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totally agree on empty water bottle! There is no way i am paying 3 bucks for a bottle of water that I can get for 1.50 in a regular store.

I doubt you can get a honey stick through security. But wasn't there a feature on here recently about SOLID honey, sold by a Canadian company? That would fly (literally).

My longest flights have been 14 hours (NY to Tokyo). I would advise against the cabbage. Even if it doesn't give you gas on terra firma, remember you will be doing way too much sitting so your body, including your digestion, just won't be working its best, so everything you choose needs to be easy on the stomach.

I think you should something less fruit/veg/protein and more carb for the cabbage. Small cup-of-noodle type things or instant oatmeal in its own cup? You can usually get hot water from the flight attendents.

I usually make my own granola bars; they don't have any funny ingredients like store bought bars. I also toast my own almonds, walnuts, pecans, or any other nuts that I have on hand. I have made Alton Brown's Spiced nuts several times and they are great for munch on the road - plenty of flavors with great nutrition.

http://sweatyguineapig.posterous.com/new-american-breakfast-irish-o

I would think you could get your honey stick through security if it's small enough to go into your TSA-permitted Ziploc bag.

On my last long trip, I found carrot sticks a very refreshing snack. Also a "trail mix" of roasted almonds, dried cherries, and dark chocolate chips. I also went to a local Middle Easter deli and got a few small meat pies. They are easily portable, keep long enough for at least the first leg of the trip, taste good at room temperature, and feel more substantial than just "snacky" stuff.

Be prepared to lose your empty water bottles and clementines at security. I've had each confiscated before.

If the honey stick is under 3 oz (I've never seen one bigger, but you never know!), and in your plastic bag for liquids, it will go through. Anything slightly viscous, as long as it's in a container clearly marked 3 oz or less and in that baggie, gets through at O'Hare.

An alternative--which I have done--is to fill a travel squeeze bottle with honey and put that in the liquids baggie. It's a pain--because you have to move things around in your carry-on once you get through security--but you're not as limited in bringing things through as you might think.

All stuff that holds its shape outside of the container (Lipstick, Rosebud salve, solid shampoo, for instance) don't need to be in the baggie, so you can have plenty of room for food in your liquids bag with judicious selection of cosmetics.

Just put the honey sticks in your pocket. They won't set off metal detectors.

Maybe I'm the exception to the rule but I never bring snacks on a long plane ride. The only place they actually feed you these days is a long-haul international flight and I gladly eat what they're serving.

As far as water goes, I always forget to buy water in the airport but on my last long journey (28 hours total flight time) the flight attendants were constantly bringing water by so it wasn't a problem.

My mom is the type of person that packs food and drink as though she were being dropped off in the middle of the desert but I've never seen the need for it.

fresh fruit and veggies may be confiscated when you go through customs, so if you have to clear immigration between flights, be sure to eat your produce on the first plane.

Some thoughts:
For the first leg, don't eat anything. I constantly see people eating onboard airplanes in the middle of the night and then bitch about why they don't immediately fall asleep. Give your body at least 3 hrs between the last meal and the time you want to sleep.

Staying awake on the second leg is more a question of getting your metabolism up than anything. 10 pushups in the aisle every hour do the trick just fine.

Also keep in mind that eating on airplanes is more caused by boredom than by hunger. You don't really need that much food just sitting still all day. So rather than thinking about what to pack to eat, think about what to pack to keep you occupied.

Honeysticks in the bag for liquids should pass TSA.

I recommend bringing a sports bottle (or bike bottle). Never caused me any trouble with TSA, and you don't even have to fill it at the airport. Just ask the flight attendants. They will happily fill it for you (Better than being chimed every 5 mins!). They just have regulations that prevents them from handing out their waterbottles.

Have a good trip.

p.s.: I would save those Odwalla bars for Kenya if I were you

Unless you have some NEED to have a water bottle available to you at every second, I'd ditch the bottles. Airports have water fountains for layovers, and on the plane, flight attendants will give you water for free whenever you want. NOT having a full water bottle in your carry-on makes a huge difference when you're hoofing it around airports too.

Also, I never take food on long haul flights and I never get hungry because I eat whatever they offer and it's usually more than enough. But I'm pretty small so bigger people might need snacks. :-) And if you ask before the flight, they can give you a vegetarian option if you're trying to eat healthier.

I fly from the US to Kenya a few times a year, and I've basically settled on three things for the trip:
- dried fruit (cranberries, cherries, mango)
- macadamia nuts
- empty water bottles (2)

I haven't had good luck relying on the flight attendants for water. They're usually helpful and nice, but it's just a hassle to me and to them for me to constantly have to ask them for water.

I always use two ziploc bags for the dried fruit because one inevitably tears. I've had bad luck with fresh fruit; my hands get sticky or citrus fruit gets damaged in the bag. It doesn't happen every time, but it's heavy and it's not really worth the weight. Plus there's tons of fresh fruit in the airport in Europe and in Kenya.

One last thing - when you're departing Nairobi (if that's where you're going) - be sure to go to the coffee shop at the airport. It's past security and in the area where international flights depart from. They sell the best oatmeal cookies/bars--they're almost worth the trip themselves.

