Flyby Eats FlyBy for a Week

Join us at Flyby (the Blog of the Harvard Crimson) as we embark on the ultimate challenge: eating FlyBy (the thing under Berg) lunches and bagged dinners for an entire week. (Note: Do not try this at home.)

Predictions for the Week

Ariana: Ever since I took my first bite of an Uncrustable at the age of 6, I was hooked. Eating FlyBy for a week sounds scary, I’ll admit, but for a PB&J-lover like myself, it seems surprisingly doable. Then again, my recent decision to eliminate meat from my diet along with my dairy allergy might limit my options for the week. Lunch and dinner for five days… 10 meals, if I’ve done my math right. It won’t be that bad… right, Kiana?

Kiana: I think having FlyBy everyday for lunch and a bagged dinner everyday will get pretty old pretty quick. Lunch I’d be ok with, but not only do I have two midterms this week — one late at night and one early the next morning — but I’ll also be going to Columbia on Friday for an environmental career fair. Not to mention, I have PAFee Annenberg meetings set up this week, so let’s see how those go. But like Ariana, I don’t eat meat, so I also see a lot of PB&J’s in my future. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? That being said, my expectations are pretty low…

Day 1:

Ariana: I retract my statement from yesterday. Day 1 wasn’t bad, of course, but I may have overestimated my capacity for PB&Js. This whole “Flyby eats FlyBy for a week” might have to turn into a “Flyby tries every single thing on the FlyBy menu,” for the sake of both our readers and my quality of life. I’m going to try to ~mix~ things up each day and experience what FlyBy truly has to offer. Life’s all about trying new things, and those hummus tabbouleh wraps are no exception.

Kiana: I played it pretty safe for lunch, sticking with a PB&J on hearty wheat, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that they offer vegetarian wraps that could keep my boredom at bay for a bit. The lines at FlyBy are actually insane, though. I ran out of my 10:30-11:45 a.m. class to beat the lines, but by the time I walked out the door, the line to get in would rival any post-Ec10 Annenberg rush. Pro tip: if you’re trying to fill up your water bottle with water, do that literally anywhere else other than FlyBy. Overall, though, lunch wasn’t bad and now I have snacks to munch on during class.

Don't get the taco salad. By Ariana Chiu

Day 2:

Ariana: Fun fact! When I was four years old, I told my mom that I could eat mac and cheese for the rest of my life and never get sick of it. My wonderfully supportive mother decided to take me up on this and, after five days of straight mac and cheese, I couldn’t take another bite of it. Fast forward 16 years, and it seems I haven’t learned my lesson. All that talk about trying new things from yesterday, and yet here I am, hoping this PB&J dinner will give the energy I need to study for my midterm tomorrow. I also forgot to order a bagged dinner, so I had to walk through the FlyBy line twice and pack food for later.

Kiana: Update: I had my caprese wrap during lunch while meeting with a PAFee, so that was interesting. Overall, not too terrible, but I miss hot food. I’m not really a fan of chili, and I hate the scooping mechanism (you inevitably spill), so I’ve been avoiding that, but maybe that’s something else I’ll try this week. I really admire Ariana’s commitment for waiting in that line twice!

FlyBy gives me energy. By Ariana Chiu

Day 3:

Ariana: Another day, another two FlyBy meals. Added the sweet potato quinoa chili and caprese wrap to the list of foods I’ve tried, and honestly, both were better than I expected. Not sure if pregaming my ec midterm with a FlyBy caprese wrap was the best for my cognitive functioning, but guess we’ll never know.

Kiana: It’s only been three days? I think I’m more yogurt and carrot than I am human at this point. Lunch today wasn’t too bad. I returned to the trusty PB&J and munched on some carrots in Lamont as I was studying for a midterm. Tip: Oreos make for a nice snack to share during long lectures. But! I forgot to order my bagged dinner last night, so I guess we’re back to normal dinner food for today. (I’m actually super happy about this. I really haven’t been getting enough protein or variety of flavors in my diet.) Today, though, I learned that there are upperclassmen on the campus who not only have never been to FlyBy, but don’t even know where it is. If only I could say the same.

Day 4:

Ariana: I just had my seventh (seventh!) PB&J for the week and I think I might throw up. I know I’m being dramatic, but all of a sudden, I find myself counting down the hours until this challenge is over. At least there was tomato basil ravioli soup for lunch! 10/10 would recommend.

Kiana: Another day. Another midterm. Another FlyBy meal. Although I stood in line for FlyBy today, I was not feeling the cold lunch, so I ended up eating in the dhall but kept my carrots and yogurt for snacks throughout the day. I really needed to avoid eating another PB&J after my exam.

Day 5:

Ariana: TGIFALDOF = Thank God it’s Friday A.K.A. Last Day of FlyBy.

Kiana: So I had to wake up at 4 a.m. to catch a bus to New York today, and let’s just say that FlyBy was as far from my mind as I was from Harvard.

Final Reflections

Ariana: Although I’m looking forward to my first warm HUDS meal since taking on this challenge, there was something slightly therapeutic about eating FlyBy each day that I may actually miss. As someone who regularly experiences decision fatigue, the routine of FlyBy made my life a bit easier, especially with midterm season in full force. Plus, it was nice to conquer this as a team… every time I saw Kiana this week, we knew exactly what each other was going through. For now, I’m going to take a quick break from PB&J’s, but before you know it, I’ll be back in that pre-noon-class-FlyBy-line.

Kiana: Overall, my commitment to this challenge was, um, not as enduring as I would have hoped during this busy week. But, I did discover that there are other meal options out there (the caprese and spinach wraps were not bad) other than PB&J (although it is a staple). Yet, I think I’ll stick to having FlyBy only when I must, even though I appreciate the convenience factor! (I’m really proud of Ariana’s dedication, though. Getting daily texts of meal updates was fun!)