How do keep the jelly cold? I can find the individual sized peanut butter cups, but I can never find those small jelly packs. Maybe I should start snagging them from the hotels...

 

2-3 lbs of chicken per DAY? Wow....that's a pretty expensive habit.

"Never HEAD the end of it?" That IS unfortunate.




For you and all the other tuna eaters, curry eaters, or other smelly food eaters, you may think it smells great (and some people may even say so) but there are a bunch of us who are too polite to say that smells worse than rotten dog food. Please keep the overly odorous foods at home.

 

I just buy the smallest jar of jelly I can find, then dump most of it out into another container except for what I'll need for a trip. Then each trip afterwards I fill the jar again with what I need. If I have a fridge in the room I'll put it in there but with just taking what I need and not otherwise keeping it cool I've never had it go bad over 4 days. Small Tupperware containers also work, but I've found that you'd better secure the lid with something extra because even a little air in the container will expand and pop the lid off with the pressure changes. The jar seals much better.

 

Freudian Slip JSH!

 

I mostly get them from hotels or from restaurants. Some jelly from the store doesn't require refrigeration, either.

 

McDonalds has the small jelly packets for their breakfast. Just snag a bunch of those.

 

When I need to keep something cold I fill some 20oz coca cola bottles with water and freeze them. They are strong, do not leak, and are big enough to stay frozen for a while. If you drink soda they're free, best part is that if you get tired of lugging them around you can throw them away. When you fill them with water, just leave some air at the top and I usually squeeze them a little while I put the lid on them so they have a little room to expand in the freezer.

 

What are some good recipes you have for packed food? I like to grill a couple chicken breasts and grab a salad or two from the grocery store which will last me about the first two days. I've done chili and other soups I'll freeze but sometimes its difficult to find a microwave or keep them frozen. I've gotten some great ideas from this thread but would like to see what you do to get some good flavor from a homemade meal that will last a couple of days without constant refrigeration.

 

I sometimes dine from the "Wheel of Death" in the crew lounge. Okay, the vending machine that has assorted food. The sandwiches are about a quarter of the price of what's being sold upstairs and are pretty good sometimes. Sometimes even better than what's upstairs. Amazing how preservatives keep that freshness....

Every now and then they put fresh cut fruit in those machines so they stock it every day. Also, there's containers of milk for 65 cents which is much less expensive than upstairs.

Okay, that's the Eagle crew lounge and the AA non-rev lounge in ORD. The other airlines may have the same thing. Usually, the food doesn't last that long as everyone is buying it.

You can save a lot of money and some of the food is pretty good.

 

I use a Luggage Works cooler. I use Rubbermaid locking containers for food and ice.

Lock-its Food Storage Containers | Rubbermaid

They don't pop open in flight and have gaskets to keep liquid in. The large one I use for ice leaks a little but not much.

Ice is the only cooling medium that's renewable on the road because there's usually no way to refreeze any cold packs. Freezers are usually not available.

I freeze my four evening meals the night before leaving. I bring a bag of granola and fruit for breakfast. Usually blueberries in a smaller locking Rubbermaid container. I also bring a container of mixed cut fruit. Four to five Detour protein bars for lunch and sometimes RTD (ready to drink) protein drinks that don't need to stay cold.

The only thing I pay for are the small milk containers out of the wheel of death (.65) and coffee. If I have a good crew that wants to go out then I'll go out with them at least once and save the meal I brought with me.

Never give up crew moral to save a few bucks.... That's priceless.