What to Eat Wednesday #5

What to Eat on the Road

December means Holidays with families -- and for me (*and I'm sure many of you*) that means some time on the road traveling.

Hubby and I will be road tripping it this December to visit as much of our family as possible.  We're all scattered, so we'll log over a two thousand miles this holiday season -- and with so much time on the road, we need an eating plan!

Normally, we'll do an adlibbed combination of packing some foods and snacks and supplementing with drive thru for the rest.  We bring our doggy, so eat-in restaurants aren't really possible (our doggy would freeze in the car while we ate... no okay with me).  

Fast food isn't going to help me reach my goals, especially when you consider that once I reach my destination, I'll have tons of holiday treats awaiting me!  It's not like the fast food road food will be the only thing I'd have to contend with -- combining holiday with road trip could mean derailing my training and that's something I'm not going to let happen!

So I did some research... (as always!)

Road Trip Eats 

It really boils down to two categories for me (1) What to bring and (2) What to buy.  Traveling is expensive, so I'd prefer to plan on bringing as much as possible and only have a list of things to buy in a pinch...

For road trips, I like to bring things that are easy to eat, don't make a mess, and don't require super cold temperatures to keep fresh.  Basically the opposite of a cup of greek yogurt.

What to bring:

• Fruit: Grapes, berries, already peeled/sectioned oranges, apple slices
• Veggies: baby carrots, celery sticks, cucumber sticks, broccoli/cauliflower florets, snap peas, 
• Bite Sized Snacks: Nuts/trail mix (that I'll make myself), seeds, popcorn (already popped), Granola, dried fruits, LaraBars (or other clean snack bars)
• Wraps or Rolls -- I like Turkey or Ham with cheese, lettuce, and maybe a bit of hummus/guac/mayo, although I really try to stay away from chicken/tuna salad and mayo on longer trips since it'll warm up even in the cooler in the car!
• Hard Boiled Eggs!  For a quick protein fix!
• Cheese cubes -- not many, as they pack a caloric punch, but they are sooo satisfying!
• Pickles or olives -- easy to eat and salty, I love salty -- but I prefer these super cold so they don't go with me on really long trips

What to buy:

• Almond butter/peanut butter individual packets/containers
• Whole grain cereal cups -- although I try to limit these since they're a carb bomb... they are still better than a candy bar!
• Energy bars -- I try to find Larabars if I can...otherwise I watch out for the sugar and carbs... Kashi Go Lean isn't bad...
• Nuts in the shell -- Peanuts or Pistachios -- or any nut that's not salted/glazed 
• String Cheese
• Fruit Cups
• Bananas

What to avoid:

This is really about what I'm trying to avoid, because in the past I've used road trips as an excuse to overindulge... 

• Starbucks -- ten thousand times.  I apparently think I need a venti latte at every stop -- which causes more stops for potty breaks and then more lattes... endless loop!
• Fast Food Places! -- If I see one that we don't have near us, I'll use the road trip as an excuse to pull through, even if I'm not hungry!
• Ice Cream/Candy/Sugary Treats/Energy Drinks/other convenience store nonsense -- I use the excuse of "I'm driving" to load up on sugar, resulting in less than stellar moods and tummy troubles!

What do you do for road trips?  

Do you have any "go to" snacks/meals?  

Do you have anything you're avoiding on trips?