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Airline Snack Food InvestigationDietDetective.com Survey Arms the Flying Public with the Information Necessary to Make Healthy Food Choices 35,000 Feet in the Air.United, JetBlue and Continental Receive Top Ratings Knowing the "best" and "worst" choices in the air can be a valuable asset while traveling and trying to stay healthy. Charles Stuart Platkin, public health advocate, founder of DietDetective.com, a website with health, nutrition and fitness information, and author of the health column The Diet Detective, conducted an in-depth analysis of the snack foods offered by the leading airlines in the United States. Platkin rated the snack food using multiple criteria, assigning a "Health Score," picking a food "best bet", and converting the snacks offered into their exercise equivalents, how much time it will take to burn of the food in some form of exercise. "After taking a long, hard look at the food served in the air, we've come to the conclusion that there are definitely winners and losers, good choices and bad ones. What we've done is provide a set of tools so that anyone traveling can know the impact of the foods they are eating, and how long it will take to work off that little snack up in the sky," Platkin said. DietDetective.com Airline Snack and Health Survey results:(Health Score 5 stars = highest rate, 1 star = lowest rating) American Airlines Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Helpful. Health Score (***) The meat, nuts, raisins and cheese in the snack pack have enough protein and fat to satisfy you. Best Bet: Skip the breakfast muffin unless you have nothing else (but split it with your seatmate.) If you buy the snack pack, get rid of the cookies and the Goldfish. Total Calories: 710 (snack pack) 440/420 (breakfast muffin) Exercise Equivalents: (Amount of walking to burn off the calories) 183 minutes (snack pack), 108 minutes (blueberry muffin; 113 minutes (chocolate muffin) Cost: $4, snack box; $2 muffin Snack Choices: (snack box) - Pepperidge Farm Goldfish (0.75 ounces 100 calories) - O'Brien's Cured Meat (32 grams, 110 calories) - Lorna Doone Cookies (2 cookies 140 calories) - Kings Raisins (28 grams, 90 calories) - Carr's Table Water Crackers (7.5 grams, 2 crackers, 30 calories) - Le Petit Fromage Cheese Spread (0.75 ounces, 70 calories) - Emerald Deluxe Mixed Nuts (1 ounce, 170 calories) Breakfast Snack: Otis Spunkmeyer Muffin (4-ounce chocolate muffin, 440 calories. Blueberry is 420 calories.) Delta Air Lines Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Extremely unhelpful. Provided no information Health Score (*) You'll be very hungry even after eating Delta's entire snack pack. Best Bet: Keep the granola bar and the peanuts; dump the rest. Total Calories: 766 Exercise Equivalents: (Amount of walking to burn off the calories) 197 minutes Cost: $5 per box Snack Choices: Snack basket - Frito-Lay SunChips (1-ounce bag, 140 calories) - Quaker Granola Bars (1-ounce bar, 120 calories) - Dry-roasted peanuts (1 ounce, 30 nuts, 170 calories) - Biscoff Cookies (5 cookies, 146 calories) - Lance Honey Peanut Butter Crackers (1 package, 190 calories) United Airlines Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Very helpful. Health Score (*****) United has the most variety and the most healthful choices. The Smartpack is trans-fat free and "vegetarian-friendly." Best Bet: Go for the Ritebite or the Smartpack (if you're sharing) Total Calories: 895 (Smartpack), 550 (Minimeal), 650 (Quickpick), 580 (Ritebite) Exercise Equivalents: (Amount of walking to burn off the calories) 231 minutes (Smartpack); 142 minutes (Minimeal); 168 minutes (Quickpick); 149 minutes (Ritebite) Cost: $5 per box Snack Choices: Smartpack - SunGold Creamy SunButter (1.5 ounces, 266 calories) - Bear Naked All-Natural Fruit and Nut Granola (1/2 cup, 280 calories) - Vermont Village Cannery Organic Peach Applesauce (4 ounces, 80 calories) - Glacier Ridge Farms White Cheddar Cheese (0.75 ounces, 50 calories) - Pita Shack Multigrain & Honey Lavash crackers (4 ounces, 120 calories) - Hero Strawberry Preserves (1/2-ounce package, 64 calories) - Bali's Best Latte Candy (1 candy, 15 calories) - Emer'gen-C Fizzing Drink Mix - Tangerine (1 packet, 20 calories) Minimeal - Hormel hard salami slices (1 ounce, 110 calories) - Rondele Peppercorn Parmesan cheese spread (1 ounce, 70 calories) - Venus wheat crackers (1 package, 60 calories ) - Mott's Healthy Harvest Granny Smith applesauce, unsweetened (1 cup, 50 calories) - Kettle Classics natural potato chips (1 ounce, 150 calories) - Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies (2 cookies, 120 calories) Quickpick - Jack Link's hickory-smoked beef jerky (1 ounce, 60 calories) - Just the Cheese Baked Cheddar Cheese Snacks (1/2 ounce, 75 calories) - Stoned Classics all-natural blue tortilla chips (1 1/2 ounces, 180 calories) - La Victoria Thick n' Chunky salsa (1 1/2 ounces, 15 calories) - SunRise honey coated trail