Travel Snacks and a New Favorite Mocktail 🍹

Happy Monday!  To remind, you can leave comments or questions on this thread.  Scroll to the bottom to see where.

I just spent the week in Utah and I am now on Long Island solo visiting my Mom. I often post making my matcha at the airport and food I take with me, so I thought I would do a quick post on that since I get a lot of questions about it.

First, matcha.  I cannot drink bad matcha which is what is served in airport coffee shops.  Here’s what I take with me: travel tumbler, portable frother, and a pouch with individual matcha packets (right now I am drinking Pique), and packets of stevia. I make the matcha BEFORE I get on the plane because airplane hot water is sketchy.  If I have airport lounge privileges, I put hot water and almond milk in my tumbler only to the halfway point, add the matcha and sweetener and use my frother to dissolve the matcha.  I top it off with more hot water.  To make an iced matcha, start with a small amount of hot water and matcha and use the frother to dissolve it.  Add ice and plant milk and more water, as you like.

If I don’t have lounge privileges, I go to a coffee stand and offer to pay for a cup of hot water and a small amount of almond milk.  Sometimes Starbucks will just give it to me for free, sometimes they charge a small amount.

For long flights, I like bringing my own food. You can bring food through security as long as it is a solid food.  Non-solid foods (e.g. apple sauce, yogurt, overnight oats, hummus, salad dressing) have to be 100 ml/3 ounces or less. I aim for the same balance of macronutrients that I do at home - protein, fat and fiber at each meal. A typical meal I would take is a quinoa salad with chopped vegetables and maybe some feta or chickpeas. Once I brought a “fajita bowl” which was leftovers from the night before.  The “Olive Bar Salad” from Quicker Than Quick is a great travel meal.  I often try to use up food in the fridge before I go out of town.  But I don’t bring anything smelly like tuna or eggs. Hubs usually makes a sandwich.  I like to bring fresh fruit that is not delicate - apples, grapes, or cut fruit in a deli container which I can wash and reuse. Cut veggies are always a good idea, like bell pepper, cucumbers, jicama, and carrots.

Snacks that I like to take are homemade Bliss Balls, individual packets of olives, and salmon jerky.  Cheese sticks are also a good idea.  Nuts are a good choice, but they are also usually available as a complimentary snack on planes.

New Favorite Mocktail 

I have a new favorite mocktail on repeat!  It’s kind of like a Spicy Paloma or a Spicy Grapefruit Margarita.  Here’s what you do:

*Take a lime and run it around the rim of your glass.  Dip the rim in a small plate of Tajin mixed with a little kosher salt (or sugar.) Take a slice of jalapeno and muddle it in the bottom of the glass.  If you don’t like too much heat, don’t muddle it. Optional: Take fresh mint or basil if you like and clap it between your hands to release the oils and add it to the glass.  Add your sweetener of choice (I use a couple drops of stevia) and the juice of half a lime and half a glass of ice. Top with grapefruit-flavored sparkling water (I use Spindrift.)  Alternatively, you can add fresh grapefruit juice and sparkling water to your liking. It is a very delicious and satisfying drink!

I have just uploaded my newest online cooking class and the July theme is “Coastal Italian!” I had the best time creating these recipes and filming this class.  Click here for the class info and to sign up if you’re not already taking my cooking classes.

xxPamela