Plane Food

'Dre and me in Portland last summer

I'm taking a red-eye to New York tonight. (My Buffalo-hailing coworker says I shouldn't call it New York, because it's actually Ithaca I'm visiting.) My college roommate and dear, dear friend Andrea is working on her Master's degree at Cornell. I am so excited to see her!

I took my lunch at New Season's Market today. That's a pretty typical Thursday for me. I peruse the weekly sales between patients and phone calls on Wednesday, when they're announced online, and then I go take advantage on Thursday.

Grocery shopping is my guilty pleasure, more often done for pleasure than out of necessity. Cooking for one means that meal planning can be kept to a minimum. I go straight to the butcher counter and stock up on the specials. One for now, one for the freezer. Then I zig zag around and around the produce aisle. If I'm feeling naughty, I'll stop in at the freezer section for some coconut bliss. If I'm feeling indulgent, I'll pick out a goat or sheep cheese from their well stocked (and well labeled, with little animal graphics) cheese counter. Today, though, I was on a mission: plane food.

Avoiding food sensitivities is one thing in one's own kitchen. It's a WHOLE different story on the road, especially in airports where the choice is frequently between burgers, bagels, fruit smoothies and sketchy-looking salads.

I bought two apples, two packs of local jerky, almonds ("never eat those, they'll give you an ICV"), a pound of brussel sprouts, a pound of spicy Italian bulk sausage and a package of--gulp--wheat-free, dairy-free (sugar-filled) Newman's O's. The sausage and the brussels will get cooked up after work and crammed into the glass jars I hoard in the cupboard for transporting hot foods. I have about twelve hours of travel ahead of me, each way. If I can just resist the call of the Snickers bar, I'll be okay!