Updated food plan and a (small) rant

My food for the trip over has been quite an ordeal. Ok, not ordeal, but I tend to obsess. I know you guys have to be tired of reading about it, but honestly, if I don't put the info here I will lose it. Trust me... I don;t need that kind of stress, too.

First, I went ahead and ordered the gluten free meals from Scandinavian Air. I am pretty confident that they will do gf well - there are quite a few celiacs in Scandinavia. Like I said before, I still plan to take food, just in case.While in Washington, I am going to eat pizza! Lots and lots of pizza! We will take the train from Baltimore to Union Station where there is a Uno Chicago Grill with a glorious gluten free menu! I have called the restaurant to verify that their location offers the gf menu, and they do. Woohoo! After a lunch of pizza, we are heading to the Smithsonian, and then back to Union Station for more pizza for dinner. (Really probably a salad for me for dinner, but I can dream, can't I?)

Now that we have our tickets, we know exactly how many meals will be provided. I way, way over planned.


I found some packets of organic, gluten free, natural peanut butter. There are 10 packets in the box, and I plan to take all of them. (They don't eat peanut butter in Germany, so I want to be sure to have some for the ride home.) As for jelly, the packets that they have at Burger King are gluten free, so if I can't find any natural packets, I will see if I can buy some of those. I am almost positive that I will not be taking bread - it needs to be toasted and just won't work well. We found some really good thin corn cakes (like rice cakes) at the co-op, so I will take those.

I am also going to order a pack of Apple Cinnamon GF instant oatmeal. The 6 packs will give me enough for 3 meals - Birmingham, Washington and Copenhagen/on the plane.

Once we get to Germany, our first stop will be the grocery store. (because, you know, what else would you want to do after a long flight across the Atlantic?)

So now the plan is:
GF instant oatmeal
Peanut butter packets
Jelly packets
Corn cakes
Candy - probably 2 snack size bags for dessert
Nuts - A small bag or two of roasted nuts for when they hand out the peanuts
Dried Vegetables - Only because these are so damn good I could eat them 3 meals a day
Dried Fruit - Ditto above
GF cookies - Because who doesn't love cookies?

I called Scandinavian Air and was told that we are allowed 1 carry on and 1 purse/laptop bag. I specifically asked if I could also carry on a small bag to hold my food and I was told no. In fact, the customer "service" rep told me I would have to shove the bag in to my purse.

Now, I am going to say something here that might piss some people off because it is not PC but I don't care. If you don't want to read it, skip down a little.

If you take a child under the age of two on the plane with you, you do not need a seat for them. They are allowed to sit on your lap. You are also allowed to carry on a car seat and diaper bag for them. So, I can bring a toddler and car seat on board with me but I can't bring a small fucking bag of food to ensure that I don't get sick? I am not asking to bring a suitcase. I am asking to bring something the size of a lunch bag. It would be one thing if the airline could guarantee that they can provide me with a gluten free meal, but they can't. They can put in a request, but if our plane is changed after the meals are loaded, or the flight attendant accidentally gives my meal to another passenger, or he flight attendant plops a big wheat roll in the middle of my tray (all things that have happened) then my gluten free meal is gone. The food that will prevent me from getting sick takes up too much room, but a toddler with a car seat and diaper bag don't take up too much room.

So there is the plan. For now.