mix (2 ounces, 205.5 calories) - Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies (2 cookies, 120 calories) Ritebite - Bumblebee Sensations Lemon & Pepper Seasoned Tuna Medley (3 ounces, 110 calories) - Late July Organic Crackers (1 package, 100 calories) - Wild Garden Hummus (1 jar, 73.5 calories) - Stacy's Multigrain Baked Pita Chips (1 ounce, 130 calories) - Fino Selections Gouda cheese (1 ounce, 101 calories) - Newman's Own organic California raisins (0.5 ounce, 45.5 calories) - Mini-Toblerone (12.5-gram bar, 66.5 calories) Continental Airlines Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Very helpful. Health Score (****) Not much variety, but low-calorie, high-impact meals. Best Bet: Both sandwiches are fine; the light mayo is a nice touch Total Calories: 285 (turkey), 316 (ham) Exercise Equivalents (Amount of walking to burn off the calories): 73 minutes (turkey); 81 minutes (ham); 21 minutes (peanuts); 13 minutes (pretzels) Cost: No charge Snacks Available: Flights over two hours: - Turkey sandwich (170 calories, including packet of Hellmann's light mayo) or - Ham sandwich (201 calories, including packet of French's yellow mustard) - Carrots (35 calories) - Fun-size candy bar (80 calories) Flights under two hours: - Honey-roasted peanuts (1.5 ounces, 80 calories) - Mini pretzels (1.5 ounces, 50 calories) JetBlue Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Very helpful. Health Score (****) The individually packaged snacks are portion-controlled and trans-fat free. Best Bet: The nuts have protein and good fat and will satisfy you . Total Calories: See individual choices below. Exercise Equivalents: (Amount of walking to burn off the calories) see individual choices below Cost: No charge Snack Choices: (not a snack pack, distributed separately, no charge) - Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs Wheat Thins Minis (1 package, 100 calories, 26 minutes of walking) - Chocobillys Chocolate Chunk (4 cookies, 130 calories, 34 minutes of walking) - Doritos Munchies Mix: (1-ounce bag, 140 calories, 36 minutes of walking) - Mama Says Biscotti Gingerbread Grande (1 cookie, 210 calories, 54 minutes of walking) - Mama Says Biscotti Pistachio Grande (1 cookie, 150 calories, 39 minutes of walking) - Mrs. GoodCookie Jungle Crackers (1-ounce bag, 120 calories, 31 minutes of walking) - Terra Blues Potato Chips (1-ounce bag, 140 calories, 36 minutes of walking) - All Nuts Jumbo Cashew Halves (1-ounce bag, 170 calories, 44 minutes of walking) US Airways Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Not helpful. Health Score: (**) Not much variety and not much in terms of nutritional value. The snack pack is offered on flights of 2.5 hours or more. Best Bet: Eat the fruit and nut mix and the cheese; skip the crackers and cookies. Total Calories: 470 (snack pack) Exercise Equivalents: (Amount of walking to burn off the calories) 121 minutes Cost: $3 per snack pack Snack Choices: (served as snack pack) - Azar Fruit and Nut Mix (1 ounce, 110 calories) - Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies (4 cookies, 150 calories) - Austin Cheese Crackers with Cheddar Cheese. (1.38 ounces, 210 calories) DietDetective.com Healthy Snacking Suggestions - Water: Buy it after the security checkpoint to take onboard. Dehydration can cause or exacerbate hunger, jet lag and fatigue. - Cereal: Kashi (a variety of healthy versions) or Cheerios are both portable, low-calorie choices. - Beef jerky: Especially if you're a low-carb fan -- but not if you're watching your sodium. - Fruit: Apples, pears and grapes are durable, and almost anything can be stored in a container. - Rice cakes: Be selective, since calorie and fat content vary widely. - Energy bars: Although they tend to be high in calories and fat, they often are better than a slice of pizza or a candy bar at the airport. - Nonfat yogurt: Yogurt is a great portable snack (although it is perishable). You could pack a 3-ounce container or less in an insulated bag or take a small cooler, but understand that this can be counted against carry-on bag limitations. - Sandwiches: Pre-cut them into portion-controlled sections so you can pull them out at different times during the trip without making a mess. Chicken, turkey, cold cuts and cheese (on 100 percent whole-wheat bread) are all great options for sandwiches on the go. - Soy chips: These are yet another portable, low-cal, high-fiber snack. - Make sure to check with the Transportation Security Administration for the latest in-flight rules on bringing food and water: www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm#10 If you are interested in more information from the Diet Detective, visit http://www.dietdetective.com/ . If you would like to see more articles on healthy travel, visit http://www.travellady.com/Special/healthy.htm. For more articles on airlines, visit http://www.travellady.com/Special/airlines.htm. Edited by Caroline Boriack |
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