Airplane snacks..

Take what you would eat if you were at home.

Thanks for the great suggestions, Nancy! I usually just take a few granola bars and trail mix w/o peanuts. I will definitely keep your suggestions in mind for our next trip. And Shelley, thanks for asking a great question.

I always have Goldfish crackers, pretzel sticks, or animal crackers in my carryon bag. The animal crackers, in particular, are great on longer trips when I might tend to wake up in the middle of the night the first day or so and need a little something to get back to sleep.

My favorite thing is a Quaker Oats "chewy" granola bar. Like others have said, just bring what you like from home. Maybe a sandwich?

Shelley, I usually find that the food provided by the airline is sufficient. Where are you flying to and which airline are you using (I may be able to offer some tips, as I often fly out of Calgary)? An hour or two after you depart Calgary, they'll serve the main meal. You'll likely have two choices (ie: chicken or beef), unless you have special dietary needs and have notified the airline of that. An hour or two before landing, you'll get a "continental breakfast" consisting of a Pizza Pocket, Buns, Yogurt or whatever. You'll probably also be offered complementary red or white wine (there's often a debate here on whether to drink wine on flights, but I find that a small amount is OK). I've never had to use them, but I always pack two Solo Bars in my carry-on for "emergencies", if needed. They have several flavours and I'm sure some are free of nuts. You could also make your own Trail Mix with Pretzels, Raisins or whatever you're able to eat. If you decide to pack fruits or vegetables (ie: apples, oranges, etc.) you'll probably have to make sure you've finished them before landing, as most countries have restrictions on importing agricultural products. As it's your first international flight, a couple of other suggestions.... Be sure to buy water after you're through security. Although the Flight Attendants will offer water many times during the flight, it's always nice to have some at the seat if needed. I also find that gum and/or a toothbrush & toothpaste is useful as by the end of the flight I really need to "freshen up". Happy travels!

I like to travel with nuts and dried fruit. A small snack can satisfy hunger; these are lightweight and uncrushable. Sometimes I carry one or two granola bars.

Do you eat any nuts? Nuts are nice because they have the protein and fat that can keep hunger away for a bit. You can always make your own trail mix. Buy the ingredients separately, like dried cherries, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Cheese lasts longer without refrigeration than you think. Those little string cheese packages or something similar travel well. You don't need too much. Like Ken said, they do feed you twice. You need something to tide you over, or in case of delays, but not a lot.

Wasting time stuffing food in your face uses up valuable sleeping time. You thus wind up asking questions about jet lag, tight connections, and miscellaneous baloney. Don't eat. Sleep. Arrive rested. Go about you business with gusto.

We always take jerky and a carton of Baker's Semi Sweet chocolate. That's beside trail mix. There is nothing like some chocolate to relieve stress or hunger. That, and a little bottle of my favorite medicine.

We're all on a special protein diet and make ourselves wraps to eat on board airplanes. We make sure we don't out to much cream or cottage cheese on them as that can kinda smear... However, usually it's cold enough in the overhead compartments so you can even enjoy hams, cheddar type cheeses, parsley after a couple of hours...

I'm going to assume you are on a red eye going to Europe. Honestly, by the time you get set up in the air, etc they start serving dinner or some type of meal. After you eat that, it's really a good idea to try to go to sleep. You'll get another light breakfast type option about an hour before the plane lands, so hardly any time to really rest in the first place. If you are asking what to eat in place of the meal they serve, then that is a different story. I wouldn't bother bringing anything extra.

Shelley, Once through security, consider buying a sandwich and fruit in the airport to take with you onto the plane. But, remember the airline will feed you dinner and breakfast, with plenty of drinks inbetween. When we were returning from Paris, we bought delicious cheese + ham sandwiches on chewy bagettes and took them on the plane as our snacks. And as Ed advises, sleep. If you sleep after dinner is finished and the lights are turned down, when you smell the coffee in "the morning" before landing, your brain will have partially adjusted to its new time as "morning". Rest so that your first day isn't exhausting... as when you land you're only partly at your destination and you still got some more traveling to do... do it rested.

I also agree that extra snack aren't needed. In the past few weeks we've been on two 8 hr and one 10 hr flights with our boys and never once brought snacks along. As others have said, after the main meal try to get some rest and then before landing there is usually another meal or snack. Enjoy your first international trip...how exciting for you!

I always take a few bagels tossed in my shoulder bag; hold the lox. They are durable and filling and easy to nibble on should the need arise. They do, however, invariably cause a stir at the TSA X-ray station. The other problem arises when my partner starts to insist that I throw away the rock hard remnants after several days of schlepping them across the continent.

I take hard fruit like apples, dried fruit in small baggies, gluten free bars since I am a celiac. I usually pack a sandwich in a baggie that fits in front of my ipad, so it ,might be flatter but intact, usually cheese. I see many people bring their lunch if you are connecting to Toronto before the night flight. I bring a fair amount of food due to my gluten free diet. I then bring empty baggies in my suitcase to fill up with picnic lunches. I do bring a yogurt container with GF crackers that I continue to use thru my trip for similar crushable eats. Airplane food sucks, bring your fave snacks.

I follow a slightly modified version of the jet-lag diet, which I have found moderately helpful. For that, the whole dinner and movie thing is anathema. I'll have a 300-callorie carb snack before putting on my eye shades and earplugs and pretending to sleep. I have a high-protein meal with me to eat for breakfast Europe time. Of course it doesn't make so much sense to follow that routine for just the flight, but it is part of a 3-day plan.

Thanks everyone. There are some good ideas here. I never know if the airline will just feed you the pretzels or nuts so I wanted to be prepared.
Got some great ideas. Thanks!!!

Thanks everyone. There are some good ideas here. I never know if the airline will just feed you the pretzels or nuts so I wanted to be prepared.
Got some great ideas. Thanks!!!

On our overnight flights from Halifax to London, which is all of 6 hours long (with Air Canada) we get a full on meal...meat/veggies/roll/drink around 1AM give or take (I mean really - who wants all that food at 1 in the morning!? When you are trying to sleep? Flights leave at 11:30pm). Then 3 hrs or so after that, about an hour before we land, the breakfast comes out...yogurt, fruit, beverage. On trips home, which are thru the day (for us) you get a meal and later on a snack - for us it's always a 'hot pocket' kinda thing. I've never gone hungry on an international flight - maybe Air Canada is an anomaly? You do have a bit of a longer haul from Alberta tho...have an amazing trip...our 1st was 2008...I was so excited (and I LOVE the window seat!)