A new product discovery – Herb Roasted Turkey.

I discovered this herb roasted turkey breast from Applegate Farms at Trader Joe’s one week as I was waiting the incredibly long line that wraps around the store in Manhattan. I’m not a big turkey fan but the herbs piqued my interest. After picking up the package and seeing “GLUTEN FREE” right on the label, I knew it was at least worth a try. (I like to support companies who use a gluten free label even if it is a food or product that is naturally gluten free.) To my delight, the herbs added a beautiful flavor to the turkey without any of the sugars in other honey roasted and smoked turkey breasts.

Every so often in my travels, I stumble upon something that makes it just a little bit easier to travel gluten free. (Of course there is the constant adjustment of rules and regulations from the TSA to deal with as well.) This time it happened as a result of my cleaning out my fridge before I went home over the holidays. I wasn’t going to be able to use a package of the herb roasted turkey before its “use or freeze by” date. Well, I threw it in the freezer and off I went.

Upon my return, when I was packing for my next business trip it hit me. If I take the frozen turkey in the “cold bag” with my other refrigerated items, it would keep everything cool and be defrosted and edible by the time I needed to eat lunch. If I wasn’t ready to eat it at that point, at least it would survive the trip until I had access to a refrigerator. And presto, now I have more protein options when I’m traveling. (Fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates and fats tend to have more items that are conducive to travel without refrigeration. You can read more of my travel tips here and here.)

A lot of my strategies now just seem like second nature and should have been obvious from the beginning. But sometimes it just takes that “AHA!” moment of something small like reading a “freeze by” date for it to actually sink in…