Eating Out: Gluten-Free Fast Food

What has been the hardest thing for me about Celiac disease (besides how expensive everything has become), is finding quick things to eat.  It seems like most every meal has to be made from near scratch.  The few exception: spaghetti, hamburgers on a gluten-free bagel, baked fish; we have WAY too often and get tired of quickly!  With Michael and I both being busy in school (things will slow down once I'm done with school and have the baby, right? Hah!), we don't have a lot of time for these made-from-scratch meals.  So, we have been finding ways to eat gluten-free fast.  Grabbing some fast food will always be the easiest way to eat (however, not always the healthiest; so, I do not recommend this on a daily basis).

So, where can you eat fast food gluten-free? And what are some of the menu options available?

1. Chick-Fil-A: I know I have already mentioned my recent discovery of their gluten-free fries and how they cook them in a separate fryer! What is gluten-free at chick-fil-a?
• Waffle Fries
• Grilled chicken nuggets
• Grilled chicken fillet with no bun
• Grilled chicken garden salad or fruit salad
• Fruit cup
• Side salad
• Yogurt parfait (these are SO yummy)
• I'm not going to list all of their sauces, but the most important ones (honey mustard, honey roasted barbecue sauce, and ketchup are gluten free
• Here is a link to their entire gluten free website:  Chick-Fil-A Gluten Free Menu
2.  Wendy's:
• Chocolate Frosty (very important)
• Hamburger patty (no bun)
• Grilled chicken fillet (no bun)
• Baked potato
• Chili
• Most of their salads (no pecans and no croutons)
• Wendy's Gluten Free Menu 
3. McDonald's: Their menu is a little more tricky, because they do not provide a gluten-free menu.  I have not ventured to McDonald's since being diagnosed.  They do, however, provide an ingredient list to all of their menu items, and this will clearly state if any wheat is in the product.
• Hamburger patty (no bun)
• Grilled chicken fillet (no bun)
• Salads with grilled chicken
• There may be more options, just be careful here
• McDonald's Ingredients List 
4. Domino's Pizza: They do offer a small gluten-free pizza that is the best I have found so far! However, they cook their pizza in the same kitchen as all other pizza's, so cross contamination is Likely.  I have been a bad Celiac and have risked it twice with no Noticed reaction (this does not mean that I am not having a reaction, though).  So, as yummy as this is, I can not Recommend it.
5. Sonic: no gluten-free menu, but they do have an allergen list
• Hamburger patty (no bun)
• Hotdog (no bun)
• GRILLED CHICKEN IS NOT GLUTEN FREE
• Fries and Tots are gluten free, BUT are cook in the SAME fryer as other products containing gluten, so ask about these items first
• All syrup flavors for drinks are gluten free (yay cherry limeaid!)
• Their icecream is gluten free (but if you get a Sonic Blast ask them to clean the mixer well first, b/c they blend oreo sonic blasts [not gluten free] on the same blender as butterfinger sonic blasts [gluten free])
•  Sonic Allergen Table
6. Dairy Queen
• Ice cream is gluten free (same precaution is with sonic, make sure they clean the blender first if you are getting a blizzard)
• Grilled chicken patty (no bun)
• Hamburger patty (no bun)
• Hot dog (no bun)
• Fries (may be fried in fryer with other gluten-containing products)
• Dairy Queen Gluten Free Menu
7. Backyard Burger
• Hamburger patty (no bun)
• Grilled chicken (no bun)
• Hot dog (no bun)
• Chili
• Salads with grilled chicken (no croutons)
• IceCream/Shakes (make them wash the container, no malt, no oreo)
• Backyard Burger Allergen Table 

I know there are a lot more fast food restaurants out there.  But, these are really the only ones Michael and I went to Pre-Celiac.  So far, I have successfully had fries and grilled chicken at Chick-Fil-A, drinks and blasts as Sonic, pizza at Dominos, and blizzards at Dairy Queen.  If we go anywhere else I will try to update my list!

Remember to be cautious everywhere.  I know from working at a fast-food restaurant, sometimes we run out of things (fries, chicken, etc.) and would go to Sam's or Walmart to get enough to last until the next shipment.  So, don't trust the online menu and always ask!

If you know of any other places or have any suggestions, let me know! If you want me to find out about somewhere, let me know and I will do my best!