filling foods that do ok unrefrigerated. for the plane.

January 18, 2018 12:59 PM

What do you like to bring on planes for LONG flights that is non-smelly, tastes good cold/room temp, and is safe to eat after 10-11 hours unrefrigerated? I'm taking the family on a transatlantic flight that doesn't serve food. Need four dinners, four breakfasts, X# of bored snacks. Complication: no ham.

I can think of several snacky things but I'd love to have something more substantial.

Snacky: nuts, cheese sticks, fruit, hard boiled eggs... Greek yogurts probably ok 10 hours unrefrigerated? Maybe?

But what can I pack that will feel like a meal? I thought of a brie and apple wrap. I bet something cured like prosciutto would be fine, but we don't eat pork. Regular lunch meat like cold turkey would be bad in this unrefrigerated scenario, right? I want something with plenty of protein. The kids will eat pb&js, but those just leave me hungry, and I generally don't eat bread if I can avoid it.

The ideal thing would be, like, chicken salad, but how long would you carry that around unrefrigerated? Not that long, right?

posted by fingersandtoes to Food & Drink (49 answers total)

Maybe look at MREs? Stuff for camping?

Do they really not even sell food on the flight? I'd just budget that into my trip, if they do. I've done the 'haul food on a plane' thing and it SUCKS.
posted by cooker girl at 1:10 PM on January 18, 2018 [5 favorites]

You're gonna laugh, but I bring backpacking meals like this on my trips.

You can use cold water, but hot water is often not hard to find - the stewards can make it. Use a spoon, eat right out of the bag. But they're lightweight, reasonably tasty, and not terribly expensive, and very convenient.

You can also get the multi-serving bin and use tupperware or some such containers for the kids. I always just get the single serving bags, though.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 1:10 PM on January 18, 2018 [6 favorites]

There are lots of jerked and smoked meats that might work, especially if you look beyond traditional beef (salmon! turkey!). Eaten with some soft cheese and fruit, that might be more filling.

They make spelt tortillas for wraps if you're avoiding gluten and not carbs in general.

Instead of using mayo as the dressing for chicken salad, you can also use oil and vinegar dressings (think italian pasta salad), which are fine at room temp.

On a side note, you can also get little refreezable ice packs to stick in your food tote, or freeze a sponge and stick it in a plastic bag. If you get one of those insulated bag things will stay reasonably cold for a long time. I'm not sure what TSA regs are on ice packs, but it's probably worth a shot.
posted by ananci at 1:11 PM on January 18, 2018 [3 favorites]

I've traveled with a homemade version of "pad Thai" that was relatively shelf-stable. I didn't put any meat in it, so it was fairly well just the peanut sauce, noodles, sugar snap peas, carrots, lime juice, etc. I used spaghetti squash for the noodles and threw in edamame for some protein.

I used Mel Joulwan's Paleo Pad Thai as a jumping off point.
posted by LOLAttorney2009 at 1:12 PM on January 18, 2018 [3 favorites]

Cold pizza is always good.
posted by monologish at 1:14 PM on January 18, 2018 [11 favorites]

Our standard fare is: Applesauce pouches, yogurt pouches. A box of those 6-packs of crackers with peanut butter / cheese crackers with peanut butter / crackers with processed cheese food product. A can of Pringles. For the adults, those tuna salad kits with either canned tuna salad and crackers, or tuna/mayo/relish and crackers. (I haven't found them to be excessively stinky, certainly not Microwaving Fish In The Office level stinky). Some bananas and clementine oranges (don't bring more than you can eat on the plane). PB&J for the kids. Your brie and apple wrap sounds delicious, actually; though I'd probably eat it earlier in the flight rather than just as you arrive.

