Flying with food?

[egerandi]

We're flying to UT to see the boyfriend's family for TG, catching a super early am flight the day of. I'm following a special diet of vegan and mostly raw food, and it's no longer about 'you eat what you want when on vacation' because I get sick if I stray much. They eat mostly traditional TG dinner + Mexican dishes. I'm considering the following:

- Try and find a store that's open when we get there and do a bit of shopping for ready-to-go vegan items. Given that I'll be running on less than adequate sleep (working the day before, so I'll be packing at night to leave at 4:30am), this may not work out well.

- Talk to the mom of the house, and try to coordinate with her pre-dinner to ensure I can have a salad or a side dish. I'm kinda feeling iffy about asking for much because she's going to have a full house, expecting about 30 guests, so I don't want to put extra strain on her. In general, I don't like to impose myself and my diet; I always prepare bring my own, and make sure it's something others can enjoy too. Which brings me to...

- Prep the food at home and pack it in suitcase that I check. It will be cold enough in the cargo and in UT, so I'm not too concerned about it spoiling, but has anybody ever tried this? What do you suggest for transport? I'm thinking pureed pumpkin, wild rice stuffing, maybe some seitan (wheat meat).

We're also trying to be economical with the luggage space (I know, I want it all!), because we are flying delta and they charge for luggage. Boyfriend is bringing his snowboard gear, so we'll prolly have to fit in one big duffel for the two of us for 5 days.

[ladycattat]

If I were you, I would go the option of talking to the hostess and letting her be aware of your dietary needs. I'm sure she would rather know than have you go thru all the trouble of bringing it with you. Most stores are open on TG, at least for a while, and if you let the hostess know that you would be happy to prepare the salad or side dish (enough for everybody) Who knows, there may be others with some other kinds of food *things* and would be grateful for something....how we say....a little less traditional.
I also think if you have food(even totally sealed) there are always folks(employees) that are not as careful with your stuff as you think they should be. Imagine pureed pumpkin all over your clothes, and GASP....your MMU, and wheatmeat on your BF's snowboard. Yikes!
Your hostess may even have some ideas of places where you can get the kinds of stuff you need.
have fun!
xx
Laurie

[Xarata]

I second the letting the hostess know. You could even just ask her to pick up some ingredients for you. At the very least, most people serve a salad either way, so just asking her not to add any meat or eggs to it is easy to accomodate. Picking up a bag of wild rice shouldn't be too imposing either. I would probably skip the wheatmeat for someone who doesn't already shop for that sorta thing.

I just don't see the cargo packed food situation going very well- from luggage checks and whether or not they would leave food alone during a luggage check, and the possible spillage issues, and the weight limits, and the xrays...

My mom takes requests for holiday dishes (i always ask for pumpkin pie and DH always asks for greenbean casserole) so his mom is probably used to it. Try to stick to "normal" foods (like salad and rice) that can be purchased at a regular grocery store, but don't feel too bad.

[karen]

I agree with asking the hostess. I always want guests to feel comfortable in my home, and really it's not that difficult to do a few vegan things, or to pickup a few things you can eat while she's out shopping. We have some veggie/vegan friends and relatives- the Thanksgiving table has changed a little, but not by much, and everyone still manages to eat waaaay too much. I look forward to the vegan chocolate pie- mmmm.

The other option is to Fedex some goodies to her house before you arrive. Pack it in a cooler with some dry ice, and it should be fine.

Flying with food isn't a big deal either- I do it pretty much every time we come back from France- including a few pounds of butter, and some truffles one time! I usually take it in carry on though.

[egerandi]

Thanks for the suggestions! I typed up a long reply but apparently forgot to hit send, and it's at home... meh.

I thought about carrying on, they just have restrictions on liquid stuff, so the pumpkin puree wouldn't work, but the dry part of the wild rice stuffing might... I can also pack my sprouted/soaked and dehydrated stuff, like quinoa and almonds and sundried tomatoes, and some organic dried cranberries, anything that lessens the search when I get there.

I put together a list already, looking at recipes to see what would be easiest, least time and odd ingredient consuming. The hostess is my boyfriend's stepmom, and she's somewhat aware of my dietary restrictions. I think I will try to ask her to pick up some stuff that can be found in any supermarket and just try to grab the rest from a specialty store when I get there.

I'll try and stick to the K.I.S.S. mentality and swallow my pride for not doing everything from scratch

[Maeva]

I follow a macrobiotic diet and most of my meals are vegan. I find brown rice mochi to be a travel-friendly item. It is completely shrink-wrapped, so no leakage or spoilage. It bakes in 12 minutes. It is easily digested, low in calories, and provides you with sustained energy.
It does not look like traditional thanksgiving fair, but it is good to have on hand in the event that appropriate foods are spare; you will not be ravenous. I can tell you an easy way to prepare it if you are unfamiliar.
Also, you may want to do an internet search of the area and learn what is available in the area. Most cities have some kind of tourist center. A quick call could connect you with someone who can tell you where the nearest health food stores are located.

[Oxana124]

My parents fly with food in their suitcases all the time, so I don't think that would be a problem.
Where I moved there are hardly any Russian grocery stores, and by my parents there are some really good one with foods that they don't have here, so my parents always bring food down for me when they come visit and they have never had any issues.
If it is liquid you probably would have to check your suitcase though rather than do carry on, I don't know too much about carry on rules, since my parents usually do check their suitcase because it is too big for carry on.

[egerandi]

Thanks again for all your input! I emailed the mom, and she wrote back that it's not a problem to grab some items for me. Hoping they have organic where she shops, so I don't have to send her around town

Thanks for the mochi tip, I'll be sure to pack plenty of snacks too.