Packets of chewy sweets, biscuits and motorway sandwiches just don’t cut the mustard when it comes to arriving fit and fresh at your destination at the end of a long road trip.
It all comes down to planning ahead so that you don’t have to resort to what I call ‘motorway fake-food’: produce which has been so heavily processed that when ingested is hardly recognised as food at all by our bodies. Instead of fighting off energy slumps during the trip (clearly not a good idea on a road trip) caused by eating nutrient poor foods that are taxing on our digestive system and lead to sugar cravings, resulting in you arriving tired, bloated, feeling heavy and uncomfortable…a little forward thinking will ensure that you arrive feeling fit, if somewhat a little naturally tired by the long drive.
We found out the evening before a recent 2 day road trip that we could leave early the following morning. Lack of time (hence the iphone photo), as we recently proved, is not an excuse for eating un-nutritious food on the run/road. The only thing we missed out on is the mouth-watering goodies I was planning to prepare for our road feast. Here’s what we managed to get together (all organic) just minutes before the shop closed:
* jar of tahini to dip cucumber sticks into
* hard boiled eggs
* apples
* avocados
* jar of sauerkraut (a spoonful to eat in-between this and that)
* hummus
* homemade gluten-free buns made in advance (if we had not had these prepared in advance we would have bought gluten-free crackers, no salt added)
* organic 70 or 80% dark chocolate (not shown as already in the bag!)
* an empty glass jar filled with left over quinoa and veggies
* six pack of 1.5 liter water bottles to get us started
Not bad for a last minute healthy food panic-shop.
Had we had more time to prepare and/or shop we would also have included:
* trail mix
* homemade protein/energy bars (check out Raw Lou Lou‘s)
* bananas
* more raw veggies to dip in the hummus and tahini – celery and carrot sticks
* olives
* a smoothie or two to have in the morning
When preparing healthy meals and snacks for a flight, remember to think about what you are and are not allowed to bring in your hand luggage – the tahini and hummus for example, would have had to be packed into smaller containers or left out. Hard cheese would be fine (organic of course – the other kind is not allowed, anywhere 
). You could also bring single serving packs of miso soup which you add to hot water that the friendly air hostesses can provide for you.
Here’s to healthy, happy, safe travels!
What’s your favourite healthy travel meal or snack? Do you have any tried and tested tactics that ensure you eat healthily whilst travelling to help maintain energy levels?
So smart! We just had a road trip yesterday and did not plan well at all – even though we know better. We resorted to buying trail mix along the way because that was really the only palatable option. Of course, we arrived famished and headed straight to Whole Foods to stock up on real food. I usually like to pack fresh fruit and nut butter/jam sandwiches, along with something “snacky” like almonds or trail mix. I hope you had a good road trip!
Great idea re the trail mix along the way – that and fruit is something you can find at motorway stop offs…although it’s easy to get distracted when you’re hungry (never shop on an empty stomach rings true…). Great road trip thanks – hope yours was too!
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