NYCC Post

[aloneindarknes7]

 

Claire and I were thinking about what we should bring for NYCC, pretty much just food wise and we were thinking of collaborating with some of the food that is pre-packaged and easy to store in purses so we could have food at the Con and not go back to the hotel room all the time.

Well, Claire is going to bring up her make-up and nail polish, as well as a hair straightener and curler and a bunch of other crap. So she has the girly cosmetic sort of stuff covered. We were also thinking about bringing our own Shampoo and Conditioner and Body wash so that the people at the front desk wouldn't get suspicious if we asked for a million tiny bottles of such items. 

For non-refrigerated foods, we were thinking of bringing Smucker's Uncrustable PB&Js, some water bottles that we can re-fill, some apples, and maybe some other type of little junk food if we see them, such as Rice Krispie Treats or something like that. 

Does anyone have any other ideas of easy to carry snacks that they would be willing to bring along and share?  We were thinking of buying these things in their bulk sizes so that we had plenty of them to share. 

Comments

[aloneindarknes7.livejournal.com]

Ooh, great suggestions! Man, I totally wish you could come. Have you ever been to a Con before?

[aloneindarknes7.livejournal.com]

Oh god, I'm jealous too! D: Except I'm excited for the guests for NYCC, even though none of them are the turtles. There is OT!April's VA though. Also, Spike from Buffy. <3 That's the one I'm really excited for.

Yeah, the good thing about cons is that there are plenty of chances to go to them so you never have to feel bad about skipping them for a year or two.

[robina1984.livejournal.com]

...Unless you know a different Smucker's Uncrustable, they require freezing except when you are going to eat them. You can only leave them out of the freezer 8 hours without eating and are not supposed to refreeze them.

At least, that's what my packages say and was the main reason I switched to something else for lunch at work (other being I was still hungry.)

Granola bars maybe? I know I need something non-sugary every so often. (Jem and I volunteer to get them if people tell us what they like. As Jordan knows, I'm not a big fan of Chewy, so if you want it, better tell me or you get Crunchy. ^_^ Jem says she'll bring wheat thins and Granola Cereal (the Honey Bunches of Oats "Just Bunches" thing)

Does anyone not like raisins besides Jem?

I know Jem tends to bring her own stuff 'cause her hair/allergies are picky, but I prefer using what the hotel offers if no one else minds. Mostly cause I'm lazy, partially because I tend to waste whatever is in the bottle that I don't use.

[autumndandelion.livejournal.com]

I won't be using what the hotel has either, so I don't mind.

= D

[aloneindarknes7.livejournal.com]

Smucker's Uncrustables doesn't *require* freezing, but it is suggested, yeah.

And I'll bring some Chewy bars for Claire and myself then since you're a crazy and don't like them. :P

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

You can refrigerate them up to 2 days. But we don't have one of those either.

[geaven.livejournal.com]

Ohh, I remember Smucker's from when I went to America last summer. There was some kind of blueberry syrup we poured on our breakfast porridge. Definetely the best food experience there was. Still talking about it, occasionally. Mmm... *licks lips*

I'd try to give you some suggestions, but since I don't really know what kind of food you've got over there, I'm afraid I can't help out a lot.

[aloneindarknes7.livejournal.com]

XD Well thanks for the input anyways.

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Smucker's makes a lot more than just that, too. ^_^

Around here they're known for jelly or jam, but they also make peanut butter as well as the syrup you remember and other ice cream toppings, all of which are pretty good. :)

[catc10.livejournal.com]

When I go to con, I do my level best to know at least a *few* nearby restaurant locations, so I don't have to survive on sandwiches and coffee-pot cup ramen.
But snack wise? String cheese is amazing.
ME

[aloneindarknes7.livejournal.com]

Yeah but New York food is kinda expensive so I only wanna buy dinner there.

Ah man, I adore String Cheese and would be all about that except I know that food needs to be refrigerated and I'm pretty sure our hotel room doesn't have a refrigerator.

[catc10.livejournal.com]

Do conbenri (convenience stores) in New York not sell ice or something? Are there no ice-machines in the hotel? Do you in fact NOT have a Styrofoam cooler? Or even a thermal lunch box?
I just say because other things can also be brought cold, such as capri sun packs or lunchmeat. One good cooler can last two to four people a few days worth of meals, if you're willing to eat lightly (which is generally a good idea at con, because the heat of FANBOY can make one sick if not careful.)
ME

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

There is ice and I have a cooler, but I don't know that I'll be able to bring it on public transportation. Space is seriously an issue both in packing and in the hotel room; NY rooms are tiny.

But we can bring warm drinks and put them in ice. Although the sugar in most pre-packaged drinks makes you more likely to get sick from the heat.

There's also the option of putting the veggies in ice, which should make them keep longer. :)

[autumndandelion.livejournal.com]

I'm a vegan. I tend to find it easier to bring all my own food when I travel, rather than rely on local restaurants and such. This is the sort of thing I might bring for snacks:

- fruits (bananas, peaches, apples, pears, oranges, grapes)
- carrots
- pretzels
- seaweed
- Lara bars

I'll also bring beans and greens and salsa for meals as they travel well and are so yummy. I'll buy it all fresh that day so that none of it will need to be refrigerated. And I'm certainly willing to share.

= D

I can bring a box of ten individually packed pretzels, if people are interested, as well as fruits, veggies, and beans.

I'll be bringing all my own toiletries, so I won't be using the free stuff.

