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| Picture courtesy of selectadventures.com |
Today we shift gears a little bit and talk about the joys of air travel
and meals.
I am a frequent flyer but I hate flying. I am hardly the only one.
A slew of Facebook pages and numerous blogs are dedicated to this topic. Like most air travelers, I have a vastly growing list of complaints (long, slow-moving lines; ever-changing TSA rules and regulations; underpaid, under-trained and overly enthusiastic airport
security; boarding stampedes, dirty lavatories, overstuffed carry-on bags the
size of a Smart car, inconsiderate people with giant backpacks whacking everyone
within a 3-foot radius, announcers who cannot speak the language they are
announcing in, and so on) but don’t get me started on the state of airline food.
No need to belabor what we all know, airplane food in coach (and often in
business class) is simply inedible.
Finding healthy food in the airport terminal can be tricky (most food courts offer fast food) so I try to eat at home before leaving. I also avoid in-flight
meals even on long-haul
flights (8 hours +). As an elite-status frequent traveler I am often upgraded to Business or
First Class but still no mile high grub for me. These meals are usually high in
carbohydrates, sodium and preservatives and that is the least of the problems
(in 2010 the FDA concluded that many airplane meals were prepared in unsanitary
and unsafe conditions that could lead to illness).
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| www.kindsnacks.com |
My “travel
food” picks are straightforward: bottled water (available at the airport or on
the plane), some fresh fruit, unsalted almonds and a couple of Kind nutrition
bars (depending on the length of the journey I might add a tablet of Michel Cluizel dark chocolate). A glass of champagne never hurts but
do not overdo it as you can easily become dehydrated due to the dry air on the plane.
Kind
snacks are my
favorites but there are plenty of other choices on the market.
Their energy bars are healthy snacks with all natural ingredients (nutritional, gluten free, wheat free,
dairy free, certified kosher, non GMO (genetically modified organism), trans-fat free, low GI (glycemic index) and low in sodium); ingredients that consumers can "see and pronounce". They come
in many different flavors and combinations (Walnut & Date, Fruit & Nut
Delight, Almond & Coconut and many more) and taste great (not chewy or
chalky and no unpleasant aftertaste).
Kind nutrition bars have also come in handy when I needed something quick on the go or when
traveling through countries with limited food choices (two weeks of Indian food
is not easy on a Westerner's stomach).
According
to their website, “Eating
two KIND bars a day can help keep the pounds away. A study just completed by the Yale-Griffin Prevention
Research Center
The
company’s motto is “Do the Kind Thing”, an initiative to involve people in unexpected
acts of kindness, proving that a business can profit from making life better.
What’s
not to like? Do the right and the kind
thing (and while you are at it, please take that backpack off
when boarding and shuffling through the narrow plane aisles).
Kind bars
can be found throughout the US
