299330 Mon Nov 29 20:14:58 -0800 2004 27 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1657780 My new job has me traveling... a lot. So in an effort to avoid eating as much airline food as possible, does anyone have recommendations for food to take onto the plane? I've been packing salami (I love salami!), pepper jack cheese and crackers -- but would like to branch out a bit. Plus, crackers are kind of crumbly to eat in an airplane seat :-) Mon Nov 29 20:14:58 -0800 2004 0 No.19 1 1657782 I love to bring pre-sliced packs of smoked salmon (there are lots of 2 and 4 oz.sizes), smoked tofu, rye brn wafers, hummus(with a container of pre-sliced veggies for dipping; cucumber works well, and wedges of pita), and, if you have the options, I adore picking up a banh mi(or two) on the way to the airport.If you're in that locale, a wonderful burrito will suffice..You also might want to consider decanting a special(or not so special) wine into a juice or water bottle...;) Link: http://www.bistrodraw.com Mon Nov 29 20:26:57 -0800 2004 1657780 0 galleygirl 2 1657941 Oh, smoked salmon sounds good too! I always leave out of Oakland airport and live in Alameda, so a banh mi sounds yummy too. Burritos are too much food for me. Wed Dec 01 14:00:56 -0800 2004 1657782 0 No.19 1 1657784 I vote for banh mi too, especially if I'm flying someplace where I'm going to be missing Asian flavors (e.g., Europe). Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/20463#71104 Mon Nov 29 20:36:07 -0800 2004 1657780 0 Melanie Wong 2 1657942 A banh mi does sound good. Any recommendations for the Oakland Chinatown area. Luckily, I always fly out of Oakland (and live in Alameda) so that's close. And so far, only domestic travel! Although, believe me, I missed Bay Area food when I visited Leesville, LA :-) Wed Dec 01 14:02:11 -0800 2004 1657784 0 No.19 1 1657820 My nephew flies to both Asia and Europe once a month as well as between both coasts: he believes strongly in bringing his own food and bottled water on the plane (as well as wipees and waterless cleanser). As a result he says he has avoided any colds,coughs or airplane illnesses. He takes fruit, cut up vegetables and two sandwiches with meat and lettuce, no mayo, just some mustard. Also string cheese. Avoids salami because of the salt (and puffy feet). Tue Nov 30 02:10:41 -0800 2004 1657780 0 Zoe 2 1657825 If you're flying outside the U.S. you may want check that you can take meat on the flight. Flights from here in Bermuda to the U.S. and Canada do not allow meat even if it's to be consumed in-flight. Tue Nov 30 08:59:09 -0800 2004 1657820 0 Athena 3 1657943 Luckily, so far all my travel has been domestic so no problems with taking meat onboard. Wed Dec 01 14:03:04 -0800 2004 1657825 0 No.19 1 1657828 Hard boiled eggs. Nuts. Dried fruit. Individual packets of Milano cookies. Leftover (or planned) cold chicken. Tue Nov 30 10:11:49 -0800 2004 1657780 0 Dorothy 2 1657944 Thanks for the suggestion of hard-boiled eggs! I love 'em but probably wouldn't have thought to bring any along. Also nuts and dried fruit sound good too. I like dried dates and raisins. Wed Dec 01 14:04:34 -0800 2004 1657828 0 No.19 1 1657833 This is great - I face the very thing tomorrow - flying to Europe and I started to think - what will I take for munchies? Not wanting too much because I find if you eat light on the plane its easier to be hungry-ish when you arrive and get into the local meal times. I always order a fruit platter meal from the airline, which usually comes with a yoghurt and nuts or cheese and a couple of crackers. I take myself a pack of nuts and maybe a granola bar and then I buy a healthy sandwich to take for the meals that will be served on the plane, and of course a heouge bottle of water. I find this works and you can get more when you have to change planes (or not as the case may be). P.S. On a side note - try melatonin if you haven't already for jet lag - it's my new wonder remedy. Tue Nov 30 11:23:07 -0800 2004 1657780 0 naomi 2 1657873 Well, you need to start your european adventure off right! Get a nice crusty loaf of french bread, slit it down the side and stuff it full of brie cheese. Be generous! Feel free to cut into smaller pieces if you don't want to tear the bread on the plane. By the time you start noshing mid-flight, the brie will be nice and soft and well blended with the bread. Add some fruit [a crunchy persimmon tastes lovely with brie] and you're set. Tue Nov 30 17:19:17 -0800 2004 1657833 0 jenn 2 1657992 Good luck with your trip to Europe! Luckily, so far all my business travel has been within the U.S., and even better I don't suffer from jet lag (even when I went to Japan and Australia for vacation). Wed Dec 01 20:42:23 -0800 2004 1657833 0 No.19 1 1657836 Since you already like salami and it is a meat