Skip airline food with Cowgirl Chef’s homemade snacks on a plane

I make all of the parts of this recipe — lentils, quinoa, eggplant, mushrooms — the day before I fly, then simply assemble before I go.

• 1 eggplant, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 8 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 16 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups quick lentils (recipe follows)
• 2 cups cooked quinoa (recipe follows)
• 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
•  1/4 cup pepitas
• Balsamic vinegar

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees and toss eggplant pieces on a large baking sheet with 4 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until browned, turning once. Let cool.

2. While the eggplant is roasting, saute mushrooms. Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add half of the mushrooms, making sure they don’t crowd the pan. Cook until browned on one side, then turn over. This takes about 5 to 7 minutes, total. Repeat with the other 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the rest of the mushrooms. Set them aside and let cool.

3. To make the to-go salads, in two quart-size containers, layer in each: 1 cup lentils, 1 cup quinoa,  1/2 cup eggplant, 1/2 cup mushrooms, half of the tomatoes, half of the pepitas, and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Give it a shake. Pack.

Nutritional analysis per serving: 851 calories, 46 grams fat, 91 grams carbohydrates, 30 grams protein, no cholesterol, 31 milligrams sodium, 27 grams dietary fiber, 46 percent of calories from fat.

Quick lentils

Makes about 2  1/2 quarts (10 cups)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1/2 cup diced carrot
• 4 to 6 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups small French green lentils, rinsed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted chopped tomatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Put the olive oil and onion in a medium-size pot over medium-high heat. Cook until you can smell the onion and it’s translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the carrot, stir, and let cook for another 5 minutes or until the carrots slightly soften.

2. Pour in 4 cups of stock, the lentils, bay leaf, tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to a simmer.

3. Let cook for 1 hour, adding liquid (stock, water or both) as needed, and test for doneness. They should be slightly al dente and not at all mushy. Let cool completely.

Cowgirl tip: Save leftover lentils in 1-quart freezer bags — I put 2 cups in each one and lay them flat, then stack when frozen.

Nutritional analysis per 1-cup serving: 232 calories, 5 grams fat, 36 grams carbohydrates, 14 grams protein, 1 milligram cholesterol, 673 milligrams sodium, 14 grams dietary fiber, 18 percent of calories from fat.

Quinoa

Makes about

  4 cups

• 2 cups water
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup organic tricolor quinoa

Bring water and salt to a boil. Add quinoa, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until water is absorbed and you can see little “tails” on the quinoa. Should take about 20 minutes. Fluff.

Cowgirl tip: Leftover quinoa can be added to just about anything, from tacos to soups — or you can freeze what you don’t use.

Nutritional analysis per 1-cup serving: 159 calories, 2 grams fat, 29 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams protein, no cholesterol, 46 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber, 14 percent of calories from fat.

• 1 (4-inch) ciabatta roll, sliced in half
• 2 tablespoons fresh goat cheese
• 2 tablespoons store-bought pesto
• 6 pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
• 6 to 8 oven-roasted tomatoes (See note)
• Handful arugula or arugula/baby spinach mix

1. Heat oven to broil. Split ciabatta roll and cook until toasty, about 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Smear the goat cheese on the inside of the bottom half of the bread and the pesto on the top. Add chopped Kalamatas to the goat cheese half, pressing them into the cheese so they’ll stay put. Add the roasted tomatoes on top of the olives, then the arugula. Wrap the sandwich well with waxed paper or plastic wrap, then place it in a freezer bag so it’ll keep.

Note: To make oven-dried tomatoes, buy as many tomatoes as will fit onto a large baking sheet. I usually buy 5 pounds. Slice them in half, remove the meaty insides and discard any seeds or liquid. Put them insides-up on a baking sheet and drizzle generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast overnight, about 8 hours at 200 degrees. If you’re not going to eat them all right away, freeze them.

Cowgirl tip: You can add leftover roasted chicken, sliced chicken breast or flank steak to the sandwich, or tuna fish packed in olive oil if you’re eating it before or after the flight.

Nutritional analysis per sandwich: 372 calories, 24 grams fat, 27 grams carbohydrates, 14 grams protein, 24 milligrams cholesterol, 776 milligrams sodium, 4 grams dietary fiber, 57 percent of calories from fat.

• 1 pound sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons tahini
•  1/4 teaspoon cumin
• Pinch cayenne
• Pinch chile powder

1. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper on a large baking sheet. Roast for 30 to 40 minutes until lightly browned, turning once. Let cool.

2. Put the sweet potatoes (you should have about 2 cups cooked) in a food processor, along with tahini,  1/4 teaspoon salt, cumin, cayenne and chile powder. Taste for seasonings. Refrigerate until serving.

Nutritional analysis per 1-tablespoon serving: 27 calories, 2 grams fat, 3 grams carbohydrates, trace protein, no cholesterol, 3 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber, 53 percent of calories from fat.

• 2 tablespoons flax-seed meal
• 2 cups oat flour
•  1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup ice water (you might not need all of it)
• Large-grain sea salt

1. In a small bowl, mix the flax-seed meal with 4 tablespoons of water. Let this sit for 3 to 5 minutes or until thick.

2. Put the oat flour and fine sea salt in food processor and pulse. Add the olive oil and half of the ice water and pulse until combined. Add as much of the water as needed to bring the dough together into large clumps. Roll out half of the dough as thinly as possible and, using a pizza cutter, slice the dough into 1-inch squares. Put on a large baking sheet. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Sprinkle coarse salt over the crackers, pressing down slightly so the salt will stick. Put the crackers in the freezer for 30 minutes or until firm.

3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the crackers for 10 to 12 minutes or until they start to brown on the edges. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Nutritional analysis per cracker: 29 calories, 1 gram fat, 4 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram protein, no cholesterol, 8 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber, 37 percent of calories from fat.

• 1 tablespoon flavorless oil, such as canola or grapeseed
•  1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1 cup pitted dates
• 1 cup almonds (raw and unsalted)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Tear off a piece of plastic wrap and press it into a loaf pan, making sure it’s long enough to come up on both sides and flop over the edge. Oil the plastic wrap.

2. Put the cherries and dates in a bowl with 1 cup of warm water and let sit for 5 minutes or so, until the fruit is soft. Drain the water and put the fruit in a food processor. Puree the fruit.

3. To this, add the almonds and cinnamon and puree until it’s a solid mass. Dump mixture into the loaf pan and press it down with your hands. Fold the plastic layers on top, and use a second loaf pan to smash it down. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until solid.

4. Slice into 5 bars, then wrap them individually. Keep bars in the fridge or the freezer until you’re ready to take them with you.

Nutritional analysis per bar: 337 calories, 18 grams fat, 44 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams protein, no cholesterol, 6 milligrams sodium, 7 grams dietary fiber, 44 percent of calories from fat.

Inspired by a recipe on the website leitesculinaria.com, adapted from Camilla V. Saulsbury’s “Power Hungry” (Lake Isle Press)