• Careers
  • Education
  • Research
Ochsner Health Ochsner Health
  • About
  • Find A Doctor (current)
  • Find A Location
  • Specialties & Treatments
MyOchsner Logo
Login | Signup
Submit Search
Close Search
  •   Home
  • In To Your Health...
  • Food & Fitness
  • Conditions & Treatment
  • Health Trends
  • Prevention & Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Parenting
  • I need to...
  • Find A Doctor
  • Find A Location
  • Find A Specialty
  • Schedule An Appointment
  • Pay A Bill
  • Explore
  • About Ochsner
  • Careers
  • Patients & Visitors
  • "To Your Health" Blog
  • Health Resources
  • Medical Professionals
  • Education
  • Philanthropy
  • Community Outreach
  • Research
  • Ochsner Health Network
  • Schedule an Appointment
  • Call: 1-866-624-7637
  • Online: Login to MyOchsner
  • Personalize your content
  • patient Edit Persona Persona Chooser
To Your Health

View Newsletter Editions
  • Food & Fitness
  • Conditions & Treatment
  • Health Trends
  • Prevention & Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Parenting
Woman snacking in car on roadtrip

Best and Worst Picks for Travel Snacks

Jul 1, 2020 |
By Molly Kimball, RD, CSSD
Share Facebook Logo Twitter Logo Pinterest Logo Email Logo

Let’s face it: It’s easy for our eating habits to slip into “vacation mode” when traveling. We’re on different schedules, likely without access to our usual healthy options, plus we want to sample the various foods that are unique to the area we’re visiting.

But if we can at least keep things in check nutritionally while we’re en route to our destination, that’s half the battle.

Read on to get the rundown on travel snacks, including options to pack ahead and last-minute gas station finds.

But first, a few pro tips:

  • Read the labels. Look for foods that pack well for travel and provide good protein, fiber and/or healthful fats to help sustain energy and keep hunger at bay.
  • Stay hydrated. Travel, especially airline travel, can be dehydrating, so be sure to drink up. Buy a bottle of water once you’re through security or bring your own reusable bottle and fill up once past security.

LOVE IT!

Cheese: String cheese or cheese crisps like Whisps or Just the Cheese bars are great for on-the-go snacking.

Protein Chips

  • Optimum Nutrition Protein Ridges
  • Iwon Organics Protein Puffs, Stix and Chips
  • Protes Protein Chips
  • Quest Original Style Protein Chips

Protein Bars: Bars such as Bulletproof and KIND Bars, especially STRONG + KIND bars and NUT & SPICES KIND bars, are packed with protein, making them a great travel snack.

Hard-Boiled Eggs

Nuts: Dry roasted almonds, pistachios and cashews are great options. I especially love Protein Almonds by Optimum Nutrition.

Jerky: Look for jerky with no added nitrites or nitrates and options that are lower in sodium and sugar such as The New Primal Beef Jerky Honey & Cayenne.

To schedule a nutrition consult, whether virtually or in-person, contact us at nutrition@ochsner.org or call us at 504-733-1600.

LIKE IT!

Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn: Keep in mind this option has 540 milligrams of sodium per bag.

Protein Bars: Protein bars such as ONE and FitCrunch are available at convenience stores, but contain artificial sweeteners.

Nature Valley CRUNCHY bar: This is a typical gas station find, but is not the healthiest option with 29 grams of carbs, 11 grams of added sugar and only 3 grams of protein.

HATE IT!

Beef Jerky: Most gas station jerky brands are loaded with added nitrites, nitrates, sodium and often MSG.

Skittles, Starbursts and other sugary, fruit candy: These candies are essentially pure sugar and are also filled with artificial food dyes.

Cheetos: This ever-popular snack is essentially deep-fried corn meal, layered with MSG and artificial food dyes Red 40 and Yellow 5 and 6.

Ritz Cheese Crackers: White flour, oil, sugar and high fructose corn syrup are the main ingredients of this snack, along with artificial food dyes Yellow 5 & 6.

Editor’s note: Registered dietitian Molly Kimball offers brand-name products as a consumer guide; she does not solicit product samples nor is she paid to recommend items. This originally appeared on WGNO’s “Get the Skinny” segment.

Tags
travel
vacation
snacks

You may also be interested in:

Mother and son in car
Prevention & Wellness
Jun 16, 2020

Safety Tips for Traveling this Summer

Before traveling this summer, you may have a few questions. First, it’s important to check the area where you plan to travel to see if COVID-19 is still spreading.
Kids at Airport
Parenting
Dec 16, 2020

Are We There Yet? Traveling with Children

Keep these tips in mind the next time you plan your vacation with your family.
Family roadtrip car traveling with kids
Prevention & Wellness
Sep 4, 2020

How to Avoid Car Sickness

As you head out on the road this summer, don't forget to prepare for car sickness prevention. Follow these tips for your road trip.

Comments about the blog? Send us an email!

Ochsner Health Ochsner Health

Schedule An Appointment: 1-866-624-7637

Follow us: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Pinterest

Healthy living tips, delivered weekly to your inbox.

Patients & Visitors

  • Billing & Financial Services
  • Insurance Information
  • International Patients
  • Request Medical Records
  • Share Your Story
  • Read Patient Stories

Medical Professionals

  • Transfer a Patient
  • Refer a Patient

Health Resources

  • To Your Health Blog
  • Golden Opportunity
  • Hello Health Seminars
  • Ochsner Magazine

Job Seekers

  • Career Paths
  • Benefits
  • Open Positions

Employees

  • Webmail
  • OHSLink
  • Workday

Employers

  • Corporate Wellness
  • Medicare Advantage Plans

Community Outreach

  • Classes & Events
  • Programs
  • Community Health Needs Assessment
  • Dr. John Ochsner Discovery Health Sciences Academy

Education

  • Graduate Medical Education
  • Clinical Medical Education
  • Continuing Medical Education
  • Medical Library
  • Publishing Services
  • Medical Illustrations

Research

  • Clinical Trials
  • Applied Health Services Research
  • Clinical Research & Trials
  • Nursing Research
  • Translational Research

Giving

  • Donate
  • Volunteer

About Ochsner

  • Mission & Vision
  • History
  • Annual Report
  • Outcomes & Honors
  • News & Media
  • Alumni
  • Ochsner Health Network
  • Contact Us

Shop

  • O Bar
  • Optical Shop
  • Ochsner Fitness Center
  • Brent House Hotel

© Ochsner Health  | Notice of Privacy Practices | Terms of Use | Vendor Information

Ochsner accepts all major insurances.

Ochsner is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, founded on providing the best patient care, research, and education.

We are one of the country’s largest non-university based academic medical centers.

Ochsner is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Community Needs Health Assessment

EpicMobile Tablet | EpicMobile Phone

Healthy Living Tips, Delivered Right To Your Inbox

* indicates required


Must Reads
Food and Fitness
Men’s Health
Parenting
Women’s Health

Source:
Source Description:
Marketing Goal:


Get Weekly Health Tips

Select the weekly newsletters you'd like to receive.

Please select at least one category to continue.

Curious about our newsletters?

View details for each edition

Let us know where to send your weekly newsletters.

To Your Health- Food and Fitness:
To Your Health- General:
To Your Health- Men’s Health:
To Your Health- Parenting:
To Your Health- Women’s Health:

Source:
Source Description:
Marketing Goal:

You're all set!

We’ll send newsletters full of healthy living tips right to your inbox every week.

Ochsner Health System
ESC to Close

Begin Typing to Search

Select the drop-down to filter Search by Blog Articles or Sitewide