Tailgating!

There is definitely a country girl trapped somewhere deep inside me. That's the only way to explain my love for crafting, and going to NASCAR races, despite growing up in an urban setting. There is a great rush watching the cars on the track, and following the drama on and off the track. I look forward to the races we go to each year. None of them are Super close to where we live, so we always end up staying in the area of the track, which neither are anywhere near places that understand gluten free living!  The first race I went to was when I was going thru my diagnosis, and I couldn't figure out why everything was making me feel like I had the flu, and spicy food was my total enemy.

Looking at how we pack for a race, on top of the HUGE bag of food we take with, you'd expect us to be leaving for weeks, with a ton of people, when in reality we are going to the race, with a few friends.
As our group grew, so did our enjoyment for getting to the track early, hanging out and tail gating before the race, and sometimes afterwards if traffic is too much of a mess. If we are lucky the track will be serving Mikes Hard Lemonade, but we usually pack a few for me just in case, and a few mini bottles of Crown Royal, and a lot of snacks.

Here is a sampling of the treats we took down to Indy this past weekend for the Brickyard 400. I always have a Go-Picnic for my lunch and then see how many other treats I can get in my backpack to take in. I was delighted to learn that Go-picnic has increased their gluten free options, and that there are more meal oriented ones, I can't wait to find more of them to try!

We've never had good luck finding food near the track that we can easily carry in, but we always check. If we do find something it's a perk or and extra snack for the ride home. We have found some good dining options in Indy that we have made our restaurant choices part of our tradition, and always tell them "see you next year" because we know we have a good, safe option.

Though I keep hoping the race tracks will get with the other parks and stadiums that they will have one stand that offers gluten free food. When we go to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, there are several authentic Mexican food vendors that seem like they have viable options... But I'm too nervous to try them, I don't want to spend the whole race in the ladies room! 

We have one more race adventure this year in September, Go-picnics are set, mini bottles of crown royal to mix with coca-cola, and some cans of Mikes light lemonade, I cant wait!