How To Eat Healthy On A Road Trip

Have a road trip planned soon? While it's easy to hit a drive-thru to grab a quick bite to eat it's also easy (and cheaper) to pack some healthy food for the road! This list can help you stay on track health wise while you are traveling!

1. Fruit
Fruit’s fiber and high water content will help keep you full and hydrated as you travel. But, unless you want a messy car, it’s best that you either choose fruit that doesn’t have a stem, a pit, or an outside covering—namely, blueberries, figs, and grapes—or prepare fruit ahead of time and place it into Tupperware containers. Strawberries, banana slices, peaches, and nectarines are great for this.
Calories per serving: 85–105

2. Kale Krunch
I discovered this when I was doing P90X earlier this year. They’re low in calories, high in vitamin A, and totally addictive. Plus, they’re flavored with ingredients like organic olive oil and organic chia seeds. They are a little on the expensive side though, so if you want to make your own, make these Kale Chips, chop them into bite-sized morsels, and pop them in a Tupperware or Ziploc bag.
Calories per serving: 110

3. A Better Nut Butter and Jelly
The trouble with most sandwiches is that they require a cooler…unless you like eating warm chicken salad. Peanut (or any nut, frankly) butter and jelly is one that doesn’t. Make it with whole-grain bread (my personal favorite is Ezekiel 4:9), an all-natural nut butter, and all-natural fruit spread like St. Dalfour to up the health factor.
Calories per 1/2 sandwich: 150 (varies depending on ingredients)

4. Shakeology Packets
Want to take your Shakeology on the road? Just mix a single-serving Shakeology packet (available in Chocolate, Vanilla, Greenberry, Chocolate Vegan, and Tropical Strawberry) with water and shake!
Calories per serving: 160–170

5. Eggs
You might find the idea of taking eggs with you on the road a little odd, but hard-boiled eggs are great for a quick power-up. Plus, they’re loaded with B vitamins, which may help keep tempers cool on long trips.
Calories per serving: 78

6. Homemade Energy Bars
The bulk of prepackaged bars sold at gas stations or convenience stores are loaded with sugar, preservatives, and empty calories. These homemade bars can be made in minutes and contain only good-for-you ingredients like fruit and nuts.
Calories per serving: 124

7. Nuts
Nuts are highly caloric, but they’re also high in healthy omega-3 fats and travel well. Choose raw, unsalted nuts like almonds or walnuts that don’t require you to dispose of a shell.
Calories per serving: 130–180

8. Spiced Nuts
Deepen the flavor of nuts by roasting them with spices. This recipe that combines cinnamon, cayenne, and cumin with a touch of honey will keep you away from the store-bought trail mix.
Calories per serving: 120

9. Baby Carrots
Maybe we’re weird, but we think baby carrots are fun to eat, and they don’t make a mess! They’re sweet on their own, or you can combine them with hummus for a yummy, crunchy treat.
Calories per serving: 30

10. Split Pea Crisps
Peas are really good for you thanks to their fiber and vitamins A and C. But, good luck getting your kids to eat them on a road trip. Unless…you disguise them as a crunchy snack. These split pea crisps from Whole Living combine peas with just a touch of olive oil and salt.
Calories per serving: 55

11. Other Vegetables
It’s a classic for a reason. Slice up your favorite veggies—snap peas, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and celery all travel well—and pop them into a sealable container. Persian cucumbers are also a yummy single-serving snack.
Calories per serving: Less than 20

12. Dried Fruit
On day 2 of the road trip, when you’ve run out of regular fruit, try dried fruit. It’s higher in calories by volume than fresh fruit, so just be mindful of how much you eat and look for options without sulfites, but it’s better for you than a candy bar. Or a Fruit Roll-Up.
Calories per serving: About 150

13. PopChips
This is probably the least healthy option on this list since they’re made with potato flour and not whole potatoes, but you could do a lot worse. Plus, they’re a Tony Horton–approved road trip snack. Original PopChips contain just potatoes, salt, a touch of rice flour, and oil, so you can feel like you’re snacking on chips without loading your body up with who knows what.
Calories per serving: 120

14. Seeds
Though high in calories, seeds are high in heart-healthy magnesium and protein. Plus, cracking pumpkin or sunflower seeds open will keep your hands (if you’re not driving!) and your mind busy while you’re on the road. They can be high in sodium, so just take a look at the sodium levels or consider roasting your own.
Calories per 1/4 cup: About 160

14. Spicy Baked Chickpeas
Chickpeas, garbanzo beans, little weird things that come in a can…whatever you call them, these little nuggets of goodness are high in fiber and will help keep you full. Try this road-friendly recipe for them.
(7 servings, 1/4 cup each)

