Healthier Airport Treats

When I was little we flew once or twice a year and it was usually for vacation so my parents would buy us all kinds of treats in the airport that we wouldn’t usually get to eat.  So I associate airports with treats. This is fine if you only fly a few times a year, but problematic for me since I fly almost every week. I have a few weaknesses in particular: the mix of cheddar and caramel pecan popcorn in Chicago (the perfect combination of salty and sweet);  Crumb’s Cupcakes in Newark (giant frosting filled and covered cupcakes in a million amazing flavors); and Cinnabon (I totally blame my Mom for this since she used to get me one for breakfast whenever we flew). All are complete calorie bombs. My pants start to feel snug mighty quick when I have these once or twice a week. So I’ve tried come up with some healthier airport options for those times (ie. every time I fly) when you just need a treat to help you handle the hassles of flying.

Sweet

Frozen Yogurt: A 4 oz serving of the chocolate yogurt only has 110 calories! Add chocolate jimmies for only 63.9 calories. Just stay away from the extra large sizes and the caloric mix-ins. The shivers, which are a mix of yogurt and candy have 530 – 1850 calories!

Smoothies: Jamba Juice and Smoothie King both have light smoothies that are less than 200 calories. I like the Mango Mantra at Jamba Juice. Only 160 for a 16oz.  When getting a smoothie try to aim for one that is only fruit, vegetables and yogurt.  Many smoothies contain juice, extra sugars, and even ice cream which can really jack the calorie count up. The Peanut Butter Moo’d at Jamba Juice for example has 770 calories.

McDonalds: Apple dippers with caramel sauce. These only have 100 calories and you get in a serving of fruit.

Starbucks: A fat free cappuccino with sugar free hazelnut syrup, or some other light drink, The mix of caffeine, sugar, and a little dairy is a great pick me up.

Savory

Pretzels: A salted pretzel always satisfies my craving for something hot and salty. A plain pretzel is 280 calories, but I usually upgrade to the salt and butter version for 310 calories.Watch out for high cal dipping sauces, the cream cheese dipper has 200 calories just for the sauce. 

Hummus: In the San Francisco airport there is a Greek place in the United terminal that has great home-made hummus and baked pita chips. This is obviously ideal, but premade hummus and pretzels thins or pita chips from the little markets also aren’t bad.

Baked Fries: U-Food Grill  (I know they are in Boston and Dallas) has baked fries that, like pretzels, really hit the spot when I want something hot and salty. I like to ask for a side of honey mustard for dipping. 230 calories for the fries.

What are your favorite, and healthy, airport snacks?