You know how it goes. You've been kicking ass and taking names on your diet/exercise plan for quite some time, and then comes a break in your still-fragile routine. It may be an unavoidable business trip, a fabulous summer vacation, or the nemesis of all healthy eating ambitions, the Road Trip. Most often they go a little something like this:
Despite your best intentions, on the morning of departure you skip getting up at the crack of dawn to spread sandwiches, in lieu of an extended snooze-party in bed. Subsequently you skid out of town 2 hours later than you had planned, lucky that you even remembered to put the cooler in the trunk, although it's still empty. You eat like crap en route "because there were no healthy options at the rest stop/airport/train station", and you're stuck picking between fast food and sad, leathery truck stop hotdogs that look like they've been spinning on that heater for weeks. To avoid both, you end up doing the "reverse Hansel & Gretel", grabbing armfuls of junk at every single gas station stop along your way.
When you finally roll into your destination after 12 hours in the car, it's late, everything is closed, and you're STARVING, so you hit up Room Service for an over-sized dinner (why is Room Service meals so huge, anyways?) right before you collapse in bed. During your travels you indulge a bit more than you otherwise would, because "hey, this is [insert trip destination], and these are REAL [local specialty]". Naturally, you have to try all the local delicacies because "who knows when will you be here again?". Alternatively, the local cuisine is so gawdawful you have to survive on nothing but Snickers (true story) for weeks. Regardless, no amount of sight-see-walking will neutralize the damage. By the time you're back home, you've undone weeks of progress that you paid dearly for with hours of torture in the gym. And just like that, you're back at Square One.
No? It doesn't work like that for you?
Well, it does for me. But not this time, I tell you, not this time.
This time I planned ahead, skipped the pre-trip sleep-in for food prep, and actually filled our cooler full of healthy foods and snacks for the road. Since the drive there and back again is only half the problem, I also pre-planned what to replenish the cooler with during the trip. No more Road Trip junk!
So, what's on this healthy Road Trip Menu?
Road Trip Menu:
Snacks:
Ready Meals:
Quick-to-Assemble Meals:
Drinks:
Some of these clearly do not need any further descriptions, and for the rest, I'll be sharing the recipes throughout the week. I will edit here to add the links, as well. If you have any go-to Road Trip foods that are decently healthy, feel free to share in comments.
Despite your best intentions, on the morning of departure you skip getting up at the crack of dawn to spread sandwiches, in lieu of an extended snooze-party in bed. Subsequently you skid out of town 2 hours later than you had planned, lucky that you even remembered to put the cooler in the trunk, although it's still empty. You eat like crap en route "because there were no healthy options at the rest stop/airport/train station", and you're stuck picking between fast food and sad, leathery truck stop hotdogs that look like they've been spinning on that heater for weeks. To avoid both, you end up doing the "reverse Hansel & Gretel", grabbing armfuls of junk at every single gas station stop along your way.
When you finally roll into your destination after 12 hours in the car, it's late, everything is closed, and you're STARVING, so you hit up Room Service for an over-sized dinner (why is Room Service meals so huge, anyways?) right before you collapse in bed. During your travels you indulge a bit more than you otherwise would, because "hey, this is [insert trip destination], and these are REAL [local specialty]". Naturally, you have to try all the local delicacies because "who knows when will you be here again?". Alternatively, the local cuisine is so gawdawful you have to survive on nothing but Snickers (true story) for weeks. Regardless, no amount of sight-see-walking will neutralize the damage. By the time you're back home, you've undone weeks of progress that you paid dearly for with hours of torture in the gym. And just like that, you're back at Square One.
No? It doesn't work like that for you?
Well, it does for me. But not this time, I tell you, not this time.
This time I planned ahead, skipped the pre-trip sleep-in for food prep, and actually filled our cooler full of healthy foods and snacks for the road. Since the drive there and back again is only half the problem, I also pre-planned what to replenish the cooler with during the trip. No more Road Trip junk!
So, what's on this healthy Road Trip Menu?
Road Trip Menu:
- Hummus with veggies
- Homemade Trail Mix
- Baby carrots
- Beef Jerky
- Homemade dried fruit - recipe here
- Fruit salad
- Individually packed watermelon slices
- Yoghurt
- Kefir
Ready Meals:
- Salad in a Jar - recipe here
- Ham, Turkey & Dijon Wraps - recipe here
- Pesto Pasta in a Jar - recipe here
Quick-to-Assemble Meals:
- French Picnic Baguettes: - recipes here
- - Ham & Cheese
- - Brie, Walnut & Prosciutto
- - Steak & Goat Cheese
- Homemade Egg Salad and Arugula Wraps - recipe here
Drinks:
- Unsweetened Ice Tea
Some of these clearly do not need any further descriptions, and for the rest, I'll be sharing the recipes throughout the week. I will edit here to add the links, as well. If you have any go-to Road Trip foods that are decently healthy, feel free to share in comments.
You are so right! I always forget to plan ahead for road trip snacks and we end up getting things are gas stations along the way. Next time I am going to take your lead and grab a cooler full of good treats for the road.
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