Hi everyone!

Right now, I am floating in the air above the pacific ocean en route to Australia. However, I wanted to share some ideas and thoughts about feeding myself on the flight. I’ve never done this length of travel before, so we’ll see how it goes, but here are my ideas as they stand.

What I hope it will be like!

One of the things I’m most concerned about is food on the 30 hours of travel we will be doing in the next few days. I’ve done a lot of planning, however, and want to share what I’m bringing, in case other people are concerned, as well as pass along some suggestions. Even though I requested gluten-free meals, and hope to eat and enjoy them, I’m choosing not to rely on them, in case they are

1. Nasty
2. They forget to pack it (happens far too often)
3. Sugary

So, I’m bringing 1000 tons of my own snacks and food, including:

• A red pepper
• 3 macoun apples
• A cucumber
• Mary’s Gone Crackers brand pretzel sticks
• 3 almond butter individual squeeze packets
• 1 package of rice cakes
• 2 packages of 1 oz almonds
• a vegetarian sushi roll for dinner
• edamame for dinner

While this certainly seems like a lot of food, this is “in case of emergency and there is absolutely nothing I can eat.” I have a feeling it won’t get finished, (I hope!) But I want to be prepared just in case. Here are some parameters and helpful hits that helped me plan what to eat.

1) Have variety. Originally, I was just planning on rice cakes and almond butter, but realized that if that is all I would eat for for 30 hours, I’d probably go insane, and might end up eating less healthy choices than I’d like. So, I brought fruits and veggies that are hardy and don’t need to be refrigerated, as well as healthy snacks that would satisfy the nibble craving.

2) Do single serving portions. I don’t know about you, but when I’m stuck in a chair with nothing to do for hours, I tend to be a bit hungrier, or at least a bit more nibbly. So, to protect myself from myself, I’m dividing the mary’s gone crackers into single servings, and stole from a previous flight bought single servings of almonds, as well as bought single serves of almond butter. This not only prevents mindless nibbling, but also, waste.

3) Try to plan out your “meals” before the flight. While I know my body will be totally insane in terms of food and timing on this flight, I still want to take as good care of myself as I can, which means giving myself some kind of schedule, no matter how loose. So, I’m bringing a yummy, light dinner for the plane (a vegetarian sushi roll and edamame) and am planning on making a “salad” of cucumber, red pepper, and almonds for a meal later. “Breakfast” will be two rice cakes, almond butter, and an apple. You get the idea – do what you can to make yourself comfortable.

4) Accept that the food may not look exactly as you want it to, but that it’s time boxed. In general, I avoid mindless eating and noshing as it doesn’t make me feel good. However, I know that a 30 hour plane ride is a strange thing, and that knowing if I’m truly hungry or just bored will be more challenging than usual. So, I’m in acceptance that my food won’t look “perfect” but will still be healthy and moderate.

I hope this is helpful, and would love your thoughts!

Question of the day: How do you eat when you travel? Do you pre-pack, or just eat what’s at the airport?