8 Best Healthy Travel Snacks to Keep You Satiated

Sticking to your diet while traveling can be hard. Between gas station junk and fast-food restaurants, it can be easy to cave into convenience.

Healthy travel snacks for road trips are few and far between at restaurants and pit stops with easy access to highways, and then the smaller portion sizes mean you will feel hungry soon after.

Let’s face it: no one wants to look up "travel snacks recipes" the day before a long road trip. You are more likely to be focused on packing and getting a good night’s sleep.

In this article, we will cover some great options in the snack world; everything from high-protein travel snacks to keep yourself from running on empty, to low-sodium travel snacks to keep your health in check.

Healthy Snacks are Easy to Pack!

Ideally, whatever you are packing for, you want your healthy travel snacks to be small and easy to fit into your bags without losing room for other items. Junk food might be the easy answer, but you will feel greasy and heavy afterwards, making the whole experience dreadful.

We've all had travel days that seem to last forever. Undoubtedly, your stomach agreed, and you caved, buying overpriced junk food that made you feel full, but left you feeling greasy and heavy at the end of the day.

Whether you're flying or taking a road trip, many people agree that travel fatigue can be largely contributed to the food eaten over the duration of the trip.

Then why is there so much junk food available? Well, it tastes good, it's profitable, and people buy it!

There is no reason to forego healthy decisions while you're traveling, and your choices can help encourage stores on your route to carry healthier travel snacks to accommodate the market demand.

There are several healthy travel snacks available that will fit easily into your luggage and keep you satiated throughout the trip or between meals. All it takes is a little planning ahead of time, and you will feel on top of the world after your next travel day.

Healthy Travel Snacks for Plane Rides

Plane rides can be difficult to plan for, especially since there are so many restrictions on what can or cannot go through airport security. Instead, many of us cave and buy overpriced, greasy food from airport restaurants or convenience shops as we hurry towards our terminal.

Airport food is an expensive choice that makes you feel awful at the end of the day, but it solves the immediate demands of your stomach, satiating the cravings for a time.

Youtopia provides a great way to pack healthy travel snacks for plane rides, as these snacks are in perfect, small portion sizes for easy packing. Nothing inside of the snack pack would get it snagged at airport security, unlike yogurts or protein shakes, and it keeps your body happy throughout the trip.

Healthy Travel Snacks for Road Trips

When packing, it can be easy to forget about good food for traveling in a car. You might prepare sandwiches and put them in a cooler, but it can be easy to overestimate how far that sandwich will go.

On the road, your mind wanders and there's not much to occupy yourself with, especially if you are the one driving. As the passenger, you might turn to your phone for distraction, but it will always come down to one thing: hunger.

It can often seem like the stomach has a mind of its own. One stray thought and suddenly you are thinking about the wonderful crunch of chips or the mouthwatering bite of flavor that comes with a protein-filled beef stick. Combine that with ads we see in our everyday lives, whether it’s on the road, on the radio, or on your phone, the world is filled with products that are meant to entice our cravings and make us want to skip the healthy diet, caving in to the delicious flavor of junk food.

Unfortunately, junk food doesn’t leave us feeling very good at the end of the day and can negatively impact the overall trip experience.

Fortunately, there is a way to combat the cravings you are certain to experience on the road: prepare ahead of time with healthy travel snacks that are fit for a road trip. Whether you're looking for high fiber travel snacks or low sodium travel snacks, the options in this article might surprise you.

OUR FAVORITE TRAVEL SNACKS:

Whether you're on a plane or on the road, it is important to have healthy travel snacks on hand to fight the temptation of greasy, carb-filled junk food. In this article, we have put together a list of some of our favorite snacks that are easy to throw in a backpack for when hunger strikes:

1. YOUTOPIA SNACKS

We all love a good snack mix, but most brands don’t take the nutrition of their product seriously. The focus is on presentation and cost-effectiveness above consumer health.

Youtopia Snacks, on the other hand, offers perfectly portioned snack packs that contain well-balanced macros without skimping on flavor. Keep a few in your backpack or handbag when you’re on the go and make sure you always have something to satiate those sudden cravings!

2. POPCORNERS FLEX CHIPS

Chips are most people’s go-to travel snacks. The satisfying crunch, the intense flavors, and ease of packing make chips good for plane rides or road trips, but they’re not healthy for you.

It is important to find chips that are not only better for you, such as baked alternatives, but also adds some nutritional benefits. Popcorners’ Flex line does just that. Each serving has 10 grams of protein to help keep you feeling full throughout the trip.

3. VEGA PROTEIN NUTRITION SHAKE

Protein shakes are an excellent way to boost your macros and keep yourself feeling full during a long trip. Most powders are lower in sugar content, but powders can be difficult to prepare on road trips or plane rides.

Pre-made shakes, on the other hand, tend to have much higher sugar content, making them poor choices for a healthy travel snack. That’s why we love Vega’s shakes; they’ve revolutionized the pre-made shake for traveling. At only 7 grams of sugar vs. 20 grams of protein, this is a great snack to help keep you in line with your cravings.

