Sunday, July 27, 2014

How to Handle Eating Gluten Free on an Airplane Flight


     Hello readers. I haven't blogged in thirteen months, as I've been busy with school and a trip I took to Europe. However, I have time now, so I'll be blogging again. Right now, I want to go over my trip and how to eat gluten-free while traveling.


     On my trip to Europe, I stayed in (and turned thirteen in) Germany, and visited France (only a town near the border of Germany, nowhere famous), Austria, Switzerland, and other parts of Germany on day-trips. I also spent a couple of days in New York on the way there and back to adjust to jet lag (since Germany is 9 hours ahead of Nevada) and to eat and sight-see.

Here's a few pictures from my trip.

Schloss Hohenschwangau (Hohenschwangau Palace) from up close



Neuschwanstein Castle from up close

Hohenzollern Castle from afar
The cathedral of Freiburg, the Freiburg Minster (or Münster)
The world's largest cuckoo clock in Triberg, the town where cuckoo clocks originated.
It's the size of a small building.







     The trip from New York to Germany is quite a long one, long enough that you are served two meals. Now, you may think that a problem would arise because the meals are not gluten-free, but never fear. If you call the airline two or three days prior to the flight, you can get a gluten-free meal free-of-charge. This should be true for all international flights, but for domestic (in-country) flights, this is not always the case. For example, airlines such as Spirit Airlines do not provide much more than drinks, chips, and muffins, and these all cost you additional money. For situations like these, make sure to pack snacks in the bag you take into the cabin so that you don't get too hungry during the flight, even if the flight is no more than two or three hours long.

    Some ideas of gluten free food to take on an airline are:
  • Gluten-free bars, such as thinkThin® bars (not all of them), Glutino® bars, Kind® bars, and Larabars®
  •  A salad or other somewhat-substantial gluten-free items from food places at the airport, especially if you're taking multiple flights
  • Chips
  • Fruit
  • Nuts of any kind (as long as you don't have a nut allergy)
  • Yogurt, small cheeses
  • Gluten free crackers, cookies, etc
  • A sandwich or other cold lunch prepared at home 
  • *** just remember not to take liquids through security but to buy water, juice, etc at the airport after security

     More to come tomorrow on international dining, what to do if something unexpected comes with your meal, and more (including food pictures).

     Bye for today.