I adore traveling, but let’s face it, I’m a food writer, and each dollar is precious to me. I refuse to spend money on checked luggage, and I rarely buy extra snacks in the airport or aboard the flight. Even when I fly internationally, I only travel within the limits of a personal item and carry-on, and I still manage to bring on a haul of excellent snacks.
Regardless of whether you have food allergies, or if you’re simply trying to save money like me, you deserve to treat yourself on flights and get the most for your budget. As you start packing your bags, consider these tips to keep yourself well-fed, even on the longest flights.
After you’ve thoroughly read what you can and can’t bring on a plane, you can create your snack menu. When I consider what snacks to bring, I focus on size, weight, nutrition, and fun. Fun means flavor and how happy it makes me. It’s a big part of the “treat yourself” portion. If you don’t have some fun, then you’re more likely to splurge on a wildly overpriced and disappointing airport snack. Fun is probably the biggest variable in this list, because while fruit leather is not fun to me, it might be for you.
As for size, we’re working with a carry-on and a wee personal item, and I imagine sharing at least some space with clothes, so the food should be relatively compact. With weight, keep in mind how much time you’ll spend carrying this stuff—possibly on public transportation, standing in line with it, pushing it through security, and fussing with it on the plane (maybe under your seat or in the overhead). In regards to nutrition, I’m not a health food writer, nor is this a health food post. However, foods that are more nutrient dense than candy can keep you fuller longer. That doesn’t mean I won’t bring candy too (I will), but I look for snacks that fit my needs. Consider what “nutritious” might be for you.
This is not an exhaustive list—after all, you can bring many foods on a plane, even live lobster—but these are ones that I always pack. This, and the candy I mentioned before. (If you’re interested: gummy Life Savers, Twizzlers, and maybe something sour.)
Jerky sticks. Out of all foods, high-protein snacks keep me satiated for the longest. Jerky is one of my go-tos for the protein, its packable shape, and because it’s shelf-stable. Plus, jerky has come a long way from the days of Slim Jim. Now you can get ones with natural ingredients and they don’t even have to be beef. I like Chomps, which come in full size sticks and minis.
Freeze-dried vegetables. Yet another snack that has really impressed me are freeze-dried veggie chips (not to be confused with regular dried veggie chips). They absolutely crush my rubric: light, small, nutritious, and they’re surprisingly fun. I’m a big fan of Confetti Snacks because their flavors never miss and have a variety of veggies—or you could just focus on the crunchiest of the bunch and get a bag of freeze-dried shiitake mushrooms.
Dried Fruit. Oddly, I love freeze-dried veggies but not fruit. Please do what you will, but I pack regular dried fruit. I usually buy dried fruit from Trader Joe’s since their quality and prices beat my other local options. I don’t find dried apples or pineapples to be very fun, but I love dried mango slices, or chewy dried bananas. I’ll include fruit leather here, which you won’t find in my bags, but they’re usually individually wrapped and easy to slip into small, unused spaces.
Packable energy bars. The whole point of a protein or energy bar is to deliver a punch of nutrients in a small package. I usually tuck a couple into the random pockets and pouches of my bag so I can be surprised later when I come across one. (What’s better than surprise food?) Some of my favorites are Lara Bars, RX Bars, and Amrita bars (a great vegan protein option).
The mighty sandwich. Although I consider them snack food, there is something about sandwiches that screams “meal.” It’s probably because you can fit any proteins and vegetables easily between two slices of bread. Regardless, they can be made small, light, of varied nutrition, and they are certainly fun to eat.
The major thing you have to concern yourself with is choosing your sandwich ingredients in regards to temperature. According to the USDA, food that needs to be refrigerated shouldn’t stay out of the fridge for more than 2 hours, but if you can keep it at 40°F or lower (out of the danger zone) it’s all good.
Use a small, soft, foldable cooler to keep your sandwich colder for longer (and you can use it to bring food souvenirs back too). If you don’t want to bother with all that, just fill your sandwich with room temperature-stable ingredients. While the TSA considers jars of peanut butter to be a liquid, you can bring as many PB&J sandos on board as you please. Make a roasted vegetable baguette, or pack a fruit and cheese sandwich. While cheese and cooked veggies are technically fridge food, personally, I give them a little more leeway.
Who would I be if I didn’t give you at least one sneaky trick for bringing more food on a flight? Please, I have some integrity. Again, I only bring a personal item and a carry-on, even for long international flights, and a grownup must have room for clothes and shoes. While I will fit some small food items into my personal bag, I usually bring an auxiliary bag to carry the bulk of it. (I know, what a cheater.)
This can be a reusable tote, or a disposable plastic bag. A bag full of food and drink does not count as part of your baggage. After all, if you had purchased all that food in the airport and had it in a plastic Hudson News bag or a pizza box, you’d be allowed to bring it on board too. It just so happens that you saved a boat-load of money instead of buying it in the airport. Yes, it’s another thing to carry, but only on the way there.
