The work from home life is less than glamorous at times. Like the time you didn’t get to shower until 3 (we won’t talk about how many days it had been)…or the time your laundry pile was taller than you…or the time you made a cheeseball for dinner. And that was all just last week! Now that school has started, and over here I’ve jumped in selling body wraps on top of my writing and editing, and a vacation road trip is coming up, those times are popping up more and more. Meals and snacks absolutely have to be easy to make and take, or we’ll be driving through somewhere. My gluten-free girlie can’t take that, so we have to have some good options on hand. Fortunately, our favorite gluten free brand, Udi’s, is paying attention. Here is our meal plan for the road trip to the beach to (hopefully) slow things down a bit — and, invariably, it’ll be our meal plan during the busy wrapping/writing/schooling/chasing/cleaning/not-cleaning/crazy fall.
1. Early morning granola. Whether it’s time to roll out of bed and onto a conference call, time to scurry everyone off to school (at the table or on the bus), granola always wins in my house. On our road trip, Hubs wants to start the 14 hour drive on Saturday morning. At 6. Cos we should totally go to that Alabama Shakes concert the night before. Here, kids. Eat the granola and mini almond milk (yogurt for me!) before the car gets hot and sticky and the ice chest melty. I’m just gonna doze for about 250 miles…If all else fails, go for the granola bars. Chocolate chip is a favorite, but Cranberry-Almond is a nice, less sweet change of pace. Again, my only complaint is that there are only 5 to a box. We need a family sized option!
2. Crunchy, snacky chips. If you aren’t gluten free, you probably don’t realize that some chips actually have gluten. Yep. Chips. And crackers are a given. While there are a number of gluten free crackers on the market, Udi’s surprised me with flavored “crisps,” including a cheesy one. SO good, and totally dippable. I snag those little cans of bean dip on road trips, or if I were a bit more ambitious, homemade hummus would be good. But I’ve got two quilts to make, parties to run, and projects to be edited before then. It’ll probably be the bean dip.
3. Sandwiches – a mom’s best friend. Sandwiches were the first “meal” my six year old learned to make, and it was the best thing I have ever taught him. Udi’s products don’t have gunky preservatives, so they have to go in the fridge or freezer. We keep the loaves of bread in the freezer and just toast or thaw the pieces we need. He knows the drill. We are running late or I have completely spaced on time, they are hungry, he heads to the toaster. Cinnamon raisin bread made into almond butter/apple butter sandwiches are nice and breakfast-like, too. And the plain white and whole wheat breads are good for…everything else. Sandwiches in the car will probably keep us from stopping and collapsing at a Taco Bell somewhere in Alabama…and anyway, their “meat” is mostly gluten, anyway!
4. Dessert break! Here’s the thing about gluten free cookies. I grab them sometimes for the little cos she likes them. But they can be SO crumbly and crunchy and just…uncookie-ish. Or they might taste like a weird bean flour. Nobody wants that. But these cookies break the mold. I left the Salted Caramel cookies on the counter, thinking we could just hang onto them til the trip. Then Hubs texted. Like four times. He was raving about them and how they were the “best cookies ever.” “Not just gluten free. Ever.” “In my life.” “Best cookies.” The kids approved of the Maple Chocolate Chip, too – but watch out. Labels on these say “May Contain Dairy,” and we definitely wound up with a dairy reaction on one of them. The Brownie Bites, on the other hand, clearly include butter, so the dairy intolerant among us couldn’t have them. Darn, mommy and daddy will have to eat these in hiding so we don’t bother you…
OK, the dairy-safe kid can sneak one, too.
Udi’s sent me products for review, but they didn’t tell me what to say. They also didn’t tell me that Hubs would get hooked on Salted Caramel cookies. I think they should come with a disclaimer.
Oooh! Thank you! I needed some more options:)