Healthy Airplane Food: DietDetective.com Annual Airline Snacking and Onboard Food Survey with Health Ratings for 2007

Southwest Airlines

(214-792-4223, www.southwest.com)

Cooperation in Providing Nutritional Information: Helpful

Health Score: (**) Not much variety and not much in terms of nutritional value. The snack pack is offered on flights of 2.5 hours or more.

Best Bet: Go for the nuts and skip the pretzels. If you purchase the snack pack, eat the dried fruit and nuts and skip the crackers and cookies.

Total Snack Calories: 380 (snack pack), individual snacks below.

Exercise Equivalents: (Amount of walking to burn off the calories) 99 minutes for the snack pack. For individual snacks, 18 minutes for the nuts, and 13 minutes for the pretzels.

Cost: $3 per snack pack

Snack Choices: Short flights: Honey- or dry-roasted peanuts or pretzels (70, 70, 50 calories). Snack Pack (flights 2.5 hours or more): Lorna Doone Cookies (100 calories), Ritz 6 pack Cheese Sandwich Crackers (200 calories), Dried Fruit and Nut Mix (80 calories).

Looking for more tips on making your airline travel healthier? Go to:

Charles Stuart Platkin is a nutrition and public health advocate, founder and editor of DietDetective.com, the health and fitness network, and author of The Diet Detective's Calorie Bargain Bible. Copyright 2008 by Charles Stuart Platkin. All rights reserved.

Reprinted with permission from www.dietdetective.com, May 2008.