How To Fill Your Snackle Box To Ensure It's TSA-Approved

After aesthetic airport tray photos, window seat selfies, and fake window seat selfies swept social media, a new trend is captivating jet-setters from here to 35,000 feet in the air. Snackle boxes, compartmentalized snack packs meant to resemble fishing gear, are the hottest novelty capturing the imagination of weary travelers all over the internet. But they still have to comply with certain rules to make it through the gate. While you could purchase a pre-made snackle box from a variety of companies getting in on the trend, making your own ensures all of the food inside is both a personal favorite and adheres to TSA guidelines.

"Snackle box," of course, marries "snack" with "tackle," as in "tackle box," to land on the lexical blend. (We would have gone with "foodle caboodle," but there's no accounting for neologisms.) In lieu of lures, hooks, and bobbers, however, the snackle box is filled with enough sustenance to power a passenger through their journey ahead without having to think about airplane food. Yes, the whole conceit is just social media's way of saying, "bring a snack," but, unlike those highly styled security line snaps, the snackle box won't hold up the TSA screening line. At least as long as you know how to pack it right. That means sticking mostly to solid snacks and remembering what liquids the TSA allows on board, and in what configurations and quantities. 

The bento box of the skies, you can fill your snackle box with anything that the TSA lists as a-okay on flights. In general, you're safe with solids like cheese, cured meats, crackers, wasabi peas, dried fruit, and chocolate squares. For foods that seem to fall in-between solid and liquid, or even appear closer to solids, you still need to figure out how the federal government will categorize them. Otherwise, the restrictions might land your carefully curated snackle box in the trash — both inconvenient and not exactly great for reducing food waste.

If it squishes, it has limits. That means that things like peanut butter, hummus, your softest cheeses, guacamole, and foods of a similar density are subject to the TSA's volume requirements and may not fly — pun intended — in your snackle box. You can only carry them on in amounts less than 3.4 ounces, and packed in a clear, quart-sized, resealable plastic bag. This means that while you can bring these items onboard, you'll have to add them to your snackle box after the fact, once they're through security screening checkpoints. The TSA website's "What Can I Bring" function is a quick way to check what you can and cannot include, and in what quantities. The agency is also responsive to traveler questions via its social channels so you can securely snack as you fly.