Mike, the pups and I are headed on a roadtrip this weekend to visit some of our dearest friends in Taylors, South Carolina, which is in the Greenville area. It is really beautiful there and such a nice change from our terrain. Kind of mountainous with lots of hills and trees and a beautiful riverwalk that runs right through Downtown. We haven’t seen them in a long time and are super excited to have a reunion. The dogs also absolutely love a road trip.
Eating on the road always poses its challenges. I will continue to dream of the perfect fast food restaurant that offers healthy and delicious food, but I remain cautiously optimistic. In the meantime I try and avoid the issue altogether.
My way of avoidance is to pack my own meals. This is an example of what we will take with us on this trip, which usually takes anywhere between four hours on a good day and closer to six and a half on a freezing, icy and snowy day. Fortunately, that forecast isn’t in our future this time. I don’t recommend it. But, we couldn’t miss Bryan’s birthday that year!
For breakfast, which really needs to be super easy and quick, we have the Aloha bars. They are plant based and full of protein (14g) and fiber (10g). They serve as their own meal and are great with a cup of coffee. I grabbed our favorite, Peanut Butter Cup and we are also trying the Chocolate Espresso. That one is for Mike.
Whenever we get ready for lunch, we will have the hickory smoked Boars Head Turkey, bite sized cubes of extra sharp Vermont cheddar, assorted olives and blueberries. No fork necessary.
Afternoon snacks offer a choice of those amazing Sun Chips (who doesn’t love to mindlessly snack on something on a roadtrip), apples (which I may slice up the morning of and toss into a container for easier eating) or my homemade snack mix.
I always keep snack mixes around and they are constantly rotating and evolving, which keeps them interesting. This one is a combination of lightly salted roasted peanuts, whole wheat sesame sticks, raw pistachios, cashews and pumpkin seeds.
Oh, and let’s not forget space for a macadamia nut or chocolate walnut Tate’s cookie. Super important.
For beverages, I usually toss a few bags of herbal tea in my bag. You can always get hot water at any service station and you’ll have your own hot tea that will be such a better quality than anywhere else. It’s an upgrade.
We also throw unsweet tea and sparkling waters in the cooler. Spindrift makes the absolute best sparkling waters, hands down. We love the blood orange tangerine and pink lemonade. They’re a nice change from still water and they have great flavor.
Packing ahead and throwing everything in the cooler and a small travel bag makes eating on the road so much simpler. Everything is easy to eat in the car with little mess, you don’t have to stop unnecessarily, no waiting and you avoid the temptation of French fries. Your body will thank you. Or at least that’s what I continue to tell Rusty and myself about the French fries.
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