"30,000 Feet and Healthy?"
Airplane Dining Alternatives
Airplane Dining Alternatives
Bloated? Dehydrated? Uncomfortably full? You and me both!
10 years of international flights and I finally put a finger on my post-flight bad tummy pulse. Airline food!
Sure it might smell inviting. It may even be tasty. But remember those, "flavors", have been cooked, flash-frozen, vacuum-packed, sealed, and reheated for your delight. Imagine the amount of sugar pumped into that tiny bread roll to keep it fluffy…for months. Or the preservatives sprinkled throughout to keep the meal colorful…for weeks! Not to mention the mass amounts of salt injected to keep protein flavorful. Now consider shoveling all that food into your slightly comatose, unmoving body for the next 12-hours. You might be stuck in a flying tin can 30,000 feet above the earth but it's your stomach that really suffers.
10 years of international flights and I finally put a finger on my post-flight bad tummy pulse. Airline food!
Sure it might smell inviting. It may even be tasty. But remember those, "flavors", have been cooked, flash-frozen, vacuum-packed, sealed, and reheated for your delight. Imagine the amount of sugar pumped into that tiny bread roll to keep it fluffy…for months. Or the preservatives sprinkled throughout to keep the meal colorful…for weeks! Not to mention the mass amounts of salt injected to keep protein flavorful. Now consider shoveling all that food into your slightly comatose, unmoving body for the next 12-hours. You might be stuck in a flying tin can 30,000 feet above the earth but it's your stomach that really suffers.
Let's look at the facts:
1. On average, airline meals account for 950 calories of your daily intake - almost half the daily average (CNN Travel). Not to mention the 50 grams of fat, half of which is saturated, settling into your already sedentary body. 2. At 30,000 feet, the change in cabin air pressure and humidity reduce our sense of smell and taste by nearly 1/3 - making otherwise "normal" food tasteless. To compensate, airlines increase sugar, salt and spice contents to make meals more appealing. 3. Meals must be precooked and frozen to prevent spoiling. In order to stabilize food properties, preservatives and hydrogenated oils (trans fats) are added. |
Don't get me wrong, I am the last person who should preach healthy eating (or a reduced sodium lifestyle) but since airplane food has NEVER ended well for me (over 50 international flights), I decided to challenge my planning, packing and previous in-flight service loyalties. I will avoid the lofty TV dinners and prepare a healthy, travel friendly dinner and breakfast for my next flight.
Who is the lucky carrier? They may have some of the friendliest attendants in the sky, but their cooks could use some new recipes. Now boarding…
Air Pacific.
I devised a meal plan contingent on transferability and preservation (no refrigeration) so when the dinner cart stopped at seat 15 K, I was ready for the sky-high showdown!
Who is the lucky carrier? They may have some of the friendliest attendants in the sky, but their cooks could use some new recipes. Now boarding…
Air Pacific.
I devised a meal plan contingent on transferability and preservation (no refrigeration) so when the dinner cart stopped at seat 15 K, I was ready for the sky-high showdown!
Air Pacific Dinner: Chicken Breast in a Sweet 'n' Sour Gravy with Mashed Potatoes, Carrots, Green Beans and a Bread Roll. Dessert resembled a coconut cream cake and for an additional snack, a small package of cheese and crackers were provided.
Peeling off the steamy hot aluminum seal, the chicken immediately made my tummy curl. Reminded of so many sub-par, in-flight, chicken dishes, I struggled to lift a knife to it. Cutting into the rubbery protein I serached for the perfect bite but when I chewed down, only gristle returned my effort. Yuck! Moving on, the mashed spuds and greens looked slighty more palatable, but like any veggies in the microwave, they came out mushy and processed. As for the bread roll, I've had too many in my day to warrant trying another. And the dessert, dry cardboard with a sweeter then sweet icing. One bite and even this dessert-a-holic said, "No". |
My Dinner: Home made Hummus with Veggie Sticks, Whole Grain Pita Chips, Cheese and Apples.
