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I just got back from a trip and brought homemade Nan (a flatbread) and whole wheat chocolate chips cookies with me. I'll usually bring sliced fruit and cheese for a longer flight. As for liquid I just bring an empty reusable water bottle through security and fill it up on the otherside from a water fountain. You can save yourself some money since airport food is so expensive and save some trash from going into a landfill by using reusable containers for your food.

Every time we fly intracontinental, we bring food with us. We probably look like snobs, but I really can not stomach the airline food. It makes me sick. On top of the things that you mentioned, I usually make croissant sandwiches with smoked salmon, creme fraiche, cucumber and dill. Cut them in halves and each goes in a ziplock. Roasted almonds are a must, so is dark chocolate in small quantities. These can go thru security no problem in your backpack. I also bring individual servings of plain yogurt and have cubed mango or other fruit with it. Perfect dessert - it will make everyone around you jealous.:-) I recently (although it was a flight within US) had a liter of water in my travelling bag and passed thru security no problem... But I doubt it would work on an international flight - much tighter security

how is cooked rice "finger food"?

I consider packing food for a flight to be a lot of fun. I posted my tips for this task on my blog: http://cooking4theweek.blogspot.com/2007/07/just-plane-food.html

Obviously, the big no-nos: Nothing stinky, drippy, too oily ...

The things that people forget (and that can make your trip so much better):
Pack napkins and /or moist towelettes for cleanup.
Pack something for breakfast and/or snack - on a long flight you will be starving by the time you land and it can very disorienting to have to cure the munchies in an unfamiliar airport (I like cheddar and crackers and dried fruit for this).
Pack something for your neighbors - you don't have to share your whole meal, but you can make friends quickly if you share a square of chocolate, a cookie or a piece of fruit.

$23.50 for a tortilla wrap??!!

uh,... I don't think so!

Here in Europe, every flight we have been on has come with food -- much better food than anything that North American airlines come up with. And the food is actually pretty good on SwissAir. With 2 small children, I may bring along fail-safe food for them, but we are too loaded down to also lug all our food (much less to be able to take the time to make it).

Hope you enjoy Geneva -- we've had a cold wet spring, so hopefully it is nice while you are here.

I'm pretty sure forks are still okay, and you can always ask for those from the flight attendants anyway. A salad takes less than 3 oz. dressing so you could make a salad and pack a spice jar of dressing in with your toothpaste. (Eww?)

@spossberg: but you can eat rice with a spoon!

@monika1 - what part of CH are you in?

@Sunday Cook - your linked post is great - and good tip on the moist towelettes!

My sister recently flew domestically with some baklava in her pack, though I suspect the way she got it through security was to slip them a piece.

ummm... that sandwich look really satisfying! forget stale pretzels and nuts!

That Skymeals site is something else. I'm still trying to figure out their chicken dish which is described as "Plucked out of the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea."

Swimming chickens, anyone?

I always buy those premade spring rolls and samosas that they sell at Rainbow. They're yummy and easy to pack/eat. Not cheep though.

Last time I flew I brought prefab crackers with peanut butter--stuck them in the ziploc with the toiletries. (Next time hopefully I'll have time to make some sort of breakfast cookie with fruit and nuts, so I'll have something more nutritious to eat.) I remember reading a news story about a member of Congress who was trying to see what it was like to live on the amount of food you can buy with a standard food stamp allotment; he forgot about the TSA rules and had his peanut butter sandwich confiscated, which really put a dent in his food budget for the month.

I second the suggestion to bring your own bottles and fill them up once you pass security. No sense paying those outrageous prices in the airport.

Makes me feel not so stupid to hoard all the thick (and conveniently short) Delta plastic. I think they hand out wimpy ones now. So the old thick forks spoon and knives are strong enough to get some real use out of. They fit neatly in to a snack size zip bag and into my empty water bottle.

@ADonuts - LOL! Good catch! I just submitted it to the FailBlog (http://failblog.wordpress.com/)

For long flights I usually pack a Japanese obento:
Omusubi (rice balls wrapped in seaweed or pickled mustard greens), Tamagoyaki (egg omelet), orange slices and a package of miso soup (not the dried kind but the one that has real miso and you dilute w/hot water).

I pack it in a recycled small box (usually from xmas).

Oh and I also bring a small zip lock bag of cereal for my morning breakfast.

I've shared my meals with seat mates many times and made many new friends!

I love Japanese obento for flights too, although I usually will just buy a prepacked one from the Japanese market. They often come with a variety of little dishes, and you can eat it with chopsticks, which you can take through security.

Lately, though, our regular treat has been to pack BLTs on really good baguettes (pack the bacon separately so it doesn't get soggy). We don't eat them that often, so it's a real mood lifter on the plane!

Certainly, you mean airline food DOES leave a lot to be desired?

1) Remember that regular food just does not taste the same on a plane. So you may need to spice up to make it tasty.
2) You cannot bring an empty bottle passed security as far as I have seen on my frequent trips. So filling up once through will likely not be an option.
3) Indeed, in Europe I never take food on the plane. Usually the airline food is pretty much OK.

I also wish you a nice stay in Geneva ( i live only 25km / 15 car-minutes from there ) !

Personally, i've rarely had bad experiences about the quality of the food on airplanes. European Airlines ( Swiss, Lufthansa, KLM ) offer either customercards, were your profile is registered and where you can precise that you are vegetarian, or you ask for a special meal when booking your flights. Generally, but this is my opinion, the vegetarian food is very good!

