<<Disclaimer:  Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I sent this letter to T Ryan, in answer to her querie about travel food,
but as many of you have responded to the whole lit, I'll throw in a couple of
additional ideas.

First of all, the air lines really try to give passengers a gluten free
meal if one calls at least a day ahead and makes a request.  You must tell
the  attendant as you board the plane that you are the one who has ordered
a gluten free meal and they will usually find it and get it to you.
Sometime they make an error, so don't just eat without paying attention to
what you receive.  I've no knowledge of who reached the airlines with the
need for this diet, but they deserve thanks from all of us.

I usually carry emergency food, just in case the airline slips up.  It is a
good idea to freeze that at home and take it along.  When all the meals are
served, the steward/ess is willing to  heat it in the microwave, if really
necessary, but that is a bit iffy.  I take rice cakes, cooked beans, cooked
rice and my own salsa, as well as celery and carrot strips and a Granny
Smith apple (For some reason I cannot tolerate red apples). I find that
seat mates are amazingly accepting of this strange behavior if I simply say
that I have severe food allergies.  I let it go at that, and try to be neat
and not spill on my seat mates.  Sardines are NOT appreciated, however!

I have traveled all over Europe, South and Central America, as well as
coast to cast in the US wihout getting sick.  There IS travel after CD!  I
carry a package of zip lock bags and pick up an extra serving or two of
rice or whatever else is avaible in a restaurant when I find something I
know is safe.  Without refrigeration these things cannot be saved for long,
so be careful of that.  I eat lots of beans, nuts, dried fruit, fesh fruit,
fresh veggies raw and cooked  (tho raw is unwise in most of Latin America).

Remember, there are grocery stores or food markets all over the world.  You
are not dependent on restaurants.  Now for my survival kit:

I carry a small propane stove made for mountain climbers by a company called
GAZ.  One can find the stoves and tiny propane cans in almost any city in
Europe, South America and the US. - Try camping stores, gas stores (in
Third World countries, especially), mountain climbing and sports stores.
Sometimes even hardward stores.  Then I carry a tiny pan with lid
(stainless steel - about 2-3 cup capacity. And a can opener, paring knife,
fork, and spoon - metal rather than plastic, as those break and cannot be
used in cooking.  If the knife closes up, the airlines like it better. It
is probably not wise to carry a can of GAZ that is already open on an
airplane, so I use the smallest cans, and simply burn them out or let them
blow out -OUTSIDE IN THE FRESH AIR - and throw the can in a recycle bin,
before hopping on the next plane.  Actually the unopened cans are perfectly
safe on planes, but you might be considerate and ask the airlines befoer
you board - call ahead.  All the above goes into a small, thermos picnic
bag (with my vitamins), and my preferred tea bags, cream of rice cereal,
red lentils (they cook quickly), some nuts and dried apricots.  It is quite
legal to take any food that has been processed across borders.  That
includes dried, roasted, canned, baked, etc.  The US customs are probably
the most strict about this sort of thing as they will not allow you to
enter the country with any fresh fruit or vegetable. They are not concerned
with what you carry on an outward bound flight.

When it comes to having to eat in restaurants, banquets, and other formal
events, I eat something that will suffice before I go, and then eat
anything that seems to be all right - or nothing at all, and offer very
little explanation unless asked.  Then the same statement about allerges
will suffice.  There seems no point in trying to educate the public at a
social event.  In restaurants I talk with the waiter or the chef if here is
no language barrier,and take along diet cards in foreign languages - some
hand written in the hotel by some kind person who is bi-lingual.  With the
card use in the U.S.  I'm sure you have all had the experience of a
concerned looking waitress who listens carefully and then asks if you would
like spaghetti - so if I am not sure, I don't eat.  In Greece they are
proud that ancient Greek doctors coined the word "allergy" and were aware
that some foods are poison to some people.  I draw a dramatic skull and
cross bones on the menu cards - graphics work wonders!

Wherever you go, you don't have to eatin restaurants.  There are lots of
others who can eat the creamed chicken and canned peas and leave the good
stuff for us!

Bon Apetite!

Gayle Kennedy