Long Haul Flights - What Do I Eat!?

Long Haul Flights - What Do I Eat!?

Back in 2015 when I wrote this blog post, we had recently travelled from Christchurch, New Zealand to London on Singapore Airlines. We eat a 90% Paleo/Processed Food Free diet at home therefore on a long-haul flight with two children under 6, we thought it was essential to stick to our normal food choices as much as possible. The last thing you need when you are on a plane for 24 hours is for your food choices to make you feel worse!

Spending 24 hours on a plane with two little people is bad enough without having to feed them the standard airplane food - knowing they simply won't eat it and would end up super grumpy!

The first thing I did was ask the travel agent what options there was food wise in flight - and was there any 'paleo' meal options? I knew the answer would be no but it's always worth a go. After much discussion we opted for a no carbohyrdate meal for the 4 of us - whilst we don't eat no carbohyrdates, I knew this would include vegetables and would at least eliminate grains and refined sugars from our main meals.

Additionally, I also spent several weeks carefully considering what food I could take with me on the plane and how much I would need! If the children didn't eat the plane meal, what would they eat? We all want more sugar on the plane to keep us awake, so what could I take that was a good choice? I came up with the following airplane food package - certainly not what we would eat in 30 hours normally, but this should keep the spirits up and everyone happy! Without a doubt, preparing in advance like this was essential for a smooth flight.

 
We had:
  • Roast chicken with the skin on
  • Kumara and Carrot Chips
  • Macadamia Nuts
  • Frooze Balls
  • Prunes and Raisins
  • Fresh fruit
  • 85% dark chocolate
  • Homemade Biscuits
  • Paleo Bread
  • Almond Butter (put in smaller containers for security!!)
  • Rice Crackers

I have to say, I was very impressed with the no carbohyrdate meal option on Singapore Airlines. I did have a giggle when they added extra bread rolls to our tray and we got some odd looks when we gave it back to them! Not to mention when I returned the bag of chocolates a kind hostee had given to my 5 year old. But the no carbohyrdate meal was pretty close to Paleo, protein with vegetables. Then we happily added out fat in the form of nuts or nut butter. Here are some pictures, some of them aren't very good quality due to trying to deal with a small space, children and food trays!

Breakfast - Omelette with mushrooms, broccoli and tomato.




Dinner 1 - Chicken and stir fry vegetables with tomato sauce.



Dinner 2 - Fish and stir fry vegetables with tomato sauce. (yes they all look the same!)



Sides - smoked chicken salad, fruit and salad bowls.



Toddler Meal - they did their best with that one but I don't know many two year olds that would eat all mashed foods. Miss Isabel has always refused anything mashed. Loved the fruit though. For the next flight, they gave us an awesome child's option instead.



Overall, very impressed! Singapore Airlines did a great job. I have checked out other airlines and none that I can see seem to offer a no carbohyrdate meal option unfortunately. However this will hopefully change so make sure you check with your travel agent or airline before you travel.

I hope this makes someone's travel experience easier!
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