What does Qatar Airways serve for their Low Calorie Meal option? 🍉
Qatar Airways is the flagship airline of the State of Qatar, and is owned by the Qatari government. Operating since 1994, this airline has developed to be an award-winning international airline. The hub is based in Doha, the capital city of Qatar. Most flights heading to Europe from Southeast Asia has to transit in Hamad International Airport before connecting to another flight to the final destination.
In every class, each one of their seats is equipped with an entertainment system. Additionally, if you don’t know already, you can choose special meals for your flights! If you have allergies or eating restrictions, you can notify them in advance. With special meal requests, you’ll have plenty of food to eat during your trip. I decided to do a little review for Qatar Airways’ food, specifically for their Low-Calorie Meal. 🍚
Table of contents
Meal Types
As one of the world’s best airline, Qatar Airlines offers a wide range of special meal options (including religious meals and specific dietary requirements). They cater to various dietary needs! Some of the meal types they offer are:
- Baby Meal: For 0-2 year olds, came standard with your baby’s flight booking.
- Children’s meal: Contain typical “kid’s meal” (American-ish, if I do say so myself) such as pancakes, pasta, chicken strips, etc.
- Vegetarian Meal – Vegan: Free of all animal products.
- Fruit Platter: Just fruits!
- Raw Vegetarian Meal: Raw veggies and fruits.
- Vegetarian Lacto-Ovo Meal: Veggie meals with eggs and dairy.
- Vegetarian Oriental Meal: Veggie meal, cooked the Asian way.
- Asian Vegetarian Meal / Veg Hindu Meal: Indian sub-continent style veggie meal. No beef products!
- Non-Veg Hindu Meal: Has meat-based protein and cooked according to Hindu religion preparation.
- Vegetarian Jain Meal: Indian style veggie meal prepared according to Jain principles (no onion nor garlic allowed!).
- Kosher Meal: Meal prepared according to Jewish Kosher laws.
- Diabetic Meal: Low-sugar meal with poaching and steaming cooking methods.
- Gluten-Free Meal: Gluten-free meals without wheat nor wheat flour, barley, oat, and rye products.
- Bland Meal: Low-fat and easy-to-digest food for those with gastric issues (GERD, etc.). They only use poaching or steaming cooking methods.
- Low-Salt Meal: Low-sodium meals with no added salt.
- Non-Lactose Meal: For lactose-intolerant or dairy-free customers. No milk, yogurt, cheese, dessert, or baked goods containing dairy.
- Low-Calorie Meal: For those watching their calorie intake! Lean proteins galore prepared by steaming or poaching. No fried or full-fat foods.
- Low-Cholesterol / Fat Meal: Not necessarily low-calorie but you’re watching your LDL level? Pick this option. The meal will contain lean proteins (steamed or poached) and whole grain breads.
Low-Calorie Meal Option Review!
Truthfully, after stuffing myself with rich cheeses and pastas in France and Italy, I just wanted a light meal! Plane food is never all that good anyway, why not try out something new?
I went out on a limb and reserved Low-Calorie meals on my long-haul flights to and from Paris. This is on a Qatar Airways economy flight.
Here’s how they turned out on a long flight transiting in the Middle East 🍛
1. Dinner, Jakarta to Doha (CGK – DOH):
Dinner: Zucchini curry, spinach, side salad, fruit cup, bread roll and vegan spread
My first flight was not off to a good start- this was NOT good. I’m unsure what kind of curry they used for this zucchini dish, but it did not work great and I felt a bit nauseous.
They also have us a fruit cup for dessert, a bread roll, and vegan spread (margarine). The bread roll was dry AF (I’ve never had a good bread roll in-flight, to be honest..) and the salad was meh. Started questioning my life decisions by not bringing a snack. 😲
Thankfully they had a lot of soft drinks in stock, and I got some Coke Zero! Plus point for having a variety of different dishes, but I just cannot give this high marks.
2. Lunch, Doha to Paris (DOH – CDG):
Lunch: Sauteed carrot, zucchini and corn, mashed potatoes, sautéed pepper side, fruit cup, bread roll and vegan spread
To be honest, this was not much better. Gourmet meals they are not..
