Healthy Food for Road Trips: Snacks and Meal Ideas
Use a Cooler
There are so many great lunches and snacks that you can pack in a cooler. Tuna sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, vegetable sticks, cheese sticks, and even cold drumsticks will stay fresh for long periods of time in the cooler. Keep in mind, though, that your cooler will probably be inaccessible during the ride. When you pull over at a rest stop, grab some foods from the cooler for the next leg of the trip. Most importantly, pack extra bottles of water in the cooler. Fill them halfway with water and freeze them before you leave, and you can fill them with warm water on the road for a refreshing drink.
Nonperishables
Whole grain pretzels and trail mix are necessities on the road. Make your own healthier (and cheaper) trail mix by tossing some nuts, seeds, and raisins into a bag. You can also try some whole grain crackers, possibly spread with peanut butter, as well as rice cakes, dried fruit, and cereal bars.
Road Trip Servings
You can get bored when you’re in the car for long periods of time. Like other “sit still” situations (in front of the television, while talking on the phone), road trips are dangerous for diets because you run the risk of eating even when you’re not hungry. To avoid this pitfall of road trips, try packing foods in small baggies according to normal serving sizes, and only eat one baggie for a snack. Small baggies of your favorite cereal are fun and easy to eat on the road.
Kids
To help your kids eat healthy on the road, bring along some of their favorite healthy snacks. Preparing beforehand is key. Cut up some applies into slices and sprinkle with lemon juice so that they don’t brown. Make some peanut butter sandwiches on whole wheat, or spread some peanut butter between two celery sticks and seal them in plastic wrap for a quick and easy snack. Bring along wipes to clean their hands between snacks, or a bottle of water and a roll of paper towels.
This post is part of the series: Healthy Choices On the Go
When you’re on the go, it’s easy to fall into the trap of making unhealthy food choices. The articles in this series protect you against that by giving you ideas of healthy and delicious food options you can take with you when you leave your home.