Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer. A popular choice for a summer vacation is a family road trip. Road trips are fairly friendly as far as wallets are concerned (though they were much more so a decade ago when the gas prices weren’t quite so high), but not as friendly as far as stomachs are concerned. It’s extremely easy to load up the car with processed packaged food, such as bags of chips, candy, and a cooler full of soda. It can be equally tempting to use a road trip as an excuse to justify eating at a fast food restaurant. Of course, there are much healthier ways to feed a family on a road trip, and it only takes a little bit of extra planning. Here are few of my favorite snacks to pack:
- pretzels
- string cheese
- apples, pears, bananas, grapes
- baby tomatoes, celery, baby carrots
- reduced-calorie fruit juice boxes
- roasted nuts
- rice cakes
- whole-wheat sandwiches
- fat-free pudding cups
- dry cereal
- granola bars (look for ones without a chocolate or sugar coating)
- water bottles
I usually pack one cooler and one bag for non-refrigerated snacks. It’s also a good idea to throw in some napkins, wet wipes, plastic utensils, and a couple empty plastic shopping bags to use for trash.
Last but not least, I recommend stopping by a grocery store instead of a fast food place, if necessary. Sometimes we forget that we are not limited to restaurants and convenience stores once we get on the road. You can always buy fresh fruit and vegetables for a decent price from a full-size grocery store. Choose items that are easy to eat and don’t make a mess while on the go, such as bananas or cucumbers.
Travel tip: Freeze water bottles and use them to keep other items on ice while they defrost instead of using actual ice that will melt into a useless pool.
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