Zoe May Noble: What Am I Going To Eat?

Zoe May Noble: What Am I Going To Eat?

AMBASSADÖRK Zoe is a biathlete who spent time racing on the IBU circuit. Between those skinny skis, rifle and a whole lot of airports - it also means before she can think about skiing fast, she has to answer a question most of us never have to ask: what am I going to eat if I'm gluten intolerant? And when performance is on the line, this question can become more complicated.

With that, let's get to it.

ambassadörks: What Am I Going To Eat?

In 2019, I was verbally diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I opted out of the biopsy because it sounded horrible and invasive. I instead settled for a simple blood test and verbal confirmation. Because of this lack of a formal diagnosis, I will say that I have a gluten allergy.

Learning how to be gluten free, especially later in life is insanely hard! It is a lot of learning the hard way and suffering serious consequences. I have been gluten free for 6 years now and I still get it wrong. A trend I have going is I “gluten” myself pretty badly once a year. Often from trusting someone else feeding me like a restaurant.

At the same time I am learning how to navigate this life altering allergy, I am pursuing a career as a professional skier. After college, I started doing biathlon - skate skiing and rifle shooting. This is a journey in it of itself and not the focus of this post, but maybe a story for another time. I have really enjoyed racing biathlon!

It is exciting to toe the line, to give it everything you have, to see friends, cheer for teammates, you name it. Getting to said start line requires a lot of steps, training to be fit, waxing skis, zeroing your rifle, layering for the cold. All the things that have to happen are hectic and stressful. For someone with a severe food allergy, there is added stress of what am I going to eat? If you don’t have a food allergy, chances are you have never had to worry about this question. Besides being hangry, you don’t have to worry about damaging your body, or in the most severe cases, die (I’m looking at you my peanut allergy friends.)

My lived experience has entailed lots of traveling and racing both domestically and internationally. I made my first international starts with US Biathlon last winter, earning the opportunity to race for the very first time in Arber, Germany. I went through every emotion possible when I found out I was going; excitement, joy, intimidation, imposter syndrome, fear, embarrassment, pride, vanity, all of it.

What sweaters should I pack? How many pairs of socks do I need? Will people think I am cool? Should I bring one book or two? I have to call my mom. And the most important question that weighed over me like a dark cloud, what food do I need to pack?

Because of my severe gluten allergy, I have what I would call “food anxiety.” I am terrified of getting “glutened” every time I eat food that was not prepared by me and I don’t know every ingredient listed. If I get glutened, I am in so much pain, I can’t get out of bed, I get brain fog and can’t think, my speech gets slurred, I lose my grip strength, to name a few symptoms. These are real consequences to not eating safe food, it is utterly terrifying.

I am terrified and anxious about food constantly, but I am navigating it anyway to live the life I want to live.

How do I help myself? I read every single label of every single thing I buy even if it is labeled gluten free. Okay, that seems like overkill. Actually, it isn’t! Legally, US companies can label a food as gluten free when it isn’t, which is absolutely crazy. There are even multiple “Certified Gluten Free” logos that are not real, simply marketing. The responsibility of eating allergen free falls on the consumer.

So back to my packing, what food do I need to pack? Basically, what can I do to mitigate this risk? I call them “oh sh*t snacks” for when I am in a situation where I find myself saying, oh sh*t, I can’t eat that! Out comes the gluten free snack. This tends to be a high protein, high calorie snack in the event this is my meal for the day.

Go-to’s for me are dehydrated sweet potato sticks, protein bars, protein powder, tuna packets, miso soups, and instant mashed potatoes - every hotel I have been to had a hot water boiler making instant potatoes really easy and really filling.

Of course packing light and efficiently is best when traveling, especially if you have to pay for bags, but some things like “oh sh*t snacks” can’t be compromised. On the brightside, packing consumables means your bag will be lighter on the way home! Theoretically, at least. I always end up filling that now empty space with chocolate and gifts to bring home for my friends and family.

In places where a kitchen is available, I love to cook my own food. Proper food, not my instant mashed potatoes in a pinch. The laws tend to be better in the European countries I have traveled to so that if it is labeled gluten free, it really is gluten free.

It is imperative to know what gluten, wheat, rye, barley, etc translates to in the country you are in. For example, gluten free:

• Norway - Glutenfritt
• Germany - Glutenfrei
• Austria - also Weizenfrei
• Italy - Senza glutine

I am looking for these words when I am at a bakery or the market to get dinner supplies. For me, having food allergies and traveling to a country where I don’t fluently speak the language is nervewracking. I can’t get sick and wreck my body and then ruin my races, this is what I am here for. Packing my “oh sh*t snacks” and shopping for packaged food I can identify as gluten free helps take some of that burden off.

I will say, I was really impressed with the food served to me at my first hotel in Germany. There was only one meal I was scared to eat, so I didn’t and slinked away to eat my instant mashed potatoes and tuna (really delicious by the way, not as sad as it sounds.)

So to recap, I am terrified and anxious about food constantly, but I am navigating it anyway to live the life I want to live. Every problem has a solution. Maybe you learned something from my ramble of experiences. Maybe you have a food allergy and now you’re more informed and ready to take on traveling abroad. Maybe you have a new found sympathy for your friends with allergies and might start carrying around an “oh sh*t bar” for them.

Authors Note: I grew up near Jackson, WY where I nordic skied at the high school, club & national level. I then moved to Anchorage, AK where I raced for Alaska Pacific University. Not ready to hang up my skis, I decided to add a rifle & now race for the National Guard Biathlon Team and US Biathlon in Jericho, VT. I made my IBU debut last year and am stoked for more international racing. I love yellow, cooking/baking, writing & listening to podcasts! Zoe can be found over on the grid @z.o.e.m.a.y

the closer: What We're Thinking About.

That we are never packing a bag the same way again. Zoe is out here chasing start lines on two continents while reading the back of every single label, and still leaving room for chocolate on the way home. Consider us converted to the “oh sh*t snack” - and if you have got a nordie friend with an allergy, maybe toss an extra one in your pocket for them. Takk, Zoe.