Going gluten free on a long hike

[Brambor]

I'm planning a 10 to 14 day hike without a chance of resupplying. My partner is gluten intolerant. Have any of you been able to manage carrying glutten free food for such extented day range and what did you carry?

 

[MattC]

Interesting question.

My partner is gluten intolerant. Have any of you been able to manage carrying glutten free food for such extented day range and what did you carry?

I'm not and I haven't, but I do have a good friend who is gluten intolerant. It has forced him to constantly be creative in his approach to food and nutrition. He actually feels like he eats better for it though.

I would say it's a bit of a problem, but nothing that can't be dealt with. I imagine your friend thinks a lot about food choices and substitutions anyway, so this just adds another layer of problem solving.

For the long hike, you would obviously still want all the normal nutritional areas covered, i.e. simple sugars, complex carbs, fat and protein. And of course high calories vs. low weight.

I'm thinking corn tortillas might figure in heavily. For dehydrated meals, beans, rice, chick peas, lentils. Maybe some rice pasta or rice noodles. Cheese at least for the early part of the trip. Nuts would be another good source of protein and fat, maybe dried fruit for fiber. Clif Bars and the like are obviously out, so chocolate would probably have figure in prominently for the quick sugar. Honey could be another source. Yogurt raisins might make another good snack. Breakfast might be tough-I don't know if there are hot cereals that are gluten free.

Good luck and have fun solving this problem.

Matt

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I was curious about this - did a Google on 'gluten free camping - found lots of hits. There appears to be suppliers of these products, including Trail Food Express. According to their website "All of the products sold on this website are manufactured by AlpineAire Foods from California, which is one of the largest trail food companies in the US. They have been a pioneer in the food marketplace for over 22 years, and have a reputation for excellence surpassed only by their distinction for outstanding taste. "

 

[Jay H]

Most ice cream is gluten free.. Perry's in particular.

Oh...

Jay

 

[peakbagger]

Night want to give the a search of whiteblaze.com. Its usually a good long source for long distance info, then again, there arent any 10 to 14 day stretches on the AT that dont supply a resupply option.

 

[J.Dub]

Most ice cream is gluten free.. Perry's in particular.

Oh...

So what do you recommend for a partner who has both a gluten allergy AND lactose intlolerance, then...? (Like my partner is.)

(Besides, those half-gallon cartons of Haagen-Dasz don't compress down to well in the pack. )

Last weekend during an ice climbing trip to Tucks I arrived at the belay to find him pulling out a bag of fruit, cheese and pepperoni slices from his pack. Meanwhile, I was trying to keep my Clif bars from freezing...

We haven't done any extended trips yet, but I was thinking that most if not all of our food should be gluten and dairy free so that, in the case of emergency, he could eat any of it. (If I had to hike out of the BC to get help, he could have some of my food as well as his.) Sound right, or am I overthinking it?

I'll be interested to see the replies to this thread.

 

[Jay H]

So what do you recommend for a partner who has both a gluten allergy AND lactose intlolerance, then...? (Like my partner is.)

(Besides, those half-gallon cartons of Haagen-Dasz don't compress down to well in the pack. )

Last weekend during an ice climbing trip to Tucks I arrived at the belay to find him pulling out a bag of fruit, cheese and pepperoni slices from his pack. Meanwhile, I was trying to keep my Clif bars from freezing...

We haven't done any extended trips yet, but I was thinking that most if not all of our food should be gluten and dairy free so that, in the case of emergency, he could eat any of it. (If I had to hike out of the BC to get help, he could have some of my food as well as his.) Sound right, or am I overthinking it?

I'll be interested to see the replies to this thread.

Soy Dream!

Actually, to answer the original poster, there are gluten free pasta out there, which is one choice. Mostly rice flour stuff....

Jay

 

[MattC]

We haven't done any extended trips yet, but I was thinking that most if not all of our food should be gluten and dairy free so that, in the case of emergency, he could eat any of it. (If I had to hike out of the BC to get help, he could have some of my food as well as his.) Sound right, or am I overthinking it?

