Multi-day canoe tripping menu planning while being gluten-free can be a challenge. Here are some of the ideas I've accumulated over the past couple of years canoe tripping. I canoe trip in different ways, and each has different options for food. Some trips are what I call 'canoe-camping' (ie, no portaging), others are flatwater canoe tripping with portages, and whitewater river tripping. A canoe-camping trip may include a cooler, heavy food, and many luxuries where as a canoe trip with portages might make you ditch the cooler and make you think more lightweight. I recently planned a menu for a 15 day wilderness whitewater trip, all gluten and dairy free that included mainly dehydrated meals.

My original post on gluten-free backpacking has many commercially prepared packaged food that contain no gluten and could all be used in a canoe tripping setting. The problem with commercially packaged dehydrated meals is that they can be expensive and don't offer much variety. 

No matter what the canoe trip, I always bring my MSR Dragonfly stove fueled with white gas. I have a MSR Base 2 Set and Quick Frying Pan and an small outback oven. With this cooking gear, one can create many excellent meals. Generally I pull out the stove for breakfast and dinners at the campsite, and tend to pack lunches that don't have to be cooked and can be eaten on the go.

I have found great options for GF canoe tripping at places like the Bulk Barn, Costco, Natural Food stores, Camping stores, and local grocery stores. I often have to go to all the places above if I'm going on an extended trip. 

Owning a dehydrator is advantageous when backcountry camping. I dehydrate my own food for the convenience of having healthy nutritious meals in a lightweight package that last a long time!

Here are my suggestions:

Breakfasts:
-Glutino Pop Tarts
-Bakery on Main Granola (variety of flavours)
-Bob's Mill Gluten-Free Pancake Mix (will work with just water mixed in)
-Glutenfreeda Instant Oatmeal
-Muffins (store bought or homemade)
-Bake Tea Biscuits/Scones (brand)
-Hash browns (either real potatoes or from dehydrated package)
-Gluten Free English Muffins and pre-cooked vacuum sealed bacon sandwich
-Gluten free Bagels 
-Eggs (real or powdered)

Lunches:
-Gluten free loaf (lemon poppy seed, banana, chocolate)
-Bagel sandwich (with spreads, etc)
-Promise Sandwich rolls 
-Costco Vacuum sealed Gluten Free bread (great for 2nd week of trip)
-Gluten free pepperettes or jerky
-Gluten Free Summer Sausage
-President's Choice Crispbread (large crackers in a variety of flavours)
-Rice crackers and Casbah Powdered Hummus 
-Mixed nuts or trail mix
-Apples
-Dehydrated fruit, fruit leather, banana chips
-Real Fruit Gummies, Fruitsource bars
-Jubejubes, swedish berries, gummies
-Yogurt covered raisins
-Corn nuts, roasted chickpeas
-Toasted Coconut slices
-Dark chocolate covered blueberries, cranberries, almonds, etc
-Energy bars (Clif, Kind, Solo, Larabar, Kronobar, EatNakd, GoMacro, Probar,etc)

Dinners:
-Passage Foods Pad Thai Sauce with rice noodles, chicken, veg
-Stirfry: Uncle Ben's Bistro Express Rice, steak, veg, VH sauce?
-Pasta: Catelli gluten-free pasta, with tomato sauce, with pepperettes
-Fajitas:GF tortillas, pre-cooked and vacuum sealed chicken, veg
-Tacos: Dehydrated ground beef, taco seasoning, shells, toppings
-Burritos: Tortillas, refried beans, ground beef, tex mex rice, seasoning, toppings
-Quinoa-beans, veg, pepperettes, spices
-GF Pasta with Pesto Sauce (brand), deydrated chicken
-Gluten Free macaroni and cheese
-Chili- Made at home and dehydrated
-Jambalaya-Rice, Dehydrated tomato sauce, spicy chirzo GF sausage, veggies
-Shepherd's Pie- Dehydrated ground beef, dehydrated veg, potato flakes
-Sweet Pototoes-Dehydrated
-Soup-Dehydrated Miso soup, lentil soup
-Bake corn bread 
-Pizza (premade gluten-free crust or tortilla, sauce, peperettes, veg, cheese)
-Pre cooked chicken and steak strips in vacuum-sealed packages often last up to Day 3 for me.

