How to eat healthy on road trips

Summer is a great time to hit the road.  Off to the beach, the lake, the mountains, or a long road trip.  Many people stop for a quick bite to eat at gas stations or other places that offer a range of food items.  How can you eat healthy while on that road trip? 

1. Watch the calories – sitting all day in a car burns up a lot less calories.  A short trip not to worry but a long road trip can decrease your daily burn of calories by up to 400 calories.   
2. Take some healthy foods with you – pack a cooler of yogurt, some fresh fruit, veggies like baby carrots, some nuts, healthy nutrition bars and even some sandwiches to eat along the way.  My husband and I often eat at the picnic tables at rest stops – we eat the food we brought with us.  I once told my daughter to bring her lunch on a long road trip we were taking.  She pulled out a gourmet assortment of food – hummus and veggies, a fresh homemade salad, fruit, homemade granola mix, whole wheat chips with ranch dressing. 
3. Seek out the healthy, fresh food.  Many gas stations now offer an assortment of healthier choices.  Yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, nuts, cut up fresh fruit, milk, freshly made sandwiches. 
4. Hydrate – bring along some water bottles.  Skip the soft drinks at the gas stations and re-hydrate with more water, 100% juice (skip the juice drinks) or milk.  (Milk is mostly water and a good way to get some extra protein and hydrate.)
5. Bring your snacks – another daughter was in charge of snacks on one of our road trips.  And what an assortment of snacks she brought to share.  Nuts, whole grain chips, pretzels, apple slices with peanut butter, health bars, granola, snack crackers, cheese sticks.   Wander Wisdom lists some healthy snacks or light meals to pack for a road trip:

Pack some healthy snacks and include some protein like cheese, nuts, peanut butter

•  Apple slices with nut butter
• Hummus and mini carrots or pretzels
• Guacamole and low-fat tortilla chips (make sure the first ingredient is whole corn)
• Yogurt – Greek or plain yogurt with granola or fresh fruit 
•  Dairy:  Cheese sticks or those mini cheeses like Baybel, individual milk boxes, yogurt
•  Wraps
•  Nuts – peanuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews, mixed nuts
• Almond or Peanut butter and fruit on crackers or whole grain bread
• Fresh or dried fruit – apple slices, dried fruit, raisins, bananas, grapes
• Trail mix, , granola, nutrition bars, dark chocolate, dry cereal like Wheat Chex and raisins 

So before heading on a road trip this summer take the time to pack the cooler and pack some snacks.  We keep a bag of non-perishable snacks in the car – the jar of nuts, the box of whole grain crackers.  The cooler loaded with light lunch supplies is in the trunk ready for our road side picnic.  Take the kids shopping with you before you go and let them choose some healthy snacks to bring along on the road trip.  They are much more likely to eat it if they had some choice in choosing it.  

On your next road trip, pack a sandwich and fresh fruit for a light, healthy lunch.

Sources:  burn, water, snacks  Image sources:  Lunch, Supplies, pack