Airline food can be hit or miss nowadays. And with sky high prices (pun intended), making a good choice is necessary. Here to help are the top foods on 9 major airlines chosen by the professionals that also know the airplane as their office.
United Airlines Thai tilapia fillet with shrimp
“I think the Thai-style fillet of tilapia with shrimp is the best thing we serve. It’s good for a late evening meal because it’s not too heavy. You want something light on a later flight.” – Sondra Dickens, flight attendant
Virgin America bibimbap
“With our latest menu update, it’s hard to choose a favorite dish, but our Korean vegetarian rice bibimbap is definitely high on my list with its big, bold flavors. The bibimbap is a hot bowl of fresh vegetables marinated in ginger, garlic, red chili, lemongrass, and coconut milk served on hot steamed rice and finished with a Korean red chili BBQ sauce and a soft-poached egg.” – Mariella Guadarrama, inflight team leader
JetBlue sea scallops
“When customers on the plane hear we have seafood options, they are generally leery. But in our Mint Experience we offered a hot sea scallop entree with a blackberry Sauternes sauce and foie gras mousse and it was to die for. JetBlue truly brought the freshest seafood I’ve had on a plane.” – John Stripling, inflight onboard lead
American Airlines four-cheese pasta
“My favorite food we serve, and a definite favorite of our customers, is the four-cheese pasta with a cream sauce. It’s served in the main cabin on flights to and from South America. This pasta stays moist even in the ultra-dry air of the cabins, and it’s creamy and delicious.” – Scott Bowie, international flight attendant
Southwest Airlines Ritz Cheese Crackers
“I always like it when honey-roasted peanuts are back onboard, which happens in January every few years — and this is our year. But after 19 years of flying, I’m peanutted out. On longer flights we offer free snacks such as 100-Calorie Lorna Doones, 100-Calorie Ritz Snack Mix, and Ritz Cheese Crackers. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but you can’t go wrong with cheese crackers.” – Troy Ford, flight attendant
Delta Airlines chicken pot pie and quinoa wraps
“Traveling for a living presents a constant quest for comfort food and healthy food options. Chef Hopkins’ chicken pot pie and the Luvo quinoa wraps are delicious and meet both criteria when I’m flying.” – Julie Pearson, flight attendant
Hawaiian Airlines Loco Moco
“I’ve been a flight attendant with Hawaiian Airlines for nearly 17 years. My favorite dish is our famous Loco Moco, featuring a hamburger patty topped with a sunny side-up egg smothered in gravy, all over hot white rice. Everyone who has been to Hawaii has tried the Loco Moco at least once because it’s truly an island favorite and one of the most popular dishes in Hawaii. As a destination carrier, we are proud to be able to offer island-inspired meals like the Loco Moco on our planes because it’s one of many ways we entice our guests with the sights, sounds, and tastes of Hawaii from the moment they board our aircraft.” – Mapuana Faulkner, flight attendant
Air Canada falafel wrap
“I settle for a healthy option. From the Air Canada Café menu, I go for the falafel wrap — you get a whole-wheat wrap packed with falafel, red peppers, baby spinach, tzatziki, and red onions. On the side, I grab some fresh hummus and pretzels as well as some Vitamin Water. I never have that heavy-food feeling at the end.” – George Dias, onboard sales resource, service director, and inflight safety and service
Allegiant Air Wingz Kids Snack Pack
“My favorite menu item Allegiant offers is the Wingz Kids Snack Pack. I love the Oreos and Jelly Jets, plus $1 from every pack sold goes directly to Make-A-Wish!” – Kathleen W., flight attendant This article originally appeared on thrillest.com
What’s the best airline food you’ve had? Let us know here or @gosirvo.
In a society that lives by the words, “never leave till tomorrow that which you can do today” and in which we are all just an email, phone call, or text message away from the work crisis of the hour, not to mention, in most cases having a virtual office at your disposal no matter where you are, it can be somewhat difficult to stop working and just live for a minute or two. However, experts agree: the compounding stress from the nonstop workday is damaging to overall well-being, and that maintaining a balance between work and personal life is integral for long-term success in and out of the office. Work-life balance looks different for every individual, but here are a few universal tips from health and career experts that can help you continue on the path toward fulfilling professional goals while carving out time for you and your loved ones.
