How to Snack Healthy On a Road Trip
Well, that’s just what we did for THREE days. And I’ve gotta say…. we fucking killed it. Lily was amazing. Our podcast lineup was on point. Threw in a little Johnny Cash and Bob Seger. And our snacks and meals couldn’t have been better.
I’m always paranoid about feeling like shit on a road trip. Buying gas station food (man, do I love beef jerky), drinking shitty coffee, sitting all day, dehydrating yourself so you don’t have to stop too often….
ACK.
No thank you.
We took the time to stock up on healthy snacks and do just a little bit of meal prep before we hit the road and we felt amazing the entire time. No tummy aches, no bloat, we don’t even recall feeling hungry the entire time.
It’s not easy to be healthy when travelling, especially when you’re on the road like that. SO because I love you all so much, I thought I’d share my little tips 😉
*That’s Shaggy up there*
One thing we learned from road tripping in the past is to COOK a meal the night before to eat at least one healthy homemade meal. This will also save you some $$$ from eating at yet, another shitty restaurant (ugh! Boston Pizza is to Alberta what Starbucks is to Vancouver. Seriously.)
Beauty of all this, NONE of it takes very long.
Meal prep
Over night Oats – I used this recipe. We made sure to have a decent breakfast before we hit the road. And took these for a great mid morning snack to tie us over.
Oven Baked Chicken Breasts – Place chicken on parchment lined baking pan. Drizzle olive oil, sprinkle of salt, lots of pepper, and squeeze juice of a lemon. Bake for around an hour at 375
Sauteed Vegetables – We had a pack of frozen veggies that was a mix of potatoes, green beans, carrots, and I believe mushrooms? Sauteed in coconut oil. Get something with a good variety of colours and preferably organic.
Voila! You have a healthy, hearty lunch for the next day! You won’t be spending more $, you won’t feel like crap, and you won’t be stuck grabbing beef jerky and cheese sticks if that’s all you can find. Pull over on the side of the road, find a stop with picnic tables, eat on the tailgate, or on the go. Whatever.
Snacks
Veggies – we cut up a bunch of carrot sticks (celery is great too. Just avoid anything that gets watery, like cucumber) and grabbed some cherry tomatoes
Hummus – for those veggies 😉
Almond Butter – Also for those veggies. Or crackers (which we forgot)
Fruit – grab a pint of blueberries and strawberries (cut them up before you go) and some bananas for when you’re craving something sweet
Chimes – I love those little ginger chews! Also perfect for incase you feel little sick (motion sickness, ugh!)
Pop corn – I looooove Boom Chicka Pops. You know this. Having a healthy take on a salty snack will keep you from grabbing 6 mini bags of lays at the gas station.
Baby bells – a little cheese because who doesn’t love cheese? These are perfect so you don’t have to worry about cutting anything or having it get all gross (ie. sweaty and hard at the same time) Also would have been nice with those crackers we forgot.
Kombucha and some Perrier – This helps to avoid buying that diet coke when you’re filling up for gas
Cliff bars – or any kind of meal replacement bar you prefer. These are mostly for day 2 and 3. And just incase-ies.
Water!! – hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Even if you have to pee at every stop you see. Between sitting in the sun and that air conditioning blasting in the car, you’re gonna need some H2O.
So here’s kind of how we did it…
- Healthy breakfast before you hit the road
- Overnight oats (eat these up so they don’t go bad when the ice melts) for a mid morning snack
- Chicken and veggies for a later lunch
By now you’ve hardly had to touch your snacks so you’ll have more of those for the following days where a home cooked meal might not happen.
You may have to hit up a hotel restaurant for dinner that evening. Hey. It’s bound to happen. But because you’ve been having a healthy day and are not starving while you browse the menu, you’ll be likely to make a healthier dinner choice…. and feel less guilty for drinking that 9oz glass of wine..
Now, the mom in me – REMEMBER: Eat a big breakfast before you hit the road the next morning.
TIP: Freeze water bottles to use as ice for your cooler. When they melt, you have water to drink!
We got a few extra snacks for Lily and gatorades for Ty. But for everything else, here’s a grocery list to make your life easier:
- approx 6 carrots
- pack of cherry tomatoes
- pint blueberries
- pint strawberries
- bunch bananas
- Jar almond butter
- 1 kombucha (don’t hold up well if they get shaken, so don’t over do it)
- 1 bottle of perrier
- Pack of mini hummus’s (you can buy them in 4 packs and they’re perfect!)
- Chimes
- Boom Chicka Pop
- Cliff Bars or favourite meal replacement bars
- 1 pack baby bells
- 1 box crackers… just don’t forget them.
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 bag organic frozen veggies (make sure there’s a good variety) or whatever veggies you have a round your house
- Unsweetened Vanilla almond milk*
- oats*
- Vanilla greek yogurt*
- chia seeds*
*To make overnight oats
Another tip: Use gf oats in the over night oats and Swap out the Cliff bars to have an easy 3 days gluten free!
Lily and I have made is safe and sound to Nova Scotia and are happy to be no longer living out of suitcases and coolers. As fun as it can be… it loses its touch after day #3.
For anyone who still has a road trip coming up this summer, I hope these tips help! If you have any of your own, please leave below ! <3
XOXO