Drinks:
-Nuun electrolyte tablets
-Country Time Lemonade or Crystal Lite single serve juice crystals
-Tea or coffee
-Purest Hot Chocolate

Snacks:
-Smores with Kininikinick Gluten Free Graham Crackers,marshmallows, chocolate
-Bob's Mill Black Bean Dip and rice crackers
-Alpine Aire Nachos and Guac
-GF Baking from home
-Rice Krispie Squares (GF rice krispies)
-Popcorn (bring kernals and oil, not jiffy pop)
-Apple Crisp

Resources: 
1. Lipsmackin' Backpackin' by Christine and Tim Connors
2. Backpacker Backcountry Cooking by Dorcas Miller
3. The New Trailside Cookbook By Kevin Callan and Margaret Howard
4. Wanapitei Canoe Tripper's Cookbook by Carol Hodgins

Have any other suggestions or questions? I would love to hear from you! Leave me a reply below. :)

Whether it's for health or personal reasons, going gluten-free is a trend that is catching on. For some it's a medical necessity, for others it can be an intolerance or personal choice. Various studies have shown that our digestive systems are rejecting gluten based products for reasons that include: pesticides used on the crops, FODMAP sugar content, or the genetic modification of the wheat. Whatever the reason, many people are seeing the benefits of living life without wheat. Modifying your diet is a big change and requires a lot of effort and money, but if the physical and mental benefits outweigh the hassle then it's worth it. I am afflicted by the common triad of intolerances: gluten, dairy and egg, therefore my suggestions will be based on those restrictions.

Gluten-free living at home is a challenge no question but gluten-free multi-day backpacking is even more difficult. The 'go-to' backcountry menu options you used to pack are now no longer an option. What do you bring? Here are some lightweight options for your next extended backpacking trip:

Breakfast: 
Gluten free Oatmeal
Gluten free Granola
Alpine Aire Hash Browns and Reds/Greens
Greenbelly Meal Replacement Bars
Glutino Gluten-Free Pop Tarts

Lunch:
Gluten-free sandwiches- Bagels, breads and sandwich rolls
Flatbread Crackers with spreads like nut butters, hummus, jams.
Gluten-free loaf breads (banana or lemon poppyseed) or muffins
Snacks like: Nuts, G-Free Beef Jerky,G-Free Pepperettes, Candy, Fruit Leather, Trail Mix, Dehydrated Fruit, Rice crackers, Dark Chocolate
Dehydrated Miso soup
Greenbelly Meal Replacement Bars

Energy Bars: There are many G-Free bars on the market. Here are some of the options I've found. Prices are normally cheaper if bought in bulk. Individual prices vary so quoted prices below are approximate*.  I aim to find bars that cost around $1.00 CDN. Look out for sales! My handsdown favourite is the Kronobar Coconut Cherry. Taste is superb and doesn't freeze in the winter! The regular Clif Bars aren't labelled "Gluten Free" but because of the high organic content I have found I don't have any problems with them.

1. All But Gluten - Chocolate Chip Granola Bar: 110 Calories, $1.10
2. Bakery on Main - Extreme Trail Mix Granola Bar: 120 Calories, $1.10
3. Clif Mojo Bar - Coconut Almond Peanut: 200 Calories, 40g, $1.69
4. Nakd - Cashew Chewie: 140 Calories, 35g, $1.39
5. Go Macro - Cashew Caramel: 260 Calories, 60g, $3.60 
6. Kind - Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Pecan: 200 calories, 40g, $1.99
7. Kronobar - Coconut Cherry: 180 Calories, 50g, $3
8. LaraBar - CocoCoconutChew: 250 Calories, 51g, $1.99
9. Pro Bar - Whole Berry Blast: 360 Calories, 85g, $3.30
10. Sezme - Sesame Snaps: 180 Calories, 22.5g, $0.59
11. Solo - Chocolate Charger: 190 Calories, 50g, $1.69
12. SunRype Fruitsource - Mango Mangosteen: 120 calories, 37g, $1.07
13. Taste of Nature - Quebec Cranberry Carnival: 180 Calories, 40g, $1.55

Dinner:
When backpacking, weight and size are crucial so I will only be discussing dehydrated, pre-packed meals, especially if you need to squeeze 10 days worth of food into a bear barrel. The majority of the selections are from two companies: Backpacker's Pantry and Alpine Aire. Here are my favourites:

Backpacker's Pantry: Pad Thai
Backpacker's Pantry: Kathmandu Curry
Backpacker's Pantry: Chicken Vindaloo
Backpacker's Pantry: Thai Style Coconut Curry with Beef

Others:
Alpine Aire Pepper Steak with Rice
Alpine Aire Mountain Chili
Alpine Vegetarian Burrito Bowl
Alpine Air Mesquite BBQ Seasoned Chicken With Beans and Rice
Alpine Air Black Bart Chili with Beef and Beans
Alpine Air Chicken Gumbo
Alpine Aire Corn Chowder

I would love to hear your suggestions if you have any to share! Contact me under the contact link above! Look for a Gluten-Free Canoe Tripping blog post in the near future!