My kids had their last day of school in WI yesterday and we are in the midst of getting ready to move to Boston next week. I have had limited time to dedicate to this page as I have prepared for my family’s transition, but I plan to be back to posting once we are settled in. We have a lot of family in Boston (my husband grew up in a suburb of Boston), I did my pediatric residency training at UMass, and I will be working in two NICUs that are a part of the Boston Children’s Hospital system starting in July. I am optimistic that the stress of the move will be well worth it in the end…it just needs to snow a tad less than it did last winter!
This is going to be our first move since I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2010, so it’s required a little extra planning in terms of what to eat and where to stop to eat along the road. Although I am much more relaxed about this compared to how I would have reacted to moving shortly after I was diagnosed five years ago.
I plan to keep the following GF snacks on hand for our long (1300 mile) road trip to MA: bananas, fresh fruit, string cheese, cut up vegetables, almonds, popcorn, Lara Bars, and Clif Trail Mix bars. In the past I have also brought Zing bars and GF oatmeal packets on trips. I hoard bananas and apples at the free breakfasts at hotels as well.
We plan to dine at P.F. Chang’s, Outback Steakhouse, and/or California Pizza Kitchen as we travel, becasue these three chains all have GF menus that I actually trust (and I have never gotten sick from any of their locations). I have also had good luck ordering bacon-cheese potatoes from Wendy’s and burrito-type bowls from non-busy Chipotle’s and Qdoba’s. I’m scared to eat anywhere else, fast food-wise, because I worry a lot about cross-contamination. It’s been almost a year since my last major “glutening,” which, ironically, happened in Boston, and I do not want to break my 12 month stretch during our road trip and move.
I will be back soon to update all of you on our move. I am also eager to get back to posting, as I have came across some interesting research that I am itching to share. In the meantime I hope that you all have a wonderful summer. Please get in touch via email (thepatientceliac@gmail.com) if you have questions, come across any interesting research that you’d like to share and/or if are interested in guest blogging on my page. Also, please let me know if you live near Boston and would like to meet up. I desperately need GF restaurant recommendations as well. Thank you in advance.
Thanks also to Gillian at the Celiac Disease Foundation for sending the Team Gluten-Free t-shirts for my kids. My oldest 3 were excited to wear them to school after they arrived and all 4 were as cooperative as they could be while my husband took the photo that I used for this post 
I think he only had to take about 100 shots to get one where everyone’s eyes were open and there was not excess silliness or grumpiness.
