Forget about sky-high luggage fees and consider the priceless commodity you risk when you take flight these days—your health.
Most travelers are quick to calculate airfare, hotel accommodations, rental cars and souvenir expenses, but neglect to factor in the toll eating overpriced airline food may have on their health.
According to a new survey, most airlines don’t offer food items that do a body good; though, some are better than others.
According to the poll featuring 10 North American airlines, Air Canada and Virgin America top the list of healthiest in-flight food. Both carriers scored high marks for their healthy, low-calorie food options, variety, menu innovation and willingness to provide nutritional information to passengers.
When you fly Air Canada you are offered selections from its NutriCuisine menu. The airline contracts with a company called Food with a Conscience to create its menus that feature fresh, low-calorie foods, such as chicken and roast beef wraps, as well as vegetarian sandwiches and berry and vanilla oatmeal.
Meanwhile, passengers on Virgin America can reduce their medical bills if they purchase the airline’s highly nutritious offerings. The carrier features on-demand in-flight food ordering via a touch-screen on every seatback. This allows you to order fresh food any time, not just when flight attendants come down the aisles with their carts. Tasty low-calorie options include snack boxes filled with PopChips, hummus, mixed nuts and tuna.
If you are flying United Airlines or Continental Airlines (the two recently merged), healthy choice options include roasted almonds and tapas. American Airlines offers a protein rich roasted red pepper hummus with pretzels, plus a gourmet turkey and chutney sandwich. As for JetBlue, it features a menu with individually packaged snacks that are portion-controlled, such as Quaker Multigrain Fiber Crisps.
Finally, in addition to eating smarter at 35,000 feet, consider hydrating with water instead of sugary sodas or caffeinated coffee.
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