Clean Eating while on Vacation

Last week, I went on vacation to Chicago.  While I was excited to go, my first thought was what am I going to eat?  I have a pretty strong reaction to gluten so I need to stay 100% gluten free all the time.  My family on the other hand, doesn't really follow my Paleo lifestyle (shocking I know!).  They were talking about Chicago pizza, Chicago hot dogs and basically just eating what ever they wanted.

So, I started dehydrating some fruit and veggies, bought some Steve's Paleo kits, bought some Epic bars, kale chips ect.  I was prepared for only eating the food I brought if needed.

What happened was we found some really good restaurants and I really did not use much of my own food.   We had a big breakfast every morning and then a nice dinner at night.   I basically just snacked on my dried fruits and veggies during the day.

Yolk

Weber Grill

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The Purple Pig

Shaw's

Here is what I have learned from eating out-

1.  Always ask if they have a gluten-free menu.  That puts them on alert even if they don't have one.
2.  Tell your waiter that you are gluten-free.  Don't assume that something is gluten-free,  ask questions.
3.  Sometimes if the waiter does not seem sure, I ask for them to please ask the chef.  There have been a few times when the waiter has said "I don't think that has gluten"  only to find out from the chef that it does.

The Purple Pig

4.  More and more restaurants are becoming gluten-free aware.  I have found chains and nicer restaurants usually have a gluten-free menu or are more knowledgeable about it.

Here were a few of my favorite restaurants in Chicago.  They all either had a gluten free menu or the staff was very knowledgeable.

Yolk
The Purple Pig
Bandera
Weber Grill
Shaw's Crab House

I had a great time in Chicago!  It was a beautiful city, I had wonderful food, felt great the whole time and did not gain any vacation weight!

Bandera