For the Kids

The goal is filling. Leave the biohacking for home. Try to go easy on the sugar - jumpy and irritable at 30,000 feet is not where you want to be.

• Noodle soup
• Oatmeal packets
• Cheese blintzes
• Mini containers of plain pasta, couscous, or white rice
• Sushi
• String cheese and crackers
• Pretzels and Cheerios
• Craisins, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers (peppers go bad fast)
• Squeezies and compote pouches. These are filling, mess-free, and there's an Israeli version of the applesauce ones without added sugar
• Plain rolls and bread with spreads. Put a tablespoon of jam, chocolate spread, or ketchup into the corner of a small plastic bag, seal it, and tear it open when it's time to eat
• Sliced fruit and vegetables

One thing to know: ready-made sandwiches from home sound like a great idea. They are almost never eaten. Learn from the rest of us.

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For the Teens and Adults

• A poke bowl - neat, filling, and feels like a real meal
• Cheese latkes
• Salami with slices of bread
• For a night flight: cold cuts, small containers of condiments and pickles, and a fresh baguette assembled right before eating. It's the kind of meal everyone actually looks forward to, and after something that filling you usually only need a danish or two to get through to landing.

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How you pack it matters

• Use ziplock bags and containers instead of simple plastic bags. It keeps everything more appetizing and easier to find mid-flight

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• Line vegetable containers with a paper towel to absorb excess water, it keeps them fresh much longer

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• The schnitzel method: pack each schnitzel in its own individual bag, and prepare small 100ml containers of plain pasta, rice, or couscous as sides. More prep, but mealtimes on the plane become a lot easier

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Remember before you land:

If you're flying to America - or anywhere with customs dogs - do not bring meat off the plane. Finish it before you land or throw it out before baggage claim. While they won't always find it, they'll pull you aside if they do, and they will not let you just toss it and go. There's always that one family who learns this the hard way with a pastrami sandwich. Don't be that family.

Have a great flight staple we didn't mention? Leave it in the comments!

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