Healthy choice in the air

This week I am doing a special series on airline food to celebrate Singapore Airlines launch of inflight catering sent to your home.

In the first blog, I introduced the collaboration between SQ and Chef Yoshihiro Murata and the beautifully (and tasty) presented Hanakoiseki that featured seasonal flavours in the sky. This time, SQ works with the Canyon Ranch to come up with a light and healthy meal. The entire meal (with dessert) was below 720 calories.

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Of course that didn’t count the other pre-dinner that the “Singapore Girls” were allows trying to stuff you up with, like the really delicious satays and amazing garlic bread.

Canyon Ranch Selection

This menu is available between Singapore and US non-stop routes and is a collaboration between SQ and wellness lifestyle living company Canyon Ranch Wellness Architects. It was launched back in 2018 when SQ launched the longest commercial flight in the world (22 hours non-stop from Singapore to Newark) and revamped (ever so often) their inflight service products. It was trendy to incorporate a healthy menu, and SQ successfully became the first (again) to launch this program/menu.

A team of experts on nutrition, exercise and integrative medicine was assembled in December 2017 and developed science-based strategies to help passengers enjoy improved sleep, better meal choices and new exercises to stay healthy while they pass the time in these super-long haul flights. I tried one of these meals on a non-stop between SIN-LAX.

1/3 Roasted Fennel and Peach Salad

mascarpone cheese, candied walnuts, endive, watercress and balsamic reduction

Fresh peaches with rockets and mesclun lightly dressed with balsamic vinegar and oil. 199 calories, 24g of carbs, 4g of protein, 12g of fat and 105mg of sodium, yes, everything was calculated and measured.

2/3 Pan Seared Seabass Fillet with Vegetable Stew

potatoes, fennel, paprika, chili powder, herbs and corn-cherry tomatoes salad

I am not sure how scientific these meals are, but I was told before that corn is a dieter’s worst nightmare. However I must say that’s a really fine piece of fish, almost top restaurant quality even though it was from a mass-produced inflight catering kitchen. The sauce (or stew) was a bit too watery for me. 356 calories and 596mg of sodium. Wow, that’s a lot of salt.

3/3 Vanilla Creme Brûlée

garnished with candied orange zest

I usually skip dessert but to complete the experiment (and experience), I decided to try the specially made dessert at 158 calories. I am surprised that throughout the meal, I was not told how much sugar I was intaking, only carbs. The creme brûlée was made really well, but without the candy crust (which explained why the calories was low for such a sugary dessert).

Even though you ordered the wellness menu, you will still be offered other sweets, fruits and cheeses.

All in all, I would not recommend this for SIA@Home experience. But if you are back on those super long haul flights, these can be good alternatives to the really heavy meals.