Ingredients:
1 15-oz. can garbanzo beans(chickpeas)
1 tsp. olive oil
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400° F
2. Rinse canned garbanzo beans and let them drain well in a colander for several minutes.
3. Toss the beans in a small bowl with olive oil, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, ground cumin, and sea salt
4. Bake on a foil-lined sheet for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Calories: 187

8 Tips To Eat Healthy On A Budget

Eating fresh, healthy, organic, local foods sounds great—but what if you’re on a budget? Maybe you dream of shopping at Whole Foods, but the cold, hard light of day finds you wheeling down the aisles at your local grocery store.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to eat well and actually save money in the process. Your shopping list isn’t going to include vegetarian, brown rice sushi rolls from the macrobiotic deli case, but trust us, you’ll live.

1. Don’t shop hungry!

How often do you swing by the market on your way home from work, tired and starving? While this seems like grandmotherly advice, it’s firmly rooted in current research; a new Cornell study shows that people who shop while hungry are more inclined to buy more calorically dense food. Keep a piece of fruit or a small Ziploc® bag full of raw nuts in your bag to guard against filling your cart with foods you’re craving now but wouldn’t buy on a full stomach.

2. Buy flash-frozen fruits, vegetables, and fish.

While any processing takes away from a food’s maximum nutritional value, flash freezing is a great way to preserve vitamins and minerals when vegetables and seafood are at their freshest. And the convenience of a bag of veggies or a filet of fish in the freezer can’t be beat. The price? For seafood, there’s no comparison: fresh is much more expensive—when you can get it at all. (If you check at your local grocer’s fish counter, you’ll find that much of what is being sold in the case as fresh has in fact been previously frozen.) Produce is trickier: frozen is sometimes, but not always, cheaper than fresh, in-season, fruits and vegetables.

3. Shop at your local farmers market.

This may surprise you, but it’s cheaper to get your veggies—organic or not—at the local farmers’ market than at the local supermarket. A 2011 study by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont is one of several around the country showing that farmers’ market prices are consistently lower than those of neighboring grocery stores. Who knew? So have a great time shopping with your neighbors and supporting local farmers, and be happy in the knowledge that you’re saving money too.

4. Stick to your list.

Don’t cave in to the snazzy packaging on the supermarket shelves. Make your meal plan and shopping list at home, and then stick to it. Here’s the exception: when you shop at the farmers’ market or local produce stand, sometimes a gorgeously fresh fruit or vegetable will stand out—one you hadn’t planned on. Build some flexibility into your list to account for these unanticipated treasures . . . just decide which meals you want to add them to before purchasing. A good rule of thumb is to stick absolutely to your list of pantry items, but give yourself some leeway with fresh, seasonal foods.

5. Eat lots of beans and always soak your own.

Beans are a great source of protein and fiber, and form the cornerstone of many world cuisines. And they’re dead cheap—if you buy them dried. Soaking your own beans is easy, though it does take more planning than opening a can of them. But it’s no big deal. Just decide the night before what you’re going to eat the next day. If a meal includes beans, then put them in a pot of water to soak and leave them overnight. In the morning, let them cook as you’re getting ready for the day.

6. Buy in bulk.

Costco® and other warehouse stores sell fruits and vegetables at ridiculously low prices—if you’re willing to buy, say, 15 pounds of potatoes or 8 pounds of oranges at a time. You’re in for some work at home, but at those prices, who’s complaining? Also, in many regions it is possible to pair up with another family or two and buy a portion of either a cow or a pig directly from a local farmer. In exchange, you will receive many, many neatly wrapped and labeled packages of meat. An extra freezer is necessary for this, but well worth the investment if you live in a region where such arrangements exist. Another huge benefit of this is that you know the animal was not raised on a factory feedlot. Therefore, the meat will likely be free from the steroids and antibiotics that plague grocery store bargain meat cuts.

7. Join a CSA.

Community Supported Agriculture is another way to save money by cutting out the middleman. With a CSA, you pay a flat fee up front. On the East Coast it’s typically $400-$500—for a whole growing season of produce! Every week you get a box of whatever came out of the farmer’s field. Like buying in bulk at warehouse stores, this calls for some time and creativity in the kitchen. In late summer, we sometimes freak out trying to figure out what to do with all those perfect, ripe tomatoes. What a problem to have!

8. Cut your consumption.

Over the last few decades, restaurant portions have become gargantuan, and we somehow seem to think that a platter of food is actually a single serving. Most restaurant entrées can easily feed two or three. So when you’re out, either share a single entrée, or get half boxed for another meal. And at home, serve smaller portions on smaller plates. It won’t take long at all before you’re satisfied with sensible portions!