Traveling With SCD

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Traveling with SCD (Marilyn's Thoughts)

Traveling with SCD, whether you are traveling for business or pleasure can

be accomplished with the same kind of planning one uses for eating out in

your own home town. It simply has to be extended.

My husband Harry and I had, even before I went on SCD, what became known as

" the traveling kitchen " . We liked to attend literature and music

conventions, but our budget did not permit multiple weekends of dining in

hotel restaurants, and neither of us enjoyed doing fast food all weekend.

Our traveling kitchen consisted of first, a bag or box containing:

# A " picnic set " of inexpensive stainless knives, forks, and spoons, along

with plastic cups, mugs, and plates.

# A washrag, small dishtowel, and a small bottle of detergent for cleaning

up afterwards.

# A roll of paper towels and paper napkins

# A sharp knife, stored in an old paper towel tube, with the end for the

point folded over and stapled, and the top taped in place. (We later

replaced this with a tube of PVC pipe with an end cap on either end.)

# A small cutting board

# A toaster oven

# Picnic style salt and pepper shakers

Second, a refrigerator / cooler. In the early days, we used a plain cooler,

and started out with half-gallon milk jugs filled three-quarters full of

water and frozen. This usually kept things cool for 2-3 days.

If we were to be on the road longer than that, we would either buy some

ice, keeping it in its bag, or ask the hotel / motel to refreeze our jugs

for us. Usually, they were quite happy to refreeze them, since it meant we

weren't cleaning out their icemakers to fill our chest. Later, we used

" blue ice packs " which could also be refrozen. Still later, we purchased an

electric refrigerator which could be plugged into the cigarette lighter

while traveling, and into a wall adapter in our hotel room.

We also learned that since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities

Act, a U.S. hotel or motel must supply you with a refrigerator in your room

if you ask for it. For other countries, check to see what the local laws

require. Some hotels will try to charge you for this; however, if it is for

medical reasons, it is supposed to be free. If they ask if I am a diabetic,

my answer is, " Well, I have a real problem with sugar, so I have to bring

my own food. " I've never seen any reason to go into details about what my

health situation is.

Food preparation for the trip includes:

# Baking enough Krivel Krackers to last the duration. For a short trip, I

don't bother to take nut bread - the crackers handle my craving for

something like that. (See http://uclbs.org/recipes/bmc/suecrackers.php for

recipe.)

# Boiling and chilling eggs.

# Preparing beef roast or turkey.

# Making a batch of salad dressing, if I think I may want to eat one.

# Mayo and mustard in small jars (we don't use ketchup.)

# A stick of butter in a snap top container

# Tea bags

# A small bottle of honey

# Yogurt

# Some not-quite ripe bananas (for later in the trip)

# Home dried pineapple, banana slices or other home dried fruits.

# A few small bags of fresh vegetables

# Containers of homemade spice mixes.

# A jug of orange juice

Obviously, anything which needs to be refrigerated goes in the refrigerator

/ cooler. Anything else goes in the other box. This usually goes inside the

car to help keep it cooler if we are traveling.

When we arrive at our hotel/motel, even if it's an overnight stay enroute

to some place else, the first thing that comes out of the car is the

refrigerator, which gets plugged in. Then the kitchen box.

We plan to add a small Foreman grill to the kitchen box. Between that and

the toaster oven, I can fix nearly any simple dish I want, either for

dinner, or for breakfast the next morning. Some people have also suggested

including a small electric fry pan.

This covers traveling in your own car.

So what if you're traveling for business, with other people who expect you

to eat with them?

One thing many people can't get through their heads is that diet is

important in this medical condition because for so many years we have been

told that diet has nothing to do with gut disorders.

When dining out, therefore, you don't have to explain all the whys and

wherefores of what you're eating, unless you think your eating partners

will be interested. A diabetic does not have to explain that she or he

cannot have sugar or too many carbohydrates. And no one would sneer at them

for refusing to eat those foods.

If it's a day trip, you could respond with, " Certainly - grab whatever you

want. I'll eat the lunch I brought. " And make sure you have a lunch with

you.

If it's very hot, or very cold out, and your business partner or boss

insists on eating some place which is a " no outside food, please, " place,

speak to the waiter, or manager. Tell him or her that " I am on a special

diet which permits no sugar, no starch, no grains, no potatoes, no natural

or artificial flavorings, no soy, no artificial sweeteners. Is there

anything you serve that meets those parameters? " If they say yes, ask to

see the labels for the food.

