Living Vegan For Dummies - Alexandra Jamieson [110]
Requesting a vegan meal (and making sure you get it)
Airline food isn’t known for its diversity and vegan-friendly bent. Even the peanuts you may receive on the plane (if they’re even serving those anymore) can be roasted with honey, a vegan no-no. Most airlines have cut back considerably on their meal service, so you may only get water or $2 cans of reconstituted orange juice.
If your flight does offer food, make sure your needs are known. As soon as you book your flight, whether it’s through a travel agent or online, be sure to contact the airline directly using its customer service line to ask specifically for a dairy- and egg-free, vegetarian or vegan meal. You may click corresponding boxes on the airline Web site or tell your travel agent, but you still want to be sure that the airline gets the message more than once. Often, the vegan meal is much better than the regular options, and you’ll often get served first! Bonus! International flights often offer an ethnic version of the vegan meal; the “Asian vegetarian” option is your best bet. Be sure to explain that you want to avoid both dairy and eggs.
Double-check with the agent when you check in that your special meal request has been noted on the flight plan. You may not be able to get a vegan meal on board if the request didn’t go through, but at least you’ll know to pick something up in the airport before getting on the plane. Also try to alert the flight attendants of your special request when you’re sitting down before takeoff. Doing so helps them keep you in mind and show them where you are so your meal doesn’t end up on someone else’s tray table. Remember that politeness and a smile go a long way for these hardworking men and women.
If, for some reason, your special meal didn’t make it on the plane, ask if any suitable first- or business-class meals are left. The attendants usually help to remedy the situation with extra fruit, bread, or appropriate snacks if your meal was mislaid.
Carrying on your own food
It used to be that you could carry on just about anything when traveling by airplane, and that made it easier for us vegans to snack on flight. However, security has tightened severely since September 11th, 2001, restricting carry-on approved foods. Not to worry, though; you can still carry on some foods to hold you over. Here are items you can safely bring with you for your airport picnic:
Plastic spoon, fork, and knife. Smaller regional airports may not have these available.
Beverages and soups in 3-ounce or smaller containers. Be careful, however, because these may spill en route to the airport or on the plane. Good soup options that can be eaten cold are lentil and gazpacho.
Homemade sandwiches, leftovers (nonliquid, unless in 3-ounce or smaller containers), fruit, beans, and whole grains. Because taking small coolers on your flight will be problematic, just take a bag of food that doesn’t need refrigeration.
Food bars and dry snacks, such as crackers, pretzels, and so on.
Stashing food in your carry-on will get you through your travel plans — unless something unplanned occurs. Weather delays, missed connections, and bizarre computer glitches can leave you stranded for longer than your apple and nuts will sustain you. So try to carry at least one vegan snack bar (see the snack list in the earlier section “Mapping Your Meals on the Road” for some suitable varieties) to get you through a missed meal. Also, eating a substantial meal before leaving for the airport ensures that you aren’t starving by the time you get through security.
Finding vegan food in any airport
Say you didn’t have time to eat before your 6 a.m. flight, and you were out of vegan food bars to stash in your backpack