Eating on the Plane

The plane ride can go much faster when you eat a meal. And on long flights when they do offer a meal, your own food will probably be better. Also, you may not have time to eat before the flight and this will be the best opportunity to eat a meal.
Having room to manage your food can be difficult. Try to get an exit row aisle for that reason. Also if you are a frequent flier you might get upgraded to first class which makes it even easier. Remember that an aisle seat always gives you more room. Avoid the bulk head since you cannot stow your cooler under the seat. Also, sometimes a cooler will leak or condense moisture from the air so you do not want to stow it in the overhead with other peoples stuff.
Once the plane has taken off you can use your tray and spread out paper towels. The items in your cooler should be ready to put together for a meal. You may also bring your own ceramic plate and metal fork to lessen the carbon footprint. The easiest meal to make is a salad. Mixed field greens, tomato, avocado, nuts, baked chicken or chicken salad, boiled egg, and carrots are ingredients you can carry with you and easily make into a salad. Put your salad together on the plate. Take your own dressing in a small container that is less than three ounces or make some with a Dijon Mustard packet and a honey packet. Another easy meal is french bread, cheese, olives, pesto, and procuitto. Snacks are also easy to carry on the plane. Carrots, celery sticks, cheese and crackers, and hummus are great snacks. Neutral smelling foods are more respectful of your neighbors on the plane. Seafood and pungent cheeses should probably be avoided.
On the rare occasion there is a meal on the plane, the food for sale on some airlines are actually good and are made with high quality ingredients. Delta has a cheese plate and salad option that is good. But some airline food should be avoided. Even the peanuts will have added ingredients like msg. Read all the labels and remember free is not always the best option. In the first class cabin the food is getting better. For example Delta offers apples and bananas as additional snack options. Peanuts, cookies, and Twix bars are also available. Try to stick with the fresh fruit and peanuts. The meals in first class are also getting healthier. Salads and more vegetables are prevalent. So if the meal that is being offered is something you would eat then you can always save your food for later. But, if you are in coach and the meal is processed packaged food then you can eat the food you brought with you.
Eating healthy on the plane is possible. You do not have to grab a stale sandwich or a greasy burger at the last minute. Some food brought on board in a small cooler will make the trip more enjoyable. You never know when a scheduled forty five minute flight will turn into a three hour wait on the tarmac. That is when you will be glad you are a traveling foodie with your own food ready to eat!