Gluten Free Business Class

Last week I went on my first International flight after going gluten free 4+ years ago. I was a bit nervous about food, or the lack of, so I packed my usual travel stash of trail mix, NuGo Dark bars and single-serve packets of gluten free oatmeal. This was a business trip and luckily my employer allows us to fly business class when going overseas.

I flew SWISS airlines from San Francisco, through Zurich to Stockholm; Lufthansa from Stockholm to Frankfurt and United from Frankfurt to San Francisco. I was quite pleased with pretty much every meal although I would have to say the Swiss meals left me a bit hungry afterwards as they were mainly fruit, veggies and plain chicken breast. I think the Swiss meals were actually considered the "absolutely no allergen meals" as they appeared to be gluten, dairy, soy and egg free.

Here is a summary (with photos) on what I was served:

flight 1 - SWISS - San Francisco to Zurich

This 10 1/2 hour flight served 2 meals. Dinner was 

- spinach salad with fat free lemon vinegrette

flight 2 - SWISS - Zurich to Stockholm

flight 3 - Lufthansa - Stockholm to Frankfurt

flight 4 - United - Frankfurt to Stockholm

Product Review: Tres Latin Foods' Pupusas

I was excited when the folks at Tres Latin Foods asked if I'd like to try their new frozen Pupusa's. The giggler eats Trader Joe's tamale's for lunch several times a week and I would love to give her an alternate meal. Plus, the idea of being able to toast up a tasty pupusa in just a few minutes versus making them from scratch also got my attention. So the folks from Tres Latin Foods sent me some coupons good for two varieties to try at my local market. Unfortunately it took me a little while to find them at my local stores but they've recently increased distribution and can now be found at two stores near me- Sprouts and Whole Foods. I opted to try the Black Bean & Sweet Corn variety as well as Spinach and Cheese. Their other varieties also sounded delicious: Kale & Pinto Bean, Green Chili & Cheese and Pinto Bean & Cheese so it was a tough choice.

These Pupusas are very wholesome - many of the ingredients are organic and they lack the usual preservatives often found in prepared foods- far more wholesome than those Trader Joe tamales which have become a staple in our home.

So how were they? Pretty good! The first time I prepared them by cooking in the toaster oven, oven setting, and they were warm but not very crisp. The spinach and cheese was a big hit while the black bean and sweet corn was a bit bland although this could be remedied with some sort of salsa on the side. I wish the Black Bean & Sweet Corn pupusa had just a little bit more filling.

The second time I toasted them in the toaster oven for 3 cycles at the darkest setting and this was a much better outcome - warm on the inside and a nice crunch with chew on the outside. Nice as part of a meal or a mid-afternoon snack.

I haven't tried these cold yet as a lunch for the Giggler. They are pretty small - 130 calories (Black bean & Sweet Corn)  and 160 calories (Spinach & Cheese) so I'll probably have to give her two or give her something else in addition to a Pupusa. Unfortunately I forgot to collect the retail price at Sprouts but believe each box (4 pupusa's per box) runs $5-6.

Have you tried Tres Latin Foods Pupusa's?

What's your favorite savory school lunch meal?