The following is a set of answers to one person's questions about traveling and staying on the SCD, as well as travel tips from a guy who rode 5,300 miles on his motorcycle while on the SCD.

Q: I'm going on travel next week and am wondering how to deal with the yogurt. I fly to Jackson, MS on Monday, drive to Natchez, work all day, and then check in to the hotel. I'm there for 2 nights, in Vicksburg for 2 nights, back in Jackson for 1 night, and fly home. All the hotels have a fridge and microwave, but I'll be checking out in the mornings and not checking into the next one until evening. Will the yogurt be okay in a portable cooler with ice for the flight down and for the in-between times? Will it last the week?

As far as the rest of the food, I will have muffins, fruit, carrots, peanut butter, boiled eggs (how long do they last?), Rochel's almond crackers, cheese, tea bags, and fruit leather. Any other suggestions for portable food?

I travel quite a bit for my job, and usually in less ideal conditions than this. This is my first trip since starting the SCD, so I figure the ease of it is a good way to transition into future trips. By June, I need to be able to travel around Utah, Arizona, and Nevada in the summer sun, with possibly no fridges or microwaves in the hotels, and certainly none on the 2-day trek through the Grand Canyon. If anyone has any brilliant ideas about how to handle that trip, I'd be all ears.

By the way, relating to a previous thread, I stopped taking Asacol about a week ago and have seen a dramatic improvement in my bowel pattern since then. I'm down to 2-3 per day, and the D is well on its way to being a > thing of the past. This is amazing to me, since the last time I can remember being D-free is in my previous life as a cat. No trophies yet, but I'm hopeful.

Another thought, relating to the thread of a couple of days ago, I have been getting exactly the same amount of sympathy and compassion since being on the SCD as before. Especially as regards chocolate. Major sympathy there. "Oh, you poor thing. You can't have chocolate???!!!!!!" Everybody thinks I'm so strong, but I've never been such a big fan of chocolate anyway. And like most of you, I think, the longer I'm on the diet, the less I crave the bad stuff.

That's all. I appreciate everyone's support, even if I am mostly a lurker. And MidasGold, your waffles are heavenly. I made extra and froze them to use like Eggos (only better, of course) for breakfast. Yummy with Rochel's jam.

Samantha
CD 8-1/2 years, SCD 65 days, no meds (yay!)

A: Learn to live on less perishable and/or more "readily-available" items. Examples include: raisins, nuts, cooked or raw vegetables, etc. Bring snacks with you if you think you may get hungry before the next SCD-legal meal can be found. I find that most "Caesar salads" (even with the artificial dressing) are acceptable. - Mike

A: My husband and I will be going to Lakemont, New York this weekend to entertain a job application and we will be staying in a hotel with our children. I hope to bring along my skillet and a hot pot. I will bring a cooler with icepacks and in it I will bring yogurt, eggs, bacon, maybe some frozen meat with mushrooms and I may pre-cook some things before I go and heat them up when I get there. Just some ideas for you. Good luck. - Charlene

A: Go to *good* restaurants that serve *real food*. That's all I can suggest. If you can get to a supermarket, you could get some cheese and nuts, if they have *fresh* nuts, and they would keep for a short time in a cool hotel room. Christopher has traveled with a small pressure cooker - again, if you could get to a supermarket really easily, you could make yourself a dinner, but it's a lot of trouble to go through for something you can't keep if you don't eat the whole meal. Maybe a slow cooker would be better, as you might be able to make something over night for brekkie, and leave it cooking until evening... I *think* this would be safe....

I hadn't thought about it, but I, too, get major sympathy for being deprived of bagels, pasta, chocolate, etc. I *was* a major chocolate fan before the diet, but very rarely indulged in it pre-SCD because I felt it was major fattening :-). And you're right. The longer one is on the diet, the less appealing all those illegals seem... Take care, - Deborah and Max, SCD Poster Dog

A: Here's what my mom would do for our long car journeys back in India. She always froze the yogurt. By the time we were ready for a lunch picnic it was softened to an ice-creamy texture - absolutely delicious! You may even place semi-frozen yogurt directly into a 'Thermos' or 'Nissan' flask. I say semi-frozen because then it's easier to scoop out and transfer into the flask. It looks crystally when frozen, but that's probably just the whey. If you do decide to try the flask method, DO NOT leave in the fridge with the flask lid screwed on. Always transfer out the contents from the flask into another container and then either place it again in the freezer section or the fridge as you prefer. I personally do not travel without my Nissan flasks. They are such a boon! Bon Voyage! - Suneeti

A: To Samantha from Elaine:
You said By the way, relating to a previous thread, I stopped taking Asacol about a week ago and have seen a dramatic improvement in my bowel pattern since then. I'm down to 2-3 per day, and the D is well on its way to being a thing of the past. This is amazing to me, since the last time I can remember being D-free is in my previous life as a cat. No trophies yet, Your above quote has been stated any number of times about getting off the 5-amino salicylic acid (Asacol) and the D stopping. Aint modern medicine wonderful!!!! I'll let others who travel give you some tips but you sound like you will do OK. Love, Elaine

A: The following letter was sent by one of our list members. It is a good example of how the SCD can be managed under most circumstances.

Hi everyone,

I made it back from my 2 week trip out west on a motorcycle (5300 miles total). First, I want to thank everyone who offered to supply me yogurt on the road. I ended up buying the probiotic from Lucy (thanks for the overnight delivery Lucy) and never used the yogurt.

Besides a very enjoyable vacation, the good news is I did not have any health problems the whole time! Here are ways I dealt with eating:

• Brought my own salad dressing in one of those bottles with level markings for oil and vinegar so I could make more as needed.
• Brought muffins and pre-measured ziplok bags of flour/baking soda and container of honey for making muffins at campsite with fold up camp oven (bought eggs/butter when needed). Muffins would keep for several days.
• Brought and bought (along the way) nuts and raisins.
• Bought bananas/apples/cheese along way.
• Ordered fried eggs at most diners and fresh vegetables (onions/peppers/tomatoes/no milk/fresh eggs) omelets at small town owner operated diners off beaten path where I could be sure nothing illegal was used. BTW, people were great all across the country and I had no problem getting things prepared right. One owner said she grew the tomatoes and peppers herself!
• Occasionally ordered plain hamburg/steak/chicken breast and fresh cooked plain veggies if available.
• Ordered fresh salads and used my own dressing.
• Drank only bottled water and weak coffee.

A year ago and for a lot of years before that I could not have done this without UC problems. For those of you just starting the SCD, stick with it. It really does work. Some of us have to be patient while our bodies heal (I think especially with UC), but it does keep getting better.

Steve
UC 20+ years
SCD since December 1999
No meds