That's actually a good point, and considerate of you.

Matt

 

[Brambor]

100% gf

Yes. I plan on all of our food to be Gluten Free. This way there is no danger of cross contamination and such.

 

[mookie]

http://www.pamelasproducts.com/Products_frames.html

the mixes are not bad. i used to work at a nursing home that used the products for one of the patients. its a pretty tough diet to plan for.
good luck

 

[halia and flammeus]

"Think" products are both gluten free and lactose free. I like the "Think thin" bars - they come in lots of flavors (e.g. brownie crunch, or peanut butter something or other) and they are a lot less sweet than Clif or Luna bars. Think bars are available at Hannaford's around here (ulster county ny). They are expensive, as are many products that are advertised/marketed as gluten free. You can find things that are safe but much less expensive by reading labels carefully - you know to be careful of "modified food starch" and soy sauce, among other things. Trader Joe's has excellent labelling for their products and many gluten free and dairy free/lactose free items that might be workable.

Good luck -
H

 

[Paradox]

If someone has this type of allergy but keeps eating bread and pasta, does this make them a gluten for punishment?

 

[JOD]

Celiac Disease

Going gluten free is intimidating at first. As one gets accustomed to the menu it becomes easier to plan ahead even for multiple days. My wife was diagnosed with Celiac disease 20 years ago, my daughter 3 years ago. So while I’m not afflicted with the disease I am very familiar with the menu requirements. At one time the foods were available only by mail order now as mentioned you can find them in you local grocery store. Even the local Market Basket has gluten free foods. You need to read the label. I don’t have the links here but there are Celiac Disease groups that list foods that are ok to eat. Also it is not uncommon for one with CD to also be Lactose intolerant.

Halia and flammeus is correct to watch out for modified food starch, stay away. The same for soy sauce.

Be prepared for sticker shock. It is amazing how much gluten free food costs. As for cross contamination is concerned, if the food is prepared ahead of time and cooked in separate pots it’s ok. If one pot is used cook the gluten free meal first, then the “regular” meal and wash the pot. The pot will be good to go next meal.

If you plan to adopt yourself to the gluten free menu with your hiking partner expect some different tasting meals. I don’t like the gluten free pasta. If that’s all you eat you get accustomed to the taste and begin to like it.

Most of the food is either corn, potato, or rice based. All fruits, vegetables and meats are ok, eggs are ok too. Wheat, oats, barley and rye are off limits. Yes, this means no beer and many alcohols. Wine and tequila are ok.

This is a great resource http://www.healthyvilli.com/products/ProductResearchbyCategory.php

I know there is an instant rice cereal like oatmeal. We have it at home. I can’t remember the name or brand.

Good for you to study up on this and good luck. We don’t do overnight hiking. We do many day hikes and some car camping with no major issues.

Jim

(edit: Cream of Rice, that's the cereal. the instant version is good with some maple syrup)

 

[JOD]

oh no!

Hey paradox. it depends of the level of intolerance. they may tolerate slight gas pains. this means you suffer from the gas releases!

 

[Brambor]

Thanks

Thanks for all the responses. I have a few choices that I did not know about before.

 

[BorealChickadee]

I have celiac disease as well as being allergic to even the tiniest bit of sulfites & apocarotenal. It's pretty restrictive but I eat quite well in spite of it.

I always provide all the main food for myself and partner when I'm backpacking. I want to make sure there's plenty for me to eat and there is no contamination if we're carrying only one set of cooking pots/utensils. Gluten contamination would be inconvenient but sulfite contamination could be deadly. My partner can provide granola bars for themself but I'll provide the cooked food.

I dehydrate my own cooked meats. marinate, grill and dehydrate
Rice based pasta is already precooked and then dried so it's actually more convenient than wheat based.
Lots of hard cheese.
grate your own romano, parmesan-much tastier than the containers
Eggs for the first few days.
Precooked potatoes for the first day or two (breakfast food).
Butter will keep for several days.
I dehydrate my own fruits and veggies.
dark chocolate is my snack of choice

My biggest problem was getting enough calories for those 20 mile days, even day tripping so I developed this recipe for what I call my hiking muffins. For hard days I'll split them and spread in some more butter as if the butter dripping from them isn't enough. But fat calories are important and I winter camp too.

