Sunday, October 5, 2014

Atlanta Recap: How I Dealt With My Gluten Free Diet While Traveling

So as you all probably know, I went to Atlanta, GA last week :)! Here's a recap of how I dealt with my diet traveling on a school trip:

Lunch: On our way there, we stopped by Panera Bread! I ordered the Asian Sesame Chicken salad without wonton strips, and the creamy tomato soup without croutons!

Dinner: We stopped by Mellow Mushroom in Atlanta, GA! Unfortunately, there was a slight mix-up with the toppings on my pizza, but they fixed a new one right up for me! I packaged some extra pizza to take with me as emergency food for the next day.

Breakfast the next day: I was of course in contact with the hotel when it came to my diet before we stayed at the Marriot Marquis in Atlanta. The staff was very understanding and made sure that the omelette and hashbrowns were fried in a designated pan, and that there wouldn't be any cross contamination.

After breakfast we stopped by the aquarium. It was beautiful and worth a visit if you ever plan on visiting Atlanta! My lunch was enjoyed at a restaurant close to the aquarium. The chef made sure that I got a burger that had never touched a bun. I also ordered a side salad :).

That night, before our performance, we were to get a sandwich buffet for dinner. The event manager had been notified that I was on a gf diet and that my bread had to be wrapped separately and also have my name on it, so that I could be sure it was safe for me to eat.   But bread was not wrapped up with my name on it, as promised. I also had cross contamination concerns. We notified the manager, who was very apologetic and understanding. Instead of insisting that the food was safe for me to eat he offered a delicious vegetable medley with a baked potato! It was delicious. Lesson learnt: It's always a good idea to talk to someone whenever you notice a mishap, because you don't want to get sick just because you didn't speak up!

On our way home on Sunday we stopped by Chipotle:)! All I had to do there was to ask the server to change her gloves, and voila, I could eat the same thing as my friends! Loved it!

All in all, it was a great trip. I ate out a lot and it went really well!. There was some planning ahead in all, but it was a breeze when I was actually on the trip! I of course had a lot of snacks with me, so I never went hungry either :).