How To Eat Healthy On a Road Trip

The end of the summer is a perfect time to take a road trip. Whether it’s a few cities or states away, road trips can create lasting memories and show you a different side of life you’ve never seen. Proper planning is essential, and your diet is no exception. It can be difficult to eat healthy when you’re traveling, but with these tips and tricks, you’ll be able to stay on track and still enjoy your time sightseeing!

Places To Stop

If you’re making a pit stop at a gas station to fill up the tank, you can easily fill up your tummy as well! While the healthy options are few and far between, there are still a few healthy foods that you can eat. Beef jerky is a great source of protein, and trail mix or nut mixtures can be a great snack to tide you over until you find something more filling. Plain potato chips can also be an option.

If you’re looking to stop at a restaurant or pick up some groceries, the best way to pick places to go is by trusting your handy-dandy smartphone. Whole Foods is a great store that can give you healthy and tasty options, or you can search for the closest “Health Food Store” which can bring up some great options. If you’re lucky, you can catch some farmer markets and get some fresh, organic cooking ingredients! When looking for restaurants, I’ve had the best luck searching “Vegan Restaurants,” which bring up organic restaurants that have great options for food- even if you’re not a vegan.

Pack Healthy Snacks

Another way to eat healthy on road trips is to pack lots of healthy options before you hit the road. Food prep will be your best friend, whether that means getting recipes ready or prepping some fun snacks. Nut mixtures are my favorite to bring along, since there’s a variety to choose from and I usually feel pretty full after. Packing bars like Quest bars, Kind bars, and GoMacro bars is also a good idea. Bringing lots of water is a necessity, along with herbal teas to mix it up and add some oomph to your drink.

Snack Ideas

Looking for some new, healthy, and delicious snacks to bring along? We’ve got you covered! I have a plethora of healthy recipes on my website, with a section dedicated to healthy snack options (my favorites are the kale chips and the apple/almond butter combo!) There are also several recipes that can be found on ThatCleanLife.com, which specifically focuses on healthy recipes and helps you create a plan just for you and your dietary needs. One of my favorite recipes, that works especially on the road, is the Campfire Baked Apples.

Here at Wild Women Wellness, we’re all about giving you the tools to live a happier, healthier life. Eating on the road doesn’t have to be hard when you follow these tips. If you’re interested in learning more about health and wellness, you can visit my
website or give us a call at (650)-271-9453.

Healthy snack ideas for kids

ginger-slonaker-snack-ideas-kids

Artist: Ginger Slonaker. Used by permission

Choose snacks that are free of artificial food colorings, dyes, sweeteners, ones that are not genetically modified, and are low in sugar. The best snacks are tasty, balanced, and accessible. Balanced snacks are ones that combine fruit and or vegetables with proteins, fiber and fats. Such as apples and cheese, nuts and fruit, veggies and hummus. Choose whole fruit over fruit juice. Soda is not an acceptable snack for kids, ever. 

  • Fruit kebabs. Buy some kebab skewers and create colorful strawberry, pineapple, grape, kiwi, and apple kebabs which kids can grab and go.  Kids have fun making them, as well.
  • Frozen grapes. They have the consistency of mini-popsicles, yet no added sugar and plenty of flavonoids.
  • Ants on a log. Take celery sticks and smear them with almond butter and sprinkle with a line of raisins or dried cranberries.
  • Raw nuts & dried fruit: almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews with unsweetened dried apricots, peaches, mangos, dates, or apples. Nuts, especially walnuts, are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Seeds. Seeds are a rich source of vitamin E and some, like pumpkin seeds, have omega-3 fatty acids. Roast seeds yourself for extra crunch and less refined salt. 200F for approx. 7 minutes.
  • Veggies and dip. There is no excuse for not having fresh vegetables on hand.  Buy pre-chopped, pre-washed, bagged veggies if necessary.  Any trans-fat free dip is fine. Children need high quality fat for neurological development, and fat helps you absorb many nutrients from vegetables. Carrots and hummus are a delicious combination. Hummus is available in most grocery stores and is rich in protein, or try carrots dipped in nut butter or a tablespoon of fresh avocado.
  • Rainbow melons. Slice honeydew, cantaloupe, and watermelon to make a candy-colored natural treat.
  • Nut butter (almond & hazelnut butters) on pears or apples.
  • Apple or pear slices with cheese.
  • Root fries.  Slice yams, sweet potatoes, rutabagas, beets, parsnips into wedges, place them in a glass baking dish, mix with extra virgin olive or a few dollops of coconut oil, spice with salt, pepper, rosemary, dill, etc. and bake at 375F for 45 minutes, or until crisp but not burnt.
  • Mix a bowlful of seasonal berries, including blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries.  Whip up some heavy whipping cream, add a splash of vanilla and 100% maple syrup.  Serve a bowl of berries with a scoop of the homemade whip cream for a delightful treat.
  • Roll ups. Layer thinly sliced turkey breast (ideally nitrate free), spinach leaves, mayonnaise (ideally soybean oil free) on a sprouted grain or whole grain tortilla.  Roll up and slice into tasty disks.  Roll ups also work with tuna salad, refried beans, and spreads such as hummus.
  • Fruit leathers. A much wiser choice than the exceedingly popular fruit snacks and fruit roll-ups without the added sugar.  Available in bulk quantities at Costco. Beware the “fruit juice” sweetened fruit snacks, if you read the label you will see that there is still a lot of sugar in these—another misleading marketing tool.
  • A spoonful of avocado, goat cheese, or cottage cheese with salt & pepper or just plain.
  • Brown rice cakes with nut butter and banana slices onto.
  • Whole plain greek yogurt with fresh squeezed lime. Even makes a good substitute for sour cream.
  • Raw energy balls
  • Leftovers.

For more healthy recipe ideas see The Whole Life Nutrition website.