that holds well, I would recommend buying a nice thin baguette and making your own sandwiches at home. Mustard, salami, whatever cheese you like--then wrap in plastic wrap. I got some maple ham the other day that was great w/ gruyere. I like the nuts and dried fruit from Trader Joe's, or you can customize your own trail mix. I made my own tropical mix once and it was so much better than that pre-packaged stuff that's all dried out and may contain bits that you don't like. Cut up fruit or veggies in a tupperware is also good. This all takes a bit of planning, but if you make the time, you'll be a happy camper when everyone else is grumpy from hunger or eating their McD's. While I love banh mi, I can't imagine eating that on the plane for 2 reasons: a) it's only good w/ the pickled veggies that will surely smell when in a confined space and b) don't think it would be pleasant to eat that, take a nap, and wake up with banh mi breath. Tue Nov 30 12:12:03 -0800 2004 1657780 0 Carb Lover 2 1657838 It's certainly preferable to the stench of pre-prepared meat-like product being microwaved all around one...;) Link: http://www.bistrodraw.com Tue Nov 30 12:37:15 -0800 2004 1657836 0 galleygirl 2 1657993 Yes, making sandwiches with bread instead of just crackers might be better (less crumbly) route. And trail mix is an excellent suggestion! Wed Dec 01 20:44:43 -0800 2004 1657836 0 No.19 1 1657847 Foods I've brought with me to eat on planes: whole fruit (apples, bananas, oranges, grapefruit), baby carrots, celery sticks (all mentioned so far are filled with water that helps with any water retention on the plane), a few mini Baby Bel cheeses, pretzels, crackers, bagels, wrap sandwiches. Tue Nov 30 13:48:18 -0800 2004 1657780 0 synergy 2 1657856 I have mentioned before a sandwich that I make for travel. Take a baguette and split it leaving a hinge on one side, pull out the bread in the middle and put that in the food processor with some roasted garlic and fresh parsley and grind. Sprinkle that with a bit of salt and olive oil and blend. Spread the hollowed sides of the baguette with herbed goat cheese. Layer in like building, a sub, cheeses and meats, then some roasted red peppers, marinated artichoke hearts, tapanade and then top with the crumb mixture. Drizzle some of the marinade from the artichoke hearts over all and then close the sandwich. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate over night. The next AM slice it into chunks and wrap. This travels wonderfully, no mayo to go off, is full of good flavors and textures and is all around very satisifying and cetinly better than airline or airport food. Tue Nov 30 14:53:47 -0800 2004 1657847 0 Candy 3 1657863 "no mayo to go off"?? Sorry, but I just had to step in and defend poor maligned mayo. Mayo doesn't "go off", in fact commercially prepared mayo can inhibit bacteria growth. Plus, it's not mayo ladden sandwiches that can cause problems, its salads with ingredients that haven't been properly chilled. See http://www.doh.wa.gov/Topics/BarbecueFactSheet.htm - "Preparing Salads - While mayonnaise has been implicated as a cause of food poisoning, the real culprits in salads are the other ingredients (potatoes, eggs, pasta, tuna, etc.) that are often combined with mayo before being thoroughly chilled and then left at room temperature for several hours. Bacteria can be introduced and multiply while ingredients are warm. Thoroughly chill salad ingredients, including mayo, before combining. Even canned tuna needs to be pre-chilled, unless you will be eating it immediately after opening the can." Link: http://www.dressings-sauces.org/foodsafety_picnic.html Tue Nov 30 15:47:13 -0800 2004 1657856 0 Pssst 1 1657859 Air travel is my excuse to pick up a box of fried chicken strips. (Popeyes or KFC) Very filling and easy to eat. Naval oranges or clementines are very refreshing and minimally messy. Once we stopped at the Atlanta farmers market on the way to the airport to take our flight home. We bought boiled peanuts and juicy Georgia peaches. We gave peaches to the people sitting around us because it was too unfair to eat in front of them. Link: http://fylingfur.typepad.com Tue Nov 30 15:33:26 -0800 2004 1657780 0 Val Ann C 2 1657861 We have stopped at Grey Bros. Cafeteria on our way to the Indianapolis Airport, Grey's is quite famous in that part of the state, and picked up fried chicken dinners to go and carried along an insulated tote for that purpose. When our bag was x-rayed we got a funny look and had to open the bag to show what was in there, the bones were showing up in the x-ray. There was lots of sniffing when we settled down to our dinner and probably lots of people who were having to settle for a measly bag of pretzels until they got to Pittsburgh wishing they had doe what we had done Tue Nov 