Denver Airport

[Eeyorific]

I am flying out West next week, and have a 3 hour layover in Denver. Does anyone know of any safe eating within the airport?

Thanks in advance!
_________________
Kristie M.

"The truth of God's love is not that he allows bad things to happen....
it's his promise that he will be there with us when they do!"

[cruelshoes]

I'v enever been there myself, but here is a list of the restaurants there. Looks like there is a McDonald's if you can't find anything else.

I hope you have a good trip!
_________________
-Colleen
Dx 8/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
9-YO son Dx 11/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
Daughters have negative bloodwork - so far!

A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. - Eleanor Roosevelt

[ostrich]

Kristie! Welcome back!

Hmmmm, I'm pretty leery about airport food, no matter the restaurant. Even if they have a GF menu, there's too many opportunities for CC. Everybody's in a rush. But that's IMHO. Perhaps it'd be easier to pack your own meal?
_________________
Ostrich :>--O==={

I lie below, you float above
In the pretty white ships that I am dreaming of

[nancw]

Hey Kristie,

I've flown in & out of Denver many times and there is nothing there I would eat, though I'm very strict and have multiple food intols so that excludes almost everything anywhere!

I'd pack your own food and not take chances.
_________________
Nance

gluten, dairy, soy, rice, corn, yeast and 99% grain-free

[Eeyorific]

Thanks everyone!

Taking my own food is pretty much what I figured, too. I'm just at a loss as what to bring. I'm trying to pack light, but from the time I leave my house to the time I get to where I'm going, I'm looking at about 10 hours. I don't think taking a banana and a few GF crackers or dry cereal will suffice.

Any suggestions?
_________________
Kristie M.

"The truth of God's love is not that he allows bad things to happen....
it's his promise that he will be there with us when they do!"

[celiacmaine-iac]

I am regularly away from my home for 10 hrs or more, and ususally pack my own food. You can buy insulated lunch bags. Then put a small ice pack in it. I take things like pre-wrapped cheeses, fruit, GF yogurt, peanut butter and crackers (GF crackers and p.butter from a GF jar), energy bars (I like Lara, but there are plenty of other GF ones), nuts, baby carrots, etc. I just think in terms of getting the major food groups into the meal such as protein, carbs, fruit and veggies, and dairy. You should be able to manage drinks at the airport even if it's only bottled water.
_________________
Steph

[ostrich]

[The Edifying Conscience]

[Linda]

I tried to take a 1 litre bag with 3 pudding and 3 applesauce cups from Canada to the U.S. in Dec. 2006. I had checked the TSA dot gov website and phoned first. They wouldn't let me take it. I said, "Look he's on a special diet. He can't have anything they'll be offering after he's on the plane." They were really (in my opinion) a bunch of jerks about it, since I was following all the rules, they fit in the litre zip bag, they were still sealed, etc. They ended up chucking them all except one.

Having said that, all I remember is that we had passed through the first security station to get to the states, and it was at the second station where you take off your shoes and all that that this happened. I don't know if that's Canadian or U.S. security, but I would double check on so-called gel or liquid food in your carry on even if it does fit in the zip bag.
_________________
Mom of Ty (he's eight) who was diagnosed by bloodwork June 2005, biopsy August 11, 2005, notified on & started GF August 18, 2005

[ostrich]

[celiacmaine-iac]

[ostrich]

Good point about the ice packs, Steph. I wonder if a quart-sized bag filled with regular ice would be OK? Probably not.

FWIW our tiny airport has a few restaurants, but they're all off limits, like Pizza Hut. There is no place to buy things like fruit or yogurt cups. And if, by some miracle, you do manage to find fruit/yogurt it's triple the normal price.
_________________
Ostrich :>--O==={

I lie below, you float above
In the pretty white ships that I am dreaming of

[luvscowznh]

When I was traveling for work, I would bring a cold pack that is made out of cloth and dried corn. (It works as a hot or a cold pack...was also great if I got sick while on travel - just pop it in the microwave and soothing relief for my belly..) This is great since it is neither a gel or a liquid. I would pack my insulated "feed bag" and put the cold pack in right before I left. I did this on my honeymoon as well. (MA to Hawaii made for a very long trip...like 12 hours...I needed to bring lots of food..)

