I’ve gotten a great start on my packing. I just got organized today, but have yet to put an article of clothing in a suitcase. But the hard part is over. International travel is a very fun headache!
Seeing as this is a food blog, here are the foods I have packed. I do not intend to live off of American packaged foods while in Africa and hope to fully enjoy the local cuisine, but I do have 48-72 hours of travel (including two 9 hour flights) on both ends of my trip and don’t know where, when or how I’ll eat while traveling. Better to be prepared. I won those Rokit fuel packets from Leading Lady Lis’s site and can’t wait to see what they’re like. They are made of cereal grains, seeds + nuts and are about 350 calories per packet. “Just add cold liquid.”
We had planned to have an Indian-inspired lentil dinner tonight with sauteed kale, but we changed the menu to something much easier, esp. since we still had a piece of leftover salmon in the fridge.
Salmon Focaccia Sandwiches
Turned the kale into chips
And cracked open this amazingly juicy ripe cantaloupe.
I didn’t have a snack this afternoon – lunch was late and I was too busy to stop for one. I got hungry around 6:00 but we didn’t eat until 8:00!
Things I Liked Today
- Estela’s article on Weekly Bite: How Late Should We Really Stop Eating? (Especially her ‘own rules!’)
- Heather Eats Almond Butter’s GREEN Spinach Oatmeal!
- RhodeyGirl’s answer> to the question: “What type of eater are you?”
- KERF-inspired salmon cakes on Say What You Need To Say
Nite!
zestycook says
Very Ripe Cantaloupe! The salmon sandwich looks very good as well. Hope you have fun packing.
zest!
Lisa D says
that canteloupe looks amazing! those are some good snacks. I find that certain airports have amazing options even though they are expensive. Always a good idea to be prepared, especially if you are a food blogger!
Courtney (The Hungry Yogini) says
I’m so excited for your trip!!! I like your preparedness!
Shelby says
I love that flavor ProBar!
VeggieGirl says
Hang in there with the trip preparation!!
Kara says
I liked that Tasty Bites article, too! I have always tried to just trust my own body when it comes to that stuff.
Oh She Glows says
Gosh you must be so excited!!! So soon 🙂
When I went on my honeymoon I packed TONS of emergency bars- probably 20! And I ate almost every single one. Sometimes the food was far and few between!
Mara @ What's For Dinner? says
Have fun packing!!! You’re going to go on such a fantastic adventure…enjoy every minute!
michele says
dude, you realize the intl flights are going to serve you full meals like every 3 hours, right? but for real your two 9hr flights are going to equal 4 full meals in 18hrs (+ layover).
and angela, how in the world did you find food lacking on a *cruise* of all places?!
michele says
p.s. let’s see, you have there 4 oat/cereal packets (what happened to your fear of un-boiled water?), 3 almond butters, and 10 bars.
for a 7 day trip.
3 of which are completely over-fed plane rides.
i will be seriously disappointed if your pics on your return show you eating a cup of cold water oats for breakfast each morning in AFRICA.
follow the old adage: pack the minimum, then remove half!
WEEKLY BITE says
Your dinner looks great! Packing for Africa is definitely a fun headache! So glad you liked the article!
WB
~Estela
Maggie says
That rockit thing looks v cool!
I liked Heather’s green oatmeal today too 🙂
Sharon says
Oh wow, super tasty!!!
Kailey (SnackFace) says
Just caught up on lunch too…what a great day overall! Everything looks tasty, and you’ve had excellent company and gotten some things prepperd for the trip! I’d have a good supply of food too; even when I went to Italy I did- the last place I’d need to worry about that, haha. I ended up not needing most of it, but oh well. Have a lovely night 🙂
rhodeygirl says
I am going away just for the weekend and I packed 4 bars. I hear you on being prepared. You never know when a flight will get delayed and you’re stuck in an airport with only junk in sight! or when you need a snack and it is not customary to do so!!!!
thanks for the shout out!
laci says
Good luck on your trip Kath! 🙂
Heather McD (Heather Eats Almond Butter) says
I’m totally drooling over that cantaloupe right now – looks so refreshing.
