Foods and Meals for when you travel by Plane

Originally Published by The Kitchn

Packing a meal for the plane has become essential, but also more complicated, thanks to tighter security. What can we carry on the plane? Here are some answers — and fresh ideas (also for kids)

The TSA website states that you can carry on up to 3.4 ounces (100 ml) of the following liquid or gel-like foods:

Creamy dips and spreads (cheeses, peanut butter, etc.)
Jams
Salad dressing
Salsa
Soups
Wine, liquor and beer

Although plastic and butter knives are officially allowed and forks are not listed as prohibited items, it’s usually best to play it safe and bring foods that can be eaten with your hands or a plastic spoon. Having a delicious homemade meal in your carry-on and no utensils to eat it might be worse than no meal at all!

Here are a few general ideas for foods and snacks that fare well on a plane:

Dried fruit
Sandwiches on hearty bread
Grain salads
Veggie calzones
Granola bars
Celery and carrot sticks with about 3 ounces of hummus
Applesauce packs (3.4 ounces or smaller)
Nuts (some may not be permitted due to passengers with severe allergies)
Ploughman’s lunch (bread, cheese, cured meat, vegetable — skip the stinky cheeses, please!)

Homemade Meals You Can Carry on the Airplane

Nourishment often collapses as you step onto the jet bridge; food onboard is expensive and rarely worth eating, and airports offer their own torturous temptations of buttery Auntie Anne’s pretzels and overpriced beer. But a day spent in Air World doesn’t have to be an undernourished one. The New York Times offered some tips today for packing your own picnic for plane travel, and inspired by their ideas, here are a few specific recipes that will make it through security and onto the plane with you.

PASTA

Peppery Whole Wheat Pasta with Wilted Chard – Easy to warm up with that hot water method.
Lemony Pesto Pasta with Edamame & Almonds – Use smaller, bite-sized pasta.
Broccoli and Feta Pasta Salad – Feta is a firm cheese, and it is not a problem to leave it unrefrigerated in this salad for a few hours.

GRAIN SALADS & LENTILS

Winter Wheat Berry Salad with Figs and Red Onion – A yummy, filling salad.
Late Summer Lentil Salad – Lentils make a great on-the-go meal.
Warm Wheat Salad (Or, Reverse Tabbouleh) – Another simple meal — not too heavily spiced or flavored.
Barley Salad With Green Garlic and Snap Peas – A more lively grain salad. If you’re OK eating garlic on a flight, then go for it!

SANDWICHES

Chickpea of the Sea – A vegetarian answer to tuna fish sandwich. (Less smelly, too.)
Cuban Sandwich – A substantial lunch to get you through a whole day of travel.
Farmer’s Lunch Sandwich – This can be whipped up in a minute, and will nourish and satisfy.

VEGETABLES & BEANS

Chana Masala – This dish is fine at room temperature all day long, and it heats up well with the hot water method.
Lima Beans With Cumin-Mint Dressing – Fresh, tasty beans.
Potatoes, Green Beans, and Corn in Lemon Brown Butter Sauce – Don’t forget about potatoes! They make a great base for lunch, especially when they’re in a non-mayo dressing.
Caprese Sticks – Put a salad on a stick!
Veggies Stored In Dip – Use small, 3-ounce or less containers for your dip, or put smears of dip in sandwich baggies, and load up with cut veggies. Put everything inside a TSA-approved quart bag and munch away.

Good Food For International Travel

Here are some foods we are planning on packing:

Odwalla bars for sheer sustenance.
Clementines
Sunflower seeds
Celery sticks
Dressed, shredded cabbage
Empty water bottles, to be filled after the security checkpoint
Herbal teabags
Honey sticks: does anyone know if these can get through security?

Flying with Kids: What Snacks to Pack for the Plane

First, a few general guidelines:

If you’re flying with a cranky, crying child or one who’s still sitting on your lap (i.e. taking up a lot of room and kicking the chair in front of her), offer to buy your seatmates a cocktail or a snack pack. It fosters goodwill.
Pack a lot of options. I pack very, very light when it comes to gear and go heavy on snacks instead. (Trust me, kids prefer SkyMall to Goodnight Moon anyway.) Food is entertaining; don’t worry that you’re spoiling her lunch/dinner or letting her have too many granola bars. Also, if you get delayed, you’ll need extra.
I don’t want to get into a debate about TSA procedures here, but this is my two cents on bringing liquids for a child. I’ve carried on 60+ ounces of frozen breastmilk, bottles, sippy cups, you name it, and it’s never been a problem. Here’s what almost always happens: I forget it’s in the bag, then casually alert the agent just as it’s going through the security machine (“Oh, there’s a sippy cup for her in there!”). Sometimes it’s just water and yet they are always very nonchalant. They take it out, remove the top (or have me do it), wave a litmus strip over it, and I’m outta there. I’ve found that if I have a child strapped to me/walking with me, they are quick and understanding (and that’s LaGuardia, folks).

Babies to One Year:

Infants of course don’t need anything other than a breast or a bottle. Buy bottled water before you get on the plane if you need to mix formula (ask for a room temperature one that’s not in the cooler case).

Puffs or cereal. Easy to eat and fun to pick up one by one.
Pouches. These can be good for older kids, too.
Blueberries and clementines. They don’t stain as badly as strawberries or raspberries, they don’t get easily pulverized in a bag, and they’re easy to pick up/peel without a huge mess.
Cubed tofu. Also low-mess, healthy, and can stand to be room temperature.
Cubed, roasted sweet potatoes. See above.

One to Two Years:

All of the aforementioned, plus…
Plain pasta. No utensils required, not messy.
Sandwiches. Peanut butter & jelly (hey, they hand out peanuts on Delta flights, so…), turkey and cheese—easy to pack and fine at room temperature.
Granola bars or cereal bars.
Dried fruit. Mango strips, apricots, apple slices.
Edamame. Again, clean and easy.
Several special things they don’t get at home (but you know they’ll eat). Maybe that’s granola bars or a certain kind of chip. In my experience, food on a flight is as much distraction and entertainment as it is nourishment. If they eat it every day, it’s no fun, Mom. And you sometimes need a trick up your sleeve.

TIP: Pack things creatively. Put jelly beans or Goldfish in plastic easter eggs. Tie ribbons around things. Treating snacks like little presents can buy you extra time, especially during takeoff and landing when you can’t turn on Bubble Guppies.

Things to Avoid:

Bananas. I know, they’re a staple at home. But they can turn into a brown, slimy disaster in a carry-on bag, and if you don’t eat the whole thing at once, saving the leftovers is a nasty endeavor.
Avocado. Same deal. It’s mushy and messy.
Crumbly crackers. Things like Ritz or butter crackers that scatter massive crumbs every time your child takes a bite. One-bite things (Goldfish) are better.
Dips. Kids love hummus, but trying to balance the dip plus the cracker plus the cup of water the flight attendant just handed you plus the tray your kid keeps lifting and lowering…
Broccoli. I’ve made this mistake. My child loves broccoli, and it’s so easy to pack (not messy at all). But it stinks when you open it.

Of course, the options are endless depending on your child’s taste.

Whatever you pack, be considerate of your fellow passengers and don’t pack foods that have a strong odour.