Flying With A Cooler

[stolly]

What is the best way to keep things in a cooler cold while flying? I'd like to take sliced cheese, chicken, and deli meats for our 2.5 y.o daughter her to eat the day we travel, as well as extra to have for the rest of our vacation. We bought a Polar Bear cooler--I read on this site that they're great. She doesn't like power bars, peanut butter, so those aren't options, and I'd prefer her not to eat pretzels, chips, and dry cereal all day.

It will probably be 9-10 hours from when we leave our house until we get into our hotel room (with a fridge). I figure we can't take ice/cold packs due to the liquid restrictions for security. I thought I'd use cold packs while we drive to the airport, then leave them in the car. Once I get through security, I'll ask for ice (I'll bring ziploc bags) from a fast food place in the airport. I'm not sure if that is enough to keep everything cold until we check in. We are flying to Florida, so it will be hot at our destination.

Any other thoughts, suggestions? Thank you!

[Ursa Major]

Why not freeze some of the food that you take as extras (like cooked chicken)? It would keep the rest of the food cold.

If in addition you get those baggies filled with ice, I would think that should surely be enough.

[Phyllis28]

This is the method I use when I travel. You might want to consider checking the ice every couple of hours. You can dump the water in a restroom (on the plane or at the airport) and replace the ice. The flight attendants should be able to provide cup(s) of ice during the flight.

[RiceGuy]

Well, I guess they don't have power outlets at each seat, but if they did, one of those electric coolers would be great. Or might they allow you to plug the thing in? Have you called them to see what options they might have? I mean, don't diabetics need to keep meds cold while on a long flight?

But, wouldn't they have ice on board anyway?

Aside from items that need cold storage, what about dried fruits and stuff, to make like a "trail mix" sort of thing? Pineapple, papaya, raisins, apples, figs, apricots, nuts and seeds, etc. You can get all kinds of dried fruits at a natural/health foods store.

Maybe others will be more helpful.

[stolly]

DD will eat raisins, but no other dried fruit or any nuts...she's still pretty picky, especialy with different textures, but has gotten much better since starting the gluten-free diet. She does like pretzels, raisins, and Chex (used to use use Health Valley, can use General Mills now--yeah!), so can take a trail mix out of those.

Thanks so much for all of your suggestions! I didn't even think about asking the flight attendants for more ice if needed. That's a great idea.

Do you think Kraft American Cheese single would freeze well? I'm thinking if I freeze hem the night before, they will have a better chance of staying cold until we get to the hotel, I'm just wondering if they'll still taste good, have the same texture? She eats them plain without bread, so I don't want anything funky to happen to them if I freeze them.

Thanks again!

[missy'smom]

Depending on what your schedule is in the am you might want to consider freezing pancakes, ham and berries in a container. You can even put a little maple syrup on the pancakes. I did this when we had a very early flight and it thawed by the time we got to the connecting airport. My family bought breakfast and I had mine. Didn't even need to warm it up, although I could have asked to use the microwave.

You can buy baby jars of jam that are within regulation size at Cost Plus World market.

I haven't tried it but I would think those Babybell would hold up well. They are small and individually wrapped. Some hard cheeses do well at room temp. Welshire farms makes some pepperoni slices that do not need to be refrigerated. They aren't as strongly flavored or as oily as most pepperoni. They are sold at Whole Foods(near the chips in our local store-not refrigerated)

[RiceGuy]

You can buy baby jars of jam that are withing regulation size at Cost Plus World market.

That's a good idea. I completely forgot about canned stuff. Del Monte and others sell individual sizes of canned fruits, puddings, and other stuff. They're made to go in lunch boxes, thus usually have some kind of easy-open package, like a pull-top lid for canned items.