Practical food to take on flight without anything served?

Pack the Right Food

Personally I never leave my house without an apple or two. This is especially true if I am about to begin a journey of any kind, be it by car, train or plane. So I would say any fruit you can pack without risking transforming it into mush, and that doesn't require tools to peel or eat, is a good candidate: apples, pears, oranges, (bananas if you are careful), etc.

If you need more calorific intake, then you can consider cereal bars or energy bars. These comes in various shapes sizes and flavours, and should help boosting your energy levels.

Finally, an all time favourite of travellers, packed peanuts, or other peeled nuts in general, are a good source of energy and good fats. You can either buy them in small (couple tens of grams) packs. An alternative is "borrowing" them as you visit airline lounges, bars, etc.

A Few Side Considerations

On a different note consider that carry-on luggage weight restriction might impact on your ability to pack food for the journey. Not so long ago I had to remove three apples from my backpack, and put them in my coat pockets, because of a 12kg weight limit for carry-on.

Moreover, keep in mind the some food items you plan on bringing might be subject to import regulations, if not banned. This is often the case for fruit, meat and dairy so think in advance. Worst-case scenario you just stuff your face right before landing, and you should be fine. :)

Gorp aka Trail mix is a good high-energy food. You can buy it ready-made, but it's quite cheap to make to your preference using ingredients from a bulk food store.

I also second or third the recommendation of dried mangos- a large resealable bag of Philippine brand dried mangos is a lot of food and doesn't weigh much- Costo has them for about CAD14- for almost 2lbs of concentrated deliciousness.

I've tried dried apricots, but they have side effects that my fellow travelers may find undesirable. Jerky is good too, but it should be consumed in flight since meat products are usually banned from that kind of entry. Fresh fruit such as bananas are nice, but again could pose an issue.

The bulk food store should also have things like wine gums, unwrapped candy bars, chunks of bittersweet chocolate etc.

If you brought them on board, you could probably get hot water for a cup of noodles, but I've never tried that. I imagine they would balk at a bowl.

Everything tends to get more expensive once you get to the airport, so planning ahead is a good idea if money is an object. If it isn't, there are often places beyond security that will prepare a lovingly crafted take-on meal for you- I think the Wolfgang Puck restaurants do that.

The list is long!

• trail mix
• granola bars
• biscuits
• cheese
• avocados
• sandwiches
• chocolate
• cereal bars
• energy bars
• cookies
• crackers
• dried fruit

ok but eat before you land (international):

• fruit
• vegetables

I would recommend having a small cheese selection, preferably sliced in packages, a nice sliced salami and bread. Adding some greens on top would make it more appealing, lettuce and avocado would be the safest and easiest in that case, though lettuce needs some preparation in advance, all the rest can be just bought at a supermarket before your flight. Don't worry about plastic knife and fork, they wouldn't mind giving you one for free even if you don't buy anything. I've tried this combination on a flight before and had a pleasure. Our flight had free tea/coffee service, although no food, and that added on the joy. Not to mention you definitely won't feel hungry after all these, they're completely safe in your backpack (no spilling risk) and they don't take up much space.

I'd stick to things like dried fruits, granola bars, cheese and crackers even. A sandwich should hold up pretty well too. Fruits and veggies like apple, bananas, carrot sticks, etc. are great options as well.