If they can't answer yes, or aren't willing to show you an ingredient list,

tell them you're not willing to risk the hospital, and would they permit

you to bring your own food in since the rest of your party is eating? And

then make it a point to at least buy a glass of plain tea, or a cup of

coffee, something similar.

One immediate comment which I've seen is that the boss objects to the SCDer

" making a scene " . At that point, the question for the boss or business

partner is, " Do you want me to do my job? Or do you want me to spend the

day in the rest room? "

What if it's a multi-day business engagement?

That will depend on what your living arrangements are.

Some cross between brown bagging it and the full-fledged traveling kitchen

ought to be possible. An insulated cart can take the place of the larger,

heavier refrigerator, and is easier to transport. If cheese is tolerated,

it is a good food because it survives on a minimum of refrigeration. Hard

boiled eggs can make either a breakfast or a lunch. Home-dried fruit or

jerky works well. A small Foreman grill or electric frying pan would allow

you to purchase fresh meat and vegetables and cook them in your room in the

evening.

If I know it is going to be only a 2-3 day engagement, I pack an insulated

bag with enough hard boiled eggs for my breakfasts, a block of cheese to

slice for lunches, and a cooked meal for dinner which can either be

reheated if the means are available, or eaten cold. I also carry some

apples and bananas which can be peeled and eaten with any meal. All cold

food for several days isn't fun, but can be tolerated - and is much better

than hot illegal foods. I carry several frozen cold packs, and ask the

proprietors of wherever I'm staying to keep one in their freezer. Then I

swap them out every 12 hours or so, giving them the defrosted one in

exchange for the cold one. (Typically, they would much rather do this for

you than have you raiding their ice!)

What happens if you're traveling by plane?

This makes life both easier, and harder.

The first question is, " What to eat on the plane? " Pack yourself a lunch

and snack bag, similar to a brown bag lunch. Some people find that carrying

a steel thermos of nice, hot chicken or beef soup makes a great travel

food. Be sure to carry plenty of legal beverages, and snacking food. If

you're traveling with a non-SCD companion, they can eat your airplane meal.

Some people recommend looking at the diabetic and gluten-free meal options;

having seen what is currently recommended for both, I prefer to carry my

own safe food rather than trust that miscommunication results in hidden

illegals which could ruin my trip at the outset.

Preparation of this sort saved one trip from disaster. Fog led to a late

connection and missing the connecting flight. I had a twelve hour layover

until the next flight. There was no place in, or near the airport which had

safe food for me. If I had not had a well-packed travel bag, I would have

had the option of eating illegals, or going hungry for almost eighteen

hours. In fact, when I called my husband from the connecting airport to

tell him of the delay, his first question was, " Do you have enough legal

food to eat? "

Be prepared to spend extra time with security at the airport. When we were

headed for the UK in 2002, they took nearly an hour to check out my

insulated bag with their chemical sensors, in order to make sure I wasn't

hiding plastic explosives or other articles of mayhem in amongst all the

food. On the other hand, in 2004, my bag went through the X-ray machine

with no problems.

The guard in 2002 asked me why I was carrying so much. I smiled, and said,

" For medical reasons, I'm not allowed any sugar, starch, grains, potatoes,

artificial or natural flavorings, colors, or sweetening. Given what's in

commercially prepared food today, where does that leave me? " He replied,

" Without anything to eat. " And I said, " Right... unless I prepare it

myself, which is why you get to stand here and check out all this food. "

The next problem is how to pack a kitchen box and get it to your

destination with you.

It's quite a bit harder to pack a kitchen box in such a way that it can go

through as part of your luggage. Airline luggage handlers are not noted for

gentle handling of things. We lost a very nice toaster oven on a trip to

Winnipeg, Canada in 1994 because we failed to take that into account - when

we unpacked our luggage, the glass door on the oven was shattered, and the

aluminum case warped astoundingly.

What we now do is keep a very heavy duty cardboard box intended for the

shipment of magazines to a local chain bookstore as our kitchen box. This

fits inside one of the large soft side suitcases, and allows us to give

double protection to our equipment. We took our Yogourmet, a voltage

converter, and a number of other useful items with us to the U.K. and

Ireland this way. And then, when we needed more space in the suitcase on

the way back (as one always does!), we simply sealed the box and sent it

through as a piece of luggage.

