I have a two-day trip starting early tomorrow morning. Both work days are about 13 hours each with a short overnight in Newark (ugh). In order to prevent overeating and snacking on unhealthy airport/ plane food, I pack a cooler with me that contains all of my meals for each day. Sounds impossible? Well, keep reading to see an example of how I pack for a two-day trip!
Part One: Cold Food Prep
Chicken, Rice and asparagus, oh my! These three items are not only easy to prep and pack, but makes for a very balanced meal as well. It gives me energy and keeps me full during busy flights (so I don’t turn into a cranky flight attendant!).
Step 1: Take a bag of Trader Joe’s microwaveable brown rice and steam it in the bag. Leave it out for a few minutes to cool so you can pack it.
Step 2: After the rice stops steaming, take some precooked slices of chicken or turkey and
Place both items into a container like so:
Step 3: Place raw or baked asparagus into another container ( you can mix it with the chicken and rice if you wish) and season with anything!! I like Mrs. Dash seasoning,garlic powder and a little bit of Parmesan cheese .
Step 4: Make a turkey, spinach wrap with hummus and mustard. I wrap it in a low -carb tortilla (tastes soo much better than regular whole wheat for some reason). Then, I place it in my little Sistima Lunch Cube with any snacks or veggies. You can find these cubes in many grocery stores and drug stores for less than $10. Or, you can buy one here online: http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/foodStorage/leftoversPlastic?productId=10025083
Step 5: Tadaaa!! You’re all finished! I also put some pre-prepped lunch and snacks (from a local My Fit Foods store) to save on time. Then, I place it all in my bag with my ice packs surrounding each item.
*Note on ice packs: I use old- school headache bags because I can refill it with ice as much as I want. That way, I don’t have to worry about a freezable ice pack melting and my food going bad. These bags are especially handy when staying the night in a hotel where there are usually no refrigerators. Just refill the bags in the ice machine on your floor J You can buy the refillable packs online and they can run anywhere from $4-10 depending on the size. I recommend getting the bags that have fabric on the outside to prevent sweating as the ice melts and keeps your lunch bag dry.
Dry Storage Prep
I always keep my non-refrigerated essentials with me in the pockets outside of the cooler compartment. This is a sample of what I have on an average day:
-Foil (for cooking food in airplane ovens)
-peanut butter packets
-instant oatmeal for breakfast( I use the hot water from the hotel room coffee maker )
-Assorted tea packets
– Stevia sweetener packets
-Whole apples, oranges, or bananas
-Instant Quinoa containers from Whole Foods
-Plastic utensils (Don’t leave without them!)
-extra tortillas
-protein bars
-Multi-vitamins
-popcorn
There you have it!! Please post your personal tips and tricks for packing lunches in the comments section below!
Shape Up and Fly Right 