Food for long plane ride

[jdtofbna]

No need to point out how bad airplane food is. We're taking a day flight to London and would love suggestions for taking our own sustenance. In the past I've done bean salad loaded with veggies, cheese sandwiches, hummous on pita, fruit. Need suggestions for food that can safely be at room temp 6-8 hours and won't tip the scales before we even get started with our vacation!

[Holly Moore]

Anything that smells really good and makes your fellow passengers wish they had the foresight to pack their meals too. I find an Italian Hoagie from Sarcones in Philadelphia does the trick quite nicely.

[Jason Perlow]

Take a big hollowed out loaf of crusty bread, fill it with various slices of salami, ham, turkey, roast beef, lettuce, tomato and onion, cheese, roasted peppers, dress with olive oil, salt and pepper, vinegar. Wrap it up in butcher paper and put a really heavy weight on it, like a pile of cast iron pans for a few hours in the fridge. It will get compressed and you'll have a dense, portable sangweech like no other:

The Biggest Sandwich You've Ever Made

Edited July 14, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[highchef]

Well, I don't particulary like strong smells on airplanes, but I make an exception for food...er...good food. No eggs, though, or stinky cheese. I'll grab sandwiches in the airport before boarding. even a starbucks panninni fares better than that weird chicken they serve. I also like to grab an extra water and a fruit bowl. I buy the stuff at the airport even if I'm flying out, it beats lugging the food through security. they actually have the kind of small meal stuff I like and it's fresher in the end because it hasn't been off ice for a couple of hours. just remember to bring water, that is sooo important on long flights.

[jdtofbna]

Thanks everyone for those suggestions. Most of the weight in my carry-on bag comes from bottles of water. no chance of getting enough of that on a long trip. I'll have to make my own grub because we leave Nashville at 6 a.m. and have a very short connection through Washington. Beats the heck out of spending the night on the plane, though. I like that smashed build-your-own stuffed sandwich idea, maybe try to use whole grain baguette and go heavy on veggies and light on the meat.

[FoodMuse]

I like to fill a ziploc bag with cooked edamame in the pod, it's still good at room temperature. Don't forget to salt it.

[deensiebat]

kumquats are a nice self-contained travel snack (plus keep you from getting scurvy).

[mizducky]

You might get a lot of inspiration from Japanese bento boxes--there's a huge thread on them here on eGullet (some of them are admittedly meant for kids, but there's plenty of adult bento stylings too). These lunches were traditionally meant to do just fine without refrigeration, and are guaranteed to make your fellow passengers green with envy.

Other than that ... I'm a big one for taking a bunch of durable fruit and veggies. Apples and oranges, celery sticks, those "baby" carrots, some dried fruit (within reason--tanking on dried fruit can be a big calorie hit), etc. A long flight can be made more tolerable with a bunch of little snacks to break it up.

[kiliki]

I often swing by a Vietnamese take out place on my way to the airport (which, I understand, you may or may not have on the way to YOUR airport). Bahn Mi, rice noodle salad bowls and fresh spring rolls do just fine with no refrigeration (heck, the places I go generally keep these things right on their counter), they're healthy, and they don't suffer much if crammed into a carry on and taken out later.

[jdtofbna]

I often swing by a Vietnamese take out place on my way to the airport (which, I understand, you may or may not have on the way to YOUR airport).

Not at 6:00 in the morning! (or actually 4:30, since our flight leaves at 6) But we do actually have some Vietnames restaurants here.

[johnsmith45678]

Durian.

[jdtofbna]

Durian.

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Yeah, right. That'll get us chucked off the plane for sure---somewhere over Greenland, I'm thinking

[johnsmith45678]

Durian.

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Yeah, right. That'll get us chucked off the plane for sure---somewhere over Greenland, I'm thinking

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The outer shell(?) probably wouldn't even make it past security.

[jsolomon]

M&M's and peanuts.

Perhaps a couple of thermoses of hot chocolate if your flight is a meat locker like my last flight was. I swear it was below 60 in that cabin.

ON THE WAY BACK FROM HAWAII! WTF???

[highchef]

My problem w/international flights is they always leave from Houston or N.O., and it's 3 hours for us either way and always a really early a.m. drive. With the 5 of us there's little room for an extra icechest so I'm stuck buying at the airport. That said, I really think the above sandwich idea is superb and will remember it for future reference.

I do bring 'trail' mix...as long as it has m@m's in it. It's for the kids, really....all 5 bags of it.

I've not flown a day flight to London yet, bet you get a lot better service than the night flight when everything shuts down. I guess it's where you start from. Have a wonderful trip!

