Ida returned from her Hawaii trip late last week. It appears that the trip was as successful as it could be!
All of the places I had arranged for a meal worked out perfectly! Hard Rock Café, Planet Hollywood, Bubba Gump Shrimp, the Luau, and eventually Senor Frogs all had gluten-free options for her (most were pre-arranged as I had reported in a post last month).
What never worked was Perry’s Smorgasboard, which had a breakfast buffet. The kids ate there each morning. Every day she brought down her own food and got some fruit. But Ida said it was probably for the best she couldn’t eat there because the other kids constantly complained about that place for breakfast.
The kids had to bring bag lunches with them during the day. Ida and I had packed so much gluten-free food in a box for her that it worked out perfectly. She had enough snacks to help her get through breakfast and lunch.
One interesting thing Ida told me about was another girl who came on the trip who also had celiac disease. What apparently happened with her was totally different than Ida’s experience. The other girl was traveling with the same group as Ida, but apparently didn’t let the travel program know she was on a gluten-free diet; so no arrangements were made for her.
According to Ida, she spent the trip looking for food she could eat. Ida said she hardly saw her eat anything the entire trip. How does something like that happen? As a host mom, and a mom of someone with celiac, I could never let my kid fend for themselves and not even tell the trip organizers about the diet; especially when virtually all of the food is out of your hands. As we all know, planning ahead is key for those of us who have a gluten-free lifestyle.
Needless to say, Ida was thankful for the help I gave her in setting up the meals. It all worked out well and there were no problems. Again if you’re going to Honolulu, you can email me and I will send you the contact names of the places that accommodated her gluten-free needs!
Tags: gluten-free, hawaii, meals, Vacationing Gluten Free
July 21st, 2009 at 12:23 am
I have problems remembering when I dine out to ask for no croutons, simply because we don’t use them at home. I have family who forgets, when we go to business meeting/conferences, to put down “celiac/gluten free” for the meals. I also think some people just don’t want to be a burden to others on having ‘special diets’. Too bad. I can’t imagine going to a place and not having any idea of what foods you could eat.
January 5th, 2012 at 3:24 am
We live in Hawaii and I have recently been diagnosed with Celiac, and we believe our two daughters might have it as well (ages 2 & 4). I’m in the midst of all kinds of research on places we can eat, what we can eat, etc. I appreciate your blog and all the information. If you have any info I can use, I’d be appreciative. And if you ever head out this way- or know another celiac who is- I’d be happy to lend a hand in any way I can. Thanks!