4. MADE IN NATURE DRIED MANGOES

Dried fruit can be a hit or miss. It can be difficult to find low-sugar products as most manufacturers throw in a ton of added sugar. Your body will react differently to the fruit sugars, but that doesn’t matter when there is cane sugar dumped on top of the fruit.

Made In Nature’s dried mangoes have zero added sugar, so you get all of the good stuff and none of the bad. Add these dried mangoes to your selection of healthy car snacks for a road trip that leaves you feeling satisfied.

5. SIGGI'S NON FAT DRINKABLE YOGURT

There’s no question that we love yogurt at Youtopia, but we can’t pretend that bringing a spoon and sitting down with a cup of yogurt is a great option for travelers, especially if you’re looking for healthy travel snacks for plane rides.

That’s where drinkable yogurt comes into play. This yogurt is one of our favorite high-protein travel snacks, providing lots of protein and live cultures that will make your gut happy.

6. EDA-ZEN CRUNCHA MA-ME

Edamame is great high-protein, high-fiber travel snacks that taste great. Unfortunately, eating fresh veggies isn’t always practical while you’re traveling. Edamame snacks like the Cruncha Ma-Me give you the convenience of bagged chips with the nutrition of fresh, whole veggies. These are great, healthy travel snacks for plane rides or road trips alike.

7. MIGHTY ORGANIC BEEF STICKS

If you are on a Keto or Paleo diet, eating on the road can present an even bigger challenge, making it important to find some form of reliably healthy, easy-to-eat meat. Most of the popular beef stick products on the market are packed with chemicals, but Mighty Organic keeps it simple with these high-protein travel snacks. Get a quick protein boost to keep you from caving between meals, keeping you going throughout the trip.

8. HIPPEAS PUFFS

Hippeas are a healthier, plant-based alternative to Cheeto puffs. The next time you are craving a bite of cheesy, crunchy goodness, reach for these instead.

Each serving sneaks in some protein and fiber to make your snack do the hard work for you, making it one of our favorite high fiber travel snacks that mimic the taste of junky favorites.

Eating Healthy While Traveling

Traveling can present plenty of challenges, and healthy snacks are only one part to consider. It’s easy to give in to cravings when they’re easily accessible.

You always want to seek out healthy snack foods that are designed for easy access in small portions; these are the perfect snacks to pack into tight places, or in easy-grab locations like the side of a backpack.

Many of the typical healthy snacks, such as fresh fruit or hummus can be difficult to travel with, since there’s no reliable source of refrigeration, and these fresh foods tend to spoil quickly on long rides. This is where Youtopia Snacks comes in as the perfect travel snack solution.

Perfect sizes for packing in the side pocket of your bag or keep tucked away in the console of your car, these packets of goodness keep your body going without sacrificing any of the delicious taste you love.

In addition to listing our favorite healthy travel snacks for road trips or plane rides, we provide several tips for healthy eating below:

Stay Prepared (The Easy Way!)

At Youtopia, we firmly believe that the key to healthy snacking is having the right things on hand. That means if you know you will be on a plane for six hours, throw a couple of our Espresso Obsessos in your backpack to keep the cravings at bay. This works well as a quick fix for chocolate cravings and can help keep your mind alert and occupied.

Whether they are travel snacks or office snacks, we’re here to make healthy snacking easy. We will provide the snacks; you focus on enjoying the day to its fullest. And if you're looking for smart meal choices while traveling, check out this list.

Check Your Cravings Before You Open Your Wallet

Curbing your cravings starts at the supermarket or the dine-in menu. Check your cravings before you open your wallet.

How will the food affect how you feel later in the day, and will it satisfy your body’s macro-nutritional needs?

If the answer is “bad, and no,” then close your wallet and choose a different option. This is where healthy travel snacks are useful, especially on long road trips. If you’re feeling hungry, try a high-protein travel snack. This will help you feel satiated longer, tiding your over until you can make a healthier meal choice.

Pace Yourself and Don't Be Afraid to Open Another Snacks

On long car rides, it can be easy to eat through an entire snack pack before realizing it is gone. Chances are, you are eating to occupy your mind just as much as you are trying to occupy your stomach.

To make your snack last the longest on a long road trip or plane ride, it is important to pace how often you reach into the snack bag and take a bite. This will give your body more time to process how full it feels in-between bites, and a slower eating pace will feel even more satiating than eating the contents of the snack all at once.

If you’re feeling hungry in-between meals and there are no healthy options available in the short term, don’t be afraid to open another snack to tide you over. Travel snacks are never a replacement for a full meal, but they can help you make it to the destination without becoming too hungry.

Pay Attention to Your Macros

The best healthy travel snacks will be high in one or more of your macronutrient needs. Macros (protein, carbs, and fats) are an essential part of keeping your body running throughout the day. These make the most impact on your energy levels. The lack of healthy macros in typical junky snack foods is a big part of why your body feels run down after a day of snacking on unhealthy foods.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE HEALTHY TRAVEL SNACK?

Next time you’re searching for healthy alternatives, give Youtopia Snacks a try. We're dedicated to helping you make healthier snack options, even on the go!

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