Snackers shopping in the airfare marketplace know they’re getting a rare combination: snacks that are healthy and delicious.

Today, we’ll discuss the specifics of how we make that evaluation and apply clear criteria to build the healthiest snack marketplace in the country.

We wrote in the past about what “actually healthy” means and why we stick to it. To summarize, it is our best interpretation of the combined findings from organizations like the World Health Organization, the American Dietetics Association, and other credible health groups that comb through the best existing science on healthy diets.

That led us to the following criteria:

1. 100 percent plant-based.
2. Made of real, whole-food-based ingredients. No isolated proteins, no fiber fillers, no fruit juices besides a lemon or lime squeeze, no natural flavors, and no artificial flavors.
3. No added sugars, sweeteners, or oils. No stevia, monk fruit, syrups, or honeys. No coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil.
4. Gluten free. We don’t believe gluten in whole grains is unhealthy, but this helps avoid the issue altogether.

To be clear, we don’t claim that foods not on the list—like meat and dairy—are unhealthy. Instead, we’re including foods that experts agree most people would benefit from—like fruits, veggies, nuts and beans—and excluding those that likely have negative impacts, like added sugars and saturated fats.

Applying airfare criteria in the real world

Below, we picked five of the most popular snacks on Amazon and applied our criteria to each. We also included one airfare-approved snack for comparison.

We don’t mean to imply that any of these snacks are good or bad. Instead, we are interpreting guidance on which foods will benefit our diets and applying that criteria to snacks.

We hope this model will be helpful the next time you’re out without any airfare and needing a snack.

Stay healthy, friends.

KIND Snacks Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt Bar

Ingredients: Almonds, peanuts, chicory root fiber, honey, palm kernel oil, sugar, glucose syrup, rice flour, unsweetened chocolate, alkalized cocoa, sea salt, soy lecithin, natural flavor, cocoa butter

• 100 percent plant-based ✅ 10 points
• Made of real, whole-food-based ingredients ❌ 0 points—flour, soy lecithin, and natural flavor
• No added sugars, sweeteners, or oils ❌ 0 points—honey, palm kernel oil, sugar, and glucose syrup
• Gluten free ✅ 10 points

Score:  20 / 40

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Quest Nutrition Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Bar

Ingredients: Protein blend (milk protein isolate, whey protein isolate), polydextrose (prebiotic fiber), almonds, water, unsweetened chocolate, erythritol, glycerin, cocoa butter, natural flavors, sea salt, lecithin (sunflower and/or soy lecithin), stevia sweetener, sucralose

• 100 percent plant-based ❌ 0 points—milk protein isolate and whey protein isolate
• Made of real, whole-food-based ingredients ❌ 0 points—polydextrose, natural flavors, glycerin, lecithin, and soluble corn fiber
• No added sugars, sweeteners, or oils ❌ 0 points—stevia, sucralose, and erythritol
• Gluten free ✅ 10 points

Score: 10 / 40

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Simple Mills Fine Ground Sea Salt Almond Flour Crackers

Ingredients: Nut and seed flour blend (almonds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds), tapioca, cassava, organic sunflower oil, sea salt, organic onion, organic garlic, rosemary extract

• 100 percent plant-based ✅ 10 points
• Made of real, whole-food-based ingredients ⚠️ 5 points—tapioca starch
• No added sugars, sweeteners, or oils ⚠️ 5 points—sunflower oil
• Gluten free ✅ 10 points

Score: 30/40

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Skinny Pop Original Popped Popcorn

Ingredients: Popcorn, sunflower oil, salt

• 100 percent plant-based ✅ 10 points
• Made of real, whole-food-based ingredients ✅ 10 points
• No added sugars, sweeteners, or oils ⚠️ 3 points—sunflower oil as a primary ingredient
• Gluten free ✅ 10 points

Score: 33/40

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LÄRABAR Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar

Ingredients: Dates, peanuts, semisweet chocolate chips (unsweetened chocolate, cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla extract), sea salt

• 100 percent plant-based ✅ 10 points
• Made of real, whole-food based ingredients ✅ 10 points
• No added sugars, sweeteners, or oils ❌ 0 points—cane sugar
• Gluten free ✅ 10 points

Score: 30/40

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LÄRABAR Peanut Butter Cookie Bar

Ingredients: Dates, peanuts, sea salt

• 100 percent plant-based ✅ 10 points
• Made of real, whole-food-based ingredients ✅ 10 points
• No added sugars, sweeteners, or oils ✅ 10 points
• Gluten free ✅ 10 points

Score: 40/40 ✅ airfare approved ✅