Let's talk about food
07-02-2012, 04:10 AM
#11
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jan 2008
Posts: 251
Originally Posted by usmc-sgt
Are they away from home ~300 hours/15 days per month EVERY month? When I flew corporate I didn't pack food because I had a (relatively) no questions asked credit card. To compare a business traveler on a corporate expense account to a pilot who is in and out of an airport most of the day capped off with 10 hours in the airport Hyatt is not a solid comparison.
Sure I can spend 5-$600 on food per month but why? I pack healthy, portioned meals and have food when I want it. I'll carry my unprofessional, industry degrading lunchbox. They can keep the seatbelt extenders and high cholesterol.
Sure I can spend 5-$600 on food per month but why? I pack healthy, portioned meals and have food when I want it. I'll carry my unprofessional, industry degrading lunchbox. They can keep the seatbelt extenders and high cholesterol.
+1
07-02-2012, 05:36 AM
#13
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2012
Position: CRJ FO
Posts: 4,599
I pack my own food. Granted I'm not a part of the 121 world but I do get overnights. My gf is a health-nut so she packs all sorts of rabbit food for me. Lots of juiced meals and raw foods. Sometimes I go out to eat if the Capt is really wanting to or offers to pay.
07-02-2012, 05:53 AM
#14
Super Moderator
Joined APC: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,951
Ive answered this a few times but...
Over the years my wife and I have found combinations that work for meals. My wife (I cant cook) will usually make two large lasagnas, baked beans and kielbasa, meatloaf and vegetables, noodles and chicken and a few other combinations. Once she makes the meals we vacuum seal them into one portion size and they go into the deep freezer. When I take them on the trip they are frozen solid for almost the first two days so they keep themselves. I either put them in a fridge if I have access or ice them down. Worst case scenario on ice only, the one or two meals left are no longer refrigerator cold. No big deal since they are pre-cooked and were vacuum sealed..I havent gotten sick yet.
The good thing about an item like lasagna or meatloaf is that we take a variety of vegetables and process them in a grinder to near nothing. We then take the vegetables and include them into most recipes. You hardly notice that they are there but you are still able to get a serving of vegetables for each meal. Some meals re-heat better than others which is why we have it down to only the options that are good the second time around. We have found that some items get too dry or just dont taste as good. Pasta can get dry so if we make a side of egg noodles we include that right in the back with a meatloaf with extra sauce as they keep each other mutually moist.
For heating, most gates have a microwave in ops, and most hotels also have a microwave somewhere. A recent trick is that so long as the meal is not completely frozen solid...put the vacuum sealed back of your meal in the ice bucket for your room. Place the bucket in the tub and turn on the bathtub (or shower if its not a tub) spout as hot as it can get. The water constantly overflowing in the bucket keeps a constant stream of hot water going which heats your meal up real nice. The water is usually 4 degrees shy of lava so it only takes about 20-30 minutes for a nice hot meal.
Day ones lunch is usually a sandwich that I make and that evenings dinner is usually a leftover in a tupperware from home. The tupperware is key because once you finish your leftover and clean it, it becomes your serving dish for the rest of the trip.
Over the years my wife and I have found combinations that work for meals. My wife (I cant cook) will usually make two large lasagnas, baked beans and kielbasa, meatloaf and vegetables, noodles and chicken and a few other combinations. Once she makes the meals we vacuum seal them into one portion size and they go into the deep freezer. When I take them on the trip they are frozen solid for almost the first two days so they keep themselves. I either put them in a fridge if I have access or ice them down. Worst case scenario on ice only, the one or two meals left are no longer refrigerator cold. No big deal since they are pre-cooked and were vacuum sealed..I havent gotten sick yet.
The good thing about an item like lasagna or meatloaf is that we take a variety of vegetables and process them in a grinder to near nothing. We then take the vegetables and include them into most recipes. You hardly notice that they are there but you are still able to get a serving of vegetables for each meal. Some meals re-heat better than others which is why we have it down to only the options that are good the second time around. We have found that some items get too dry or just dont taste as good. Pasta can get dry so if we make a side of egg noodles we include that right in the back with a meatloaf with extra sauce as they keep each other mutually moist.
