Flying this season? The healthiest airline snacks

Posted on Dec 2nd 2006 8:56AM by Rigel Celeste

Filed Under: Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements

Depending on where your family lives and how you celebrate the holidays, you might find yourself on a few planes over the next several weeks. So not only do you have to manage your diet around all the obnoxious holiday goodies, but around airline meals and snacks in between. Thankfully, there are not only more choices but more health-conscious options onboard most flights than ever before. This website does a nice job of breaking down the nutritional information for several of the major airlines' food offerings, complete with "best bet" categories and "exercise equivalent" scores, for how long it will take to walk off the calories of a specific snack.

Of the airlines surveyed, which came out on top? United Airlines offers both the most variety and the healthiest options. For example, its "Snack Pack" is both trans-fat-free and vegetarian-friendly.

It's been a long time since I've had to fly anywhere, but looking at some of these menu items I'm impressed! For some carriers anyway, the stereotypical "airline food" seems to be turning into a thing of the past.

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Tags: airline, airlines, calorie, calories, eating, flight, flying, food, nutritional, smart snacking, SmartSnacking, snacks, travel, traveling

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

farley 12-03-2006 @ 6:29PM

my name is FARLEY

Gerrit Huig 12-11-2006 @ 8:15AM

Bravo CONTINENTAL Airlines! Real food, and free!

Amy Rosenberg 12-11-2006 @ 2:41PM

What food? Airlines do not feed you any more. They try to make your connections such that you can get meals at your airports. Airline food used to be judged for its quality and now it does not exist. (Amy)

judy rush 12-11-2006 @ 9:22AM

thats right Continental is the only Airline serving food and its free. And I am most proud that it is something edible and not tofu bars. If you want to eat stuff like that bring your own. Most people do not eat that stuff. Keep the chips and bbq sandwiches coming.

ellie Lewis 12-11-2006 @ 9:24AM

I go with Continental airlines for best service and food service. No 5 course meal but just enough to tide you over. Kudos to Continental.

Stephanie Curtis 12-11-2006 @ 9:32AM

Yum, yum! And I wonder why I don't fly any longer? In addition to the terrorist problems, we get this?

Rick Williams 12-11-2006 @ 9:31AM

You should try flying economy more often. I have flown several times from the Rocky Mountains to the East Coast and am lucky if I get offered a tiny pak of imitation pretzels.

Jo 12-11-2006 @ 10:06AM

For good food and good flights, try NW Airlines. On a recent trans
Atlantic flight, they served two choices of very nice meals (pasta with veggies and the other was beef) on the departure flight. It was nicely presented, cooked well, and tasted really good (for a change). Unfortunately, they weren't terribly consistent---the meals provided on the return flight weren't as good, but passable.

Bill 12-11-2006 @ 10:33AM

Gee, I get to pay upwards of $300 (average) and I HAVE TO PAY for a sandwich? And you're lucky now to even get pretzels or peanuts, and dont ask for extras or you get the disgusted look.

george 12-11-2006 @ 10:47AM

Singapore Airlines--hands down...and they have real knives/forks/spoons too...AMAZING in this day and age...

Jim Minor 12-11-2006 @ 10:58AM

I dont fly to eat, I fly to go somewhere.
As far as i am concerned they can keep the food and allow me to Brownbag it . JIM

Keith Johnson 12-11-2006 @ 11:02AM

Continental is the VERY best. United has that CRAP Starbucks coffee that stinks up the plane and turns off the appetite. No wonder everyone is losing weight with their crud! Continental has the best cup of coffee of ANY airline, hands down and thumbs up!

Gary 12-11-2006 @ 2:56PM

The best food on long trips? That's a no-brainer! AMTRAK!!!

Mikey J. 12-11-2006 @ 11:08AM

Sounds like you people live to eat! Why would you need to be fed on flights of four or five hour duration anyway. It's the airline's job to get you to your destination as quickly and safely as possible. If you can't feed yourself before a flight, that's your fault!

Ronald Schoewnberg 12-11-2006 @ 11:54AM

We fly often on Northwest Airlines, as my wife is a retiree. When we travel on Northwest we take along our won snacks as the airline offers different snack boxes for $5.00 and trail mix for $2.00. Not very appetizing. Recently we traveled on KLM and experienced a world of difference. Viva KLM. Wonderful food and service.

Nyck 12-11-2006 @ 11:31AM

The best service on board ever had was from Japan Airlines.
In a 9:30Hs international fly, good service, food, drinks, tea, magazines, newspaper and more is available to you at any time on a touch of a remote control. This is for economy class.
Whant more? Telephone at your hands, no charge for post cards,
fligth attendants are allways happy and courteous.
Ticket prices are unbeatable.
You should try it to see by yourself.

amber wendelin 12-11-2006 @ 11:40AM

So it's a lousy non-nutrious meal ...so what ? Like one meal is going to ruin your health ? Airlines are a transportation not a restaurant. Bring your own snack if you are that concerned, I for one prefer no food and lower airfares and on my over seas flights that one bad meal will not kill me, LOL

Denver 12-11-2006 @ 11:50AM

On a recent overseas job run - china airlines from Taiwan to Thailand taking off I was asked to simply hold my drink during take off (got to love flying outside of the US airways) - the food was good and my luggage got there. NW like Jo states was inconsistant with their food - OK going to Korea from Japan but, lousy from Japan to Seattle and it was the same menu. Singapore and Thia airlines are some of the best airlines all around, that is as long as your not flying into the US - then they get all to wrapped up in the security BS. These flights were all business class seats.

Lorne Fleming 12-11-2006 @ 12:44PM

Hey Folks... TRY flyin Hawaiian...
Mahalo!

unlisted 12-11-2006 @ 12:47PM

I agree with those who say serve real food, if you want tofu, bring your own. I disagree with those who say the airlines should not even be feeding us. Having food served while flying is important to me because it's help distract me from flying fears. I miss the days we were served a meal with utensils; it made flying a nice event and not like riding a BUS like it is turning into now.

And to you who thinks you would rather pay less for your ticket and not have food; lol, they are NOT going to lower the airfares from eliminating food service!

My vote is to return flying to the standards it use to be.