On the way there, (US Airways evening flight):
It was a 6pm flight, so I didn't really need to bring a lot of food. What I did do though, was bring double lunch to work and eat right before we left. I also brought about 7 Lara Bars for the week. Larabars are awesome and gluten free! Check them out at Larabars Website . I love the banana bread flavor and the lemon and key lime. You can also get a pack of "minis" at Target that are great for pre-gym snacks.
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| Larabar Gluten Free! |
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| Larabar Mini Bars |
At the conference (Mandalay Bay):
We got into Vegas at about 9pm Vegas time and headed straight for the Mandalay Bay to check into the conference. Two weeks before I left, I got into an e-mail storm with one of the conference coordinators, (the people who help with registration and things like special diets).
At first, I was told that I needed to bring my own "preferred food" with me... just to be safe. Needless to say, this made me very unhappy. Eating gluten free definitely isn't a preference for me. However, not destroying my gut, keeping all my teeth and not having 100% more chance of lymphoma over the average person is... I digress. After a few phone calls and some e-mails, I was told I'd be accommodated at the conference. Huge relief.
Once there, I got a special blue ticket to give the banquet servers at breakfast and lunch. Dinner was not included. I never used the ticket for breakfast because I had Larabars and they always had fruit and coffee. At lunch, I was pleasantly surprised. Here's what they fed me:
Day 1: Plain chicken with mashed sweet potato? and roasted veggies
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| Mandalay Bay Conference Catering |
Day 2: Broiled Salmon with roasted veggies and brown rice
(Sorry, I totally forgot to take a picture before chowing down...)
Day 3: Steak tips, fingerling potatoes and asparagus
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| Mandalay Bay Conference Catering |
It was all really healthy and portioned nicely. I also ate salad from the regular buffet on days that I was still hungry. As for snacks... they weren't as good. The first day I didn't even notice the snacks and the second day they had popcorn that "may contain barley"... really.... barley in popcorn? The third day they had fruit and trail mix, which I was ALL over.
Dinner, was a different story. There are plenty of gluten free restaurant options in Vegas, but when you're at the mercy of other people it can be a little more challenging.
Day 1: I wound up eating a small plate of salad at the exhibition hall while my coworkers chowed on gross looking pasta. Fortunately, I ran into friends from Boston who I met through a young designers class and we went to this Mexican Place called T & T at the Luxor. They didn't have a gf menu, but were able to help me pick something I could eat. Shrimp tacos!
Day 2: My one coworker, had been saying that she really wanted to go to the Noodle Shop at Mandalay Bay. I caved and went even though I was pretty sure nothing there was gf. Fortunately, due to another coworker's diligence and the Noodle Shop's awesomeness, they wound up just bringing me egg fried rice with chicken and veggies, (no soy sauce). It wasn't the best thing I've ever eaten, but it was filling and didn't get me sick.
Day 3: I was promised on multiple occasions that we would go to the Border Grill at Mandalay Bay because they had a gf menu. This never happened. Instead I was forced into going to the Burger Bar, which I was initially pissed about because someone didn't seem to care that all I was able to eat there was a burger patty and the "fixings" aka lettuce, tomato and a pickle. Fortunately, it's a zazzy burger place and I was able to get a turkey burger (no bun), with avocado, shrimp, sprouts and a side salad. It all worked out really well in the end and my crabbiness subsided.
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| Burger Bar - Las Vegas - Mandalay Bay |
All in all it was a good trip. I only got sick once on the first day for some unknown reason. I wound up having to blow off my afternoon class and lay down for an hour. Luckily, I brought a loaf of Udi's with me so I had a slice and rallied for the remainder of my classes. I also brought Applegate lunch meat in a vacuum sealed pouch, which amazingly made it through TSA security. I only wound up eating it once or twice, but it was good to have it. This was my first real trip, (read: not staying at a house cooking for myself), being gluten free and it went off with out too much of a hitch.
Stayed tuned for the follow up adventures to California, the second leg of my trip!
