I have major anxiety whenever I board a flight nowadays. It's not a fear of crashing - I know that I'm safer on a plane than in a car. I'm nervous about hunger. A few weeks ago, I was stuck on the runway alone with my three kids for an hour before take-off. The entire plane echoed with their complaints, whining and bickering.

I had procrastinated packing to the last minute and had run to catch the plane so I had no food to distract them. Once we got in the air, the kids were fully starving, and a nutty trail mix was the only food available for purchase, for the bargain price of $5.

Once my kids learned that there would be no food until we landed, they really let loose with their crankiness. The rest of the flight was pure hell.

When I got home, I found a package waiting for me on my front door step that would have solved all our problems. It was a bunch of prepared meals from GoPicnic.

GoPicnic makes boxes of non-perishable meals and snacks. They actually sell these to some airlines, but more importantly, they are now offered direct to us, the little people, through their website. They're very reasonable ($2.99 for some small meals) and come packed with a variety of fun treats that will keep you and your kids happy when the airlines have nothing to offer you.

For flights, I like the smaller Break Meals which come in a variety of flavors like the Sunny Break Fruit and Fiber (cheddar, crackers, diced pear, dried apricots, and jam), the Natural Break Hummus, Fruit and Fiber (sundried tomato hummus, cheddar crackers, almonds, apricots and chocolate chip cookies). There are so many different combinations, even including salami or turkey pepperoni, that it's worth checking out the site. You can also buy some of their meals at Costco.

Next time I fly, I'll be carrying a few of these in my carry-on, and hopefully will get rid of my hunger anxiety and my kids' peevishness. If the airlines won't feed me, I might as well feed myself.

When not stressing about flight hunger, Vanessa blogs about cooking and parenting at her blog, Chefdruck Musings.

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