Road trips and summer go hand in hand, but that doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice your nutrition because you’re on the road. Below are my favourite road trip snacks that keep my family’s nutrition on track when we travel.
1. Fruit
Fruit is high in fiber and water and will help keep you hydrated and full, not to mention curb your sweet tooth a bit when you travel. But, unless you want to deal with 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 plastic containers. Strawberries, banana slices, peaches, and nectarines are great for this. Just make sure that if you are giving it to your kids in the car it’s cut up so they don’t choke on it.
Calories per serving vary but are usually around: 85–105
2. Kale Krunch
I discovered this when I was doing P90X3 earlier this year. They’re low in calories, high in vitamin A, and totally addictive. Plus, they’re flavoured with ingredients like organic olive oil and organic chia seeds. They are a little pricey though, so if you want to make your own make these Kale Chips, chop them into bite-sized morsels, and pop them in a plastic container or plastic bag. My kids LOVE these!
Calories per serving: 110
3. Nut Butter and Jelly
The trouble with most sandwiches is you need to keep them cool. . . unless you like eating warm sandwiches. Peanut, Almond, or Walnut butter and jelly is one that doesn’t. Make it with whole-grain bread (my favourite is Ezekiel 4:9-note that it’s almost always found in the frozen section of the grocery store), an organic nut butter, and an organic fruit topping. You can easily make a sugar free/pectin free spread by following these directions, and it lasts for about a week.
Calories per 1/2 sandwich: 150 (varies depending on ingredients)
4. Shakeology Packets
Its easy to take your Shakeology with you! Just mix a single-serving Shakeology packet with water and shake! You can also get almond milk in little tetra packs that don’t need to be refrigerated, but I like my shakeO cold, so I’d probably freeze the tetra packs and then when they melted a bit i’d pop it in my shaker cup and go to town.
Calories per serving: 160–170, add on a bit more for the almond milk
6. Homemade Energy Bars
The stuff you find at the gas station is loaded with sugar, preservates and empty calories. It’s super easy to make your own, and they’re WAY better for you. One of my fav no bake recipes for bars is this one. My kids always ask for mom’s bars instead of the store bought stuff, plus they like to help making them!
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. You can always spice it up by roasting these unsalted nuts with cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper or other non salty flavorful goodness.
Calories per serving: 130–180
8. Baby Carrots and other Veggies
Maybe I’m weird, but I think baby carrots are fun to eat, and they don’t make a mess–do you notice a trend here, I’m big into food that’s not messy! They’re sweet on their own, or you can combine them with hummus for a yummy,
treat. Other veggies like snap peas, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and celery travel really well. You can also make low fat dip by switching out sour cream with plan greek yogurt!
Calories per serving: 30, unless you add dip.
9. PopChips
This is probably the least healthy option but I freaking love them. They are made with potato flour and not whole potatoes, but you could do a lot worse. Plus, my man Tony Horton approves of this 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 all the extras. And they ain’t no fatty fat chips.
Calories per serving: 120
10. Seeds
I’ve fallen in LOVE with pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, they’re great to snack on! Just make sure you’re selecting the non salted kind. My new favourite are Pine nuts BUT holy cow batman are they expensive.
Calories per serving:120-180
So what do you love to snack on when you travel? Comment below some of your favourite snacks!