[aloneindarknes7.livejournal.com]

Oh right, I suppose that would be tricky.

Okay, that all sounds great! You'll be free to eat our food too, all that is vegan, at least. ^^

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Can you eat raisins?

I was going to get the small individual-sized boxes, and I can totally check for animals/animal content in the ingredients. (Should be just grapes, I think.) Is there anything else you avoid?

[autumndandelion.livejournal.com]

Most raisins have added sugar, and I won't eat refined sugar, which is the type they tend to use.

I won't use any animal products - milk, eggs, butter, cheese, meat, lard, mono and diglycerides (these pop up in a lot of things as preservatives), honey, etc. I'm also pretty sure I have a soy allergy. I've had the worst breakouts all my life, and they improved when I stopped consuming dairy (I've been a vegetarian for nineteen years and a vegan for a year and a half). I tried not eating soy, and my complexion is even more manageable.

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I'll check the packages and see if I can find one without.

Do you eat unrefined sugar?

That does sound like an allergy.

[autumndandelion.livejournal.com]

I do eat unrefined sugar. Cane sugar is almost always processed in a non-vegan way, but beet sugar is vegan. It's just hard to tell what kind it is when it just says "sugar" on a package, so I avoid it unless I know. In general, I don't eat processed foods very often.

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

I usually assume refined unless it says otherwise. Mostly I was asking out of curiousity.

I did find raisins with no added sugar. The label says they're all-natural, and the only ingredient listed is "raisins". There's sugar under the carb section in "Nutrition Facts" but grapes are pretty sweet so I guess it's leftover grape-sugar? Fructose, or something?

If you don't mind me asking, what's the difference between vegan and non-vegan? Is it just no animal or animal by-products? There's more than just food involved, isn't there?

[autumndandelion.livejournal.com]

There is more than just food involved. For instance, I don't use leather, down, wool, etc.

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Thank you. ^_^

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

I'm bringing wheat crackers, raisins, and granola cereal. And I'll see about other stuff -- those little cracker sticks with the fake cheese are nice, tho the cheese is sorta plastic-flavored. I'm not sure what all else is possible... but I will look around when I go shopping this week and plan out a list.

There is a tea maker, tho no microwave or fridge, so we could have hot water. The innovative section of my brain says that's significant but seems short on details at the moment. Hmmmm....

Perhaps I'll pack some tea bags.

Oh, and I have my own refillable water thing, but it's a personal thingy - I can't share it. And Robina has her own.

[autumndandelion.livejournal.com]

Hot water would be good for things like soup-in-a-cup.

= D

I'm bringing my TMNT water bottle.

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

And oatmeal. That was the thing that was at the back of my mind. I just figured it out this afternoon. ^_^

Ramen-in-a-cup, too. Or is that what you meant by soup? There are powdered soups too, but in my experience they're not very good.

That's cool. ^_^ You won't even have to label it, since I'm the only other Leo fan and I don't have one. Robina's got Raph. ;)

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Correction, I think Soliloquy is Leo & Don. But I don't know that she has a water bottle.

[autumndandelion.livejournal.com]

My water bottle has all four of the turtles on it. I got it at Hot Topic on clearance. It's red.

[aloneindarknes7.livejournal.com]

I have that one too! But don't worry, I'll probably bring my standard, bland college water bottle.

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Lol, Robina says she's not bringing hers either, because she'll have her CamelBak.

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Oh, cool! I've not seen that one.

Robina's is just Raph. I think they had ones for the other turtles, tho I don't really remember.

[livefree-13.livejournal.com]

Hmm, well you can take the ice holder from the hotel room itself and shove a bunch of stuff in there to keep cold, like drinks, etc. That's what we usually do when we stay in hotel rooms (and most of all the rooms I've ever been in have had a little ice-machine bucket thing). You can also ask for an extra one if you need it. I can understand if you're traveling by bus why a cooler would be an inconvenience, but if not, a really small handheld cooler should be good to travel with. The one we have is no larger than a tote bag (it's just square and hard to squeeze into tight spaces). But flexible lunch sacks (http://www.amazon.com/Skip-Hop-Zoo-Lunchies-Owl/dp/B003HS5JLW/ref=sr_1_4?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285262408&sr=8-4) could have some bagged ice put in if you're trying to keep a few things cool. Would only last for a few hours, but the cold should hold out for the trip.

I love love love individually packaged chips you can buy in sets of 12-24. Granola bars are key, too, as well as peanuts. Peanuts are great because most of them come in travel containers and don't go bad. Personally, I love invidually wrapped cracker snacks, too, but they can be messy if you don't have paper plates or something. I would stick to something you can eat out of like the foods I mentioned above that have containers or wrapping that is made for on-the-go situations. Dried fruits come in similar containers as peanuts and should be found in the same section of walgreens/the grocery (they're also healther than chips LOL).

D8 Make sure you guys use soap when you refill your water bottles! In fact, if it were me, I'd go ahead an eliminate the plastic bottles altogether and just get a cheap mug. They're better insulated and easier to rinse.

So . . . chip baggies, containers of nuts/dried fruits, granola bars (chewy would be less messy), flexible lunchkit and travel mug. And I think you've got enough help everywhere else! ;D But Jesus, I would be craving some good meat after this menu.

No shit about the New York food (in regards to someone's comment). I just found out a slice of pizza off the streets there is "only under 5 bucks." Psssssshh.