Sparkle Kitchen: Airplane Snack Boxes
This week, to go along with our Summer Vacation theme, we are revisiting a Sparkle Kitchen classic: Airplane Snack Boxes.
In the Martin & Sylvia story “A Plane Trip,” Christmas is over, there’s snow on the ground, and it's COLD. What's a family to do? Daddy suggests they all go... to the beach.
"Daddy, are you being silly?" asks Sylvia. It turns out that Daddy isn't being silly at all—he has made plans for them all to travel to Florida to visit Granny! And this year, as Daddy tells them excitedly, they are taking an airplane.
Martin can't wait, but Sylvia hesitates. Long hours of sitting still don’t sound like fun for her. But when it's time, she is surprised at what sort of magic is possible in a ticket line, in an airport terminal, and on a plane ride.
As any parent who has traveled with children is — maybe painfully — aware, plane rides can be the opposite of fun. Long security lines, cramped seats, and sometimes hours of sitting still and being reasonably quiet — it can be hard.
But you know what can help? Some tasty snacks.
Beyond keeping everyone's blood glucose on an even keel, a well put together airplane snack box can also be a great way to pass some time as you're soaring through the air.
The trick is to make it special enough to be entertainment, without going crazy overboard with sugar.
To that end, when I'm trying to plan snacks for a plane trip, I first try to think in categories: savory, sweet, crunchy, chewy. Of course, the things that will impress your individual child will vary, but if you can generally hit those bases I've found that you can put together a snack box that's both exciting and well-rounded.
Second, I try to avoid liquids as much as I can. I know that some are allowable and some aren't, but, in my experience, it's just less hassle to leave them out.
Here are some airplane snack ideas to get you started packing!
Savory:
Beef jerky or other cured meats
Individually wrapped cheese
Hummus and baby carrots
Roasted chickpeas
Cherry tomatoes
Beet chips
Sweet:
Clementines
Chocolate dusted almonds
Pre-sliced pita with peanut butter
Chocolate chips
Mini muffins
Bananas
Melon cubes
Instant oatmeal packets (add hot water on the plane)
Crunchy:
Pumpkin seeds
Pretzels
Mini-rice cakes
Kale chips
Trail mix
Goldfish crackers
Popcorn
Cereal
Chewy:
Granola bars
Dried fruit
Fig cookies
Twizzlers
Fruit leather
Oatmeal cookies
Enjoy!
About the Author
Meryl Carver-Allmond
The Sparkle Kitchen Series is created by Meryl Carver-Allmond.
Meryl lives in a hundred-year-old house near the prairie with her sweet husband, two preschoolers, one puppy, one gecko, and about ten chickens. While she's been writing since she could pick up a pen, in recent years she's discovered the joy of photography, too. She feels lucky to be able to combine those skills, along with a third passion — showing people that cooking for themselves can be healthy and fun — in her Sparkle Kitchen posts.