My husband is fond of beef jerky, and a bag of it is his personal treat on transpacific flights. I recently spotted these 3 proteins packs at Target, which are overpriced but might travel well.
posted by telepanda at 1:15 PM on January 18, 2018 [7 favorites]

There are a variety of canned/packaged tuna products, but those can get smelly. Beef jerky is an option; it's not hard to make if you want to cut the cost. On the carb-heavy side, there are tons of instant noodles and the like (here's a high end homemade version) - you should be able to get hot water. If you don't have medical reasons, being able to eat in a difficult situation like a long flight isn't a bad reason to cheat on your normal diet.

Really, though, the easiest place to safely carry food is in your stomach; depending on schedules, arriving at the airport early and eating a big dinner shortly before boarding, then planning on getting breakfast as the first order of business at your destination (potentially before leaving the airport if needed) would bump you down to only needing substantial snacks. And I'm sure the plane will have food for sale as a backup.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 1:15 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

If you get can get hot water (ie for tea), you can do instant oatmeal pretty decently. Grab some packets of Quaker Oats and something to use for a bowl, or some of those prepared cups.
posted by cgg at 1:15 PM on January 18, 2018 [2 favorites]

ananci - "I'm not sure what TSA regs are on ice packs, but it's probably worth a shot."

I took a ham on a cross country flight over xmas. Their stance is that as long as it's still frozen when you go thru security, ice packs are fine. If they're thawed though, then it's liquid and they will confiscate them. So I brought ice packs and also an empty ziplock bag, just in case they took the ice packs, then I could've gone to a restaurant and asked for some ice to put in the ziplock bag as a back up.
posted by Grither at 1:17 PM on January 18, 2018 [5 favorites]

Bagels prepared (sandwich style) with cream cheese and jelly, or just jelly.
posted by SemiSalt at 1:22 PM on January 18, 2018 [3 favorites]

I usually do some version of the Starbucks protein boxes- cheddar/string cheese /etc, smoked almonds, fruit, crackers. I hate sandwiches and wraps so other things that work for me are cold grain salads (like tabouleh). That may help guide some google searches.
posted by raccoon409 at 1:23 PM on January 18, 2018 [3 favorites]

I obviously don't know what flight you're on, or your family, but US >> Europe bound flights are usually during the night, so there's a good chance you'll all want to get any sleep you can anyway - I would just take a whole lot of snacks in that case. The reverse journey might be more problematic, in which case you're going to need non-US suggestions.
posted by ryanbryan at 1:23 PM on January 18, 2018

You can round out your list of "snacks" in to a pretty respectable charcuterie board - that's my go-to travel food when I have to bring it with me. Basically any but the softest of cheeses will last ages unrefrigerated; add some grapes or apricots, a bit of honey and mustard, spiced or candied nuts, and some crackers and that's a meal for me. Actually, I'd go even a step farther and bring along some pickles (if you can get them through security) and olives. If you want something like a non-pork prosciutto, look for bresaola or even some beef snack sticks like Slim Jims.

When we travel overnight together, my wife will usually bake high-protein muffins for breakfast. She usually puts things like peanut butter, nuts, and banana in them, and they'll last a few days at room temperature.
posted by backseatpilot at 1:23 PM on January 18, 2018 [3 favorites]

I find it hard to believe that there's a transatlantic flight that doesn't at least SELL food, because that would be a very dumb business decision. So maybe double check that. And I'm not sure about your refrigeration schedule-- why does the meat need to last 11 hours, when you could just eat it for your first meal? You're switching time zones anyway so it doesn't really matter when you eat what. Anyway, there are plenty of hearty vegetarian meals that don't require any refrigeration. Such as a pasta salad with lots of veggies or a veggie-and-cheese sandwich/wrap. Also, if you bring meat, does it really need to last *11* hours? Why can't you just eat the meat
posted by acidic at 1:26 PM on January 18, 2018 [14 favorites]

Peanut noodles?
posted by vunder at 1:27 PM on January 18, 2018

In addition to cured beef you can get duck prosciutto. Also I don't think I'd want to try it on my family, but if your chicken salad is made with commercial mayonnaise it's not as unsafe as you think.