For heating, most gates have a microwave in ops, and most hotels also have a microwave somewhere. A recent trick is that so long as the meal is not completely frozen solid...put the vacuum sealed back of your meal in the ice bucket for your room. Place the bucket in the tub and turn on the bathtub (or shower if its not a tub) spout as hot as it can get. The water constantly overflowing in the bucket keeps a constant stream of hot water going which heats your meal up real nice. The water is usually 4 degrees shy of lava so it only takes about 20-30 minutes for a nice hot meal.
Day ones lunch is usually a sandwich that I make and that evenings dinner is usually a leftover in a tupperware from home. The tupperware is key because once you finish your leftover and clean it, it becomes your serving dish for the rest of the trip.
07-02-2012, 06:05 AM
#15
doin time
Joined APC: Mar 2011
Position: RJ Left
Posts: 436
Originally Posted by 2StgTurbine
Getting a good meal can be a challenge while working as an airline pilot. A coworker and I are looking at starting a business to fix this problem and we would like to hear what others have to say on the matter. We also have a survey being reviewed by the mods right now to help but I would like to get a thread going on this topic in order to get some more personal responses to explore the problem further.
So, what are some problems you experience while eating on the road?
So, what are some problems you experience while eating on the road?
07-02-2012, 06:09 AM
#16
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2008
Posts: 273
I like to pack things that are expensive to buy at the airport but relatively inexpensive at the local grocery store, such as fruit and vegetables. I'll pack a bag of vegetables for each day of the trip, and a small tub of humus for dipping. A piece of fruit or two for each day apples and oranges pack the best and don't need to be refrigerated.
I don't pack salads to much lettuce is just to hard to keep lettuce good after the first day. So I will go to Burger King and get the side salad for 1.49 if I am looking for a salad that day.
I will also buy tuna that's in the pouch already mixed with mayo etc and it doesn't need to be refrigerated and it's only 100 calories. I will have the FA put it on ice so it's cold when I make my sandwich and doesn't stink up the airplane when I open it since it is not packed in water.
For breakfast I will usually have a protein shake that is pre made. Again you can chill them on ice overnight and they are still cold in the morning. You get a good dose of protein with out that many carbs in the morning.
These are just a couple of things I do. I have to admit you need to add variety to what you pack. The biggest thing you can do is look at your trip figure out what you are going to have for refrigeration or free breakfast, meal plan, go shopping and pack
I don't pack salads to much lettuce is just to hard to keep lettuce good after the first day. So I will go to Burger King and get the side salad for 1.49 if I am looking for a salad that day.
I will also buy tuna that's in the pouch already mixed with mayo etc and it doesn't need to be refrigerated and it's only 100 calories. I will have the FA put it on ice so it's cold when I make my sandwich and doesn't stink up the airplane when I open it since it is not packed in water.
For breakfast I will usually have a protein shake that is pre made. Again you can chill them on ice overnight and they are still cold in the morning. You get a good dose of protein with out that many carbs in the morning.
These are just a couple of things I do. I have to admit you need to add variety to what you pack. The biggest thing you can do is look at your trip figure out what you are going to have for refrigeration or free breakfast, meal plan, go shopping and pack
07-02-2012, 06:48 AM
#18
Banned
Joined APC: Mar 2009
Posts: 562
Originally Posted by 9easy
I refuse to go on a camping trip every time I goto work. Look at business travelers in the airport, you don't see them packing four days of food. I bring leftovers for the first day, after than I buy something nutritious, even if that means a $9.99 salad. We get per diem for a reason.
07-02-2012, 06:51 AM
#19
Permanent Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2006
Posts: 660
Originally Posted by 9easy
I refuse to go on a camping trip every time I goto work. Look at business travelers in the airport, you don't see them packing four days of food. I bring leftovers for the first day, after than I buy something nutritious, even if that means a $9.99 salad. We get per diem for a reason.
07-02-2012, 07:36 AM
#20
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,152
My god!!
We are heating our dinners in buckets in the bathtubs of hotels?!?!
What an interesting "profession" we work in!?!
I must say. Creative though! Was a Boy Scout leader for 15 yrs and never once do I recall heating my dinner in a bucket! Cooked on a few rocks, but no buckets. But then again, that was camping, not my professional occupation.
We are heating our dinners in buckets in the bathtubs of hotels?!?!
What an interesting "profession" we work in!?!
I must say. Creative though! Was a Boy Scout leader for 15 yrs and never once do I recall heating my dinner in a bucket! Cooked on a few rocks, but no buckets. But then again, that was camping, not my professional occupation.
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