Food options for air travelers can be healthy, delicious
Holiday air travel can be pretty stressful. Add hunger to the equation and you’re really in for some unexpected turbulence.
Happily there has been a renaissance in airport restaurant menus. I’ve been impressed with kiosks selling really good salads and sandwiches packaged to fly, sit-down restaurants with freshly prepared foods, and concourse newsstands with a nice selection of healthy snacks (even crudités in the cooler with the bottled water).
If a sweet splurge is what it takes to make your travel day more bearable, A Piece of Cake has just landed on Concourse A at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Now you can be the envy of the exit row while savoring a slice of red velvet cake with a carton of cold, fat-free milk. If you seek on-the-go salads and sandwiches, Atlanta-based caterer Proof of the Pudding serves them up at two locations on Concourse B, and Wolfgang Puck’s kiosk is on Concourse C.
The menus at E Bar on Concourse E and A Bar on Concourse A feature a terrific selection of cheeses and charcuterie with olives and whole grain crackers. Warning: Fellow passengers will be impressed with your gourmet savvy, so share a little.
Navigate Nutritiously
- Ask for OJ: The nutrients in orange juice help boost your immune system to give you a fighting chance to ward off cold and flu germs. Mix juice with sparkling water for a lower-calorie thirst quencher.
- Snack smart: Bag your own "sky trail mix" of nuts, dried fruit and granola. Healthy fats and stomach-filling fiber will keep you going and can be much lower in sodium than the airline's salty snack mixes. Sodium plus sitting can lead to unwanted puffiness and ankle swelling.
- Concourse cuisine: A salad is fine, but make sure it contains protein, such as chicken, turkey, ham, eggs or cheese to keep blood sugar on an even keel. Stress can drive blood sugar levels way down below normal.
- Alcohol and altitude: Your skin and your brain can get really dehydrated in a pressurized cabin, and alcohol accelerates dehydration. If it's the end of a long travel day and you want a drink to unwind, that's fine. But make sure to double up on water with the wine.
Food on the Fly
Holiday travelers, take note: Transportation Security Administration rules state, “You can bring pies and cakes through the security checkpoint, but please be advised that they are subject to additional screening.” (Especially if it looks like a really good dessert.)
Airport security rules prohibit liquids and “gel-type substances” in carry-on luggage if over 3.4 ounces. (I always try to travel with a container of Greek yogurt but it usually ends up in the TSA trash.) Solid foods such as sandwiches, hard cheeses, crackers, fresh fruit and vegetables are allowed.