Anyway: cheese, nuts like almonds or cashews, dried fruits. Pasta salad if those carbs are OK.
posted by fedward at 1:37 PM on January 18, 2018

Soft/liquid foods like applesauce or yogurt won't make it past TSA, although you may be able to purchase them at the airport.
posted by gingerbeer at 1:38 PM on January 18, 2018 [3 favorites]

You can also get ice and put it in a ziploc bag once you're through security. When I was traveling while I was still breastfeeding, I would bring an insulated lunch bag and some ziplocs and then just ask a post-security restaurant for some ice to keep the milk cold while in flight. Never had a problem doing that. You can probably even get ice from the flight attendants on the plane - for that long a flight you'll probably need to refresh.
posted by john_snow at 1:41 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

> For the adults, those tuna salad kits with either canned tuna salad and crackers, or tuna/mayo/relish and crackers. (I haven't found them to be excessively stinky, certainly not Microwaving Fish In The Office level stinky)

Hey, you're right, they're not excessively stinky but that by definition means they are stinky and if I were in the row adjacent to you I would hate you for the duration of the flight.

If you're in a closed environment and you have the option to eat a food that is not stinky, please do not ever opt to bring the stinky one because oh maybe it might not be that bad. I will forgive and understand if for some crazy reason your doctor has you on a tuna-only diet but other than that it's just rude.
posted by komara at 1:42 PM on January 18, 2018 [31 favorites]

Seconding that you have a decent chance of losing your yogurt. <.<
posted by quaking fajita at 1:51 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

It is plant-based, but here's an account of what someone packed to get through a Hawaii --> Netherlands flight (strong language warning). Oatmeal (not bad at room temp!), hummus, pomegranate seeds, dehydrated soup, cooked grains and veggies, etc.
posted by Fig at 1:52 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

Soft/liquid foods like applesauce or yogurt won't make it past TSA

The pouches will; they're less than 3 oz. You just have to put them in a quart size ziploc bag. If you're traveling with 4 family members, you should be able to devote a ziploc to snack pouches. We have done this a million times.
posted by telepanda at 1:54 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You could freeze those squeezable tube-style yogurts to help them keep cold longer and further mitigate TSA concerns.
posted by juliplease at 2:04 PM on January 18, 2018

If your ideal is chicken salad, I have GREAT NEWS! You can buy chicken in those same kind of shelf-stable pouches as you can buy tuna. Chicken pouch + mayonnaise packets + bread = chicken salad sandwich. (And you might not even need to bring mayonnaise packets through security if you don't mind grabbing a few from a burger restaurant in the airport.)

Other suggestions for high-protein snacks: jerky and crispy chickpeas.

Also, though, if you started from frozen and kept it in a cold bag, I think almost any meat would be fine for 10-11 hours.
posted by mskyle at 2:09 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

I would not bring clementines, or any citrus that you would peel on the plane; the oils spray everywhere and are pungent.

I would go with cured meats: as a bonus, they're salty, so you'll still taste it when in the air, and you'll drink more water.
posted by batter_my_heart at 2:34 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

I would not bring clementines, or any citrus that you would peel on the plane; the oils spray everywhere and are pungent.

Are there people who object to the smell of... fruit?
posted by DarlingBri at 2:51 PM on January 18, 2018 [5 favorites]

I love the smell of clementines, but might be it a problem for people with allergies? Citrus peel oil definitely seems to travel farther than most fruit.

My go-to on cross-country foodless flights are Trader Joe's wraps. Very filling for dinner. Plus Belvita crackers for breakfast (I'm assuming the flight attendants will serve coffee, at least?) Almonds and pistachios make a decent random snack, especially if you can get the pre-shelled pistas for zero cleanup.

Agree that every US -> Europe flight I've been on serves dinner right away, then a light breakfast prior to arrival.
posted by basalganglia at 3:10 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

Are there people who object to the smell of... fruit?

