Fruit and veg
You don’t want anything too delicate and or too crunchy. So bananas are out. As are baby carrots (lest you send a fellow passenger with misophonia into a rage/panic attack). Apples and citrus fruit leave you with sticky detritus and cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower can make you gassy. Try grapes, sliced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and pepper strips. Indestructible dried fruit is also great.
Jerky
We’ve all heard horror stories of travellers being stuck on planes for hours. At some point, carbohydrates won’t be enough to keep you satiated. Pepperettes and jerky can provide needed protein without requiring refrigeration. (Try made-in-Canada McSweeneys.) And, yes, vegan versions exist. Noble Jerky – also a Canadian company – makes several varieties using soy.
Cheese
Hard cheeses will keep longer than soft ones and don’t require cutlery for spreading onto crackers. But on longer flights even a manchego can get sweaty (eew) so consider going the dehydrated route. Bags of B.C.-based Enercheez are filled with flavourful bites of pure dried-out cheddar (imagine curds, but crunchy). If you don’t finish them on the flight, they’ll keep for your whole trip.
Bars
Granola and protein bars are durable snacks – ditto trail mix. The catch is the nut factor. Flight attendants have been known to ask passengers to refrain from eating peanuts if a passenger has a severe allergy. Play it safe with nut-free options from brands such as Made Good, based in Ontario. Their snacks are often available to buy on flights, but it’s cheaper to shop in advance and BYO.
Salty snacks
Pretzels are the winner here. They are more hardy than potato chips (which turn into crumbs so easily), are available in low-sodium varieties and and are also good for dipping into hummus (which can last for at least four hours unrefrigerated, FYI). Popcorn is high in fibre, but tends to be messy, particularly flavoured versions. The next person does not want to sit in your cheese dust.
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