Batch of links - Food for travel

I’ve rounded up some links about food for travel. Sometimes, you’ll want to bring your own lunch for a trip on a plane; or you’ll spend several days on the road and want to eat well, but don’t know where to start. It’s not just about travelling with food, it’s about food that travels well, too. Hopefully some of these will be inspiring!

Food in airports and on airplanes is usually overpriced, and often not too tasty or nourishing. Here are some great ideas, on Simple Bites, for food that you can take with you on a plane (so nothing that takes up too much space, nothing that needs to be refrigerated or is too messy, and of course, nothing over 3 fluid ounces). Highlights include crackers, granola bars, cookies, muffins, firm fruits, raw vegetables with hummus or a peanut butter sandwich. Keep in mind that some foods cannot be taken on international flights.

Here are some more ideas for plane food from The Kitchn. Another good tip: avoid foods that have strong smells (like garlic, curry or fish, or foods that are kept hot). If your budget allows for it, they also recommend using a catering company that specializes in meals for airplanes.

As for good food for road trips, here’s a Kitchn roundup. Reader comments provide suggestions such as sugar snap peas, grapes, cherry tomatoes, veggie spring rolls and popcorné

An intrepid commenter here suggests bringing a camping stove on road trips, and another here suggests a combo toaster oven/hot plate with a car adapter, so that you can cook food daily. While this is a good idea in theory (many rest stops allow this, though not all), we don’t even have room in our car for a cooler, let alone a camping stove or toaster oven, so I’m not sure how practical that would be for the average person.

With any luck, you can plan ahead for a route where you will have lunchtime options, such as Whole Foods or Good To Go Organics (now open on the I-95 somewhere in Connecticut). I know this isn’t always practical, though, believe me.

Of course, this depends on how long the trip is, and on whether or not you have a cooler in the car or a refrigerator in the hotel. Personally, I found that dry goods (like Mini Wheats, dried apricots, etc.) and fruit make for great snacks, but meals are still a big challenge! After reading through the linked pages, maybe I’ll keep those veggie spring rolls in mind, or make a potato salad without mayonnaise. Or as I read in the comments here, a quinoa salad or a bean salad, both of which sound like a good option for the first day of a road trip. I also recommend keeping wet wipes and paper towels on hand, to help with any mess.