So, have a nice flight, take some warm clothes ( still rather cool here, 9-11°Celsius) and enjoy Geneva !

Kathryn -

we are in Geneva, within sight (and sound) of the airport (not on a flightpath, thankfully). It's actually Grand Saconnex. (trade or humanitarian?)

yup, always take an empty water bottle. They'll make you pour out the water if you bring it full but they'll let you take the empty container. I'm disturbed by how many plastic water bottles are used on each flight I have been on. I don't think I have a 3 oz container to put apple sauce or pudding into.

Unless you're flying an amazing (usually international) airline where they serve you tiramasu and a beautiful sandwich with your own mini bottle of wine, packing food for the plane is essential.

There are some great ideas here - personally, I'm a big fan of packing kitchen-sink pasta, which is both filling and travels well:

http://jcarrot.org/why-i-love-bad-airplane-food/

The last few flights we were on not only served zero food, but the chips and snacks they did serve - you had to buy.
Here's what I like to bring:

Fruit & Nut bars -Lara bars are soo good, aren't messy and fill you up
Hard cheese and crackers
Mrs. May's roasted nuts
Beef jerky

@ Kathryn

Glad you like the post. One other item I forgot to mention: I always pack an extra napkin to use as a placemat - those tray tables can be *really* nasty. To keep things cheerful I use those super-fancy paper napkins with fun and beautiful patterns.

For water, I use Platypus bottles that I fill in the airport: they fold up flat when empty, so they don't take up any extra space when they aren't holding water.

Have a great trip!

weird are those new tsa rules? we were told no food whatsoever can be brought through security unless you have a medical need in january, my friend got her cookies confiscated, also another person in our group had their empty water bottle taken away

Re: ordering the vegetarian meal... they can be very good, but beware having those if you're on a long flight. My husband and I are both vegetarian and ordered all veggie meals for our 18-hour flight to Thailand. Every meal (and there were three of them!) consisted of starchy white rice, white bread, and a few vegetables. The combination of all the binding refined grains and sitting for 18 hours had us completely.. well, stopped-up for four days in Bangkok. We were miserable and wished we had had the forethought to bring tasty food with us like you suggest.

I fly internationally quite often for work and find that the food on any non-U.S. based airline always surpasses our American airline food... that is, if they even serve a meal!

Coming back from the mango festival last year I brought on a case of various mangos as my "carry on" and no one blinked an eye!

TSA : What to know before you go

RalphEMole: I can think of no reason why cookies should be confiscated unless they were full of a creamy substance. (little debbie oatmeal cakes?) I believe you were the unfortunate victim of misunderstanding.
When it comes to the food items it is pretty safe to say that if it is not mentioned in the link above, you can take it. I would also remind everyone that if you have an experience where TSA has confiscated something that is not on the prohibited list, in some way you should definatly ask for a comment card. If you are uncomfortable asking the peeps that took your things then ask at the arrival airport or use the website. If no one reports inconsistencies like getting cookies taken than it will never get stopped.

Actually, you can bring plastic knives, according to the TSA's website you linked us too.

I've had success taking an empty water bottle through security. I suggest using a disposable water bottle in case the security officer is having a bad day.

Did anyone see on the TSA's website that "Toy Transformer Robots" are allowed? :-) Must be a joke.

Most flight lunches come with a little container of lettuce they call a "salad." It's just enough for a sandwich. Pack a very good pretzel croissant, pack some single servings of mayo you filch from the restaurants, and pack some lovely cooked bacon and a few cherry tomatoes. You can assemble, right on your tray, the most lovely BLT sandwich, right there.

Pack a small container of thick greek yogurt, which holds up well, and a single serving or two (again, condiment size packages) of honey. Honey over Greek Yogurt is an excellent dessert or breakfast, particularly if you also pack walnuts, to sprinkle on top.

i think a few sushi rolls would be perfect, or their korean variety, kim bap

order the vegetarian or vegan meal (you have to special request this at least 24 hours before your flight). you always get served first and the food is WAY better.. you generally get fresh fruit and some other yummy items that actually have flavor. wish i would have known this little secret before i became vegetarian.. would have saved my stomach a great deal..

hah! the 3 oz limit was the premise of a funny scene on 30 rock last week.

how long has this limit been in effect?
i've been loading up my backpack with wraps and sandwiches, including international flights!!

on a side note: my friends and i always bring fresh fruit, bread, and nutella ....mmmmm...nutella.

just had to share one more thing.
true story: last year i got sick and couldn't go with my family to chicago. my dad came back with a deep dish pizza and two hot dogs with the works.
hah!

When my mom visits out-of-state relatives, she takes a brisket in her carryon. I hadn't heard about them confiscating food. I brought a Korean fried chicken leftovers with a side of pickled radish and that wasn't confiscated when I flew in March. And I had my little Swiss Army knife that I forgot to take out of my purse -- either TSA didn't spot it or didn't care. I found it after I arrived and mailed it home.

...the only problem with ordering the vegetarian meals on flights is that sometimes (I particularly had this experience on Virgin Air) they consist of maybe 100 calories, as they are basically just some vegetables, maybe some starch, and no protein. Nice for a diet (I guess) but not for a long flight...it's not gourmet but I tend to just bring some good pb&j sandwiches on whole wheat bread, some fruit, and some dessert-like item (mostly for the psychological benefit). I've never had those things confiscated, but have had yogurt taken at least twice (though I blamed myself for forgetting the second time, not FSA for wrongly enforcing the rules).