2 cups sulfite free coconut-the best stuff is online with good texture and moisture-I hate the store stuff
1 cup brown rice flour
4-6 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup light brown sugar
snipped sulfite free cherries
2 sticks melted butter
1/4 teaspoon guar gum (hold the muffins together better, but can be omitted)
1/8 teaspoon salt
milk chocolate chips to your liking

mix and bake at 350 until nicely browned. Bag individually in sandwich bags for easier eating as they're very buttery. Makes a dozen big muffins. Caloriesff the chart

Honeyville farms makes a blanched almond flour, very high in protein. elanaspantry.com uses the flour extensively
I like that the recipes generally use one type of flour (the almond meal) rather than a mix of flours like most gluten free recipes. I just found the flour and recipes so I haven't tried the muffins adapted to the almond meal but I'm thinking they might be pretty darned good.

 

[Michelle]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Snickers are gluten-free!

(friend at work has Celiacs and we've taken in our fair share of snicker bars!!)
and Reese's PB cups.....

(she's called tons of companies over the year to check on product ingredients and wouldn't eat them if they were not safe.

corn pasta has more protein than reg. pasta too
I want to say that some of the Luna bars are gluten-free also.

 

[Brewster]

Gluten Free food sources

This is one issue that has motivated me to post. I've not met other hikers with gluten intolerance even though I'd suspected they were out there. I've found the previous posts to be quite informative with new sources of GF food and look forward to trying them.

In additon to those GF foods already mentioned, "Bakery on Main" makes a GF granola for either a cereal or snack as well as food bars that are very good. Food bars put out by "Bumble Bar, Inc." are also great. I've found that P&B sandwiches made with rolls from "Against the Grain" to be excellent. They are primarily made from tapioca starch but are great for day trips, not long hauls. Bread, rolls, muffins, all made from predominately rice flour are generally too crumbly for my taste but will do for a hike over several days but would be limited for a longer haul due to their short shelf life without refrigeration. "Ancient Harvest" puts out cereal made from quinoa (quinoa flakes actually) that is a staple for hot cereal. They also make a pasta from quinoa and corn that is excellent.

Sources for these in the Manchester, NH area are Hannaford's, Shaws and several health food stores. My hikes in the last few years have been day hikes, primarily in winter, and the food I've mentioned has formed the bulk of my food along with honey, almonds, cheese and rice crackers. Now I can look forward to new stuff.

Thanks for initiating this thread and all the great info.

 

[mudhook51]

I almost starved when I became celiac, and allegeric to soy and milk.( the milk allergy went away after 6-8 months) Cross contamination is a big issue , so keeping it all GF is a good idea.
Hormel has lots of GF food like pepperroni, and the dreaded spam for cold weather fats. Watch out for fillers and coatings and things added to keep the product loose and flowing.
Like BC said, rice pasta cooks fast, don't overcook,it gets slimy.
Many nuts and dried fruits are flour coated. If they are packaged in some faraway country they are really suspect. I try and make my own , get a cheap dehydrater. (Dehydrated zuccinhini is interesting)
Read the label, wheat is in everything, like vinegars,and spices, asprin, vitamins and postage stamps and is called many names.
Bob's Red Mill products has a good hot cereal, flours, baking, pancake, cookie,and brownie mixes, found in many supermarkets.
Lots of good GF granola mixes: Bakery on Main brands, in super markets.
Lara Bars are OK, clift bars contain oats and are suspect. Haven't seen the Think bars, do they contain soy H&F?
Read the label, when in doubt, throw it out.
Hannafords is the supermarket I also use where i live in the Catskills, well around the catskills , no real supermarkets or heath stores in the catskills, 50 miles + any direction, so finding a good reliable source is important.