So, you’re done packing for the 6 hour flight leaving early tomorrow morning. Suddenly it hits you, you are going to get hungry on that flight. You can’t bear the thought of, once again, subsisting off of ginger ale and peanuts. The food options at the airport are over priced, over greased, and sometimes just plane (#typopun) disappointing.
We run into this issue all the time. Nothing seems ideal, and unlike other bourgeois frequent flier solutions, we fly economy, and rarely get bumped to business or first class (where the food is a little less stale). Solution? Ellie found Silicone Collapsible Lunch Boxes that, with a little bit of prep, are a great tool for eating healthy and cheap on long flights.
We have something similar to the Smart Planet EC-34 that sells on Amazon for about $15. It comes with its own spork-knife thing, and collapses down small to fit into your carry-on when you are done scarfing your face.
The biggest hurdle is trying to find good eats to put into it. I dislike making my own bag lunch (especially when I have to do it in the mornings before work) but I’ve found that our local co-op grocery store has a bunch of fresh pasta salads, sandwiches, and even sushi that will fit nicely into these dishes. Find something that doesn’t have to be refrigerated for long (give yourself about 4 hours between pulling it out of the fridge and opening it inflight). Having non-animal protein in there like beans or other legumes will help with this and will fill you up!
The only downside to all of this comes when you take a bite out of your tasty california roll and realize the guy next to you got the stale “cheese and meat” plate from the food cart. Be nice. Pack an extra roll. It’s good to make friends at 30,000 feet.
We will try and post some of our favorite recipes for inflight meals, but until then, does anyone have any good ideas?
A cold noodle dish with cucumber, shredded carrot, edamame, cabbage, hardboiled egg, cilantro and peanut sauce.