Actually, grain salads (couscous, orzo, etc.) with some veggies and a vinaigrette (and possibly some dairy, such as crumbled feta) travel at room temp quite well for a long time with no problems. I also agree with PatJ--instead of just sunflower seeds, how about some homemade trail mix? Or Trader Joe's makes great mixes with dried fruits and nuts.

Finally, I love bringing some of the health food store versions of cup-o-noodle or cup of soup. They are light to carry in their cardboard containers, the stewards/stewardesses are nice about filling them up with boiling water, and on a long flight there's something comforting about a hot, light soup.
Try this: http://www.veganessentials.com/catalog/dr-mcdougall-chicken-flavor-vegan-ramen-cup.htm, or Fantastic Foods and Nile Spice make a bunch (Lentil Curry Couscous, Sweet Corn Chowder).

I bring semi-hard cheese cubes, small salami or jerky from our local charcuterie, almonds, thick-skinned fruits (oranges work well), and brownies or cookies.

I've been on that flight too (but even worse—beginning in LA, not NY), so you have my sympathy!

Skip the cabbage; it is going to be messy and smelly (long flights are not good times to annoy those sitting near you). Granola bars, cookies, dried fruit, whole wheat crackers pre-spread with peanut butter, and chocolate are all good. I also like taking some substantial sandwiches; I have never regretted bringing them. Some small, individually wrapped cheeses are also a good snack.

Good tip about the empty water bottles; I will remember that one.

Enjoy Kenya; it's great! Too bad you only get to stay a week.

Be careful about bringing peanut butter. Some people have serious allergies.

My boyfriend and I recently did 20 hours to Thailand. Clementines will make the whole plane jealous.


We also brought tiny individual packets of almond butter, dried seaweed, a huge bag of Trader Joe's dried white peaches, individual cheese sticks (they have to be individually wrapped), green tea bags, good dark chocolate, croissants, clementines, carrot sticks, popcorn, whole wheat pretzels, and baby wipes! They forgot our vegetarian meals on the plane so this food stash literally saved me!

My husband and I travel quite a bit for fun. Our longest was from Los Angeles to Ushuaia, Argentina, which was 27 hours. I bring my own water bottle, which I fill at the airport and empty before customs. I also bring instant coffee and oatmeal - you can almost always get hot water (and when you get to your destination, if you wake up at 3 in the morning starving, you've got something).

Non food essentials we've found are eye-masks and noise-cancelling headphones!

I like having banana-chocolate-chip muffins.

I always bring a water bottle for flights, even short ones.

Please don't bring nuts or nut products on an airplane. People with airborne allergy can have life-threatening complications from your snack since you're sharing the same air. So no peanut butter or nuts in the granola, please please please.

For the same air-sharing reason, be careful not to pack "stinky" foods. Garlicky hummus may be wonderful to you, but the person across the aisle might not appreciate the intrusion.

Have fun in Kenya!

And when you get back, I can't wait to hear your food experiences.

On long-haul flights, even with kids, we don't take much.

After security, we usually buy bottles of water, maybe a banana, yogurt and fruit juice (our son is terribly picky, and would probably go hungry if the airplane meal did not appeal), maybe some cheese or a sandwich. Okay, that sounds like a lot! But it is all for just 1 2-year old!

It's been mentioned before, but watch out for foods that are sticky, smelly, or likely to leak. I routinely do a similar flight (Boston to India with a stopover in Europe), and I bring apples, granola bars, roasted edamame (from Trader Joe's), hard candy, a few pieces of chocolate, and lots and lots of napkins. I'd also suggest staying away from the cabbage or anything that might not digest easily. You shouldn't have any trouble bringing whatever is left in to Kenya (it's never been a problem for me in India, and I always bring extra granola bars and fruit for snacks), but be careful about coming back home. I've had produce confiscated at the airport in Boston.

Also, with regard to meals, I typically don't eat on the redeye to Europe. Once at the airport in Europe, I'll grab a sandwich or something I can eat half of in the airport and take the rest with me just in case the plane food sucks. Snacks are nice, but I know I'll need at least one real meal on the plane. On the second (daytime) flight to India, I do my best to limit sleep to a two hour nap mid-flight so that I'm actually ready for bed when we land at 11 pm Indian time.

Have a great time in Kenya!

I try to travel with something similar to a plowman's lunch -- some pickles (I pick whole ones since they are drier), jerky/cut meat/salami, fruit, cheese, and a bread crust. I love to take fruit, since it comes pre-wrapped from nature in a single serving size. I tend to shy away from juicy or sticky fruits as well as items that need to be cut or peeled - I take pears, apples, bananas, harder berries like strawberries or cranberries, and grapes. I also bring cheeses, like Laughing Cow in different flavors, since they are already portioned out and keep nicely. I throw in some crackers or bagel crisps, and I'm set.

It is always better to pack some sandwiches while you travel. This will stay for long and could be delicious and a could substitute even a major meal. Good Travel Plannersplan their menu well ahead of the travel date.