Let’s face it, most of us have been served up (and eaten) some pretty horrific plane food in our time.
The stodgy carbs, processed snacks and foil-lidded cups of OJ can leave us far from flying high on coming back down to earth.
Luckily, there are some things you can do to avoid the junk when you next dine at 40,000 feet. Let’s take off!
Making up for lost taste.
Fun fact: the cabin pressure and dry plane air can dry out your nose and cause membranes in the nose and mouth to swell. Which can numb about a third of your taste buds (temporarily!).
So to make the food more palatable, they bulk the meals up with salt, unhealthy oils and sugar before they pre-cook and freeze them. Yep, that goes a long way to explain the tummy issues and general feeling of erg we’re left with post long-haul!
The best solution? Bring your food with you.
While you can’t take liquids on most flights, food is a-okay. The best approach is to pack your own food and give the plane stuff a miss altogether.
Think portable meals you’re happy to eat cold – homemade sandwiches, muffins and nutty bars are solid choices.
“I use up veggies that will go off in the fridge while I’m away. I chop up red capsicum, beans, snow peas etc and put in a ziplock bag,” says Sarah. She pairs these with super thick homemade dips to up the nutrient factor.
If that’s not an option?
If you can’t BYO, you can still be smart about the plane options you choose.
- Go for the meal with the least sauce: It’s usually the sauces harbouring most of that added “flavour”.
- Quarantine the carbs: Also go for a dish likely to have the stodgy, refined carbs on the side. Then just stick to the protein and veg.
- Stay fresh: Fresh fruit and cheese is always a decent choice because they’re less likely to be pumped with other ingredients (and you know how we like to eat fat with our fruit).
- Steer clear of dressings: Luckily the dressing usually comes separately to the salad (everything on a plane is separately packaged in swathes of plastic). That way you can control how much dressing is added, or avoid the sugary stuff altogether.
- Don’t do dessert: It’s a no-brainer, but that gelatinous custardy thing or syrupy cake is a sugar crash waiting to happen. Ask for some extra cheese or nuts if you need a little something extra.
Drink up.
The dry air can make us dehydrated, so it’s important to drink plenty of water!
“I take a large empty bottle,” says Sarah. “On the other side of security I fill it up with water. On the plane, I ask the cabin crew to fill my bottle with their main bottle, rather than wasting the smaller ones.”
Move about!
Lack of movement also contributes to that icky after-flying feeling (and deep vein thrombosis). Get up and walk around the cabin at regular intervals. The airline will usually provide a list of exercises for you to do sitting down, too.
You’ll touch down feeling fresher than when you took off (almost!).
What are your tips for flying sugar free?
0 comments :
Post a Comment