Airport Food Choices… Not So Good

If you spend much time traveling for work or pleasure, you know how difficult it can be to make healthy choices in an airport. And it’s even worse when you get stuck in the airport due to delays and cancellations … American Airlines? Luckily I don’t travel too much for business so I don’t have to deal with this situation very often. But I know that my clients who frequently travel often have a difficult time with healthy airport food choices.

Last week I made a trip to Detroit to lecture on Diet, Lifestyle and Hypertension for Novartis.  I flew on Northwest Airlines. As usual, I was rushing and didn’t have time to eat prior to the flight. Searching for something to eat at the airport, I soon realized that I didn’t have too many healthy options.  It was funny that later on that evening, the chef who did the cooking demonstration at the Novartis lecture mentioned to me that he had a “horrible food day”. He was stuck at an airport for hours and ended up eating a donut and a rueban sandwich!

So I decided to write a post on healthy eating in airports. I am basing this info on what I saw at the Northwest Terminal. Other larger terminals  have more food choices (some better and some worse).

Here are the food options I found at the Northwest Terminal at LaGuardia airport:
Chiles Too
Sbarro’s
Burger King
Nathans
Dunkin Donuts kiosk
Starbucks
Fox Sports cafe
Magazine stores (sell snack type foods)

Keep in mind that most of these places only offer a limited number of choices – not the full menu as you might see at one of your local restaurants.  While most of the food I saw was quite unhealthy ( i.e. Nathans fried hot dog nuggets, Chili’s Too buffalo wings, B.K. cheese burgers and fries, etc.), there were some “acceptable choices”.

“Acceptable food choices” at Northwest Terminal at Lagurdia Airport:

Healthy nutrition tips when traveling in airports:

1. If you don’t have time for a meal prior to heading out the airport, pack something to take along – or pick something up at your local deli. Waiting in airports can be stressful and/or boring… which can bring out emotional eating in many people. Bringing your own healthy snacks can do damage control. Suggestions: turkey sandwich, yogurt, fruit, nuts, string cheese. Snack on these healthier choices rather than purchasing the not-so-healthy snacks on your flight.

2. Be on the lookout for healthy food options in the airport. Most airports sell turkey or grilled chicken sandwiches. Use mustard versus mayo. You might also want to remove the cheese to save about 200 calories and 20 gm of fat. Other healthy options include a salad with grilled chicken. Make sure you get dressing on the side and use it sparingly. A better choice would be to ask for low calorie dressing.

3. Foods that contain protein, fat or fiber tend to hold you the longest. This is especially important if your flight gets delayed and you end up sitting there for hours…  This could turn into a diet disaster! So something like a turkey sandwich would be a better choice than a muffin. An ounce of nuts (make sure its one ounce – most portions are larger!) and a fruit would be a better choice than a bag of pretzels.

4. Drink plenty of water. This may help you to eat less. Also, flying tends to cause dehydration.