11 Delicious Gluten Free Snacks for Hiking
We are The Quills, TrailCollectiv ambassadors that have a travel and adventure blogging family based in Minnesota, USA. We are excited to share 10 Gluten Free Snacks for Hiking!
About fifteen years ago our culinary lives were changed forever. I (Kristen) began having severe stomach issues during my first couple of years after college.
At first we thought it was stress-induced as we were both working full-time and finishing our graduate degrees. After about a year of doctors appointments and a myriad of tests, I found out that I was gluten (and fructose) -intolerant. It was a long process of trial and error, but eventually we were able to narrow in on a diet that worked for me and was palatable for my husband then, and our kids now.
Developing a meal plan for the three big meals of the day turned out to be relatively easy. Meat and vegetables pair well together, are high in protein, vitamins, and minerals, and readily available at any grocery store.
Snacks were a bigger challenge.
We found that we were a bit underprepared whenever we were visiting a new country or hiking and canoeing. Over the years we have found a bunch of nutritious and delicious options available online or at our local grocery store. We’ve also found some recipes that make delicious snacks for our on-the-go life.
Conquering the Challenge and Avoiding Empty Carbs
While many gluten free snacks fall into the “rice/corn cracker” category, we have purposefully avoided these and focused on nutritious and filling snacks. Our goal was not to fill our diets with empty carbs.
What Exactly Is Gluten-Free?
Gluten is a protein found in many grains, which includes wheat, barley, rye, and triticale. There are a number of medical conditions that can lead to an inability to safely consume gluten.
At the extreme end is Celiac Disease, which is an autoimmune disorder in which gluten triggers an immune system reaction that damages the tissues of the small intestine.
Then there are a number of medical conditions that fall on a spectrum of severity, largely Gluten Sensitivity, Gluten Ataxia, and Wheat Allergy.
My personal condition is Gluten Sensitivity, and my sensitivity to gluten is quite high. One small mistake and I could have weeks of recovery and anti-inflammatory medicines.
Our Top 10 Gluten Free Snacks
This journey has taken fifteen years, but we now have a good understanding of our options and how I will feel after eating them. Each of our bodies are different, and it will take some time to get to know your own.
Below are our 10 go-to gluten free snacks that are always in stock in our house. We also put them in order of our genuine love for them. To make our list they have to be nutritious, filling, packable, and palatable by our children.
Fruit - It might sound like cheating, but we always have some apples or other difficult-to-bruise fruit on hand for hiking. They are highly nutritious, help us to hit our daily fruits and vegetable goals, and require literally zero effort!
Paleo Valley 100% Grass-Fed Beef Sticks - These super-filling beef sticks are made with 100% grass fed/grass finished beef and organic species. More importantly, they are naturally fermented. These are one of our favorite gluten free hiking snacks as they take up very little space, can get squished and not ruined, and do not need to be refrigerated.
Gluten-Free Gorp - Gluten-Free Gorp is extremely easy gluten free snack to make at home. It requires very little in terms of ingredients, time, or skill! We like to mix the Costco/Kirkland Unsalted Mixed Nuts with a random assortment of dried fruit from Trader Joes. We’ll sometimes add M&Ms into the mix too, however they tend to get smashed and make a melted chocolate mess of everything. One thing to note is if we are on a long trip or a strenuous hike, we will use a salted nut mix as it is an easy way to replenish some of those electrolytes!
Lara Bars - Lara Bars are available everywhere and are gluten and dairy free. They come in a multitude of flavors and our family favorite is the Lemon Bar. These are also our kids’ favorite hiking/camping snack.
Cheese - Again, I know this sounds like a cop-out, but cheese makes an excellent snack. Also, it is not well known, but many hard cheeses do not need to be refrigerated. You will be surprised how long a good aged cheddar or pecorino cheese round can last. Not man know this story, but before we were married we took a rock climbing trip to Croatia. We were young and we were poor. We stayed on Hvar island for four days and basically lived off of a full round of the traditional Paški Sir cheese and we didn’t have a refrigerator! Not only is thai a great snack (and kid friendly), but it is also a sneaky excuse to hit up your local deli counter and try something new!