I expected blandness but the main dish was exceptionally bland, very very much under-seasoned. Did they even put any in, I wonder?
The side (sautéed peppers) was even worse than the salad. The meal also has a fruit cup and, as always, a bread roll and margarine spread. Thank the heavens I’m having real pastries after I land. 😅
3. Lunch, Paris to Doha (CDG – DOH):
Lunch: Chicken casserole, spinach barley, cucumber-pepper raw salad, fruit cup, whole wheat bread roll and vegan spread
This meal on my return flight was surprisingly decent! It was overcooked, but I get that they have to reheat everything prior to serving. They probably should cook it less prior to the flight 🤔. The barley was flavorful and the chicken was average- but since my expectations had been lowered in the previous flight, this was a welcome surprise.
The cucumber and pepper raw salad was.. it is what it is. ALL the bread rolls have been dry as Sahara, but even regular plane meals are all like that. Fruit platters were not sweet, and I barely held on for the duration of the flight (dramatic much?).
4. Dinner, Doha to Jakarta (DOH – CGK):
Dinner: Chicken stew with veggies, cucumber-pepper raw salad, fruit cup, whole wheat bread roll and vegan spread
The dinner was also thankfully decent 😭👏 *tears of joy*! The best part of the meal: the chicken stew was seasoned well, the turmeric mashed potatoes was ok too! They do not put in fat (butter/margarine) in the mash, I don’t think. Which was ok and completely within expectations.
The cucumber and pepper raw salad was what you’d expect such combination to be, and the fresh fruits was the as tasteless as the previous meal. I think they prep everything within similar timing so the sides are all the same for this time frame. The whole wheat bread roll? We are moving from Sahara to Gobi desert territory, dry as always. No, the spread cannot save it.
5. Breakfast, Doha to Jakarta (DOH – CGK):
Breakfast: Egg white omelet. yogurt, fruit cup, whole wheat bread roll, cherry jam with stevia, and vegan spread
It was breakfast time, my favorite! This was ok and everything does not have much fat, if any, added. The egg white omelet, spinach, and roasted potatoes filled me up. The yogurt was so-so, fruit cup the same as the previous meal.
The ever-present dry whole wheat bread roll was served with something different this time, sugar-free cherry jam with stevia. Decent all around, is it sad that I was happy? 😂
The Conclusion
I always apply a different standard when tasting low-calorie meals. Taste-wise, they were not as good as regular meals with higher calories and fat content for sure, and you should keep that in mind before ordering them. The food on my flight from Jakarta to Charles de Gaulle were sad, there’s no getting around it 😭. They were vegetable forward but super bland and unappetizing. Less sodium and fat, I absolutely expect- but this bland.. On the flip side, the dishes on my flight from Paris to Doha and Doha to Jakarta were okay and palatable! I could eat them and not be sad, which is IMHO the most important thing.
Serving time
As for the order of serving, on my 1st and 2nd leg I was served before everyone else, but on my 3rd and 4th flights I was served at the same time as everyone. I don’t know if there are different SOPs on different plane routes on Qatar Airways flights, but that was my experience.
Food allergies?
The flight attendants were lovely, and they always confirmed my meal tray choice prior to serving. The trays had markings corresponding to the meal types, so that would be super helpful in minimizing mistakes. I don’t have a health issue, but if someone has food allergies that would be disastrous! Although, I should point out, that airlines can’t usually cater to severe food allergies since their facilities process allergens as well.
Would I order the low-cal meals again?
Why not, after a trip full of rich meals! 🤷♀️
My best tip is to always bring your own snack and/or meals on the plane, that always makes me feel a little more human 😂 I know the air pressure does make our tastebuds’ work a little funky. We do taste differently when flying thousands of feet above the Earth’s surface.
BUT, even airport food is always a little better than in-flight meals 😅. Just lower your expectation for economy class meals. If you are on a special diet, bringing your own food is the best option!
P.S. = If you’re curious about food in Paris, check out my restaurant guide and croissant ranking in Paris! Hope the info has been useful 💖
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