Travel Gluten Free Podcast
Episode 143
S06 How to Fly Gluten Free
Welcome to the Travel Gluten Free Podcast, where you can listen in on how to lead a gluten-free lifestyle with more fun and ease! Travel Gluten Free gives you valuable information from finding a safe restaurant to knowing what food is safe to eat when you travel; I'll be with you every step of the way on your gluten-free journey. Lead your gluten-free life, don't let being gluten-free lead your life. Enjoy Food, Enjoy Travel, and Enjoy Life with your show host, Elikqitie!
In this episode, I’ll share with you how to travel gluten-free when you’re flying. Find out how to pack your food, learn how to successfully get through TSA without getting your bag searched and how to communicate to the airlines that you need a specialty gluten-free diet. Learn more about flying gluten-free by picking up a copy of my book, The Guide to Traveling Gluten Free.
Finding Food in an Airport
Finding safe options to eat in an airport can be super tricky! Many airport restaurants are slammed busy serving, so this puts a high level of cross-contamination in place and creates an unsafe food prep environment for anyone who is Celiac.
Nowadays, some airports are posting their restaurants and offering gluten-free offerings, such as Atlanta Airport Restaurant Menu and Salt Lake City Airport Food Guide. You can look at the restaurants they have and choose accordingly. I will look for Freshens as they have certified gluten-free smoothie offerings, PF Changs for safe food, and Jersey Mike’s subs, all of which offer safe Celiac food. Although Jimmy John’s doesn’t have a gluten-free protocol, I’ve never been sick of one as they are food aware and will change their gloves and give you separate condiment packages.
Types of Snacks to Pack While You’re Flying
When you’re flying gluten-free, certain types of food and snacks are better to take than others when you’re traveling. For example, when traveling, you’ll want to avoid large packaging, food that crumbles easily (such as rice crackers), liquids more than 2oz, chocolate, or any types of coatings which will readily melt. You’ll also want to avoid snack items that can easily leak such as peanut butter and any food that has liquid in the pouch.
You’ll want to look for and bring a snack on the airplane as many airlines do not have safe gluten-free snacks. My favorite snacks to bring on a plane are nuts, meat sticks from EPIC, protein bars, pumpkin seeds, dried fruit, and crackers.
How to Pack Your Gluten Free Snacks When Flying
When packing your snacks, make sure to put them at the top of your suitcase so that they don’t get squished in transit. If you’re packing your snacks in a check-on bag, put smaller bags into a larger Ziploc bag so that they are easy to see if the agent opens up your checked bag after scanning.
Using packing cubes is a great way to organize your vacation necessities, including your food and snacks. I recommend getting smaller sized packing cubes so that you can easily pack your items in a weekend bag or suitcase.
You’ll also want to make sure that you have travel-sized liquids and cosmetics in your bag before you check it or carry-on the airplane. I’ve selected gluten-free travel
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