing a big bag of treats isn’t an option? I recently took a trip to Las Vegas where my baggage was limited and devoting precious space in my bag to food just wasn’t happening and snacks are critical because I never know when I’m going to find a safe place to eat a real meal. No room for snacks, unsure about dining conditions and in need of travel snacks? Challenge accepted! I did some snacking and found some satisfying gluten free snacks that don’t suck. Here are my thumbs-up picks.

Image Credit: Nicole Drum

Fruit. It’s not the most glamorous of snacks, but it’s almost always safe, especially fresh. I found myself needing to make sure I read the labels on fruit cups or dried fruit packages, but I quickly found myself comfortable just picking up anything fruit. I really like the Del Monte fruit cups.

Nuts. If you’re not sensitive to nuts they make a great snacking option. Planter’s nuts in general are safe and they have a lot of varieties (I personally enjoy getting a small pack of cashews and a small pack of dried cranberries, mixing them, and having my own trail mix!) Those who are very sensitive may want to read labels on other brands to ensure that they are not processed in facilities that also process wheat.

Chocolate. Hershey’s chocolate bars are gluten free, y’all.  I’m just saying.

Potato chips. There are a lot of potato (and corn) chips that are gluten free and it’s not just the plain kind. Lay’s Honey BBQ is my favorite, but you will want to take a quick glance at the label. I also include packaged popcorn in this.

KIND bars. There is a running theme to most of my snacks here and that is “check the label.” With KIND bars, probably my favorite of all grab and go snacks you don’t have to. All of KIND’s products are gluten free and they are becoming more readily available. In the past two months I’ve found them at big gas stations and airports as well as tiny pit stops in rural places. And KIND bars have a lot of varieties so I am never bored.

So there you have it, my top list of travel snacks that are gluten free and don’t suck. With these options available I’ll never have to stuff my purse with food again! Happy travel snacking!

What are some of your favorite gluten free travel snacks that don’t suck? Let us know in the comments below.