How to Survive the Airport

Spoiler Alert: The only way to survive the airport is to plan.

We recently went to visit family via plane and it was my first airport trip in a while. We decided on the much much cheaper flight and had to drive 2 hours to the airport instead of the one 15 minutes from our house. (I know! If it wasn't more than double for the trip, I would have just paid the extra.) How on earth was I going to be able to eat the way I wanted, drive AND fly during lunch time? So I did what any normal over-the-top control-freak would do. I over planned my snacks and a meal for the trip.

That is it. There is no creative crazy tip out there that you didn't know. You just have to plan. Here is what was in my carry on (actually my husband carried my pink Lily since Allegiant Air has a one purse/personal item rule. Boooo).

Snacks:
* Paleo Simplified- Nutty Fruit Bliss
* Handful of Macadamia Nuts in a snack ziptop bag.
* 2 apples
* A packet of Justin's Almond Butter
* 12 oz. of Against All Grain's Paleo Vanilla Granola 
* A few different Tea Bags
* Bare Fruit Apple Chips

Lunch for 2:
* Half Red/half Yellow peppers, in strips
* One very large cucumber, peeled, cut in slices and in two snack bags
* Handful of olives
* Two Bubbies Pure Kosher Dills
* Deli Tuna Salad (my most used Well Fed 2 recipe, packed in two snack bags

As we were driving to the airport (2 hours away instead of the one right next to us)  I told Mr. FFF the plan. "I have packed that delicious tuna salad that we like and we are going to eat it on the plane for lunch so that we can have a yummy healthy meal and not pay for expensive fried food." I thought that I was speaking his language (read: cheap) and it was a foolproof plan.  He told me that "under no circumstances was he eating tuna on a plane", that I was "worse than a terrorist" and "subjecting my fellow passengers to the smell of tuna (no matter how yummy) in that small of a confined place was inconsiderate and rude". 

Good thing we arrived to the airport and through security with more than enough time to eat our lunch. TSA did take another look at my bag after it went through the machine- I guess tuna in snack bags looked odd on their monitor. Also the agent that handed me my bag back did look at me a little funny when I over-explained that I wanted a healthy option for lunch instead of airport food. Not sure if he was weirded out by the tuna or healthy food....

Once we were in the waiting area, we bought two waters and sat in the cafe section. I got two cups, forks and napkins. Lunch is served. *How easy was that? After lunch we were so full so we saved the remianing snacks for the stay at our family and the trip back. And that my friends is my airport adventure! 

Fortunately for others but unfortunately for me, I did have to buy breath mints since I didn't plan for tuna breath after lunch. So maybe Mr. FFF was right about the smell after all... Let's not tell him. 

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* Don't you just love Ina Garten?

Thanksgiving and After Turkey Day Sammie

Although I didn't buy a turkey, of course we did have a wonderful Thanksgiving turkey dinner with family on *Casey Key-Nokomis Beach. The spread was great and the company even better. Below is a picture of my two appetizer offerings: Artichoke & Caramelized Onion Tart and Stuffed Mushrooms. The tart is a mix match of recipes that I put together and I think it turned out really great. 

The tart is a mix match of recipes that I put together and I
 think it turned out really great.
 

Ingredients: 

Tart Crust 

1 onion, thinly sliced

1-2 tbsp  olive oil

14 oz. can of quarters artichokes
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard

2 eggs
8 oz. Mascarpone cheese

1/2 c Half & Half ( or whipping cream)
1/4 tsp white pepper

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 c Jagerberg cheese
1/2 c Parmesan cheese

Make tart crust, follow all directions except only cook for only ten minutes.  Preheat oven to 350. Over medium-low heat olive oil, add sliced onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until caramelized, golden brown but not burnt- low heat is key here. **Cook for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

• Brush the crust with the Dijon. Drain the artichokes and evenly spread both artichokes and  caramelized onions on crust. Whisk eggs,  Mascarpone, cream, white pepper, nutmeg and cheese then pour filling in tart pan; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake until tart is set in the center ( about 40 minutes). Cool for about 15 minutes before serving. 

Ok so now for the important stuff. The leftovers. 

This is my "turkey" club "sandwich" that I whipped up this weekend. It has no turkey and no real bread but it was delicious. I have been wanting to make some paleo bread for a while now but haven't gotten the chance and I am so glad I waited for Thanksgiving leftovers! It was a match made in heavan. 

This recipe is super simple. Left over poultry, leftover ***cranberry sauce, avocado, lettuce, and paleo bread. Simple. Delicious. The smoothness of the avocado and the tartness from the cranberry sauce plus the tiny bit of sweetness from the bread makes a perfect balanced bite of yumminess. 

The sandwich does look pretty small but that bread really feels you up since it is made of mostly almond flour. 

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*Doesn't everyone visit the beach on thanksgiving? Or is that just a Florida thing?

** I did this the day before so the tart could be fresh but I wouldn't be trying to get it cooked in the morning before we left. 

*** Please do not use that much honey! Are you crazy AB? (I used 1/3 pomegranate juice, 2/3 fresh squeezed OJ, and 1/3 cup honey.)

Crazy for Zucchini's

I know the summer is ending which means the beloved zucchini will no longer be in season BUT who doesn't love a good Zucchini Bread? Mr. FFF looooovvves Zucchini Bread. He must think its good for him or something... but just like carrot cake this delicious bread is full of sugar and gluten. Just take a look at the standard version from my Better Homes & Garden *Cookbook. One cup zucchini to one cup sugar? Not the best way to eat your veggies. Since our home is now gluten free I decided to try out a couple of zucchini bread recipes I have had my eye on from my two **favorite gluten-free bakers. 

First up, Paleo Chocolate Zucchini Bread from Elana's Pantry. I like zucchini and love chocolate but the two of them together?? I wasn't sure. Followed her recipe to the T and it turned out great! Moist, chocolaty, but still had that underlying zucchini taste we all know and love. 

Next up, Almond Flour Zucchini Bread from Against All Grain's Danielle Walker. This bread turned out ***okay but to be fair I misread the directions and I don't enjoy the taste of banana. Danielle states to use two mini loaf pans and I used the same pan as in the first recipe which is apparently in between the regular loaf and the mini loaf. Whoops- first world problems, lesson learned. The center was still pretty under cooked once I took it out of the oven but I ended up slicing this bread up and sticking it on a cookie sheet back in the oven until done. The good news is that it tasted very similar to the classic version. 

Mr. FFF didn't like any of them. After one bite the words "This doesn't taste like my mom's" slipped right out. *sigh* The chocolate one is out for him (although I loved it!) because it is too different from the original but I am going to try out Danielle's version again when I have an extra zucchini laying around. I can tell from the taste he will like it if I can just use the proper pan... I think we will have a winner. 

In the mood for some zucchini bread? Why don't you do a taste test too! 

*This is the cookbook I refer to to see all standard recipes before making it mine.

**Both of these ladies also have cookbooks so be sure to check them out. (Elana has three and Danielle just came out with her first one this year.) 

***The recipe includes one very ripe banana- I don't really like bananas but I did recognize that it would be needed for the sweetness in the recipe, so I included it. >> I << can taste the banana but it is pretty faint and mixed in with the other flavors but if you are the other 1% of people who could do without the taste of this high potassium fruit you might not like it.