I'm vegetarian. UA doesn't serve veg meals in F in the US, or on flights to/from Canada.

I've been to almost every US state, flown close to a million miles to/from/around the US, and generally with few exceptions the food served in US airports is crap, and vegetarian food often difficult to find. Food in the lounges in the US tends to be junk food, processed crap, especially when compared to the LH lounges in Germany, which are frankly heavenly for a vegetarian.

When flying to/from/around the US I would far rather bring food which is decent then rely on finding something in the airport. (Canada is almost as bad; even those Peek Frean cookies commonly found in Relay shops in Canada contain animal fat, and for all that AC flyers gloat about how much better the MLLs are than US lounges, the food there has an extremely high sodium count, for the most part)

Agreed, nothing beats a durian as a snack, especially during in-flight turbulence.

I always carry mayo packs with me in my purse or carry-on and TSA so far has never said anything about them.

Don't most lounges have signs up these days stating food is for consumption in the lounge only?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/dinin...ing-board.html

Sahale Snacks makes really good dried fruit and nut snacks that you can leave in your carryon for a long time without worrying about them going bad. They make some of the snack packets sold by Starbucks, including a Cranberry-Almond mix with honey and sea salt (that they sell under their own brand as well.) It is a good alternative to candy, as it has less sugar, more protein and less saturated fat than most candy. I just bought a case for my dad for Christmas.

OK, those I like! They are sometimes available at ORD at that 'healthy' food stand across from the UA lounge. I don't like the vanilla flavour (seems fake to me) in the type sold at Starbucks, though. I do like the Walkers shortbread from Starbucks and often buy those to keep in my emergency rations.

Yes.

And there is less and less 'portable' food in lounges in North America (not to mention the BA lounges, and the LH lounges. I'm hardly going to pack hard boiled eggs and Brezl from the lounge in my handbag for the flight - not that I would consider packing a lunch 'purchased' at the lounge for onboard my flight anyways)

I can get cranky when I'm hungry. Also, when I get hungry it is easier to make poor dietary choices. It is a "Know Thyself" kind of thing. It can also be a "know your travel partners" kind of thing...

Minimus.biz offers a range of condiments http://www.minimus.biz/FoodMain.aspx
I do tend to save condiment packets for wasabi, soy sauce, etc.

I also travel with some plastic silverware in case I find something good for takeout while on the road but they don't offer utensils. i.e. Salad from a grocery store.

A nice durian jelly, with some nice Pont l�Eveque cheese on farmers bread always hits the spot.

+1

I travel with enough food so that if we are stuck on the tarmac and miss a meal, I can feed my kid. I've learned this the hard way. I generally keep a couple of granola bars and some small candies or other treat in my purse. In an airport I'll get a fruit cup, a sandwich, yogurt. If we are flying at an actual meal time, I'll bring whatever takeout food is available.

Safe to say Gefilte fish is out?

* It's expensive.
* A lot of the choices are full of carbs.
* A lot of the choices are full of sodium.
* A lot of the choices are full of fat.
* A lot of the choices are full of empty calories.
* A lot of the choices aren't particularly good.

What I have done is make a Cheese/Cracker/Dried Fruit Platter along with your favorite chocolate bar.

For morning flights You could buy a parfait from Starbucks or in a plastic container add your favorite oatmeal and bring with you a bowl and spoon and plastic knife along with dried fruits.

For coffee take film canisters or small containers and grind your own beans. Take your Travel mug and ask for hot water at the airport Starbucks or on the plane.

I also like taking Mixed Nuts . What I do is roast the mixed nuts at home in the oven and put it in ziplock bags. In another zip lock bag I'll add my Trail Mix(Costco makes great trail mix).

In another small bag I'll add mini alcohol bottles such as Rum, Gin, Vodka, Tequilla, Brandy, Whiskey mix it up so as long as your within the 3-1-1/

Then what you do is add it to your Coke or whatever mixer like Tonic water after the flight attendant has given your drink. It's not like your going to get caught because the flight attendant is busy doing other things and you can even bring your own stirrers. I think they are talking about bringing large bottles of alcohol and drinking it. Besides how is the airline going to know where you got these minis from as they use the same thing for their beverages.

I also like the KIND Energy bars, Chocolate Covered Almonds etc.

Just be creative and mix it up a bit. You could make a salad(just don't add smelly items like onions) in a tupperware and for the dressing you could go to a restaurant like Burger King and ask for a packet or two of dressings and they will gladly give it to you and be sure to tip them.

If you have access to the airline lounge take a few granola bars with you or buy the Nature Valley Honey Oat Granola Bars and take them with you.

Hope you enjoy your flights in coach. BTW to make your flights comfortable go onto Ebay and search for "First Class Amenity Kits" and purchase a couple of them. It's nice to have eyeshades, socks, earplugs and mini bottles of moisturizing cream and mini toothpaste and toothbrush to freshen up.

And don't forget to pack Smints or Altoids with you to keep your breath smelling fresh .

But if I know there is Pizza My Heart at SJC Airport I will forgo any meal known to man and get a few slices of their award winning pizza.

I also like going to local restaurants at the airport like The Brit at SJC. If there is a Dunkin Doughnuts or Krispy Kreme I'll go there.

I actually wait to have special treats at restaurants or concessions where I normally won't go otherwise.

For instance at LAX I went to Pink's Hot Dog Stand and enjoyed it.

I also love Pinkberry or another FroYo place.

In Chicago if they have Pizzeria Uno's at the airport I'll eat there.

And if time permits I will leave security and cab it to a local restaurant or even a Starbucks off airport to save money.

POUTINE!

was this a serious question?

Post #14 lists a number of quite good points.

I'll oblige your request to the extent that I won't bring durian onboard (though it seems that others will) Other than that for a bit you'll just have to put up with my pastrami from Katz or my meal from a hawker center or any number of other 'smelly' items.