EternalOptimist
Active member
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2003
- Posts
- 34
Do you have a wife?
Not being sexist or anything - but I always packed my husband's lunches when he was with the regionals. I worked (and still do) but the regional life is tough (so is life in the majors when you're junior). You work long hours and don't get paid well and eating fast food is not only unhealthy but it just gets old. My husband hated packing his lunches but he did it every day before we were married. I took over to ease his load.
Here are some tips:
1. Get those little hard freezer pak's (they're about $0.99 at Wal-Mart) and put them in your cooler with any food you think will need to keep until you get to the hotel. Keep track of which hotels have refrigerators and microwaves in the rooms - this will help you (or your wife) pack for each trip appropriately.
2. Baby carrots, grapes and sliced apples (with lemon juice on the apples to keep them from getting brown) are easy to take with you, healthy, and very simple to eat while you are flying - nothing to throw away (like the core of an apple).
3. When making sandwiches, put butter first on the side you put the mayo (or jelly) on - this way the bread doesn't get soggy as quickly. I used to make chicken salad, tuna, peanut butter and jelly, roast beef, beef and cheese, ham and cheese, etc. sandwiches - just some ideas for variety. Often if I made a pb&j sandwich, I also put in one with some type of meat - pb&j isn't very filling but it makes a good snack when you are working hard and getting hungry between meals.
4. I also always made cookies so my husband had something home-made in his lunch.
5. Packets of hot chocolate and/or hot cider are always good to have on hand during the winter.
6. Keep a package of microwave popcorn with you for snacks in the hotel (if there is a microwave). You can get some of the lower sodium ones if you're watching your sodium intake.
7. Tortilla chips have less sodium also and they travel better than regular potato chips.
8. For longer trips or trips where you might have nothing but a coffee maker in your room, cup-o-noodles, although very high sodium, are better than nothing - and a lot cheaper than eating out. Also, packets of instant oatmeal are good to have on hand for breakfast.
9. Always carry a plastic spoon and fork with you - you never know when you might want to run to the grocery store and pick up a freezer meal or something requiring utensils.
10. IF you know you will have a refrigerator and a microwave in your room, you can take things like left-over casserole or pre-made frozen burritos (I used to make them and freeze them but you can buy them in the grocery store for cheap).
11. String cheese (good protein), applesauce, pudding, fruit cups, etc. are very simple things to pack as well.
12. Grab drinks from the airplane and take them to your hotel room with you. This will save you room in your cooler and money for beverages. I'm sure I don't have to give you this tip - I don't know many airline crews at the regional level that don't take advantage of this.
There are probably other tips I've forgotten. Now that my husband is on with the majors, he gets most of his meals provided by the company (thank goodness for crew meals) and he has a higher per diem rate so he can eat at better places than McDonalds or Wendy's when he has to buy a meal. But packing lunches really saved us a lot of money and it kept my husband healthier - partially because he had healthier food to eat and partially because he always had food available and didn't have to skip as many meals as he would have with all the quick-turns, etc. He (or I) packed his lunches for five years. Believe me, if you can do it, it really pays off.
Well, good luck!
Not being sexist or anything - but I always packed my husband's lunches when he was with the regionals. I worked (and still do) but the regional life is tough (so is life in the majors when you're junior). You work long hours and don't get paid well and eating fast food is not only unhealthy but it just gets old. My husband hated packing his lunches but he did it every day before we were married. I took over to ease his load.
Here are some tips:
1. Get those little hard freezer pak's (they're about $0.99 at Wal-Mart) and put them in your cooler with any food you think will need to keep until you get to the hotel. Keep track of which hotels have refrigerators and microwaves in the rooms - this will help you (or your wife) pack for each trip appropriately.
2. Baby carrots, grapes and sliced apples (with lemon juice on the apples to keep them from getting brown) are easy to take with you, healthy, and very simple to eat while you are flying - nothing to throw away (like the core of an apple).
3. When making sandwiches, put butter first on the side you put the mayo (or jelly) on - this way the bread doesn't get soggy as quickly. I used to make chicken salad, tuna, peanut butter and jelly, roast beef, beef and cheese, ham and cheese, etc. sandwiches - just some ideas for variety. Often if I made a pb&j sandwich, I also put in one with some type of meat - pb&j isn't very filling but it makes a good snack when you are working hard and getting hungry between meals.
4. I also always made cookies so my husband had something home-made in his lunch.
5. Packets of hot chocolate and/or hot cider are always good to have on hand during the winter.
6. Keep a package of microwave popcorn with you for snacks in the hotel (if there is a microwave). You can get some of the lower sodium ones if you're watching your sodium intake.
7. Tortilla chips have less sodium also and they travel better than regular potato chips.
8. For longer trips or trips where you might have nothing but a coffee maker in your room, cup-o-noodles, although very high sodium, are better than nothing - and a lot cheaper than eating out. Also, packets of instant oatmeal are good to have on hand for breakfast.
9. Always carry a plastic spoon and fork with you - you never know when you might want to run to the grocery store and pick up a freezer meal or something requiring utensils.
10. IF you know you will have a refrigerator and a microwave in your room, you can take things like left-over casserole or pre-made frozen burritos (I used to make them and freeze them but you can buy them in the grocery store for cheap).
11. String cheese (good protein), applesauce, pudding, fruit cups, etc. are very simple things to pack as well.
12. Grab drinks from the airplane and take them to your hotel room with you. This will save you room in your cooler and money for beverages. I'm sure I don't have to give you this tip - I don't know many airline crews at the regional level that don't take advantage of this.
There are probably other tips I've forgotten. Now that my husband is on with the majors, he gets most of his meals provided by the company (thank goodness for crew meals) and he has a higher per diem rate so he can eat at better places than McDonalds or Wendy's when he has to buy a meal. But packing lunches really saved us a lot of money and it kept my husband healthier - partially because he had healthier food to eat and partially because he always had food available and didn't have to skip as many meals as he would have with all the quick-turns, etc. He (or I) packed his lunches for five years. Believe me, if you can do it, it really pays off.
Well, good luck!
Just kidding--I'm happily married.
