Author Topic: Packing food in checked bag for Alaska trip - your ideas appreciated...  (Read 3602 times)

Trudie

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2106
We're doing a land-cruise tour of Alaska and I want to pack some snacks in my checked bag for the first leg of the trip.  I'm interested in if others have done this and what you packed?  I'm not looking to eat out of my suitcase for 5 days, but just want to pack enough snacks that I can maybe not have to buy all of our food at the lodges when we are beholden to the tour company.  I will pay a little extra for "convenience foods" if they are packaged in a way that makes it easier and less likely to make a mess on the plane.

mm1970

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 10881
Not exactly what you are asking, but here's a blog post about packing for travel.  (Though this is if you aren't checking a bag):

http://mrspetridish.blogspot.com/2015/07/how-to-travel-with-all-of-your-meals.html

I almost always travel with snacks. I  really don't enjoy eating out.  I want to eat healthy food. We are vacationing soon and I'm planning on packing some snacks and buying more at the other end.

Stuff that I can pack:
pouches of salmon and tuna
canned chicken
nuts, raisins, nut bars, other dried fruits
beef jerky
freeze dried fruits and veggies
"just add water" noodles (there are some brands that you can get at TJ's where you just need to add hot water, no need to microwave)

I figure on my vacation, since I will have a fridge, I will be living on cheese, veggies, hummus, fruit, hard boiled eggs, nuts, dried fruit, oats, yogurt, and gluten free crackers.

geekette

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2550
We have friends who had family in the Virgin Islands, so they'd freeze and pack whole hams and chickens!

But seriously, you can pack almost any food in checked; just wrap 'em well.  Dried fruits, jerky, nuts, sturdy crackers, peanut butter, hard cheeses (they really don't need refrigeration for short periods), granola bars, prepackaged PB or cheese crackers (Lance in our area).  Our local fancy food place even has dried veggies that are pretty decent for snacking.

Cowardly Toaster

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 473
    • My MMM Forum Journal
Basically what the other people said. And food isn't so much more expensive up here, depending on what you're used to.

GreenSheep

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1072
As noted above, you can pack just about anything in checked baggage. I would just avoid liquids and glass so you don't arrive with a mess in your suitcase. Double-bagging is a very good idea even for solid things that are in small pieces so you don't wind up with them all over your suitcase. Be careful about weight limits if you're packing things in cans. Also, if you have time before you join your cruise, maybe it would be easier to just go to a grocery store when you get there?

If you do have a small amount of liquid that you want to take with you (your favorite salad dressing, salsa, whatever), you can take it in your carryon if you freeze it first, as long as it's still frozen solid when you go through security. I take a soft-sided cooler as my "personal item" when I travel, but if you only have one bottle of something, you could also just wrap it really well in some of the clothes you're taking with you anyway, assuming your trip from home to the airport isn't too long or hot.

triangle

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 149
  • Location: North Carolina, USA
I was surprised to read that posting on mrspetridish.blogspot. Beyond understanding how one can keeping liquid items frozen long enough to get through TSA I thought it was difficult to bring outside food into the airport because of the long screening process.

The last airport baggage carousel I encountered had a dog sniffing around. I am not sure if it was trained to look for drugs or explosives but it seemed to get distracted by food items that people had brought off the plane.

mm1970

  • Senior Mustachian
  • ********
  • Posts: 10881
I was surprised to read that posting on mrspetridish.blogspot. Beyond understanding how one can keeping liquid items frozen long enough to get through TSA I thought it was difficult to bring outside food into the airport because of the long screening process.

The last airport baggage carousel I encountered had a dog sniffing around. I am not sure if it was trained to look for drugs or explosives but it seemed to get distracted by food items that people had brought off the plane.
If you freeze food solid it can stay frozen for a full 24 hours, depending on how cold it is, how much liquid was in there, and the shape of the food too.

I have found that freezing items in glass dishes and plastic tupperware means they take much longer to thaw than a ziploc bag, because heat transfer.