Moderate perfectionist tendencies. The key to avoid burning out is to let go of perfectionism, says executive coach Marilyn Puder-York, PhD, who wrote The Office Survival Guide. Many of us develop perfectionist tendencies during higher education or our first jobs, however, “as life gets more expanded it’s very hard, both neurologically and psychologically, to keep that habit of perfection going,” Puder-York explains, adding that the healthier option is to strive not for perfection, but for excellence. Prioritize tasks and time according to what is necessary to accomplish your endgame, and stay focused on the overarching goal instead of the minute details.
Turn tech off. The ease of communication in this day and age has created expectations of constant accessibility, thereby allowing work to seep out of the actual workday and into time and space that should be dedicated to your personal life. “There are times when you should just shut your phone off and enjoy the moment,” says Robert Brooks, a professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and co-author of The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence and Personal Strength in Your Life. Brooks says that phone notifications interrupt your off time and inject an undercurrent of stress in your system. So don’t just silence the work phone, actually turn it off. And if that isn’t enough to stop you from checking it, leave it at home. Make quality time true quality time.
Make time for exercise. Even when we’re busy, we make time for the crucial things in life. We eat. We go to the bathroom. We sleep. And yet one of our most crucial needs – exercise – is often the first thing to go when our calendars fill up. Exercise is an effective stress reducer. It pumps feel-good endorphins through your body. It helps lift your mood and can even serve a one-two punch by also putting you in a meditative state, according to The Mayo Clinic. This doesn’t mean spending 2+ hours pumping iron. Even 20 to 30 minutes of walking has major payoffs and can be worked into the busiest of schedules. If the weather is nice, opt for walking or biking to work instead of driving. Take your dog on a walk or stroll through the park with a friend. Even taking the stairs instead of the elevator fits the bill.
Limit distractions. First, identify what’s most important in your life. This list will differ for everyone, so make sure it truly reflects your priorities, not someone else’s. Next, draw firm boundaries so you can devote quality time to these high-priority people and activities. For those sucked into social media or internet surfing while at work, try using productivity software like Freedom or RescueTime. And if you find your time being gobbled up by less constructive people, find ways to diplomatically limit these interactions by politely excusing yourself. Focus on the people and activities that reward you the most. To some, this may seem selfish. “But it isn’t selfish,” says psychotherapist Bryan Robinson. “It’s that whole airplane metaphor. If you have a child, you put the oxygen mask on yourself first, not on the child.” When it comes to being a good friend, spouse, parent or worker, “the better you are yourself, the better you are going to be in all those areas as well.”
Delegate. Sometimes we forget that help is literally just a phone call away. So, instead of trying to do it all, focus on activities you specialize in and value most. Delegate or outsource everything else. Delegating can be a win-win situation, says Stewart Freidman, a management professor at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and author of Leading the Life You Want: Skills for Integrating Work and Life. Freidman recommends talking to the “key stakeholders” in different areas of your life, which could include employees or colleagues at work, a spouse or a partner in a community project. “Find out what you can do to let go in ways that benefit other people by giving them opportunities to grow,” he says. This will give them a chance to learn something new and free you up so you may devote attention to your higher priorities.
Start with baby steps. We’ve all been there: crash diets that fizzle out, New Year’s resolutions we forget by February. It’s the same with work-life balance when we take on too much too soon. Start small, find what approach works for you, then gain confidence from your successes in order to make more drastic changes that secure your own definition of work-life balance.
What strategies do you use to maintain a balanced life? Let us know here, or @gosirvo.
Americans may not have the most pristine reputation when it comes to eating healthily, but that may soon change as consumers are increasingly basing what to eat on healthfulness. As the demand for healthy food rises in and out of the home, the restaurant industry must adapt to fit the times.
Healthy Habits on the Rise
According to the 2014 Food & Health Survey published by the International Food Information Council (IFIC), healthfullness is the third leading driver of food and beverage selection, influencing 71 percent of consumers. And this shift towards better nutrition is not passive at all as the same survey concluded that at least three out of five Americans spend some time planning each of their meals.This healthfulness movement does not only apply to what is being eaten within the household, but extends to what people are looking for when choosing where to eat out. Research conducted by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) shows that nearly 75 percent of consumers are more likely to dine at restaurants offering healthful items, and when ordering, half of Americans at least sometimes use nutrition information to decide what to have.
