When I travel, the precious space in my carry-on is at least 50% dedicated to snacks. Is there a fear of being without snacks? I have that.
Packing healthy snacks is the biggest way to avoid ordering fries from McDonald's or a sub-par doughnut from DD with your morning coffee. Planning and preparation are the biggest keys to making healthy choices!
The following snacks are one that I often find in airports and frequently purchase during my travels. They've all been taste-tested and approved by ME. Obviously, packing vegetables and fruits is another great snacking option, but for now, we're going to focus on those pre-packaged products that are easy to shove in your overstuffed carry on.
Happy, healthy-ish travels!
1.) Epic Bars
High In Protein
Low In Sugar
130-200 Calories
Keeps You Full
Sweet & Savory
I have a serious obsession with Epic bars. Ever since I discovered them at the Bear Mountain North Face Endurance Challenge my bags have been constantly stocked. Whenever I see them on sale at Whole Foods, I scoop them up by the handful.
In fact, they've almost entirely replaced granola bars for me! A lot of granola bars on the market today are very high in calories, carbs and sugar and even though brands like KIND are made with real ingredients and healthy fats, their nutritional make-up isn't always what I'm after.
Epic bars on the other hand are full of protein while staying low in carbs, sugars and calories. My favorite Epic bars are the ones that incorporate dried fruits so that you're getting the perfect balance of sweet and savory!
Though portable meat snacks (which my roommate and I lovingly refer to as "meat bars") might sound strange at first, I promise they're a great well-balanced snack. Some Epic bars have up to 15 grams of protein which will help keep you full for longer than a lot of the carby-crunchy granola bars.
2.) Wilde Snacks
100 Calories
Low in Sugar
High in Protein
Keeps You Full
Unique Flavors
If you can't find Epic bars, these are my second choice for next-level meat-snacking. Like Epic Bars, these aren't exactly jerky, but they're - well - meat protein bars! It doesn't sound appetizing, I know. But with flavors like Sweet Thai Basil, Turkey Cranberry and Peach BBQ, you can't tell me you aren't at least a little intrigued. Wilde Snacks feature beef, bison, turkey and chicken.
All of Wilde Snacks' bars are 100 calories with between 10-11 grams of protein, 5 or less grams of sugar and less saturated fat than most of Epic's bars! They're a little smaller than an Epic bar, but still completely satisfying - especially because each bar has ingredients like quinoa, flax and chia seeds to keep you feeling full!
A plus? I really like their packaging.
3.) Rhythm Superfoods Kale Chips
Satisfies Your Chip Craving
High in Vitamin A
Protein & Fiber To Keep You Full
I've talked about these bad boys before on the blog, but they remain one of my favorite flying treats. And did you know they're now available at Starbucks?! So easy to find these days, which is great considering how delicious they are. You'll never be tempted to go for the Doritos again (unless it's Superbowl Sunday - then you must eat lots and lots of Doritos, it's a fact).
Their Cool Ranch flavor is probably my favorite, but all of their kale chips are flavored using all natural ingredients like tahini, lemon juice, dill, etc.
One thing to keep in mind is that they aren't the best option for shoving in a bag seeing as they're pretty delicate. Once kale chips get all crunched up, they're not as satisfying. Kale powder << Kale chips.
4.) Biena & The Good Bean Roasted Chickpeas
Crunchy
Sweet & Savory Options
Fiber & Protein To Fill You Up
Low In Sugar
Low in Calories
Don't make me choose between these two brands please, because both are doing an amazing job bringing roasted chickpeas to the masses! For years I've been roasting chickpeas and coating them in cinnamon and other fun spice combinations but no more - I let Biena and The Good Bean do the work for me because I'm lazy and they do a better job anyway.
Roasted chickpeas are one of my all-time favorite snacks because you can go sweet or savory, they're crunchy, healthy and super filling.
I love sprinkling The Good Bean sea salt roasted chickpeas on top of my salads (croutons are so 2000) and eating the Biena honey roasted chickpeas by the handful could honestly satisfy my sweet tooth as a dessert.
My one tip is to buy the smaller, pre-portioned packages otherwise you might end up at your destination realizing you've polished off an entire 5 serving package (not that I'm speaking from experience...)
