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From:
Nancy Uding <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Nancy Uding <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:45:39 -0700
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<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Here's the rest,
Nancy U

"Many airlines offer special meals if you order in advance.  Gluten Free
meals are offered on United and American for international flights.  Checkwith the airline you are flying."

"Spain will not be that hard - roasted chicken, salads are everywhere! 
Europeans understand celiac. Be sure she takes some travel dining cards in 
Spanish. You can get them free on the internet, don't remember site, though.
I have traveled a lot internationally in the recent past, and the airlines, 
for the most part, have stopped serving special diets. You need to pack food 
in a back pack. She needs a doctor's statement in writing,signed, that she 
is a celiac and needs to travel with her food. DO NOT PUT LIQUIDS IN THE 
BACK PACK. Make ahead hard boiled eggs, muffins, cheese, crackers, fruit ( 
fresh and dried),cookies, small cans of tuna and chicken, peanut butter, 
jelly ( you can order individual servings of these things on the internet, 
tea bags, cocoa mix, protein bars, candy. You can put a bag of blue ice in 
the pack, but they may confiscate it. She will do FINE flying over there. It 
is coming back that is the problem.  Tell her to try to eat a LARGE SALAD 
and eggs,  fruit for breakfast the day she flies back. The airports are 
awful for gluten free food, and she won't get a meal on the plane, probably. 
If the airline claims to be able to serve a gluten free meal 
internationally, be sure she checks 1 month before, just before leaving, and 
at the check in counter at every leg of the flight. At the airports, she can 
usually find fresh fruit, soda, and, if a McDonalds or Burger King ( all 
over the world) she can usually get a lettuce wrapped burger, soda or juice, 
and McDonalds fries are ok.  I sure hope this information helps. I have been 
there, done that,and it is a pain in the neck, but beats starving.  Hope 
this information helps her."

"We spent three weeks in Spain some time ago, - it must have been in the 
early 1990's - and I managed to stay healthy the whole time.
Because it was so easy, I had no reason to keep records of what I ate.

My suggestion is that you  go to a library and get a recipe book about 
Spanish cooking...written in English.  That should tell you what you need to 
avoid.   You can always get rice and beans - not unlike trips to Mexico. 
lots of dishes with eggs and potatoes,

We travel a lot - to many rather out of the way places, and  I have leaarned 
to take a card with the limitations of diet written in English and in the 
language of the country to which we are traveling.  The chefs and cooks and 
even the waitresses and waiters are usually very helpful.  I put a skull and 
crossbones on the top of the card - it scares them into action.

I also am willing to eat rice topped with a soft boiled egg and maybe some 
tomato sauce of some sort.    I figure I am not living to eat, but eating to 
live, and if the diet is not exactly balanced for the time of the travel, as 
long as I am nourished, I won't worry about it.

Do take advantage of the opportunity to shop in the local markets and 
grocery stores.  That's half of the fun of travel!

Re: the airplane, get a note on a prescription 
pad from your daughter's doctor explaining that she cannot eat any of the 
following: Wheat, including things made with wheat flour,  milk products, 
including cheeses, puddings, etc.,   .............and whatever else needs to 
be on the list.  Then take your food for the flights and use the note from 
the doctor when you explain the food in a brown bag."

"Here is a link to a site that I found especially helpful in preparation for my travel to Spain: http://www.celiacosmadrid.org/actualidad_19.html.  Make sure you click on all the links on the page for more information.  Links are in gold letters.
 The page lists several supermarket chains where GF items are sold.  El Corte Inglés is a chain of large department stores that invariably had the best selection of GF items to buy.  I found a few GF items in smaller stores as well.
 Lest you accidentally miss it, the above page has a link to a restaurant card.  You can get to it directly with this address:
http://www.celiacosmadrid.org/dieta_sin_gluten_viajes_6.html
I made multiple copies of the card to take with me and found it it valuable since I speak almost no Spanish.  Basically, it says,
"I have been diagnosed as celiac.  I could get sick if I eat any food containing wheat, barley, rye, oats or products derived from these cereals.  This includes flour, bread, croissants, pasta, empanadillas, croquettes, coated, sauces, soups, cakes, biscuits, cakes, malt, malt extract, many sausages, things made with broths.
A celiac can eat meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, legumes, vegetables, fruits, rice, corn, soybeans, and potatoes.  These foods should be cooked without flour, and either boiled, roasted, grilled, or in their natural state. PLEASE, when preparing a meal, if you have any questions, ask."(Translated using Google Language Tools.)
 Note that at the bottom of the main page (http://www.celiacosmadrid.org/actualidad_19.html), there is a list of Spanish foods that are typically prepared without gluten.  Though I printed out this list and took it with me, I found out that it was much easier to just present my restaurant card and let the restaurant staff suggest menu items that I could eat.


We traveled on American Airlines to and from Spain, and I had amazingly good - and safe - meals on the planes.  See this page - http://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInformation/duringFlight/dining/specialMeals.jsp -- for information on ordering a GF meal with American Airlines.  My meals often looked much better than my husband's standard meals.  


Although I had no need of the food I took with me on the flights to and from Spain, I have found through my many travel experiences that it is always good to have food in case of emergency, such as delayed or canceled flights.  It is also helpful to have my food bag with me to tide me over after I arrive at my destination and before I am able to find a grocery store with GF food.  I always fly with selections such as these:

For use within a few hours: Boiled eggs, peeled, in a ziplock bag,  Cheese slices (I eat dairy, but you may find non-dairy cheese.), Carrot sticks, Grapes, apple slices

For use any time during the trip: Nuts, Dried fruit, Muffins, biscuits or rolls but not sliced bread, as the latter crumbles too easily, Cookies (Midel Arrowroot Animal Cookies don't crumble easily but may not be dairy-free.) Rice cakes, Snack bars, such as Lärabar, Kind, Pure (check labels for GF)


In addition, I carry a box of quick-cooking cereal, such as cracked buckwheat or quinoa flakes.  I mix the cereal with hot water (from a coffee maker, if I am in a hotel room) and let it stand for five minutes or so.  Mixed with some of my nuts and dried fruit, it makes an almost-instant breakfast.


In Spain, we stayed almost exclusively at bed and breakfasts run by English-speaking hosts.  The hosts were all quite pleasant about accommodating my diet.  I ate eggs, fruit, bacon, yogurt, etc. for breakfast."

 


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