A Few Changes
So what does this mean for the restaurant industry? It means boosting nutrition while maintaining taste. To help, Deanne Brandstetter, vice president of nutrition and wellness for the Compass Group North America, offers a few easy ways to improve the nutrition content of your menu items:
Increase produce on the plate. Fruit and vegetables have a huge water content, are low in calories, lower in sodium, and have no saturated fat in their natural state. The more produce you place on a plate, the less you need of other items. The challenge: making produce as interesting and craveable as your proteins.
Add umami with mushrooms. Mix ground mushrooms into ground animal protein to decrease calories, sodium and fat and increase fiber, selenium and Vitamin D. Let customers know about it. They’re no longer into “stealth health,” Brandstetter says. They want to know that you’re making your menu items more nutritious – and how you’re doing it.
Reduce sodium. Use salt as a “finisher,” rather than in every step of the preparation. Or, explore new salt replacements. In response to restaurant and consumer demand, food manufacturers are developing innovative, new products to reduce sodium. One example: diamond-shaped salt crystals, which are hollow inside and have more surface area than traditional salt crystals.
Improve carbohydrate quality. Use whole grains in pasta, pilaf, risotto and other dishes. Experiment with grains other than whole wheat, such as millet, quinoa and spelt. Get ideas and resources from the Whole Grains Council.
Create interesting, lower-calorie beverages. Offer house-made, healthful beverages, such as ginger water, sparkling water with fruit or tea infused with fruit or herbs. Serve juice made with fruit and vegetable purees.
Consider strategic calorie design. Create plates with a limited number of calories. For example, if you are designing a plate with no more than 600 calories, make sure every element builds flavor, satisfaction and craveability.
Rethink desserts. Instead of serving a large slice of cheesecake with a strawberry garnish, create a miniature cheesecake surrounded by strawberries. “The CIA calls it the ‘dessert flip,” Brandstetter says. Customers appreciate tiny dessert portions rather than low-calorie versions, she says.
Allow for indulgence. But on a small scale. Instead of a platter of all fried seafood, serve a few fried shrimp and many, many more grilled shrimp on skewers. “It balances it out a little bit,” she says.
How are you making strides to improve the nutrient content of your menus? Let us know here, or @gosirvo.
What drives behavior? Daniel Pink, authoritative career analyst, explores this question in his bestselling book “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us”, on which he based his illuminating Ted talk “The Puzzle of Motivation”. The highlights are…
“There is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does.”
Said by Daniel Pink, this statement points to the fact that, while scientific research has demonstrated that intrinsic motivators, such as the desire to learn and feel fulfilled in general, are much more powerful than their counterparts, the current business operating system is built around extrinsic motivators, rewarding top performers and ignoring the rest.
So, what does “science know”?
The carrot-and-stick motivation scheme typical in most organizations, in which performance is incentivized with rewards, usually monetary bonuses, leads to increased performance ONLY when the tasks involved require mechanical skills.
When the tasks involved require rudimentary cognitive skills, the carrot-and-stick scheme is not only ineffective, but also DETRIMENTAL, leading to poorer performance.
Humans have an “inherent tendency to seek out novelty and challenges, to extend and exercise their capabilities,” which comprises the ”third drive”– the joy of the task itself.
The conclusion: extrinsic factors, such as material rewards, do not carry enough motivational weight to increase job performance when critical and creative thinking are required. Instead, intrinsic factors that contribute to how much we enjoy our jobs, are what drives performance in these instances.
A novel approach
Based on the notion of the “third drive”, Pink suggests a revised motivation scheme focused on three intrinsic factors that are vital to feeling fulfilled in the workplace.
They are:
Autonomy: permit employees to direct their own work lives by providing a few freedoms such as how and when a project is completed. Give guidance, but avoid micromanaging, and focus on output rather than schedule.
Mastery: provide employees with opportunities to develop and improve skills in areas that interest them so that boredom is not a possibility. However, include clear goals and feedback in order to support this form of professional growth, and ease anxieties about the learning curve.
Purpose: allow employees to fulfill their natural desires to contribute to a greater cause by emphasizing the organization’s overarching goals, not just profit goals, and ensuring that each and every individual understands his or her role in accomplishing these goals.
