But, What Do You Actually Eat On The Road?

Hi {{ first_name }},

I recently had a friend ask, "But, What did you actually eat on your trip?"

Road trips and vacations used to be a time when I would eat a lot of crap that didn't make me feel great. 

Think gas station food, fast food, and vacation food....you grab what's easy and available off the freeway or you say screw it and just eat all the things. 

There are no calories in vacation food, right? 

(All of that BS - so silly!) 

As I drove across 7 states, over 7 days recently, I ate really well, really easily, out of my cooler the whole time, except for 2 meals out, and I felt great on my trip because of it. 

It took me quite a long time to get to this point. 

Getting here wasn't just about knowing what foods I love that are healthy and that travel well, but also getting out of the mindset I had been in much of my life around eating crap being the norm when you are traveling. 

I have a friend who I've camped with quite a bit over the years, and at some point, she looked at me and said something like " I had no idea that you could eat so healthy that easily when camping. I always thought that you just had to eat crap."

It's totally normal.

It's part of our culture it seems to throw everything out the window when you are on a trip. The trouble is, you don't end up feeling great to enjoy what you are doing! 

I don't know about you, but feeling good is really important to me when I'm vacationing!

I have dozens of suggestions for eating healthy on the go, and I've shared a lot of them in the past. 

I had a conversation with someone last week where they asked me what I actually ate along the way, so I thought I'd just share a snapshot of what this trip looked like for me food-wise because sometimes just seeing the menu is most helpful!

*Keep in mind, this road trip menu is based on things I love to eat, lots of whole foods, minimally processed foods, and really easy stuff that I grabbed at the store on my way out of town.

I would normally prepare food ahead of time at home to bring with me, but since I had just moved out of my house, this trip was different and much more minimal. 

*Breakfast*

 I found a new plant-based meal shake that I love. I'm SO impressed with the ingredients and the taste. It's actually got all the bases covered that your body wants in a meal and then some. Since I usually have a smoothie in the morning at home loaded with good stuff, this was a great replacement. I had a Ka'Chava shake along with a banana and a handful of almonds every morning. 

(If you are curious to try it, here's a referral link that will give you $15 off your first order - and give me $15 off my next too 😉 : Ka'Chava)

*Lunches, Dinners, & Snacks*

Here's what I had in my cooler and food bag:

• Pre-made salad mixes (just cut up lettuces & veggies) & dressing
• Carrots
• Red bell peppers
• Cucumber
• Apples
• Bananas
• Blueberries
• Almonds
• Avocado
• Smoked salmon
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Hummus
• Peanut Butter
• Aged cheddar cheese
• Terra Chips (root veggie chips)
• Whole grain seedy Bread
• Nut-thin crackers
• Rice noodles
• Miso paste
• Soup 
• Dark Chocolate 

With these items with me, here's what my meals looked like: 

• Salad, smoked salmon, cheese & bread or crackers
• Salad with hard-boiled eggs
• Hummus with crackers, bell peppers, cucumbers, & carrots.
• Apple & Peanut butter
• Peanut butter & banana sandwich.
• Soup & Bread
• Soup & salad
• Rice noodles with Miso broth + Salad 

Snacks:

• Almonds
• Blueberries
• Terra Chips with Avocado
• Dark Chocolate

I ate 2 meals out. 

One was at a cafe that I had been to, where I had a super healthy meal with quinoa, veggies, tahini sauce, and eggs. SO good! 

The other meal was Sushi when I stopped to see my nephew, on his suggestion. I have a smart nephew who knows that I can be picky about where I go out to eat :) 

Eating on this trip was super simple for the entire week with what I had along, and all it took was a quick trip to the store to grab what I needed on my way out of town. I had enough variety of foods that I liked so I had choices when it was meal time. 

Everything I had with me on this trip are foods that I often grab & go for busy days out & about, a day at the beach, a hike, or quick lunches at home. 

Plenty of protein. 

Plenty of fruits & veggies. 

Lots of whole foods. 

Minimally processed foods. 

All super easy stuff to have a meal ready in a few minutes. 

Eating healthy on the go or in a hurry is SO possible, and really pretty easy. 

You may have different food preferences than me - if so, it's just a matter of finding what you enjoy and building some new habits and mindsets around how you prepare yourself to eat well. 

I'm curious - what are your healthy go-to foods when you are traveling? 

Was seeing a list of my actual menu helpful? 

Wishing you a deliciously healthy week! 

Shelly