Patty

[Carolyn Tillie]

Thanks everyone for those suggestions.  Most of the weight in my carry-on bag comes from bottles of water. no chance of getting enough of that on a long trip. I'll have to make my own grub because we leave Nashville at 6 a.m. and have a very short connection through Washington.  Beats the heck out of spending the night on the plane, though.   I like that smashed build-your-own stuffed sandwich idea, maybe try to use whole grain baguette and go heavy on veggies and light on the meat.

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The classic Muffaletta sandwich is smashed with roasted eggplant, bell peppers, portabello mushrooms, fresh basil, olive tapenade (or just oil & vinegar), tomatoes, mozzarella, and salami. Lots of veggies and relatively light on the meat. I buy smaller boules of sourdough, slice off the top, scoop out the interior and line with said-ingredients. Then slice into quarters... it was my standard Hollywood Bowl fare and travels well.

[jdtofbna]

Hope you don't mind my bumping this topic up again. I'm leaving for England in 3 weeks and still planning on doing a muffaletta-type sandwich for the long plane ride, along with some fruit and baby carrots. With the new security measures, as long as I don't take anything liquid or stuff like condiments in little packages, do you think security will object to the food? Anyone traveled with food in the past couple of weeks?

Thanks

[lancastermike]

Hope you don't mind my bumping this topic up again.  I'm leaving for England in 3 weeks and still planning on doing a muffaletta-type sandwich for the long plane ride, along with some fruit and baby carrots.  With the new security measures, as long as I don't take anything liquid or stuff like condiments in little packages, do you think security will object to the food?  Anyone traveled with food in the past couple of weeks?

Thanks

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Two weeks ago we came back from San Diego on the second day of the new rules. I had a pack of fig newtons in my bag. I got pulled out of line for a total bag search because of them. They let me keep them after they tested negative for explosives. International flights are even tougher. Good luck with the sandwich.

[prasantrin]

Two weeks ago we came back from San Diego on the second day of the new rules. I had a pack of fig newtons in my bag.  I got pulled out of line for a total bag search because of them.  They let me keep them after they tested negative for explosives. International flights are even tougher.  Good luck with the sandwich.

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They may have relaxed a teeny bit since then.

Four days I go I flew from Sacramento to Winnipeg (Canada) via Chicago. Up to Chicago, I had cookies (both filled and unfilled--commercially-made), fried pig ear strips and chocolates (homemade, both filled and unfilled) and had no problem going through Sacramento security. In Chicago I added some left-over pizza to my carry-on, but got rid of the fried pig ear strips, and got through OK there, too. I didn't have to go through security there, though, just the pre-boarding security (which was, I thought, incredibly lax--they don't even check ID!).

[jdtofbna]

hmmmmm, that Fig Newton story makes me nervous. Heaven only knows what they might think I have tucked away in a filled baguette! We may just tough it out, take what they give us and be even more grateful for nice meals once we get overseas.

[cathrynapple]

i just flew through to the states from suoth africa via london. they'll probably just look at your food to see if it's ok. condiments may be iffy. the worst thing that can happen is your mayo being thrown out.

[Pontormo]

It's a shame that you can't carry on products like Rapid Ice or plastic blocks filled with gel that you stick in your freezer. Not only are they great for the flight, but an insulated zipped lunch bag, plastic container, etc. come in handy for picnics.

Asian peanut noodles keep fairly well.

I once brought a sandwich with roasted peppers, hummus and sunflower sprouts on a flight and sat next to someone who had never heard of hummus. Careful, though, hummus might be considered a secuirty threat nowadays. Cold cuts or slices from a roast or bird would be less alarming.

Otherwise, I prefer the type of finger foods that go well with novels. Cherries at this time of year, grapes or clementines in the winter. White cheddar cheese puffs. Strips of colored peppers. Round and pear-shaped cherry tomatoes. Excellent dark chocolate. Coconut macaroons. Unsalted, roasted pistachios. Dried apricots.

Does anyone know if fruit raises concerns these days? Of course you'd have to eat it before you reach your destination and discard the pits onboard. Given high liquid content, you might have to check with the airline first to make sure it's permitted.

Edited August 21, 2006 by Pontormo (log)

[jdtofbna]

Might leave the hummus off, --or just not spread it too thick--good point there.

I think fruit is ok going over but not coming back into the States, unless it's dried. That's been a rule for as long as I can remember. Of course, as you said, if you eat it before you reach your destination it's no problem. There will definitely be some fruit in my bag, some roasted nuts and a little something sweet.

Thanks so much for all the great suggestions!

[Andrew Fenton]

On my last few flights to Europe I cleverly brought a great big pastrami sandwich with me. It's tasty and easy to eat in a confined space. But the other advantage was that that massive blast of fat and protein put me right to sleep...