And about the $$$: pay employees enough so that the issue of money is off of the table, and work is at the forefront.
At the heart of the issue: the drive to work hard stems from the opportunity for personal growth. Provide this to your employees instead of the proverbial carrot-and-stick, and top-notch job performance will be a given.
How do you or your business provide autonomy, mastery, and purpose, as well as other factors contributing to intrinsic motivation?
Have you ever opened too many programs on your computer, causing it to first slow down, then eventually freeze and crash? Well that is essentially what is happening to our brains when we ‘multitask’, according to Daniel Levitin, cognitive psychologist, neuroscientist, and best-selling author. However, there are easy tricks to use in order to maintain productive in what Levitin refers to as the ‘age of information overload’.
The Multitasking Myth
According to cognitive psychologist and bestselling author Daniel Levitin, “multitasking is a myth”. What is actually occurring is “sequential tasking”, during which the brain rapidly shifts from one thing to the next every 3-5 seconds, only the transitions are so seamless that we are duped into believing we are truly thinking of multiple things at once. Levitin explains that engaging in sequential tasking, or attention-demanding tasks, depletes the brain of its fuel. In fact, every decision we make, big or small, requires the same amount of energy, meaning the fairly simple decision to have cereal for breakfast burns as much brain fuel as your carefully thought out investment choices.With the forever increasing amount of information available, and the fast paced lifestyle of this day and age, it’s no wonder so many of us struggle to remember where we put the car keys, or if we locked the front door. There is just too much to do, and constantly attempting to do everything at once drains our brains of the resources required to function at its optimal level.
All About Organization
In his newest book, “The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in an Age of Information Overload”, Daniel Levitin provides strategies to implement in everyday life that can help us use our brains more efficiently. Here are a few, as described by Levitin himself.
Write stuff down. “The number of things that you can keep track of at once is limited to about four. So, what experts recommend and what the neuroscience says, very strongly, is that if you can get stuff out of your brain and out there into the world — something called externalizing your memory — it frees up your brain to be uncluttered and to think about the things your really want to think about. You get all that stuff out of your brain and then you can concentrate on work and leisure activities more fully.”
Try to be more conscientious. “This comes from personality and individual differences psychology. Of the thousands of ways that humans differ from one another, turns out there’s this one cluster of traits called conscientiousness that predict a whole host of positive life outcomes, such as longevity over our health, life satisfaction…it predicts that you won’t end up in prison. And conscientiousness includes things like doing what you say you’ll do, being dependable, being organized.”
Dedicate certain spots to certain objects. “What a lot of people say is that they lose their car keys, house keys, they lose their reading glasses or their passport…We have exquisite place memory in a beautiful structure in the brain called the hippocampus. We share this with all mammals. It’s the part of the brain that tells a squirrel where it buried its nuts. So, we can exploit this. The problem is, if you put your keys down just anywhere in your apartment or your home, they can be just anywhere and your brain can’t keep track of it…So the trick is, you put a little hook by the front door, you have a decorative ball on a console table. That becomes the designated spot for your keys or your reading glasses and because you always put them there they’re always where you expect to find them.”
Don’t spend more time on a decision than it’s worth. “You’ve got something in your hand and there’s probably a perfect place for it in your home and you could spend a long time thinking about the perfect cubby hole or closet or drawer, but what you’re saying is, ‘I’m going to put it here in the family bookshelf because it’s not worth investing anymore time in and all these things that are linked together by some common thread all go there and everybody knows that they’re there.’”
Take breaks at work. “Many of us feel as though we are overloaded and overwhelmed by all the things that are happening and we can’t stop work for even five minutes or we’ll fall behind. There’s a mode of our brain that is responsible for most of our creativity. It’s called the default mode network, or the daydreaming mode. And it’s the part of your brain that effectively hits the reset button in your brain when you’ve gotten overstressed or you’ve run into a brick wall in your work. So, one of the biggest things we can do in the workplace is to give ourselves an opportunity to enter that daydreaming mode every couple of hours or so. You do that by reading literature, by listening to music, looking out the window. According to many studies, people who take regular breaks and even naps — 10 or 15 minute naps — have been more productive at the end of the day and more creative in their work, more than making up for the amount of time they take off.”
For more from Daniel Levitin, check out his google talk on youtube. And remember, Sirvo is here to help you manage your service industry-related needs.
