Diabetic food for airline

[Smart 4-2]

I am traveling with my elderly parents, and all of us are diabetic. I am not worried about special meals -just access to any food at all. My dad is very subject to low blood sugar episodes. I know I can't bring drinks, fruit and meat through international customs and security. Can I bring home made cookies, granola bars, carrot sticks, etc. through security and on to an airplane? We have one hour between flights - so no time to buy food in an airport. What kind of food is alright to take through American customs? Peanut butter sandwiches? Chocolate chip cookies? I can't count on Continental having meal sized snacks for my Dad. I know there will be lots of choice once we are on our ship.

[uppitycats]

I am traveling with my elderly parents, and all of us are diabetic. I am not worried about special meals -just access to any food at all. My dad is very subject to low blood sugar episodes. I know I can't bring drinks, fruit and meat through international customs and security. Can I bring home made cookies, granola bars, carrot sticks, etc. through security and on to an airplane? We have one hour between flights - so no time to buy food in an airport. What kind of food is alright to take through American customs? Peanut butter sandwiches? Chocolate chip cookies? I can't count on Continental having meal sized snacks for my Dad. I know there will be lots of choice once we are on our ship.

 

 

I think rather than risk the health of any of you, you need to bring *packaged* food on board with you -- commercial stuff that is wrapped and sealed, opened when you are on the plane, the wrappers discarded before you get off the plane (wrappers from the opened food, not the unopened.) You can buy cookies in individually wrapped packages these days (sometimes a couple of cookies in the pack), commercial granola bars come that way, too, and of course candy bars. There is also special diabetic bars that are individually wrapped and sealed. But I would hate for you to bring home-made stuff only to have it confiscated. You're right to not count on the airlines to have any sort of snacks these days, or even beverages!

[Arwenmark]

Also I suggest you avoid any peanut products as you might have someone on board with a peanut allergy and not be allowed to open anything with peanut anything. Easier to just avoid bringing such items.

[wrp96]

You can also buy food once you are through security at the airport.

 

Also Continental does provide food on most of their flights, it may just be a sandwich but they don't make people starve.

[Smart 4-2]

Oops - forgot about peanut allergies. Thanks,

My concern is having food available quickly in case of low blood sugars.

I'd better go with pre packaged food. Continental only lists a snack on our first flight and we have less than an hour to get to our connecting flight in Houston. I'll bring glucose tablets. My mom and I aren 't prone to lows - just dad. I haven't flown Continental before, so don't know their quirks.

[TX.Mameow&Papeow]

I am diabetic and always carry glucose tablets, individually wrapped cheese crackers, pretzels, granola bars, and some hard candy in my carry on and purse. If he has a sudden low blood sugar the stewards do have regular soft drinks and juice which can raise the blood sugar temporarly, then follow with some complex carbs. We were on another airline about three weeks ago and sat on the runway for four hours and our flight was delayed 7 1/2 hours. I was so glad I had several snacks handy which I shared with my husband and another diabetic on board until they deplaned us and we were able to go to a restaurant and get something more stable. Always be prepared for the unexpected.:)

[Harleycat]

I am traveling with my elderly parents, and all of us are diabetic. I am not worried about special meals -just access to any food at all. My dad is very subject to low blood sugar episodes. I know I can't bring drinks, fruit and meat through international customs and security. Can I bring home made cookies, granola bars, carrot sticks, etc. through security and on to an airplane? We have one hour between flights - so no time to buy food in an airport. What kind of food is alright to take through American customs? Peanut butter sandwiches? Chocolate chip cookies? I can't count on Continental having meal sized snacks for my Dad. I know there will be lots of choice once we are on our ship.

 

Only one hour between flights? I would seriously rethink that. You are travelling with elderly people and have to go through customs. The slightest delay in departure will cause you to easily miss your connecting flight as you must be checked in and at your gate at least 30 minutes before your flight and at 15 minutes before, they start giving away seats to stand by passengers.

[wrp96]

Only one hour between flights? I would seriously rethink that. You are travelling with elderly people and have to go through customs. The slightest delay in departure will cause you to easily miss your connecting flight as you must be checked in and at your gate at least 30 minutes before your flight and at 15 minutes before, they start giving away seats to stand by passengers.

 

 

Actually the OP will go through US immigration before boarding their US bound flight in Canada. So they won't have to worry about that at their connection point.

[Harleycat]

Actually the OP will go through US immigration before boarding their US bound flight in Canada. So they won't have to worry about that at their connection point.

 

One hour is still a very tight connection. The slightest delay will cause them to miss their connecting flight.

[DavidPatrick]

A cracker has a Glycemic Rating of 91 where sugar in a drink only has a 61 G.R. I always carry a few crackers in plastic from a restaurant in by Passport case, even though they are sometimes ground to crumbs, they work much facter than drinking juice in getting my blood sugar back up. :)

[Smart 4-2]

Actually, Continental and our tour organizers treated us very well.

Weather delayed all planes at our connection hub - but we made it.

All of us diabetics were offered our "snack" early on flight #2 - my dad took the early offering - and had another one later. It was more like a light breakfast or lunch. I kept hard candies, glucose tablets, cookies and granola bars close by. The best trick on the cruise was to keep a supply of cookies from the Lido available in Mom & Dad's cabin for late night (after 8 p.m. !) snacks with their meds. (They would not do room service)

If I were booking my own flights I would never have allowed such a tight connection.

[uppitycats]

Actually, Continental and our tour organizers treated us very well.

Weather delayed all planes at our connection hub - but we made it.

All of us diabetics were offered our "snack" early on flight #2 - my dad took the early offering - and had another one later. It was more like a light breakfast or lunch. I kept hard candies, glucose tablets, cookies and granola bars close by. The best trick on the cruise was to keep a supply of cookies from the Lido available in Mom & Dad's cabin for late night (after 8 p.m. !) snacks with their meds. (They would not do room service)

If I were booking my own flights I would never have allowed such a tight connection.

 

 

I'm glad that worked out, and thanks for coming back and reporting. Just a question, about the room service: you said "They would not do room service". Your parents wouldn't do room service, or it wasn't available on the ship? I'm guessing your parents, but am not clear.

 

A lot of us oldsters are nervous about room service, of course, because on land, in land-based hotels where it's available, it's usually quite expensive, even with a limited menu, so we avoid it. Maybe they thought they'd be over-charged for it on the ship?

[Smart 4-2]

I'm glad that worked out, and thanks for coming back and reporting. Just a question, about the room service: you said "They would not do room service". Your parents wouldn't do room service, or it wasn't available on the ship? I'm guessing your parents, but am not clear.

 

A lot of us oldsters are nervous about room service, of course, because on land, in land-based hotels where it's available, it's usually quite expensive, even with a limited menu, so we avoid it. Maybe they thought they'd be over-charged for it on the ship?

 

You ae right, uppitycats, it was my parents who wouldn't do room service.

They hadn't tried it before, and when I suggested that a small tip might be appreciated it scared them off. They also probably didn't want to bother anyone - except me, and I am family and truly don't mind.

The real reason they wouldn't do room service might be timing - when dad needs a snack he needs it right now.