Charcuterie - Packing a delicious charcuterie is a fun way to enjoy a break with the whole family on a hike. Oftentimes cured meats last a long time in the outdoors. Pair that with som hard cheese, pickles, fruit, and a yummy spread to have a gourmet picnic on the trail!
Paleo Valley Bone Broth Protein Superfood Bars (or other bar)- There is some disagreement in our house on these. They easily meet our criteria of nutritious, filling, and packable. Our kids are not huge fans, however they will eat the Apple Cinnamon version. My husband loves them and I am still a bit unsure. That being said, they are super healthy, have 9 grams of protein per serving, and really do give you that boost when you need it.
Homemade Energy Balls- These gluten free energy balls are super simple to make and keep for quite some time. All you need are five ingredients!
What you need:
Two Cups raw unsalted cashews
One cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 ¼ cup pitted Medjool dates (about 10 dates)
1 tablespoon packed lemon zest (adjust to your level of lemony goodness)
Juice from one lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
½ teaspoon salt (not optional - hard work means you need your electrolytes)
What to do:
Process the cashews and coconut in a blender or food processor until crumbly
Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix (just don’t mix too long or it will get mushy)
Make little balls with the dough, roll in some of the shredded coconut and lemon zest. Place on a pan lined with parchment paper and refrigerate
We sometimes freeze them so we can enjoy later or bring them on a camping trip where we do not have access to refrigeration.
Homemade Fruit and Nut Bars - Again, super simple and the keep forever. Just mix one cup of your favorite dried fruit with one cup of nuts in your food processor and blend until combined. Feel free to play around here until you find mixtures that everyone loves. Then just shape the dough into whatever shape you’d like and refrigerate.
Jerky - Any meat jerky is a great gluten free snack (just watch for ingredients like soy sauce that is made with wheat). A fun part about jerky is it can be made in a wide array of styles and flavors. If you travel, its even better. Heading to the Sonoran region of the US or Mexico? Try Carne Seca con Chiles. Heading to South Africa, then Biltong will become your new bestie. Heading to China, check out Bakkwa. You get the point. You can even make it at home, however most of our experiments thus far have failed to live up to the experts.
Chocolate - Let’s face it. What is life without a little chocolate? The great thing is most “real” chocolate bars are gluten free. Try to opt for as dark of a chocolate bar as you can enjoy. I personally tend to lean more towards the milky side of the equation. My husband would eat it right off the plant. Like with jerky, chocolate comes in a myriad of flavors and styles. Our favorite is Mexican chocolate, which is made form paste of cacao nibs, sugar crystals, and cinnamon. It has a grainy/crunchy texture that is to die for. Taza is a great brand that you can find almost anywhere. Warning though, chocolate tends to melt on hot days and can make a mess of your pack!
Being diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease, Gluten Intolerance, or any gluten-related medical condition is not fun. But, it does not have to stop you from doing what you love. The culinary world has changed significantly since I was first diagnosed. There are decent gluten-free versions of almost everything and they are readily available, both at grocery stores and at restaurants.
We lived in Malta for five years starting in 2014 and ending in 2019. Being close to Italy, Malta shares a similar culinary style, which includes a lot of great bread and pasta (great if you are NOT gluten sensitive!). I was shocked at how readily available gluten free options were. I could get pizza, pasta, and sometimes bread, at the majority of the restaurants we frequented. The same is true on our many adventures to Italy and Spain. The best cinnamon rolls of my life were found in Oslo, Norway of all places!
Hopefully this cheatsheet of quick and easy snacks helps to ease some of the frustration that comes with a diet-limiting medical condition and if you have any favorites that are not listed here, reply with a comment!
Gluten-free eating is not a jail sentence and it doesn't have to limit you in any way. So hike, camp, run, bike, and travel to your heart's content!
Find your next family hike on TrailCollectiv!
Kristen and Anthony Quill are Minnesota parents and bloggers who love experiencing epic adventures with their two kids. They are Twin Cities based but globally bound, traveling everywhere from Minnesota's North Shore to Morocco, Spain, and Italy. No matter the distance, they always return to their Minnesota roots, and in particular the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Learn more from their family's adventures on their blog at From Tent To Takeoff, on Instagram at @fromtenttotakeoff, or on Facebook at @fromtenttotakeoff.
