Road trip ready
One challenge I have when I’m on the road, is finding healthy food. Now, I’m going to be honest with you. When I’m traveling, I don’t always eat healthy. I let things slide a bit, but just a bit. I prefer to eat well most of the time. That means whole foods, and less fried, processed, pre-packaged, and boxed foods. Foods that are full of sugar, salt, and fat, can leave me feeling tired. If you encounter the same challenge on your road trips, I have a few tips. For starters, here’s an easy to use checklist (for a printable version of this checklist, click here). The checklist is about eating for energy, but I like using it for road trips. It helps me eat healthy and stay alert or calm when I need to (like having tea to keep my nerves calm when I’m in traffic).
Some of the foods may not seem ideal for road trips, but there are ways. For example:
- Asparagus can be wrapped in smoked salmon. Simply prep the asparagus the night before by steaming or grilling it. Allow the asparagus to cool in the refrigerator over night. In the morning, take the cooled asparagus and smoked salmon, and create your wraps.
- Avocados can be cut up and prepped with a bit of lemon juice and salt (and ground red pepper if you like spicy foods like).
- Leafy greens can be made into a salad, or added to a sandwich.
- Sprouts can be added to salad or sandwiches.
- Eggs can be prepped ahead of time by hard-boiling them. Another option is to make a breakfast sandwich with eggs.
- Tuna salad can be prepped ahead of time. Canned fish can also be added to sandwiches/salads.
- Teas and coffee can be kept warm in a thermal container.
Breakfast. Leftovers from the road trip food.
There are plenty of other foods that I like to take on a road trip. If I’m worried something will go bad in the refrigerator, I either freeze it, give it away, toss it, or bring it along. I’ll also pack pretty much any type of fruits and vegetables.
A few items for the cooler.
If you’re packing a cooler, here are a few items you may want to include in a separate bag:
- Ice packs
- Bags for trash
- Plastic ware
- Napkins
- Disposable food containers and/or paper plates and bowls
- Gun and mints
- Hand sanitizer
- Wet wipes
If you don’t want to spend time shopping and packing foods prior to your trip, there are other options. Search the internet for restaurants that use whole foods and stop somewhere along the way. If you stop by a fast food restaurant, figure out what foods on the menu are the most nutritious and go for the healthy options. Most fast food restaurants are providing healthy choices so that they don’t miss out on customers who want to eat well. It’s just good business sense. When I’m on road trips, I also I like stopping by farmer’s markets. Those are great ways to have new experiences and create memories along the drive.
Our cooler
Those are my quick tips for eating well on the road. What foods do you like to take on road trips? Do you have any favorite places that sell healthy foods?
Time to dig in!
~ Cece
Tags: diet, eat, eating, health, healthy, healthy lifestyle, lifestyle, nutrition, road trip food, road trips, wellness
Posted in Diet Tips & Tricks
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