Yes, actually. Many scents that most people find largely unobjectionable or even pleasant are severe migraine triggers.
posted by poffin boffin at 3:17 PM on January 18, 2018 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: for clarification, folks, if you look again, you'll see the question is not "do I agree with OP's decision to not pay over $300 for airline food"; it is "how to pack dinner for a family on a long haul flight."

I like the idea of freezing yogurt squeezies. Come to think of it I could freeze tuna packets too!
posted by fingersandtoes at 3:39 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

We often freeze chicken fingers / grilled chicken and bring them frozen - by the time we're ready to eat them they've thawed but are generally still cold.
posted by Mchelly at 4:24 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

Quiche or zucchini slice. They would probably be fine for 10 hours, but you could freeze them and let them defrost.
posted by kjs4 at 4:27 PM on January 18, 2018 [2 favorites]

Falafel! Either made into a wrap with salad, or on its own with various accompaniments (hummus and veggie sticks, olives, tabbouleh, bulgar wheat)

Also, check out the freezer bags made by Packit. You freeze the whole bag and it stays cool for many hours. Very useful for travel.
posted by hibbersk at 4:50 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

And for breakfast: pancakes. Bring them frozen and they’ll have defrosted in time for breakfast. Bonus points for some small pouches of syrup and a side of berries (fresh or frozen)
posted by hibbersk at 4:52 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]

for clarification, folks, if you look again, you'll see the question is not "do I agree with OP's decision to not pay over $300 for airline food"; it is "how to pack dinner for a family on a long haul flight."

That's fine, but you said it was "a transatlantic flight that doesn't serve food," which as many people said here is doubtful and highly unlikely to exist. If you had just said "we don't want to pay for airline food" (completely reasonable) that would have sidestepped the issue entirely.
posted by andrewesque at 5:10 PM on January 18, 2018 [23 favorites]

Best answer: I would suggest NOT bringing peanuts & peanut butter on airplanes. So many people are fatally allergic to them. Even the smell can cause reactions- or small smears/crumbs of peanut that get onto the seat or table could cause a reaction for someone on the the next flight.

Almonds & almond butter are probably a safer bet- fewer people are allergic to almonds, and a lot of airlines already serve them anyway.

I'd try:
Babybel cheese + apple
An entire vaccuum-sealed package of deli meat. I'd keep it sealed until the moment I wanted to eat it, to minimize the amount of bacteria in it. And I'd eat it rolled around cheese sticks, with some hearty crackers like Triscuits.
I think citrus fruit like clementines / oranges would be fine- citrus does have a strong smell but I think pretty much everyone finds that smell pleasant and fresh.
A cold square of lasagna would be fine after ~6 hours out of the fridge if you boxed it up right after cooking it. Maybe lean towards veggie rather than ground meat in the filling.
Cold pizza would be ok too (maybe avoid really pungent toppings like blue cheese or anchovy).
Pasta salad, bean salad, or potato salad - made with vinaigrette rather than mayonnaise.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 5:54 PM on January 18, 2018 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Frittatas do ok room temp too.
posted by vunder at 6:03 PM on January 18, 2018

Cheese omelet in a wrap! Cream cheese wrap.
posted by leslievictoria at 7:35 PM on January 18, 2018

The last time we did this, we just went to Whole Foods and bought a whole bunch of premade wraps that seemed like they would keep okay - mine was hummus, celery, carrot, and lettuce. If you wanted to gluten free and non-messy, you could get some of those rice paper sheets that are used to wrap Vietnamese fresh rolls and use them to wrap up something like that. Or you could make some veggie fresh rolls (try hoisin sauce instead of peanut sauce if you want to skip peanuts on the plane).
posted by asphericalcow at 8:11 PM on January 18, 2018

Room temperature edamame are lovely, filling and non-smelly.
posted by charmedimsure at 8:12 PM on January 18, 2018

I have been on flights that had people severely allergic to citrus and peanuts, and as such no one on board could eat or drink anything containing those ingredients. It would definitely suck if the stuff you took couldn't be eaten, so I would avoid these personally.
posted by BeeJiddy at 8:23 PM on January 18, 2018 [2 favorites]

Cold pizza is always good.