5.) Dang and Prana Coconut Chips
Delicious
Satisfies Your Sweet Tooth
I first fell in love with coconut chips when I tried Prana's unique flavors at the vegetarian food festival in Toronto. Unfortunately, they aren't (yet) in the US.
However - I was hooked on the sweet, unique texture of coconut chips and needed to find a way to get my fix! Enter Dang.
These are more on the indulgent side of the snacking scales. Since they aren't particularly high in protein or fiber, they won't keep you full and satisfied like some of the previous options. But they are certainly a better option than other sweet treats you'll find at the airport.
Just be aware that they are sugary and high in saturated fat - although coconuts are known for their lauric acid content which is a healthier saturated fat that could potentially help with weight loss.
6.) Purely Elizabeth Granola
Sweet
Crunchy
Lower In Sugar
Most of the time, granola is code for "sugar." But I love buying Purely Elizabeth's pre-packaged double portion granola because I don't risk way over-eating and it adds a sweet, crunchy boost to my yogurt!
Yogurt is my go-to breakfast food and adding Purely Elizabeth granola is a guilt-free way to make it feel indulgent.
The pumpkin fig flavor only has 6 grams of sugar in 1/3 of a cup which is unheard of for granola!
7.) Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP and SkinnyPop Popcorn
High In Fiber to Keep You Full
Sweet & Salty
Crunchy
Low Calorie
Low Fat
I will take a bag of either brand anyyyyy day for one of my most favorite healthy snacks on the go (and on my couch).
Popcorn is high in fiber which means that it keeps you full and it's low in calories, sugar and fat!
I will admit - I have a tendency to go for the kettle corn varieties which are higher in sugar and calories - but it's stopping me from buying a Snickers bar so I'm fine with it!
Each brand has a ton of different flavor options including sea salt, kettle corn, white cheddar and even dusted dark chocolate!
8.) Justin's Peanut and Almond Butter Single Serve Packets
Healthy Fats
Protein
Delicious
Keeps You Full
Satisfies Your Sweet Tooth
I have a confession to make. I still eat Skippy peanut butter and I'm not crazy about all natural PB. I'm not obsessed with Justin's - even though the entire healthy food blogosphere is gaga for their products. But I know it's healthier, and I'm trying to get on board!
All-Natural or not, I am obviously never found without peanut butter close by. You might be surprised to learn that I do not, in fact, travel with an entire jar of peanut butter. In lieu of a tub of PB, I opt for the single serving packets of Justin's when I'm traveling. These can be added to oatmeal or lathered on toast, rice cakes or bananas. It can be used as the dip for carrots, apple slices and celery.
But all the cool kids are just eating it straight from the packet.
9.) Quest Bars
Flavors Like Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Low in Sugar
High in Protein
Low in Carbs
Keep You Full
CHOCOLATEY
Try as I might to move on from Quest bars, I keep coming back to them. I don't even love the flavor - but there is something familiar and satisfying about them and therefore, I usually bring a few on each trip.
If you've somehow survived the past 5 years without hearing about Quest bars, they're protein-packed bars with dessert-like flavors that are low in sugar and carbs.
But I have to be upfront - more and more I'm reading that Quest bars aren't as great as they appear based on their nutrition facts. You need to read the ingredient list to find the fake fiber, artificial sweeteners and processed protein sources.
10.) Superseedz
High in Protein
High in Iron
High in Zinc
Gourmet pumpkin seeds? Yes.
These are a wonderful bit of crunch to add to your salad, yogurt or oatmeal. Or again, go ahead and eat them straight out of the package.
For such tiny little seeds - they pack a powerful flavor punch with all natural seasonings like maple sugar & sea salt, tomato Italiano, super spicy and even curry.
Superseedz are packed with more than flavor though - they've also got a ton of protein (up to 9 grams per serving) and zinc. Zinc is huge for your immune system, and when you're flying and traveling and getting run down your immune system can use all the help it can get!
So there you have it. 10 go-to snacks for healthy traveling and happy taste buds. Just wanted to throw it out there that none of these companies paid me to say nice things about them - I genuinely enjoy all of these products!
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