GF & Boy Scout Camp

knittnponder

My son has been struggling to come to grips with the fact that he needs to be gluten free. He's had other symptoms in the past but lately every time he eats gluten he ends up with a migraine. Because he's 13 and I can't police him all the time I have let him have the freedom make the decision himself as he's not celiac but definitely has many symptoms. It also runs in the family as I am gluten intolerant and two of my daughters are as well. Yesterday he had a sandwich on regular bread and today he's paying for it with a migraine and throwing up.

The up side is I think he's finally ready to take it seriously and go gluten free all the time. We are here at home so that isn't a problem but when he's with friends and especially at Boy Scout camps or hikes he's struggled with it because it means he has to bring all his own food and be different.

The short hikes and such I have managed but he has a week long summer camp coming up in August that I need to help him plan ahead for. Our Troop Master is checking with the site to see if he can get some space in the refrigerator but I'm hoping someone has some suggestions for good things for him to take. Since he'll be gone a week I need to make sure he's eating a pretty healthy, well rounded diet because they will be extremely active the whole time. I have some ideas but I'm hoping you guys will have some suggestions I haven't thought of. I just don't want my boy to miss out on camp, especially because of gluten when he's already pretty bummed about the whole thing.

It sucked bad enough coming to grips with my own intolerances but it's even worse to see him struggle to come to grips with his own. :brokenheart:

pdworkman

Yes, it's tough on them, isn't it? My kiddo went to a big Scout camp that promised to provide for allergies or celiac, but they were not prepared to deal with multiple issues, and really had no idea what gluten was in other than bread products. I spent months trying to get in contact with the folks in charge of the food (and it ended up being a gal I went to high school with!) After a few e-mail exchanges with her where I tried to get brand names and details of what they would provide, she admitted that she really couldn't help me, and could I please arrange for all of his food. So a week before the camp, I was running around picking up all of the special foods - as they were not things we kept stock at home - organizing them all by day and meal, and packing them into two boxes, one that didn't have to be refrigerated and one that did. It was a pain, but at least he survived camp.

knittnponder

I've just received a number to call so I can start the process but I was kind of assuming we were going to have to supply his food. Him being two hours away, getting glutened and spending the week with headaches and throwing up is just not what I want him to have to deal with! The idea of packing two boxes and sorting the food by meal is a very good suggestion! At least if I pack him that way he will (hopefully) eat well. Really though, I food I send will probably be better for him than what he'd eat there. Thanks for your comment, it was helpful. Would you mind telling me some of the things you sent? Mostly I'm trying to figure out how to give him some good protein without having to refrigerate everything or make him eat canned tuna every day! :P

SailorSarah311

I worked at a Girl Scout camp for 4 summers and dealt with campers that had Celiac's Disease. One mom provided a ton of food for her daughter that was staying for 2 weeks. Another mom provided only what they had in the car. I think that the camp should help provide some food for kids with wheat intolerance. We had lots of fruits and veggies available for everyone. We were very careful keeping food separated and tending to the dietary needs of everyone. The best thing right now is to contact the camp and see what kind of policy they have on that....which his scout master is already doing. Homemade trail mixes will be good for long/vigorous days. There are granola/power bars out there that are gluten free....they are called Lara bars. Just make sure you provide plenty of snacky type foods, and the camp should help provide other meal options for him. Good luck and hope this helps a little.

pdworkman

I got their meal plan and got as close as I could to the things that they had planned for the other kids - veggie burgers, hobo packets, sandwiches for lunches, beans, etc.

I've just received a number to call so I can start the process but I was kind of assuming we were going to have to supply his food. Him being two hours away, getting glutened and spending the week with headaches and throwing up is just not what I want him to have to deal with! The idea of packing two boxes and sorting the food by meal is a very good suggestion! At least if I pack him that way he will (hopefully) eat well. Really though, I food I send will probably be better for him than what he'd eat there. Thanks for your comment, it was helpful. Would you mind telling me some of the things you sent? Mostly I'm trying to figure out how to give him some good protein without having to refrigerate everything or make him eat canned tuna every day! :P

anglyn1

I second the Larabar suggestion. The original ones are dates and nuts ground up in bar form. They also make Uber bars which have big pieces of nuts instead of ground and I think they are bit more satisfying. They just released ALT bars with protein but they are so new they are hard to find in stores right now! For fast meals on the go check out Go Picnic meals. They don't need to be refrigerated and make a decent complete meal. They have lots of gluten free varieties. Trail mixes are always good for quick energy! Look for gluten free beef jerky for quick protein!