If you are going to be staying with friends or relatives, you can check to

see if they will have the tools and equipment you will need for your stay.

If they do, you are in great shape.

If they do not, you might wish to ship your kitchen box to your friends a

week or so ahead of your intended arrival. If you are shipping your yogurt

maker, make sure you've made enough to last you the week after you ship it,

and for at least 48 hours after your arrival.

If you will be staying in a hotel, it is usually possible to ship a box to

the hotel and have them hold it for you on your arrival. Be sure to arrange

this with the hotel in advance. Insure your package for the replacement

value of the equipment and supplies in it. Your address label should look

something like the following

Your Name

Your Street Address

Your City, State/Province, Zip or Postal Code

Your Name

c/o Name of Hotel

Street Address of Hotel

State/Province, Zip or Postal Code

HOLD FOR ARRIVAL ON Date of Your Arrival

This way, it is clearly stated not only who it is for but when you will be

arriving so that if it arrives early, they don't reject it, claiming

there's no guest by that name.

It's really not practical to make yogurt in a hotel room, so be sure to

bring enough for the duration of your stay. I pack mine in snap top round

containers, then put three heavy rubber bands over the top and bottom to

hold the lid on it the container is inadvertently squeezed somehow. Then I

put it in a self sealing plastic bag on the just-in-case principle - I

would rather not arrive and find my suitcase is awash in yogurt!

Be aware that some motels and hotels prefer that you do not cook in your

room. The electric wiring in the main part of the room may not be equal to

a toaster oven, electric grill or fry pan. We use the heavy-duty socket in

the bath room which is intended for electric razors and high-power hair

dryers. We let the toaster oven cool, and put it away in our kitchen box

before leaving the room for the day.

This works very well. Over one Labor Day weekend, we attended a 50,000

person convention in Atlanta. I had prepared Creole pot roast and several

kinds of vegetables, as well as grilled chicken breasts. We took a loaf of

breakfast sausage, block cheddar cheese, Tropicana orange juice, and hard

boiled eggs. I included three cups of homemade ranch dressing. We also had

homemade pepperoni snacking sticks , dried fruit and nuts.

In the morning, we toasted slices of sausage and cheese to go with our

juice and eggs. I packed dried fruit, nuts, a small container of ranch

dressing, and a couple of pepperoni sticks in my shoulder bag. Then we went

out and about. If we were some place where Harry could get something he

liked, we followed the usual rules for eating out. If not, we shared the

food I had in my bag.

At dinnertime, when the lines of people at all the restaurants and fast

food establishments for a three block radius around the hotel had lines two

dozen people long and an hour to two hours' wait for food or a table, we

retired to our quiet hotel room, heated up beef or chicken and vegetables,

and had a couple slices of SCD almond bread or some crackers with it. Then,

after a quiet hour in our hotel room, we were ready to join in the evening

activities at the convention.

If you are traveling internationally, be sure to find out what the import

regulations are for your destination country and plan your foods

accordingly. Ireland, for instance, has very strict rules regarding import

of dairy or meat products, even if they are for your personal use. The

United States is very concerned about meat products. With the BSE scare

which has gone world-wide, you might, for instance, find it more convenient

to carry pre-prepared packets of spices for making your own sausage and

salad dressings than to try to bring products with you.

When we went to the U.K. in 2002, we had no difficulty bringing ranch

dressing, honey-vanilla yogurt, cheese, nuts, and the infamous broccoli and

beef pie . We had plastic ware, and paper plates. We kept things cold by

using a insulated bag, and the hosts of the Bed & Breakfast where we stayed

were willing to freeze our cold packs for us: we had two sets, one in the

insulated bag, and one in our hosts' freezer.

When traveling to Canada, I did not have a problem with my pepperoni sticks

and chicken salad since it was for my personal consumption only. I also did

not have a problem bringing the uneaten food back with me.

By planning ahead, you can meet just about any contingency. The trick is

not to say " I can't do this, " but instead, to say, " I am going to do this,

and here's how I'm going to accomplish it. "

-- Marilyn (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA)

Undiagnosed IBS 25 Years, SCD Five Years

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund