UA Choice Menu & Snack Boxes - Calorie Info
Dec 7, 2009, 5:49 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2006
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Posts: 3,002
UA Choice Menu & Snack Boxes - Calorie Info
fwiw, here's the run down on some UA food options
United Airlines (847-700-4000; www.united.com)
Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Helpful. United was not as helpful as in past years.
Health Score: (*** 1/2) United still has the best variety, but their healthful offerings have been reduced. United, have you looked at the calories in those snacks? Yes, there are two energy bars, but still…what happened to your healthy mission?
If you’re traveling more than five hours, they offer snack boxes, fresh salads and sandwiches, but the sandwiches and salads are much less health-oriented than the snack boxes.
Best Bet: For flights longer than two hours go for the Active snack box. Even though it has more calories than the Organic, the Active has better food choices, and if you want to save calories eat only half the chips.
For flights longer than three hours, United has a plethora of choices but not very many that are healthy. For breakfast, your best bet is the low-fat yogurt and fruit. Or you can have the ham and Swiss croissant. At least you'll be getting a good supply of protein, and it's not high in calories. For lunch and dinner, you’d think the turkey sandwich would be a good choice, but it's the highest in calories. The roast beef sandwich isn’t bad in terms of calories, and the salads are both fair choices for a full meal. They’re served with dressing on the side, so try to use only half. As far as the individual snacks are concerned, wow, those are some pretty high-calorie items! Stick to the energy bars: At least they're portion controlled. Clearly these snacks are meant to share, but typically we eat whatever we’re given, especially on a long flight.
Snack and Meal Choices:
Snacks:
* Lay's Stax Potato Crisps (900 calories, 233 minutes of walking)
* Toblerone Chocolate Bar (510 calories, 132 minutes of walking)
* Walkers Shortbread Cookies (540 calories, 140 minutes of walking)
* Fisher Salty Nut Mix (630 calories, 163 minutes of walking)
* Clif Bar Oatmeal Raisin Walnut (240 calories, 62 minutes of walking)
* Odwalla Banana Nut Nutritional Bar (240 calories, 62 minutes of walking)
Snack Boxes:
Luxe (Total = 607 calories, 157 minutes of walking):
* Multigrain chips (210 calories)
* Olives (40 calories)
* Crackers (35 calories)
* Cheese spread (79 calories)
* Grissini (70 calories);
* Chocolate-covered pretzels (110 calories)
* Hummus (63 calories)
Organic (Total = 436 calories, 113 minutes of walking):
* Cheese crackers (130 calories)
* Granola (130 calories)
* Apple chips (43 calories)
* Fruit stick (68 calories)
* Chocolate (65 calories)
Classic (Total = 616 calories, 159.5 minutes of walking):
* Kettle Chips (150 calories)
* Salami (80 calories)
* Oreos (100 calories)
* Cheddar spread (70 calories)
* Goldfish (100 calories)
* Crackers (70 calories)
* Jelly beans (46 calories)
Active (Total = 634 calories, 164 minutes of walking):
* Almonds (260 calories)
* Tortilla chips (180 calories)
* Turkey stick (50 calories)
* Salsa (20 calories)
* Thinkfruit Bar (80 calories)
* Raisins (44 calories)
Breakfast: (before 10 a.m. on flights 3 1/2 hours or longer)
* Continental breakfast (Total = 613 calories, 159 minutes of walking): French toast bagel (180 calories); cream cheese (313 calories); strawberry jam (30 calories); strawberry yogurt (90 calories)
* Yogurt parfait (310 calories, 80.5 minutes of walking)
* Cinnamon muffin (470 calories, 122 minutes of walking)
* Blueberry muffin (440 calories, 114 minutes of walking)
* Ham & Swiss croissant (338 calories, 87.5 minutes of walking)
Lunch / Dinner Salads and Sandwiches: (after 10 a.m. on flights 3 1/2 hours or longer)
* Spinach salad (553 calories, 143 minutes of walking)
* Chicken Caesar salad (505 calories, 131 minutes of walking)
* Turkey sandwich with chips (860 calories, 223 minutes of walking)
* Roast beef sandwich with chips (536 calories, 139 minutes of walking)
* Thai chicken wrap with chips (672 calories, 174 minutes of walking)
* Assorted cheese tray (570 calories, 148 minutes of walking)
* Antipasto plate (410 calories, 106 minutes of walking)
The complete report including other airline meal/snack options can be found posted at http://www.dietdetective.com/columns...rvey-2009.aspx
United Airlines (847-700-4000; www.united.com)
Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Helpful. United was not as helpful as in past years.
Health Score: (*** 1/2) United still has the best variety, but their healthful offerings have been reduced. United, have you looked at the calories in those snacks? Yes, there are two energy bars, but still…what happened to your healthy mission?
If you’re traveling more than five hours, they offer snack boxes, fresh salads and sandwiches, but the sandwiches and salads are much less health-oriented than the snack boxes.
Best Bet: For flights longer than two hours go for the Active snack box. Even though it has more calories than the Organic, the Active has better food choices, and if you want to save calories eat only half the chips.
For flights longer than three hours, United has a plethora of choices but not very many that are healthy. For breakfast, your best bet is the low-fat yogurt and fruit. Or you can have the ham and Swiss croissant. At least you'll be getting a good supply of protein, and it's not high in calories. For lunch and dinner, you’d think the turkey sandwich would be a good choice, but it's the highest in calories. The roast beef sandwich isn’t bad in terms of calories, and the salads are both fair choices for a full meal. They’re served with dressing on the side, so try to use only half. As far as the individual snacks are concerned, wow, those are some pretty high-calorie items! Stick to the energy bars: At least they're portion controlled. Clearly these snacks are meant to share, but typically we eat whatever we’re given, especially on a long flight.
Snack and Meal Choices:
Snacks:
* Lay's Stax Potato Crisps (900 calories, 233 minutes of walking)
* Toblerone Chocolate Bar (510 calories, 132 minutes of walking)
* Walkers Shortbread Cookies (540 calories, 140 minutes of walking)
* Fisher Salty Nut Mix (630 calories, 163 minutes of walking)
* Clif Bar Oatmeal Raisin Walnut (240 calories, 62 minutes of walking)
* Odwalla Banana Nut Nutritional Bar (240 calories, 62 minutes of walking)
Snack Boxes:
Luxe (Total = 607 calories, 157 minutes of walking):
* Multigrain chips (210 calories)
* Olives (40 calories)
* Crackers (35 calories)
* Cheese spread (79 calories)
* Grissini (70 calories);
* Chocolate-covered pretzels (110 calories)
* Hummus (63 calories)
Organic (Total = 436 calories, 113 minutes of walking):
* Cheese crackers (130 calories)
* Granola (130 calories)
* Apple chips (43 calories)
* Fruit stick (68 calories)
* Chocolate (65 calories)
Classic (Total = 616 calories, 159.5 minutes of walking):
* Kettle Chips (150 calories)
* Salami (80 calories)
* Oreos (100 calories)
* Cheddar spread (70 calories)
* Goldfish (100 calories)
* Crackers (70 calories)
* Jelly beans (46 calories)
Active (Total = 634 calories, 164 minutes of walking):
* Almonds (260 calories)
* Tortilla chips (180 calories)
* Turkey stick (50 calories)
* Salsa (20 calories)
* Thinkfruit Bar (80 calories)
* Raisins (44 calories)
Breakfast: (before 10 a.m. on flights 3 1/2 hours or longer)
* Continental breakfast (Total = 613 calories, 159 minutes of walking): French toast bagel (180 calories); cream cheese (313 calories); strawberry jam (30 calories); strawberry yogurt (90 calories)
* Yogurt parfait (310 calories, 80.5 minutes of walking)
* Cinnamon muffin (470 calories, 122 minutes of walking)
* Blueberry muffin (440 calories, 114 minutes of walking)
* Ham & Swiss croissant (338 calories, 87.5 minutes of walking)
Lunch / Dinner Salads and Sandwiches: (after 10 a.m. on flights 3 1/2 hours or longer)
* Spinach salad (553 calories, 143 minutes of walking)
* Chicken Caesar salad (505 calories, 131 minutes of walking)
* Turkey sandwich with chips (860 calories, 223 minutes of walking)
* Roast beef sandwich with chips (536 calories, 139 minutes of walking)
* Thai chicken wrap with chips (672 calories, 174 minutes of walking)
* Assorted cheese tray (570 calories, 148 minutes of walking)
* Antipasto plate (410 calories, 106 minutes of walking)
The complete report including other airline meal/snack options can be found posted at http://www.dietdetective.com/columns...rvey-2009.aspx
Dec 7, 2009, 11:49 am
#2
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: UA Gold 1MM, AA EXP, HH Diamond, MR Gold, Avis PC, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,252
Thanks for sharing this! I've been looking for the info for a while but had given up. Had sent emails to UA but not heard anything.
Dec 7, 2009, 12:02 pm
#3
Join Date: Aug 2007
Programs: UA 1K MM
Posts: 176
Wow great info! Do you happen to know the calories for the recent domestic C offerings -- I've had the salad with steak about four times lately. Also had a hot turkey sandwich with way too much bread. Thanks!
Dec 7, 2009, 12:27 pm
#4
Join Date: May 2006
Location: MYF/CMA/SAN/YYZ/YKF
Programs: COdbaUA 1K MM, AA EXP, Bonbon Gold, GHA Titanium, Hertz PC, NEXUS and GE
Posts: 5,839
I think we should get a petition started to bring back the RightBite box. Was, bar none, the healthiest option on any airline.
Dec 7, 2009, 12:41 pm
#5
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: YVR SFO
Programs: UA G
Posts: 4,866
+1 from me for RightBite. Nowadays I alternate between Active and Organic to make it even out to RightBite-ish.
Dec 7, 2009, 1:25 pm
#6
Join Date: Aug 2007
Programs: UA 1K MM
Posts: 176
What was in the RightBite?
Dec 7, 2009, 1:41 pm
#7
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,854
Dec 7, 2009, 2:29 pm
#8
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 20
i prefer the luxe box. you can always skip the chocolate pretzel. it is a very filling assortment of snacks.
Dec 7, 2009, 2:32 pm
#9
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: SAN
Programs: UA 1MM/1K, HH Diamond
Posts: 6,832
Frankly I'm surprised the calorie counts are as low as they are... I always assume these things are like 1,000+ calories a box and behave accordingly.