What do you pack for food?
 

Just going to start a four day trip and I forgot to buy some energy bars for this trip. Just wondering what everyone packs to eat on their trips. Sucks getting into a hotel with no food around at 12am and your hungry.

Nuts and "trail mix" travel well.

Candy bars, energy bars, hot tamales, wheat thins(tomato&basil flavor) and then home cooked meals that my wife freezes for me in those glad lock containers, chuck em in the nuker at the hotel and although they may not look real good they taste like fresh(almost) home cookin, then a pack or two of ramen if things get dire! I know alot of guys figure they spend as much at the grocery store as they do going out to eat but my wife is fixing food for my kids anyway so my potion just goes in the freezer. It works out really well for me.

"Help Wanted" pages....

Trail mix...agreed! sodas and water, get it from the galley! :)

Here is what I do because I am cheap. I end up spending typically max of 5 bucks on a four day on food unless the crew goes out for dinner.

I bought a vacuum sealer and my wife will make a ton of food from lasagna to chicken and rice to meatloaf or pasta. The vacuum sealer keeps it not only fresh but it makes it compact. I typically take enough for two meals per day although I usually eat less because of the schedule. I freeze those meals and they act as there own ice packs until I can freeze them at the hotel during the night.

I also pack some cliff bars and some basic granola bars to hold me over if I cant get any time to eat a real meal during the day and dont want to gain ten pounds per week by running to mcdonalds.

For beverages I buy a ton of propel fitness water individual drink powder mixes as well as crystal light etc. They are all zero calories and are typically clear or near clear so I cant make a mess of myself. I pour them into the liter and a half bottles and do that for most of the day. Of course sodas are on the companys dollar.

I carry cliff bars for snacks. Dinner is what per-diem is for. How many business travelers in the airport do you see carrying frozen food?

8 oz. of Bourbon and a Prozac

propel packets for me too

On the warm side: spam, precooked/packaged rice, hormel meals
On the cold side: two sandwiches, 1 or 2 lunchables, pineapple clunks, orange cups, 2 slimfast type chocolate shakes

usually carrots/vegetables, almonds, dried fruit (i do a lot of transborder flying, can't bring fresh fruit/meat into canada), and a few slimfast shakes. slimfasts work rather well, they fill you up pretty quickly if you can't get to real food or want to avoid airport food.

How do you get all this stuff past airport security??

3 health valley soups, 3 cans of tuna, burrito bread.

Why would they have a problem with it?

1. I buy bags of unsalted almonds, walnuts, cashews, and sunflower seeds and make my own "healthy" version of trailmix.
2. Dried fruit (the non sugar laden stuff)
3. Peanut butter
4. bread (to make PB sandwiches)
5. a couple cans of soup
6. Protein powder
7. Meal replacement packs
8. Oatmeal
9. brown rice
10. protein shakes (similar to the slimfast ones but the protein shake version w/42g protein per serving:D)
11. Drink 2 1.5L water bottles a day (from the galley)
12. Vitamins and fish oil
13. Protein bars
14. Carrots/brocolli/turkey/banans/apple for day 1.

Thinking about a cooler and bringing a few pounds of cooked chicken breasts. I keep it all in a duffle. I can get 4 days out of it (typically will get at least 2 meals on the road/layovers) By day 3 I typically buy at least 1 chilled chicken salad in one of the airports in addition to some fresh fruit from morning breakfasts at the hotels. 4000 cal diet and 250g protein a day.

Here is my typical 4day inventory....
1 small loaf of bread
1 jar of peanut butter
1 tube of jelly
2 cans of soup (heat can directly on coffee maker)
2 hormel meals
2 cans of alaskan salmon
1 box of pop tarts
1 bag of dried apricots or other fruit
1 ziplock bag full of peanut butter bars
1 ziplock bag full of cliff bars
1 pair of panty hose
2 tubes of lipstick
...all carried in a small duffle bag

also, get yourself a military p-38 can opener. It will allow you bring cans along that don't have a flip top lid. I have never had a problem getting it through security.
http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:...Can_Opener.jpg

I have a small lunchbag that I throw three PBJs, granola bars, and various crackers like Cheez-Its, Wheat thins, maybe some chex mix (depends on what I buy before the trip). I stuff two or three bowls of the microwave soups in my overnight bag for eating at the hotel.

I figure just on these alone, I'm avoiding 3-4 meals on trips at an average of $8 a meal. Saves quite a bit of money and allows me a little flexibility if we're overnighting at a destination that has a restaurant I like.

