Hunter March's Gluten-Free Fast Food Advice - Exclusive
Talk show host Hunter March doesn't have celiac disease, but he does have an intolerance. He can eat gluten, but his body doesn't produce the enzyme needed to digest it properly. "I was doing a game show where we were shooting five episodes a day and I could not, for the life of me, during certain days, come up with a single joke, which was my entire job, to be playful and quick-witted and fun," March told Mashed of the time he discovered his intolerance. "On those days, it felt like I was trying to think through molasses."
Cutting gluten out entirely made a huge difference to how he felt. "That brain fog and feeling tired constantly went away," he said. So he stuck to the altered diet. To be clear, The "Sugar Rush" host can't exactly share a gluten-free fast food love story with you. Instead, his gluten intolerance meant that he started spending more quality time in his kitchen.
"You have to start cooking for yourself at some point," March lamented. "It's embarrassing to go to restaurants every single day and go, 'Do you have anything that's gluten free?' ... You don't want to be that person all the time. You want to be capable of making your own meals."
Enter: the breakfast skillet, a dish that March admitted to making "every morning for like three years." Exit: most fast food, with two notable exceptions.
The chain Hunter March suggests for gluten-free meals
When Hunter March gets tired of making breakfast skillets, you might find him at a Jersey Mike's, though it's not a frequent occurrence. It's not that he's passionate about the chain. "If you want a tuna sandwich or something, they've got the gluten-free bread," he told Mashed, "but it's expensive and it's not great." When he's got a fast-food craving, you'll most likely find the late-night talk show host in In-N-Out opting for a Protein Style burger. This, for the non-initiates, is all the burger — minus the buns — wrapped in lettuce.
"It's always great. I'll still get the French fries. I'll still get a Double-Double, sometimes I'll get two Double-Doubles. I don't mind eating the processed foods and all the meat. I don't mind eating those occasionally," March admitted. "In-N-Out, to me, is the best fast food for a number of reasons. Double-Single Animal Style Protein Style with a side of fries, and then I will have a sip or two of whoever got a Coca-Cola around me, but I rarely ever order one for myself."
Catch up with Hunter March on "Nightly Pop" on E!. New episodes air Monday through Thursday at 11:30 p.m. ET.