June 7, 2016

Eating Healthy On Planes And Their Terminals

If you are a frequent traveler and even if you are not, you CAN make better food choices while at the airport and while on the plane.

While sitting at the gate, all of my future fellow plane-mates and I sat in a U-formation seating arrangement awaiting our plane. Looking around I noticed everyone was eating something but none of it was real food. The lady and her husband were munching on chips and soda. The couple on the other side was nibbling on burgers and everyone else had some kind of prepackaged, foil wrapped snack such as cookies, candy bars, and the gamut in between. I even found myself guilty as my family and I shared fat & sugar-laden peanut butter cookies and brownie crisps; at least we chose water. Then on the plane we were served two more rounds of foodstuffs. I walked off the plane thinking, how unhealthy !!! Every eating opportunity should be a time to give my body some of the nutrients it needs.

I was not going to let that happen to me again. Knowing that we as humans should be eating something every 3-4 hours, I planned ahead. On the return trip I combed all the stores and restaurants and came up with a healthy food choice list:

From home:
Baggie from home of raw nuts and dried fruits – the airport kind is not raw and that added fat is not healthy and could be rancid – you can eat any time and even throw onto your meal to increase satiety and vitamin/mineral profile.

At the airport kiosks and shops choose:

• Whole fruit —A whole orange is very filling and will carry you a lot farther than the juice served on the plane—Benefits: water, fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients from colors.
• Cut up fruit or veggies—Convenience, hydration, fiber, vitamins, minerals, different phytonutrients from different colors are just a few benefits.
• Hummus- Eat with your fruit or veggies. It is a great source of healthy fat and it can help with satiety.
• Peanut Butter and Jelly – It is a perfect meal if you have a sweet tooth to begin with and it is very filling since it has carbohydrate, some protein, and healthy fats in it.

On the plane (will not see anyone’s potential pets on here by the way):

• Kale Salad
• Bean salad
• Water
• Tomato juice
• Coffee
• Tea

*You also buy healthy meal at airport such as Veggie Burger or Bean Tacos and eat on plane

So what did I end up eating on this second flight? I bought a large orange and peanut butter sandwich at the terminal kiosk and ate half of each while waiting for the plane. Around the the 2 hour mark I had the rest of the orange and sandwich with plenty of water and some hot black tea. I said no to the snacks offered. The sandwich was so filling it carried me over until I arrived home. With a little forethought and planning you CAN make better food choices at airplanes and their terminals.