Snacks are key when traveling, especially when there are long flights involved. Airports don’t always have the best options, and even if they do, the food is so pricey. Stick with your Larabars.
Good luck with the rest of your packing…it’s going to be an amazing trip!
Thanks for the shout out. Hope it helps spread the love of the green oats. 🙂
Marissa says
Your trip sounds like fun!!!!
sue says
thanks for showing us what you’re packing- that’s always fun to see. the sandwich looks yum too!
theoddbod says
i love the packing order..food first. then clothes!
Sarah (lovINmytummy) says
Great links to some of my favorite ladies! Thanks!
You must be SO excited!
HangryPants says
Your cantaloupe reminds me that summer is coming!
Organic Girl aka Ashley H says
I just wanted to let you. I made your stuffed squash tonight and totally loved it!! Thank you for creating such yummy recipes!!
Christina says
The Rokit Fuel Pack sounds great.
Have fun on vacation!
Tara says
i hope you ordered the low-fat meals ahead of time for your airplane flights. dunno which airline you’re going on, but that is my magic rule right now and it makes all the difference. on united, i’ll be eating a nice piece of steak with boiled carrots and potatoes while everyone else around me has “mystery mush #2”.
Marianne says
Always good idea to have some emergency food, because sometimes you don’t have time to grab a bite to eat. I’m interested to see the foods you get to try, as I’m not very familiar with the local cuisines in Africa.
Leah says
I was definitely thinking of adding green spinach to my oats!!
Today I added fresh MINT. It’s SO GOOD! 🙂
Laura says
Hi Kath,
This weekend, I’m making a final decision on whether I’m going to take a month holiday in Europe by myself in June, and one of the factors that would be a huge adjustment for me (I’m recovering from an ED) is that fact that I wouldn’t be able to prepare my own meals for four weeks. If I go I’ll just have to get over that, because the only other option would be to literally starve and I’ll need energy to enjoy myself! However, I would like to pack a few things like homemade healthy cookies, fruit leather and muesli just to have on hand in case I can’t get an adequate vegetarian meal every night. I was wondering – since you’re getting ready for your own international travel – if you know what the deal is with packing food? I know fresh fruit is a no, and anything that contains seeds isn’t allowed, but are you allowed to take dried fruit and oats etc through Customs?
Kath says
Organic Girl,
So glad it turned out!
Laura ,
I knew fresh fruit, but I didn’t know seeds. I wonder if I have to rethink my Probar? I’ll look into it!
K
K says
You look well prepared!! Those Rokitfuel baggies are intriguing!
Meg says
Looks like you packed a great variety. Can’t wait to hear what you think of the RokitFuel.
Jennifer says
Your trip should only take about 24 hrs each way. I made the trip to Nairobi last spring and the flight was a drag but I’m sure you’ll do great! Good idea bringing lots of snacks because airplane food is unbearable.
While in Kenya, make sure to try chipati, ugali and local vegetable dishes. And be prepared to eat with your hands most meals. Also, they have tons of great restos serving middle eastern inspired foods so you must try those if possible! A place called Haandi has incredible indian cuisine and Carnivore is a restaurant serving up exotic meats ( a bit touristy but so fun!). Those are just a few I’ve tried and loved.
I’m sure you already heard this, but avoid hanging out or going out late at night. There’s a lot of crime in the city and tourists are easy/common targets.
Have a great trip!
Hadley says
Good call on the Larabars — I always take some with me when I travel!
Anne Marie says
every time i see your kale chips i promise myself that i’ll make them. i’ll muster up the courage one of these days!
pam says
I finally broke down and ordered the Barney Butter 90cal packets(24 ct)!! I have been dying to try it out, hope I enjoy it as much as everyone blogging about it seems to be 🙂