TSA APPROVED TRAVEL SNACKS
- Apples *be warned, they make some people gassy. If you slice these before travel, make sure to treat with Fruit Fresh or lemon juice to prevent browning.
- Baked oatmeal
- Bananas
- Bell Pepper strips
- Blackberries-whole
- Blueberries-whole- *Blueberries can be frozen and used as an icepack that TSA won’t confiscate
- Breakfast bars
- Breakfast burritos (scrambled egg with diced veggies
- Breakfast cookies
- Breakfast sandwich
- Carrots
- Celery
- Cheese sticks/slices
- Cherries
- Coconut
- Cooked ground beef or turkey
- Cookies
- Crackers
- Cucumber
- Dehydrated/dry fruit
- Deli meat *perishable item
- Dry cereal
- Edamame
- Energy balls
- Fruit roll ups
- Granola/Granola bars
- Grapes-whole or cut *grapes can be frozen and used as an ice pack which TSA won’t confiscate.
- Grilled beef, chicken, pork, turkey
- Hard Boiled Eggs*perishable so shouldn’t be kept at room temperature for more than a couple of hours.
- Jerky
- Kiwi-whole or cut
- Melon-cut, cubed or balls
- Muffins
- Nut butters
- Nuts *unsalted are best
- Oatmeal (dry packets/cups)-just add hot water
- Oranges-whole or peeled
- Pasta (cooked)
- Peaches (whole or cut up) *treat cut fruit with fruit fresh or lemon juice to prevent browning
- Pears (whole or cut up) *treat cut fruit with fruit fresh or lemon juice to prevent browning
- Pineapple (cut up)
- Plums (whole or cut up)
- Popcorn
- Potato wedges
- Pretzels
- Quinoa (cooked)
- Raisins
- Raspberries-whole
- Rice (cooked)
- Rice cakes
- Roasted chickpeas, pumpkin seeds etc
- Roasted potatoes and/or veggies
- Salad
- Salad dressing *must be put in a container 1 oz or less and passed through with your liquids
- Sandwich/wraps *Some sandwiches can be frozen the night before to help with transport. Lunch meats are perishable so make sure to keep the sandwich cool when traveling.
- Smashed potatoes
- Sugar snap peas
- Strawberries-whole or sliced (no juice)
- Trailmix
- Veggies-mixed
- Watermelon-whole, cut, or balls
- Whole grain, vegetable and bean salad
Foods to Avoid-These foods can leave you feeling bloated and/or dehydrated.
- Salty snacks such as potato chips
- Very sugary snacks
- Caffeine
- Heavy foods such as pizza and hamburgers
- Smelly foods which could disturb other passengers
Tips for Food and Drinks
Fill an empty water bottle, or purchase a bottle of water once you are on the other side of security.
Always pack some food when you are traveling. You do not know when/if you might get stranded on the tarmac, or in the airport. If the plane pulls away from the gate, flight attendants are not allowed to dispense food or drink until the plane is in the air.
Keep hot food hot by packing in an insulated thermos.
Consider freezing some foods (such as sandwiches/muffins) the night before you travel. Freezing them helps to protect them longer. By the time you are ready to eat, they will defrost.
Carry condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayo etc) in individual sized serving packets. These must be passed through security with your other liquids.
Almond butter, peanut butter, hummus etc are considered “creams” and must be passed through security with your other liquids. *However, if these are spread on a sandwich, they are acceptable to pass through in a food bag.
Avoid drinking coffee/tea on a plane. The water used to prepare these is stored in a holding tank, which is never cleaned. Choose canned sodas, bottled water and boxed/bottled juices instead.
Fruits, vegetables and meats are generally allowed on a flight, however many international flights will not allow you to remove these items from the plane once you land (due to agricultural laws). Food should be consumed while in flight and/or disposed of carefully.
Foods such as sandwiches and cut fruits/vegetables must be wrapped or in a container. Whole foods such as apples and bananas do not need to be packed in containers.
Pack a plastic spoon, fork, knife, napkin and wet wipe (for each person) with your food kit. *I also pack a travel straw, but this is optional.