It’s no secret that keeping yourself healthy while traveling can be difficult. We have to consider everything from maintaining a good sleep schedule to reducing the stress that travel puts on our bodies. Making sure we eat regularly can be particularly difficult, which is why knowing which airlines offer the best, healthiest food can help you plan the best snacks to take to the skies.
Fortunately, these results are tabulated. The Food Policy Center at Hunter College in New York and DietDetective.com released the 2017-18 Airline Food Study, which evaluates the meals and snacks offered by 12 airlines and ranks them based on the nutritional value each airline offers Ranking. Dr. Charles Platkin, director of the New York City Food Policy Center at Hunter College, has been researching airline food since 2009 and publishes his findings annually in Diet Detective. It should be noted that some of his assessments are based on calorie counting, but just because a food has a certain calorie content doesn't automatically mean it's healthy.
Platkin noted in his research note that he noted some general trends in food selection, such as airlines starting to eliminate multi-portion packaged snacks available for purchase in favor of smaller packages or even "eliminating individual snacks entirely." He also noted that some airlines are once again offering free snacks to individuals, a practice that has become rare over the past few years. Platkin said purchasable food, especially snack boxes, has become the norm on airlines, but nutritional information about the food available is not as readily available.
According to Platkin's survey, the No. 1 airline overall for healthy dining is Delta Air Lines, which received four out of five stars. Criteria for the star rating include "healthy nutrition and calorie levels of meals, snack boxes and individual snacks, level of transparency (display of nutritional information and ingredients), improvement and maintenance of healthy products, menu innovation and collaboration in providing nutritional information," Pu Rutkin wrote. Delta is followed by Virgin America, Air Canada, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Allegiant Airways, Spirit Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.
Platkin's assessment is very helpful for those who have dietary restrictions or want to stick to specific foods, especially if you tire easily at the airport and don't want the hassle of getting your own food through TSA.
So what puts Delta at the top? Well, it offers free snacks and has a variety of food items available for purchase. It provides a guide to what is available, noting which foods are vegan, gluten-free, kosher and lacto-ovo-vegetarian, so people with dietary restrictions will know exactly what they can eat. Delta's Tapas Snackbox is the only non-GMO snack box in the U.S. airline industry, Platkin writes, and it's also a pretty extensive selection, with almonds, bruschetta, cheese spread, chocolate, cookies, dried fruit, flatbreads , hummus and mints for less than $10. Platkin's recommendation for the healthiest snack on Delta is almonds, and if you want a little more, there's a snack box, he said.
Close runner-up Virgin America also scored in the snack box category, which includes a high-protein pack with hummus, nuts and tuna, and a Jet Set Kid Pack. Packs like this, which contain enough individual snacks to make a full meal, are very helpful for those on long-haul flights who want to buy a meal and be able to portion it out throughout the flight. This is also great for people who need to eat regularly for health reasons.
Platkin also noted that Virgin Atlantic offers purchasable meals, including turkey sandwiches and chicken grape salad. His go-tos are protein packets, yogurt and fruit cereal, and chicken salad.
Other notable options across airlines include more snack boxes: Air Canada's Avocado Smash box, which comes with fresh guacamole, hard-boiled eggs, green apple slices and multigrain bread; JetBlue's AmpUp box, which comes with olives, Hummus, cookies and fruit bars; and American Airlines breakfast snack boxes with yogurt and granola.
But if you don't fly on any of these airlines, the survey recommends your options from each of the 12 airlines Platkin looked at. Mediterranean-themed snack boxes are common contenders, such as Alaska Airlines' Mediterranean Snack Box; United's Tapas Snack Box and Mezze Sampler; and Spirit Airlines, Allegiant and Hawaiian Airlines' hummus and pita chips. Another popular option is the assorted dried fruits and nuts from Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines respectively.
Platkin’s assessment of airline meals is less positive than his assessment of snack boxes. He noted that many snacks are high in sodium and recommended giving up almost all desserts offered in airline meals, but when I'm stuck in a box with 100+ other disgruntled people, I'll do it anyway Eat my brownies. If you're not a fan of snack boxes and are concerned about maintaining healthy food levels on the go, he has some tips. First, bring your own reusable (empty, for safety) water bottle, or pick one up after security. According to Harvard Health, dehydration can exacerbate jet lag, so stocking up on fluids will help minimize the effects of jet lag.
If you want to DIY your own in-flight snacks, Bon Appétit's Alyse Whitney has some great suggestions: Single-serve dips like peanut butter, hummus, and avocado Sauce, with carrots, cucumbers, pretzels, or vegetable slices; Vegan options because they don’t spoil as easily as meat or dairy; and bring a box full of prepared foods from home, but have them ready on the plane Eat cold.
If meals are an issue for you when traveling, be sure to check the airline's website to see what they offer and see if you can plan ahead for meal options and/or have meals and snacks available for purchase. Even for those who don't have to worry too much about what they eat, taking a little less travel stress can make your trip that much better.
