Traveling Good Eats

I find myself doing a lot of traveling, mostly to visit family in Charlotte.  It's a good two and half hour drive, but my drives typically end up during snack or meal time.

This was taken on the way to Seiverville, TN a couple years back.
One of those long trips that snacks are a necessity for.

It's not uncommon for people to travel a good 45 minutes to an hour to work, or fly for a job.  But half the time when we get hungry, we either have nothing to eat, stop to grab fast food, or just packing junk to eat.  Not only does not moving enough effect our health but so does what we eat.

When you are looking to make a lifestyle change, whether you just want to eat healthier or loose/maintain/gain weight you must make the healthier options.  Now granted these snacks don't always have to be while you are traveling.  You can also use this when you are running errands for the day and constantly running around during lunch hour, or during a long day at work.

I pack a lot of my foods in a cooler because some of them do require me to keep them cold on the go such as my fruit, vegetables, yogurt, etc.  Here are just a couple of ideas of what you can pack.

Some of the snacks I use

Fruits

banana

watermelon

honeydew melon

mango

berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)

grapes

apples

peaches

oranges/tangerine/mandarin

Vegetables

broccoli

cauliflower

carrots

sugar snap peas

zucchini

yellow squash

cucumber

celery

Miscellaneous

nuts(almonds, cashews, pecans,

pistachios, peanuts)

yogurt(greek or low fat/no sugar added)

granola

rice cakes or crackers w/ peanut butter

cheese sticks

snack sized popcorn

chocolate covered almonds (for the sweet tooth cravings)

fiber one protein bar

These are just some simple everyday foods that you can pack to take along for the ride.  I find that most people will stop off at a fast food restaurant and grab a quick burger and fries or they stop at the local gas station and grab a bag of chips.  These things are so unhealthy for you.  Now I'm not saying you can never do this, but you want it to occur as little as possible. 

With my vegetables I usually pack some sort of type whether its hummus or Ken's light honey mustard.  If you can eat it plan, more power to you.

When I eat snacks I try and provide myself with some sort of protein (nuts or yogurt), and a fruit or vegetable.  I can give you some examples of what my snacks usually look like.

I also have a snack jar that I keep healthy
snacks in so I don't binge on unhealthy things

Snack Examples:

1) pistachios (I love the cajun flavored from Wal-Mart)

    carrots/banana

    yogurt

2) yogurt (love Food Lion LF lemon)

    homemade granola

    banana

3)  veggie(broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas) w/ either hummus or light honey mustard

     fiber one protein bar

I always have 2 cups of water with my snacks.  On occasion I might have a Atkins chocolate peanut butter bar or the fiber one protein bar, but I try and and stick to more natural, non processed foods.

Making healthier options with your food can give you more energy, reduce health issues (cholesterol, blood pressure, etc)

Yes, this picture refers to exercising, but nutrition habits do wonders
for your health also.