I brought cheese sticks, cuke slices, fruit leathers, crackers, fruit etc - anything that was neither a gel or liquid. I never had a problem.

Good luck, Kristie!

--Manda
_________________

[GFPolarBear]

I'm not inclined to trust anything I get at an airport except pre-packaged dry foods like chips or trail mix, which unfortunately doesn't leave a lot of options. All the salads inevitably have croûtons or questionable garbage in the salad dressings, so even that is tricky.

I usually pack solid food like energy bars (there are a ton of GF options), trail mix, or a PB&J that doesn't need refrigeration (handy to go with the chips I can always find past security ), and knock on wood I've never had a problem. Granted, I wasn't GF when I took my last international flight, but I understand sometimes they're more capable to provide food for special dietary needs.

[Eeyorific]

Thank you everyone who replied. I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you all sooner. Just 2 days before my trip Matthew started running a 103 degree temp. Things got pretty rough there for awhile. I wasn't able to get back on line.

He ended up having a sinus infection and was put on anti-biotics. (another thing we weren't too thrilled about doing just before mom leaves on a trip for 5 days) It was the right choice, the fever broke within 48 hours, and he didn't have a negative reaction to the medication!

I ended up taking food, but a little FYI for those of you who might want to pack their own peanut butter... make sure you bring the individual to-go packs. I bought a new plastic jar. It was bigger than 3oz, but I didn't think it would be considered a "liquid", I was wrong. They count paste items as well. Someone from Peoria's airport scored an un-opened jar or creamy peanut butter.

I ended up having more than enough food to last me to Nevada, and enough left over for the return home.... or so I thought! (more about that later)

The trip was great! This was my second time out to Carson City/Reno, but the view was just as breathtaking the 2nd time as it was the 1st!
I went out there to help a dear friend of the family. It was great to see them; I wished it could have lasted longer.

On the day of my return flight my friend and I stopped at PF Changs. My friend isn't GF, but she requested to order from the GF menu as well. We were amazed at the selection of GF food, and taken away by the taste!! In hindsight I'm glad I'm glad I forced myself to eat as much as I did! Neither of us could stop from stuffing our faces!

After lunch we went straight to the Air port, I was sad to see the meal and trip come to an end!

The trip home was a snap back to may crazy reality! My flight leaving Reno was late, which caused me to miss my connecting flight out of Denver. I ran 77 gates to make the flight, when I got there the plane was still sitting at the gate, but they had already shut the doors and wouldn't re-open them.

I had a few options available to me, but while I was standing there talking to the woman behind the ticket counter, I met another lady who was in the same situation as I was. We found out the we not only shared the same 1st name, but it was spelled the exact same way, and shared the same middle names as well. We decided to fly to Chicago that night and catch an 8AM flight to Peoria the next night. We spent the 7 hours in O'Hare getting to know one another. Had we not met, I probably would have went ahead and let them put me up in a room somewhere.

Which brings up a question... see my direct flight from Denver to Peoria only runs once a day so I would have had to wait until 7pm the next night to catch that same flight. If I had chosen that option, I know they would have been responsible for finding me a place to sleep, but what about food... safe food that is. Does anyone know if the Airline would be responsible for providing me something safe to eat?

As it was my early lunch lasted me a good while. It wasn't until 9 or 10 pm until I started getting hungry again, and my banana, gf crackers with my to-go peanut butter (they didn't get my peanut butter this time!) was just enough to suffice! The morning was a bit tough, but I made up for it once I got home.

My excitement didn't end there. My luggage somehow went to Arkansas, and didn't get to me until 2 days after I was scheduled to be home.
All in all it could have been much worse. After coming home from my last trip out there, I was hospitalized for 3 days with facial cellulitis. This time around was much better!

Thanks again for all of the input! It was great hearing all of the suggestions! (Next time I think I'll plan ahead a little bit better for the unexpected and grab an extra GF cup of noodles.
_________________
Kristie M.

"The truth of God's love is not that he allows bad things to happen....
it's his promise that he will be there with us when they do!"