On the Menu
- Spiced Roasted Chickpeas (dry, crunchy)
- Savory Trail Mix (no sugar)
- No-Bake Almond Seed Bars (make ahead)
- Aged Cheese and Nut Packs (five minutes)
- Roasted Edamame (dry, crunchy)
- Flax and Sesame Seed Crackers (baked)
- Carry-On Hummus Cups (3.4 oz rule)
- Crunchy Veggie Box with Peanut Dip (short flights)
1. Spiced Roasted Chickpeas
The one that replaces the little bag of pretzels.
~140 kcalper ½ cup
~22 gcarbs
GI ~28Very low
45 mintotal
4servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 can, rinsed)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp each cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder
- ¼ tsp chili powder, salt to taste
Steps
- Heat the oven to 200 C (400 F).
- Dry the chickpeas thoroughly in a towel. Any water left on them will steam instead of roast.
- Toss with the oil and spread in one layer on a tray, with space between them.
- Roast 30 to 35 minutes, shaking the tray twice, until they rattle and crack when you shake it.
- Toss with the spices and salt while hot, then cool completely before sealing.
Tip: Seal them warm and the trapped steam turns them soft by morning. Leave them out uncovered until they are stone cold, then bag them.
2. Savory Trail Mix
Trail mix without the candy that usually hides in it.
~210 kcalper ¼ cup
~12 gcarbs
Very low GIfat and protein
10 mintotal
6servings
Ingredients
- ½ cup almonds, ½ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds, ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup roasted makhana (fox nuts)
- ½ tsp chaat masala or smoked paprika, salt
- 1 tsp olive oil
Steps
- Toast the nuts and seeds dry in a wide pan on low heat, 5 to 6 minutes, until they smell toasted.
- Take off the heat, add the oil and seasoning, and toss while warm so it sticks.
- Add the makhana last so it stays crisp.
- Cool fully, then portion into small bags rather than one big one.
Tip: Portion it before you leave. A whole bag on a tray table becomes a whole bag eaten, and this is calorie-dense.
3. No-Bake Almond Seed Bars
A real breakfast for a 6 a.m. gate, made the night before.
~305 kcalper bar
~6 gcarbs
Low GInuts and seeds
15 min+ 2 hr chill
Makes 8bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsweetened almond butter
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame)
- ½ cup almond flour, 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- ½ tsp cinnamon, pinch of salt, sweetener to taste
Steps
- Warm the almond butter and coconut oil together until pourable.
- Stir in everything else. The mixture should be stiff and hold a shape when pressed.
- Press hard into a parchment-lined tin. Pressing hard is what stops them crumbling later.
- Chill 2 hours, then cut into 8 bars and wrap each one.
Tip: Coconut oil softens above about 24 C. Wrap them individually and keep them in the middle of your bag, not against a sunny window seat.
4. Aged Cheese and Nut Packs
The laziest one here, and the most filling.
~235 kcalper pack
~4 gcarbs
Very low GIalmost no carbs
5 mintotal
2packs
Ingredients
- 60 g aged cheddar, gouda or parmesan, cubed
- ¼ cup almonds or walnuts
- A few olives, patted completely dry
- Black pepper, dried oregano
Steps
- Cube the cheese and pat the olives dry so nothing pools in the box.
- Pack cheese, nuts and olives in a small hard container.
- Dust with pepper and oregano and close it.
Tip: Hard aged cheese is the point. It sits happily at room temperature for the length of a travel day, where fresh cheese does not.
5. Roasted Edamame
More protein per handful than anything else on this page.
~130 kcalper ½ cup
~10 gcarbs
Very low GIsoy protein
30 mintotal
3servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups shelled edamame, thawed
- 2 tsp olive oil or sesame oil
- ½ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp chili flakes
- Sea salt, and a little sesame seed to finish
Steps
- Heat the oven to 200 C (400 F). Dry the beans well.
- Toss with oil and spread in a single layer.