I took cold pizza on a 10-hour car drive with me as a snack for lunch/dinner. It wasn't cold by the time I ate it and, maybe I'm paranoid, but my stomach didn't behave well the next day and I blamed the pizza that turned lukewarm. I wouldn't take that on an 11-hour flight.

Anyway, what if you brought shelf stable milk and cereal with sliced almonds? Protein, fiber, fat and deliciousness. They sell regular milk and almond milk in little juice boxes that doesn't need to be refrigerated.

Peanut butter packets are good, but I highly recommend Justin's honey peanut butter. For whatever reason, plain Justin's or other brands of peanut butter always get separated so there's a ton of oil in them, which is nasty and messy. So go with the Justin's honey peanut butter.

For some reason, I see pepperoni and salami unrefrigerated in stores all the time, so that's probably a good option too.
posted by AppleTurnover at 9:26 PM on January 18, 2018

As a person with migraine, I can verify that citrus is very strong-smelling and it would be lovely if that were avoided. I don’t have that reaction to any other type of fruit—apples, bananas, and berries in containers would probably all travel well and require minimal preparation.
posted by epj at 10:15 PM on January 18, 2018 [2 favorites]

oh dear god please don't bring tuna on a plane.
posted by athirstforsalt at 12:33 AM on January 19, 2018 [17 favorites]

this is weird but my happiest plane-dinner ever was when i brought a premade salad kit from the grocery store and ate it out of the bag. when you are dehydrated it is so refreshing!

also, if you are willing to cook at home to prep: homemade granola bars, quiche, or little bean fritters or quinoa fritters.
posted by athirstforsalt at 12:36 AM on January 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

If you like Indian food, maybe consider Tasty Bites packaged channa masala or something like that- if you're willing to eat it cold, that is. It is safe to eat cold. I can't guarantee it would get through airport security, however.

I often eat food that's been unrefrigerated longer than recommended, and you may be comfortable with that, but I just wanted to mention that a lot of foods mentioned above are technically not supposed to be unrefrigerated more than 2-4 hours. Even something like quiche, I think. It might be safest to go with a selection of fruits/snacks. Trader Joes oven cheese bites are very tasty. I usually bring an apple, grapes, sealed cheese, these delicious hearty crackers, almonds, and some kind of chocolate.
posted by pinochiette at 10:14 AM on January 19, 2018

please please please DO NOT BRING TUNA PACKETS ON THE PLANE!!! If I am sitting anywhere near you I will be projectile vomiting a few times.

Frozen yogurt packs. Sunbutter packets. Applesauce packs. Cheese sticks. Apples. There are so many non-offensive options.
posted by pintapicasso at 11:13 AM on January 19, 2018 [4 favorites]

1) TSA will make you toss even frozen yogurt
2) peel the citrus at home and put in a baggie, then you don't have to deal with peeling and what to do with the peels and sticky hands
posted by misanthropicsarah at 2:12 PM on January 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

I've seen people bring cup ramen and just get hot water from the flight attendants, if you're willing to ask.
posted by mosst at 9:00 PM on January 19, 2018

I wouldn’t consume non-bottled water on a plane- not even on a bet- so I’d avoid things that would require hot water. Cheese crackers, granola bars, banana muffins, apples, almonds, baby carrots with shelf-stable ranch cups are all good bets. Down here in hurricane alley, the local Target carries these ‘picnic in a box’ kits that have a variety of shelf stable items inside. Shelf stable hummus is a thing too and Keebler makes a kit with hummus and Townehouse crackers (fair warning; these make your breath Of The Devil). Bon Voyage!
posted by PorcineWithMe at 7:08 PM on January 21, 2018 [1 favorite]