When I get my next check I'm going to buy a larger lunch bag from Ebags.com. I figure the little guy was paid for the first time I used it. I should have the big bag paid for by the end of a four day.

those 100 calorie packs...and if your man enought get yourself a little chiller tote with an ice pack and you can keep food cold for a while....
Tuna and crackers
granola bars
pre packaged lunch meat
TOBASCO SAUCE...caus on the off chance theres an extra meal on the flight your gunna need something to make it taste edible

this is a legit setup

Wholly-owed commuter airlines, batman!

Are you an olympic power lifter in training?

...

That was what I thought when I saw this list. Very good choices, but enough calories to power a lumberjack working a cross saw. RDA is about 2000 calories a day. Only way to burn this much food up is with a serious gym program.

I'll carry what the other people have said but also oranges, grapes, nectarines (while in season), apples, baby carrots, celery, etc. Fresh fruit is a really great treat when you are stuck flying with only poor food choices. In response avi8sean every pilot that I know who is in decent shape packs their own food. You can get away with eating crap for a few years and then all of a sudden you'll realize that you're in terrible shape.

I try to take a bag of mandarin oranges or carrots for munching...takes the edge off so I can resist the temptation to snack on airport food. The oranges don't need refrigeration and hold up well to abuse. I also grab fruit from the hotels at every opportunity.

I spent too much time "camping" in the military to live out out of a lunch box...I just buy hot meals, usually two per day.

I don't take too much with me. Usually just some dried fruit, trail mix, sesame sticks, instant oatmeal, and a pack of tuna in case we get in real late after everything has closed. I just snack throughout the day and typically only buy one meal a day. It lets me save a little money without feeling like I'm taking my entire kitchen along.

No no... I am just using a bodybuilder type diet and workout program. Carbs just sit around as fat for me. I am currently 235 @ 6'2" and working on cleaning up a little after a bulk. While bulking I was in the neighborhood of 4500cal/day but have cut out alot of the carbs and upped the cardio. Looking to settle around 220lbs and 9%bf (goal). Currently I am prob in the 15-17% range after bulking. I don't plan on competing but I do enjoy moving some weight. It is a bit difficult to get a workout in on a 4-day trip that is not simply bodyweight and cardio routines. Most places don't have "real" gyms although some hotels have "agreements" with local gyms and you can go for free which is sweet.

This is too much for me personally although very impressive. I don't think he would fit in a cockpit and I believe during the off season he gets up close to 300lbs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p4RQCnbEc8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRuNxHqwazs

This is all you really need for those 16 hour duty days and reduced rest overnights.:)

I guess I need a lunch box......... its day 2, and Ive already eaten all my food, can't find a microwave for my soups, and Ive had to buy 2 salads so far......

Have the FA show you how to make soup with the Coffee Maker. If it's got a removeable metal top, turn the coffee maker on, put the soup on it upside down and wait. If it's plastic...then you're SOL.

Actually, pardon my ignorance, aren't flight crew required to pass through TSA? And if so, are they prohibited from bringing liquids on board??

No offense, but I hope you are a woman.......

...and a six pack of condoms.

How do you do this?

Don't forget the paper bag and sandals.........

It took a while for someone to catch that. It comes from the movie Dr. Strangelove. If you saw the movie, you would see the humor.

Dr Strangelove survival kit contents...
http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/..._Contents.html

For all I know the guy could be a crossdresser....and chase himself around the bushes during the layover.

Flight crews in uniform are immune from the liquid restriction.

For Father's Day, my wife/kids got me the ebags crew cooler, and it's one of the best presents I've ever gotten.

I take around a dozen frozen breakfast burritos, powerade, about a pound and a half of corn nuts, some little debbies, microwave popcorn, wheat thins, and string cheese. Gets me through a 4-day and I usually don't have any food left over.

Someone on here (Kansas?) gave me a recipe for jambalaya, and I was carrying that around in frozen containers, and it would stay frozen pretty well. I'm a huge fan of taking food with you.

You guys eat? I've actually lost a fair amount of weight this first year as an FO.

my girlfriend said shes gonna pack everything for me and the captain....i m wondering if this will last after the first month...haha

Ok so maybe this is a pretty basic question but will jelly keep good for four days on a trip? I would guess it would but curious if your guys keep it uncooled for that long. Anyone else bring ramen and use the hot water from the galley to cook? Otherwise I agree trail mix, fruit and granola bars are the way to go to keep yourself ok until dinner.