- Roast 20 to 25 minutes, shaking once, until crisp and lightly browned.
- Salt while hot, cool completely, then bag.
Tip: They keep crunching for about four days. Beyond that they go leathery, so roast them the night before you fly, not the week before.
6. Flax and Sesame Seed Crackers
Four ingredients, no flour, no eggs, and they survive a backpack.
~170 kcalper 6 crackers
~8 gcarbs
Very low GIseeds and fiber
60 mintotal
6servings
Ingredients
- ½ cup ground flaxseed, ½ cup whole flaxseed
- ¼ cup sesame seeds, ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup water
- ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp garlic powder, rosemary or za'atar to taste
Steps
- Mix everything and leave it 15 minutes. The flax will turn it into a spreadable gel, which is what holds the crackers together instead of egg.
- Spread as thin as you can between two sheets of parchment, then peel the top sheet off.
- Score into squares and bake at 150 C (300 F) for 40 to 45 minutes, until dry and snapping at the edges.
- Cool on the tray, then break along the score lines.
Tip: Thin is everything. Anywhere the batter is thick stays chewy, and chewy patches go stale first.
7. Carry-On Hummus Cups
Yes you can bring it. No, not the big tub.
~290 kcalper cup
~27 gcarbs
GI ~15Very low
10 mintotal
2cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas, 2 tbsp tahini
- Juice of 1 lemon, 1 small garlic clove
- 1 tbsp olive oil, ½ tsp cumin, salt
- Two 3.4 oz (100 ml) screw-top containers
Steps
- Blend everything with 2 tbsp cold water until smooth. Keep it thick, since a loose hummus finds every seam in a lid.
- Fill each container to about a centimeter below the rim, so cabin pressure has somewhere to go.
- Screw the lids on, then bag them in your quart bag with your other liquids.
- Pack the vegetable sticks separately in a dry box.
Tip: The container size is what security checks, not how much is in it. A half-full 8 oz tub still gets taken; a full 3.4 oz cup goes through.
8. Crunchy Veggie Box with Peanut Dip
Something fresh, for when everything else in your bag is brown and dry.
~130 kcalper box
~11 gcarbs
Very low GInon-starchy veg
10 mintotal
2boxes
Ingredients
- Carrot, cucumber, celery and bell pepper, cut into sticks
- 2 tbsp unsweetened peanut butter
- 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp lime juice, ¼ tsp chili flakes
- Warm water to loosen
Steps
- Cut the vegetables into sticks that stand upright in your container, so they don't roll and bruise.
- Whisk the peanut butter with the soy, lime, chili and just enough warm water to make a thick dip.
- Put the dip in a 3.4 oz (100 ml) container for the quart bag, vegetables in a dry box.
- Line the vegetable box with a paper towel to catch condensation.
Tip: Eat this one first. It is the only snack here that gets worse over the day, and fresh produce is often taken off you at international arrivals anyway.
A quick note: Calorie counts and glycemic index (GI) values are estimates. Actual values vary with ingredients, portions, and preparation. GI under 55 is considered low, 56 to 69 medium. This page is for general guidance only and isn't medical advice; please follow your doctor's or dietitian's recommendations. Where a recipe offers a choice of milk, the calories and carbs assume whole milk; unsweetened almond milk is lower on both.
Packing for the plane: Solid food goes through US security without a limit. Anything spreadable, and that includes hummus, yogurt and nut butter, counts as a liquid or gel and has to fit in a 3.4 oz (100 ml) container inside your quart bag. Fresh fruit and vegetables are fine domestically but are often confiscated on international arrival, so eat them before you land. Rules differ by country and change, so check your departure airport if you are carrying anything borderline.
Three rules that make a snack travel: it has to be dry, so nothing leaks into your bag. It has to be quiet and mild, because a strong smell in a sealed cabin makes you unpopular. And it has to hold up at room temperature for the whole door-to-door day, not just the flight time.
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