16 Hour Flight / 3 meals (dinner, breakfast, lunch)

[startnow]

Hi Everyone!
It is my 1st week anniversary! and I feel great! I am sleeping better - no more snoring, have more energy and seem to be happier. Is this all from just being on COhen for a week? I am soo looking forward to this life change.
I do have some challenges ahead of me but I am very positive I can get through them.
I need you help on giving me tips!
I am leaving for LA (16 hour flight) to spend the holidays with my inlaws on Friday and would like TIPS!

1. I am going on a 16 hour flight. What do I eat? With all the strict airline laws entering the US now - such as no liquid etc.. how can I bring food in the plane with me? I was thinking tuna in a can? IDEAS please! I am travelling wiht my 2 kids so yes i need the energy

2. I am going with family and we are doing the touristy stuff - is it better if I take my scale where ever i go and weigh my food or make pack lunches and just whip out my lunch wherever we go? Will they let me (restaurants?) Can i have sensible ideas in ordering in restaurants. They have huge portions in the states so Im sure i will need to bring my weighting scale - Im not to good with eye balling it yet.

3. For Christmas dinner my MiL is making roasted Beef Ribeye so to make my dinner a little special I am making myself grilled tenderloin with portabello and asparagus tips. May I replace the olive oil spray with truffle oil spray for some added flavor? Just wanted to make my dinner special

4. I have been trying my best to love chicken breast, but its the texture I cant stand. If i trim out all the fat the skin or a boneless chicken thigh - would i be able to subsitute this? This would help me tremendously!

5. I am only allowed to have the ff fish : tuna, tilapia, and asuhos. Is there any other fish out there than I can have?

6. I have read some people posting they have squash in their allowance - are we allowed to have this? and rice cakes?

This is all my questions for now. I apologize its sooo long but any tips would be great! Thank you in advance!

Dimples

[goodlucktummy]

re #1: cheese is easy to pack. tuna's also easy to bring - bring a little light mayo and make a salad.

re #2: I think it'd be easier to make packed lunches. Will you be staying in a place with kitchen access?

re #6: you're allowed tilapia?! lucky!
enjoy the holidays!

[jlou]

1. I am going on a 16 hour flight. What do I eat? With all the strict airline laws entering the US now - such as no liquid etc.. how can I bring food in the plane with me? I was thinking tuna in a can? IDEAS please! I am travelling wiht my 2 kids so yes i need the energy

Try to time your meals before you leave so you can eat just before you get on the plane.

Order a diabetic meal so that if you have dramas getting your food through, you at least have a back up plan.

Take some tinned asparagus and tinned tuna on the plane

2. I am going with family and we are doing the touristy stuff - is it better if I take my scale where ever i go and weigh my food or make pack lunches and just whip out my lunch wherever we go?

Get some handbag sized scales to take with you. If you can pre-prepare food do that. Freeze a bottle of water to use as an icebrick and then once you have eaten/it has melted, you will have coll water to drink too

Will they let me (restaurants?) Can i have sensible ideas in ordering in restaurants. They have huge portions in the states so Im sure i will need to bring my weighting scale - Im not to good with eye balling it yet.

If you are able to call ahead do so. However, I have noticed that in the US because the wait staff are earning from tips they will bend over backwards. So ask if your food can be weighed. Often with steak, the weights are on the menu. Just work out how many OUNCES your steak needs to be before you go because that is their measurement system.
If they won't weigh it for you, order based on the weight description on the menu, cut off what you think the extra will be and give it to hubby or the kids immediately.

Make sure you order no dressing on any salad.

Practice eyeballing by comparing the size of a meal with the size of your hand.

3. For Christmas dinner my MiL is making roasted Beef Ribeye so to make my dinner a little special I am making myself grilled tenderloin with portabello and asparagus tips. May I replace the olive oil spray with truffle oil spray for some added flavor? Just wanted to make my dinner special

No. If it is not on the plan then it is not on the plan. Truffle Oil will be there next Christmas when you are slim and fantastic! Take the opportunity to try new flavours. Before Cohens I did not like pepper at all. Now I am the one calling for cracked pepper!

4. I have been trying my best to love chicken breast, but its the texture I cant stand. If i trim out all the fat the skin or a boneless chicken thigh - would i be able to subsitute this? This would help me tremendously!

No - see above - if it's not on the plan, it's not on the plan... Try cooking the chicken breast a different way or doing it as nuggets (see the recipe section). or chop it up and mix through some mayonnaise?

5. I am only allowed to have the ff fish : tuna, tilapia, and asuhos. Is there any other fish out there than I can have?

You really need to check with your clinic as I do not know the fish in your area. We are also allowed Flake/Shark, Sole, Snapper, Flounder, Whiting, Hake, Dhufish and Snapper.

6. I have read some people posting they have squash in their allowance - are we allowed to have this? and rice cakes?

Yes squash is allowed as is zucchini. If you have Gem squash it is weighed cooked - everything else is weighed raw.

A thin rice cake counts as 2 crackers.

Have a great trip!

[sammie]

Heya

I just did a 10hr flight to the states and sealed food through immigration was no probs as long as less than 100mls. But what I did was on other side I went to a restuarant and had them make me up a salad with grilled chicken which I took on plane. We had no probs taking fruit or crackers on either. (this was in Sydney international).

Cheers

[startnow]

Thank you for all the great ideas!!
I feel much better about my long journey.
Will be planning ahead all my meals.
This is definitely making me an ORGANIZED eater!
Thanks again for all your replies!