Simple to prepare, easy to transfer and so long as you're traveling through air-conditioned terminals, hummus will remain safe to eat for the entire day. Raw veggies and whole grain pitas compliment the hummus perfectly. The pitas provide a healthy, "filling", agent while the raw veggies give your body slow energy to burn for the duration of the flight. Imagine burning healthy roughage by simply laughing alongside Will Ferrell during the in-flight movie. You'd have to laugh a hell of a long time to burn even a bite of that buttered bread roll. After the veggies, I pulled out a crisp green apple. Biting into it's juicy flesh, I noticed the one item on the in-flight food tray I would consider consuming. Cheese. Opening the packet, I enjoyed one bite of apple to one bite of cheese. A match made in heaven elevated further by a few glasses of robust red wine. Eating much slower then the hot meal service would allow, I savored every bite of my packed dinner. Natural, raw and MSG-free. |
Sleeping for a few pleasant hours, I awoke to the trolley once again clanking through the cabin. Breakfast time.
Air Pacific Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Chicken Sausage, Hash Brown, Fruit, and that ever present, dreaded, Bread Roll. Forking around in the hot meal, I couldn't bring myself to try the plasticized eggs or hash browns. I did, however, slice off a small piece of the E.T. finger looking sausage. This was chicken? All I could taste was salt. I passed, once again, on the bread roll, and instead focused my efforts on the fruit. Although flash frozen, it did offer a refreshing snack. |
My Breakfast: One fresh orange and a home-made granola bar.
Peeling the orange, sweet juices abounded making the cartoned airline orange juice (i.e. sugar juice) taste toxic. After my Vitamin C fix, I dove back into my Marry Poppins come Rachael Ray purse and pulled out my homemade granola bar. Now anyone can buy granola bars but have you ever read the nutritional contents? If bars aren't high in fat, they're high in carbs. If they're high in fiber, they're packed with sugar. The only way to truly know what's being consumed is by making the bars yourself. I also find, after preparing something yourself, you savor bites that much more. Instead of inhaling dried, flavorless oats, I slowly indulged in my fiber rich, low fat granola bar. The only element my breakfast was missing was a cup of coffee. However, after long flights, coffee is the last thing I want to put in my tumultuous tummy. Attendants also offer tea, usually of the black variety, but rarely of a herbal nature. I brought a few bags of Peppermint Tea and asked for a mug of hot water. This natural calming tea helped further settle my tummy for landing. |
It is now exactly 20 minutes after my LAX arrival and I feel good. Okay, not great. My belly is still slightly bloated due to lack of movement but nowhere near the malnourished child belly plaguing most of my international arrivals. As for the fat, lethargic feeling also accompanying my arrivals, only a healthy energy exists. I'm ready for a walk or run, not bed and laxative.
In conclusion, healthy eating has made me feel better. Not 100%, let's a run a marathon great, but I'll take 50% less bloating and energy to the alternative! I can't promise avoiding those aluminum dinner devils forever, but I'll relish the rarity for now.
NOTE: Probably goes without saying, but when disembarking your international flight, be sure all homemade and raw snacks have either been consumed or thrown away. If you're not sure as to the countries specifications, declare the items lest you receive a massive, "Welcome", fine.
See the following blog, "Fit-in-Flight Meals", for my top 10 meal alternatives.
In conclusion, healthy eating has made me feel better. Not 100%, let's a run a marathon great, but I'll take 50% less bloating and energy to the alternative! I can't promise avoiding those aluminum dinner devils forever, but I'll relish the rarity for now.
NOTE: Probably goes without saying, but when disembarking your international flight, be sure all homemade and raw snacks have either been consumed or thrown away. If you're not sure as to the countries specifications, declare the items lest you receive a massive, "Welcome", fine.
See the following blog, "Fit-in-Flight Meals", for my top 10 meal alternatives.