30 15:43:48 -0800 2004 1657859 0 Candy 1 1657875 Aside from sandwiches to sub for plane meals, if I am on a long overnight flight (say, nineteen hours JFK to Cape Town) I pack 'emergency nibbles' for when everyone around me is snoring, I'm trapped in a seat so small that if I was a hamster PETA would be protesting, and for no reason whatsoever I am RAVENOUSLY HUNGRY. I like a baked/microwaved potato quartered, spread with something delicious (cream cheese, sundried tomato spread) reassembled and wrapped in tinfoil, because it's quick to make, easy to eat with fingers and fills you without being heavy. I also always bring a little bit of chocolate, for sugar cravings (which always seem to be worse on a plane). Tue Nov 30 17:34:27 -0800 2004 1657780 0 kate 1 1657876 Should you worry about how long sandwiches etc will keep if you travel with them? I mean obviously not forever I know, though I have a small insulated food bag I still remain concerned about egg, tuna or meat for example and usually stay with the safe bets of cheese and veggies. Something a little more interesting would be great but I worry about risking it (I have been very ill on a plane returning from Indonesia once and I never want to repeat that experience!). Thank you! Tue Nov 30 17:34:59 -0800 2004 1657780 0 naomi 2 1657889 You could always use a frozen juice box wrapped in foil as an ice pack, and then have something good to drink, too. Lots of moms pack school lunches that way. Tue Nov 30 20:28:24 -0800 2004 1657876 0 LBQT 1 1657877 granola is always good, I'm vegan so I have to bring my own for long trips, which these days it's every trip because security takes hours to get through. So i will always pick up some apples, or other fruit that will not get damaged in my bag and will stay fresh for a while, you can find apples at a gas station in most places, or even in the airport. Cereals seem to work best for me when I can't get fresh fruit. I also will take avocodos, you would be amazed how good they are alone, or at least I think so. Clif Bars, or any of those kinds of bars are great too. My best friend, not veg, came from Mississippi, the hardest place to find something to eat for me, and she arrived with a huge bag of fruit, mostly grapes, she's pregnant and didn't want to eat the airline food. Tue Nov 30 17:58:53 -0800 2004 1657780 0 LoriB 1 1657900 As a person who doesn't like sandwiches, never have, and having been a child whose mother was forced to send her to school with hot foods in thermoses... if you're willing to tote a thermos, you can layer all sorts of a meal in there. Sometimes Mom would layer in turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, etc. Sometimes, chicken drumsticks from Gelsons and some rice at the bottom. A stack-up of leftover Chinese food. Soup goes in well too. Pasta salad is a good option as well, especially those that grow better with time to marinate, i.e. a really long flight :) Leftover pizza is good, albeit not healthy, but who cares? If you can stand them, there are some decent dried foods, like mashed potatoes or risotto mixes that require hot water and time to set up. Now that I think about it, the prepackaged oatmeal tubbies would be great since the flight attendents could surely supply you with hot water. You could even bring your own instant oatmeal in a tupperware container, and add dried fruits or whatever floats your boat and get the hot water midair. Wed Dec 01 03:21:29 -0800 2004 1657780 0 Emme 1 1657919 If you don't mind a little prep work, making rice or couscous salads are very satisfying and healthy, and you don't have to worry about keeping them cold. Veggie sushi salad: Cook up a batch of sticky rice and let cool. Put in tupperware or throwaway container. Add any of the following: sliced cucumber, seaweed strips if you have them, carrot, radish, pickled ginger, scallion, cubes of tofu, wasabi. Drizzle with soysauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. It's delicious. Couscous salad: Prepare couscous. (1/4 cup faw makes 1 cup, add 1/2 cup boiling water and let sit five minutes). Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and any of the following: chopped celery, cranberries, raisins, nuts, carrot, scallion, apple, parsley. Enjoy your travel job! I'm a little jealous. Wed Dec 01 11:13:16 -0800 2004 1657780 0 dillard 2 1658089 Oh, a couscous salad does sound good! Of course, now that I've posted this message topic, I realize that a lot of these tips are great from when I'm leaving from home -- but not practical from when I'm leaving from a hotel. Oh well :-) Re being jealous of my biz travel, uh, I'm traveling to places like Leesville, LA in order to visit Ft. Polk. The main attraction in Leesville turned out to the brand-new Super Wal-Mart... Thu Dec 02 21:04:38 -0800 2004 1657919 0 No.19