The Definitive Fodor’s List of Target Snacks to Bring on a Plane

The fruit snack is a wonderful treat. I would stand behind any fruit snack in a battle, if a fruit snack were my captain. There’s much to love about them: They (typically) come in small little packs (ensuring you don’t eat too many), they’re sweet but not sickening, and they’re very tiny, which means that you may eat many of them at a time (sometimes several packs! This is allowed!). Some of them are even made with “real fruit and veggie juice,” so that you can trick yourself into thinking they are extremely good for you (I mean, they’re fine–they’re not candy, but they’re certainly not actual fruit). I cannot stress how important it is that they come in their own little bags, because this makes them the perfect treat to throw in your bag for a stupid plane ride that will probably be annoying.

I do not wish to sound dramatic, but I would die for Wheat Thins. There is nothing better than a Wheat Thin–it is the perfect cracker. Not too small, not large enough to cut your mouth when eating it (like you might with, say, a saltine or Triscuit), the Wheat Thin is a gem–and it’s safe. Your mouth will not be harmed! You can trust this. Now, I’ll admit, I have a particularly small mouth, and require a smaller cracker, generally–if you have a larger mouth and do not have this issue, I salute you. Buy the bigger cracker, then! But you’ll be missing out on the single greatest little cracker of all time–just salty enough, with a touch of (odd) sweetness, and with a large serving size (16 crackers).

I will shout from the top of a mountain how good of a snack (especially a travel snack) RX Bars are. I will! I’ll climb up a mountain and yell, “Long live the RX Bar, specifically the coconut flavor!” A protein bar without the weirdness that goes along with being a protein bar (sucralose, etc), the RX Bar is made of nuts, egg whites, and dates (sometimes with chocolate, which is necessary). The RX Bar does not make me feel like garbage, and with 12 grams of protein, it’s a nice and normal amount–many other kinds of bars have something like 20 grams of protein and honestly, you do not need this when you are sitting on a plane, you just don’t! You also do not need an upset stomach–and the RX Bar will not give you one. It will only give you a glad stomach.

I’ve been defending Belvita Breakfast Biscuits for many years, and, frankly, I’m sick of the complaints. “It’s not a cookie,” some have told me, or, “I hate those,” others say. That’s enough, I say! The Belvita Breakfast Biscuit is a special snack. It is a cookie, without being called a cookie, so you don’t have to feel like you are eating a cookie, so that later, you can eat ACTUAL cookies and not feel bad about having multiple cookie snacks in one day! Because let it be known–this is a BISCUIT, and not only a biscuit, but a BREAKFAST biscuit (the most important meal of the day). Also, they come in many flavors (honey oat, coconut, cranberry orange, chocolate, etc.) and get this–they’re all delicious.

What can I say, I love a sweet treat with benefits. The benefits included in this particular brownie snack are 6 grams of fiber (yay), only 2 grams of sugar (YAY), and a mere 5 grams of net carbs. You are free to eat these tiny dessert snacks sans guilt, hell, have a few of them–they’re only 70 calories.

It’s right there in the name, folks. “Snacking chocolate” is the green light for “this is certainly a snack.” The chocolate is not overwhelming–they’re thin (as advertised) and paired with other ingredients that are good for you–almonds, for example. It is a known fact of science that when almonds are involved in a snack, it can’t be that bad for you. You are actually not allowed to argue with me about this! You got many options as far as flavors go, too: Almond! Pretzel! Mint! Peanut! Pumpkin seed! I’ll stop yelling flavors at you now–you get it.

I can understand if, perhaps, you do not want to bring a whole bag of popcorn on a plane because you don’t want it to be your entire personal item, but hear me out: Why not! This popcorn is very good. Healthy popcorn has been quite a hit in the grocery store scene over the past few years, and is a party snack favorite of all of your 30-something-year-old friends (me). So that said, why don’t you do yourself a favor and bring that party to your horrible plane seat. A serving is two cups and only 140 calories, so snacking on these delicious little kernels can pass a large amount of plane-time, if you try hard enough.

You cannot go wrong with an Annie’s snack, and there are MANY to not go wrong with. Here we have a few conveniently packaged snacks: Cheddar Squares, Friends Bunny Grahams, and Cheddar Bunnies. All good options and all organic, and you have the option to choose whether or not you’d like your cheese cracker snack to be shaped as a bunny or a regular square–either way, it is made with real cheese, which, I mean, thank god.

I’m not always a fan of chip items that advertise themselves as vegetables in disguise, because, frankly? A lot of them are very bad! That’s not just an opinion–that is a fact. I knew I was taking a risk by purchasing these and didn’t expect much. However, then something truly incredible happened–they were delicious, actually. I know! I can’t believe it either! Honestly, as I write this, I keep having to eat another crisp, to remind myself, no, they’re good. These crisps (made with potatoes, spinach, broccoli, and peas) are Pringles in disguise. It’s like eating Pringles but you feel ¼ less bad–which means a lot! Also, the brand is CALLED “Sensible Portions”–another factor to make you go, “I can eat this whole tube of chips. That is fine.”

These were a wild card. Honestly, when I passed by them and noticed the packaging labeled them as being made with “secret spinach,” my eyes widened and I just started laughing loudly. Secret spinach! In a snack? All right, I’ll bite (literally–sorry). Also, “Peanut Butter and Greens?” What? What kind of strange combination is that? Well, I’m glad to report that it’s not a gross one, my friends. It’s actually quite delicious–I was in shock about how good it was. This is mostly because I tried it right after tasting the other one (Salted Dark Chocolate Brownie), with the secret spinach, and let me tell you–stay away from THAT one. It’s pure evil. Secret spinach is evil, and spinach should never be a secret. Peanut Butter and Greens, however, is a winner.

I’ll be honest with you: I didn’t want to put these on the list. This was not my idea. Here’s what happened: My coworkers bullied me into buying them these. They love them! Well, some of them love some of them. Several coworkers shouted, “PLEASE BUY RED VINES” at me as I left to purchase these snacks, and then several other ones shouted, “NO–BUY TWIZZLERS!” and then they all started arguing as to which one is better. I became nervous and quickly left, and returned with their candy. Look, MY choice is not to bring candy on the plane, but, hey, you’re on a flight. Have some candy, I guess. And, to their credit, both Red Vines and Twizzlers can be easily eaten on a plane without a mess, though they might be sticky after awhile.