Eating Right In Airplane – Healthy Airport Food

How To Eat Right When Traveling

Now that airlines are cutting costs it is even harder to eat right when in an airplane. My recent 36-hour round-trip business excursion from Pennsylvania to Arizona proved to be another challenge in the world of healthy eating.

It takes a long time to get to Arizona and a person can get pretty hungry during that time. One of the ways that I recommend to eat right on an airplane is to take as much food with you as possible.

Dry snacks, fruit and even a sandwich can keep for a long time when you plan ahead.

• Travel Tip: If you are going by plane or spending time at a convention tell them you have special needs. Like, tell them you are vegetarian or that you  must eat gluten free. By doing this (no extra charge) you now have 2 choices. Look at the real food choice then if it is not so good, say “I ordered a gluten free dinner”. It will always be special made for you and often a better choice. At conventions this works especially well as you can scope out everyone else’s food before owning your special meal.

• Airport Tip: I sometimes even make a sandwich the night before and put it in the freezer over night. Then just before heading to the airport pull it out and take it on the road. By lunch time, it is thawed and ready to eat.

Travel Food Choices

On this current trip I learned that you must eat your yogurt before going though security if it is larger than 3.5 ounces. I usually take something to eat in the early part of the trip like yogurt or cottage cheese. I can keep it in a cooler until the last minute of leaving my car. The yogurt will then keep for an hour or so and is a good meal early in the trip to get off to a good start.

The longer you can refrain from a purchased meal, the better you will make out long-term, so try to get through the first few meals on your own. Anyway, going through security in Harrisburg they took my yogurt. My other snacks and sandwiches actually got me all the way to Phoenix without purchasing a restaurant food item.

I was really glad of that because the airlines are charging for food now.

You can get a snack box for $14. It is about the size of a box of salt water taffy and includes a can of tuna (I guess you eat it out of the can), crackers, a container of applesauce (about 2 tablespoons), a jam and peanut butter packet, cookies and a microscopic package of pretzels.

I did not order one. Two businessmen behind me did and were afraid of the tuna. They also sold tuna sandwiches and a salad of some sort; all for $14 each. Next time you travel and your ticket says meal service don’t expect it for free!

It Is Hard To Eat Healthy At Airport

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After my meal observations on the way out to Phoenix, and having consumed all my personal food stashes, I had to resort to airport food on the return trip.

It is hard to eat healthy in an airport!

I decided to purchase something to take on the plane from Phoenix to Charlotte for my dinner, even though I had just come out of a business luncheon and was not hungry at the moment.

Strolling down the airport boulevard looking for healthy food choices: TCBY Yogurt, Cinnabon, Burger King, Starbucks, Tequila Bar….. hmm, what shall I have?

It is hard to eat healthy in an airport!

Looking at the tequila bar menu it looked like a glorified Taco Hell.

All the dishes were flour tortillas and I prefer to eat only whole grains….hmm, what shall I do? It is hard to eat healthy in an airport!

I chatted with a sociable server and asked some questions about the menu.

• Do you have any corn tortillas? Corn is always whole grain.
• Can I have beans instead of rice? White rice is refined carbs and has no real value to our bodies. Black beans are legumes and nutrient powerhouses.
• May I have chicken instead of beef? No sour cream please, and an extra salsa packet and I am off to my plane with two soft blue corn tortilla wraps and two little portions of black beans in a box. (Blue corn is never genetically modified!!)

Well, see you CAN eat healthy in an airport!!

• Airport Tip: You can often find Asian cuisine then with careful choosing get some relatively healthy veggies. (No sauce please!)

Meal Service On An Airplane

It is hard to eat healthy on an airplane. After we were in the air for awhile the food service started and my neighbors got a snack box and a Cobb salad (I think?!) My meal was no longer hot yet it was somewhat healthy and the best healthy choice I could find in an airport.

Life is about choices. Learning skill that assist you in making good food choices each day will make it easier to eat right on an airplane and every where else as well.  Do the best you can each day and it will pay off in the long run.

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