The T1D Travel Snack Guide


 2018-06-20

Have a long airplane ride coming up? Road-tripping across the country? Or just always get hungry on your long commute to work? This travel snack guide will help keep you going, even when you’re on the go. Read on to see our top nine picks for travel snacks!

1 – Snacking cheese


Cheese can be the perfect, low-carb snack for traveling. Especially when it comes in little portable, individual wrappers, like Mini Babybel, or—when it comes to cheesy goodness, “string” form works too!

2 – Organic Mixed Nuts

Raw or roasted & lightly salted mixed nuts are great for between-meal, low-carb munchies. Just be sure to avoid the overly processed nuts that contain sugar.

3 – Nut or Coconut Butter Snacks

Who wouldn’t want a type 1 diabetes (T1D) friendly nut butter cup alternative?! Urban Remedy SunSquares are the perfect example of a portable, chocolatey treat that is low in carbs. For the coconut fans out there, Eating Evolved Coconut Butter Cups are sinfully delicious. These are both high in healthy fats and super satisfying!

Want to make something similar at home?? Check out this awesome “FAT BOMB” recipe!

3 – Kale Chips or Seaweed Snacks

Different brands of kale chips like the ones made by Rhythm Superfoods are relatively low in carbs, and a great salty snack to bring with you on trips.

SeaSnax Seaweed sheets may sound strange, but they are incredibly addictive and come in miniature packs—and with NO carbs, why not chow down??

4 – Honey Stinger Snacks

The folks at Honey Stinger have created some pretty perfect snacks, from snacking waffles, to energy chews and gels, to bars. These are great for when you’re working out and need those extra carbs to keep you from going low.

5 – Meat jerky sticks, bars, or bites.

There are plenty of beef, turkey, or other meat jerky options out there, but it is important to pay attention to the added sugars and other nutrition facts that might render them not-so-good-for-you. Brands such as Epic jerky bites or bars are made from 100 percent grass-fed beef, venison, or salmon. The perfect high protein snack when you’re on-the-go.

6 – Popcorn

In moderation, popcorn can be a great travel snack! Certain brands such as SkinnyPop offer “mini” 100-calorie bags (that are easy to fit in your carry-on) with just 7 carbs per pouch.

7 – Mixed Veggies and Hummus

 

Mixed veggie crudité cups can be found at nearly any grocery store, or sometimes even at the airport! If you have some time before your trip, you can always chop up some of your favorite veggies yourself, and pair it with some yummy hummus or guacamole.

8 – Protein Bars

 

Perfect Bars are NOT a low carb option, but they are made from whole, natural ingredients that will keep you full for hours, and are not harsh on blood sugar levels if bolus is calculated properly. They also have “mini” versions of certain flavors available which are only 100 calories and around 8 carbs per bar.

Quest Bars come in a variety of delicious flavors and are very high in protein and dietary fiber. They have zero sugar, and instead contain either erythritol or allulose.

9 – Fruit Leather

Photo credit: georgiapellegrini.com

Need a slightly healthier option for when you get a low blood sugar while traveling? Organic Fruit leather strips are easy to pack and typically contain just the right amount of carbs to get your blood glucose (BG) level up quickly.

WRITTEN BY Alexi Melvin, POSTED 06/20/18, UPDATED 07/25/23

Alexi Melvin is a writer, artist and healer. She has had type 1 diabetes since she was 14 years old. Alexi practices expressive art modalities such as poetry, fiction, memoir writing, dance, painting and filmmaking. She is also a freelance journalist and occasional voice actor. Alexi is currently refining her tools to become an expressive arts practitioner and seeks to help others heal, grow, play and learn. You can find her at https://aleximelvin.com.