16 Lunches and Dinners to Pack for the Airport

Here is a quote from a post I famously contributed to on the subject of packing food for the airport:

Normally, my airport food isn't some beautiful little snack I've diligently packed away—it is bodega yogurts and bags of pretzels and peanut butter cups. Why, Heidi, would you ask me to gently sauté a ginger onion paste while I’m supposed to be packing? I hardly have the time to fold my laundry, let alone swaddle herbs in barely warmed oil.

The Heidi in question here is Heidi Swanson, whose delicate little spring rolls I was making as a test to see if it was, indeed, worth it to add “make food” to your already long list of flight prep. (See: “remember toothbrush,” “where is your license,” and “CHARGERS?!?!?”)

Spoiler alert: It was. I may have felt twee wrapping and packing these up, but I felt like a winner once I got to my terminal. A winner who has her life together, and who got at least half her servings of vegetables that day.

You can do it too, and you should. Here are 16 lunches that will pack and serve you well for long flights:

Great grain salads:

Lentil salads:

Salads that won't wilt:

Noodle salads that are better cold, anyway:

This article was originally published in July 2016, but it's never a bad idea to pack your own airplane meal!

Do you have a airport meal tradition? (Alternatively: What's the weirdest thing you ever ate on an airplane?) Tell us in the comments.