Meal Planning for Trips

I just got back from visiting my niece in London.  Whole other blog post on that.  When meal-planning December, I had to take the trip into account.

I panic a bit about getting hungry on planes.  Especially a 10+ hour flight.  It was that or a layover in Minneapolis, and I didn't want to risk that in December.  But I was also trying to do the trip there as carry-on, which doesn't leave much room for snacks when you're going somewhere below 50ºF.

I made a batch of trail mix and picked up some nutrition bars, then grabbed a meal replacement shake from my dental emergency stash.  While taking the photo, I decided that TSA would confiscate the shake and put it back.  Once upon a time, I would get a fatty Burger King meal before a flight to hold me at least six hours, but LAX has upgraded to more expensive but healthier vendors.

Also to plan were meals at home on travel days.  My flight there was a red-eye leaving at 10pm, and the return got in around 4pm.  I needed two microwave dinners, which is not something I normally stock.  I distinctly remember the cheap Michelina's meals being a dollar.  Now they're almost two.  Some freezer veggies rounded them out.  I baked a batch of buttermilk biscuits a week before I left and there were still a few in the freezer for the morning after the return.  Even if I had forgotten to plan breakfast, I always have oatmeal in the pantry.

Was all this preparation and snack-panic necessary?  Not as much as if I had traveled on a U.S. airline.  Virgin Atlantic fed us dinner and a breakfast snack going there, so I only ate one bar.  Coming back, they served even more food, which was good because someone on board had a severe peanut allergy and I couldn't open the trail mix.  Hot lunch, grilled cheese hours later, and an afternoon tea box shortly before landing that was cute enough to take a picture.  I didn't even need dinner when I got home.

Just because I didn't need the food I packed and prepped didn't mean it was a bad idea.  A few hundred extra calories of emergency snacks is a good way to avoid a fast food run.  I'll eat all of it at some point.