Staying on Track during Road Trips

rebprest

I'm going on a road trip next week which will entail 25+ hours of driving total. What are your favorite snacks/foods to take on the road and what tips do you have to stay on track when you have less control and planning ability? Thanks!

beamer0821

pack a mini cooler. plan your meals don't mindless eat. i feel like when I'm snacking i eat more rather than a planned mealtime with a sandwich lets say and fruit. i would do that. pack a yogurt and granola for breakfast maybe a hard boiled egg. sandwich and fruit for lunch maybe some pretzels. you can eat all those in the car so you don't have to worry about making a stop just to eat. you could consider stopping for dinner even fast food and truck stops should have something fresh to eat like a salad for chicken sandwich.

i think the biggest thing is to be on a eating schedule and eat a meal not snack the whole time.

rebprest

Great advice, thank you! I think I do have a cooler somewhere so that is totally feasible! I'll just grab some ice the morning I leave on my way out. That will definitely help during my drive and probably cut down on the time as well. Time for some planning!

pawoodhull

Did this 2 weeks ago. Packed the cooler with lunch and snacks that followed my plan. Breakfast was a protein shake one morning, second morning a protein bar. I also packed a box with things that didn't need to be in the cooler like popcorn and my sugar free coffee creamer so even at Starbucks I could get regular coffee and keep the calories down. And of course my water bottle that keeps it cold for 8 hours or longer. I made a point of not buying anything but more cold water when we stopped for gas. It's not as hard as it sounds.

rebprest

How did you manage a protein shake on the road? Didn't it separate? Or did you just drink it the morning you made it? Great suggestions, thanks! I feel much better about this already and I'm planning out what I'll take. I love seeing what everyone else takes for ideas!

StaciMarie1974

Stop at major name gas stations. They'll have a wider variety of food - including fruits, veggie trays and things that have nutritional information. Not sure how large the chains are, but where I live: Racetrac and Quik Trip.

They'll also be cleaner, better staffed.

ellenmarie319

I love celery for a mindless road snack. If you forget to bring some with you you can get a prewashed pack at any grocery store.

carolynmo1969

Staying hydrated is key. I like to keep a Larabar-type snacks on hand. If I have to get fast food I really like Wendy's chili - the serving size is reasonable yet satisfying.

T1DCarnivoreRunner

I go on 1-2 road trips each year (I do not count day trips within 200 miles as road trips), always fast-paced. So I'm going 4K-6K miles in 7-10 days usually. Here's what I do:

1. Even convenience stores and truck stops usually have fresh fruit available. Buy that when traveling if there is a choice. Also, if you are going through cities, it is not usually difficult to find grocery stores or discount stores (Wal-Mart / Target) that sell fresh fruit by the lb. in produce sections (or deli sometimes if it is pre-cut).
2. If stopping at a fast food establishment, get the low calorie option. Of course, if there is a Subway available, I often get a teriyaki chicken or oven roasted chicken chopped salad (roughly 250 calories with the options taken). If at Arby's, a turkey salad is a low calorie option.
3. Stay hydrated. I know it seems counter intuitive because you may have to stop to urinate more, but seriously.
4. Not sure what you are doing on your road trip, but I enjoy hiking and plan to do a lot of it on my trips. So I burn a lot of calories anyway and don't have as much problem with eating.
5. Use a cooler. For that short of a trip, you could probably get by packing everything in a cooler in advance with some ice. Replenish the ice as needed. I'll even go so far as to dice melons and pack a plastic container of them.
6. Identify what is filling for you and eat more of that. Whether it is protein bars, oatmeal (available at a lot of truck stops and convenience stores), or just plenty of water.

Ultimately, if you have 25-30 hours of driving, this sounds like a 3-5 day trip. Make ahead some stuff that does not need to be cooked/heated and put it in the cooler. Or, if you are going to do this more often, buy yourself a camping stove and take along stuff that can be cooked on that. I have the MSR Dragonfly, but I use it primarily for backcountry camping vs. picnicking at rest stops.

**Speaking of rest stops, download apps for your phone for rest stop locations / amenities and truck stop locations.

rebprest

Yeah, I guess it really doesn't take that much more time to stop at a grocery store than a convenience store! I never thought of that. I will definitely take plenty of water and some coffee to help me stay awake. I'm not really into celery .

Just a little more info. I'm driving out to visit some friends and they aren't really into exercise for its own sake and we'll probably be eating out. Rather than forcing myself to have salads while everyone eats delicious things around me. (which I mostly hate), I'd like to just keep my other meals low on calories and high-protein which makes me feel full. I'm also trying to not stop much on the way there, just because it cuts down on drive time.

Friday -(9 hours of driving) breakfast, snack, lunch in the car and dinner out with friends
Saturday- breakfast and lunch on my own, eating out for dinner
Sunday- brunch with friends (4 hours of driving)
Monday- (13 hours of driving) breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner in the car

I'll probably stop at picnic areas at rest stops for meals if the weather is nice!

berlynnwall

I just did a trip last week. We brought a cylinder of oat meal and some dried fruits, and brown sugar to add to it, and used our hotel room microwave to cook it for breakfasts. I packed sandwiches, and fruits and veggies in my cooler for the drive (8 hours). I made little sandwich bags of snacks that I measured out and popped them in there too. We did go to the grocery store a few times instead of restaurants. That is a good idea if it's possible.

When I ate at restaurants, I just tried to make a good choice, and I always ordered water instead of soda to hopefully offset some of the extra calories. I ate a lot of good food, however my trip included a lot of walking, so I burned a lot too. At first, I thought I had gained about 3lbs, but two days later I weighed myself again and it was only about 1 lb. Probably water weight from the extra salt.

rebprest

Maybe I can sneak some extra walking in. I'll be staying with a friend, so I don't want to impose too much by hauling in a cooler worth of food. How long does ice in coolers usually last in moderate weather conditions?

T1DCarnivoreRunner

rebprest wrote: »

Maybe I can sneak some extra walking in. I'll be staying with a friend, so I don't want to impose too much by hauling in a cooler worth of food. How long does ice in coolers usually last in moderate weather conditions?

Depends on the cooler. A typical cooler probably 1-2 days. I have one that goes 3 days easily. Yeti coolers can keep for even longer.

jaga13

How did it go this week? I have a road trip this weekend and am taking notes!

Machka9

Long drives (well, actually, some shorter ones as well) used to be a time to break out the large bag of chips and other snacks. I don't know if it was boredom eating or what.

But more recently we've set off with no snacks at all. Instead, we'll plan to stop at a Subway at a certain time, and I just hold out till then.

bainsworth1a

like others have mentioned road trips used to be an excuse to eat junk food in the car. I am better now, I take fruit and low cal snacks but I also have diet soda not just water and I take something like popcorn that feels more like junk food but is not as bad as chips and cookies. I also buy individual serving sizes not big bags. We like truck stops for gas and snacks.

rebprest

jaga13 wrote: »

How did it go this week? I have a road trip this weekend and am taking notes!

I leave tomorrow! Packing my cooler of food today! I'll let you know!

cat_lady77

We did a lot of roadtrips when I was growing up & trail mix was always a must-have. You can make your own if you can't find one you like, but they're always at gas stations too. You can also take cereal or granola & yogurt in your cooler for a quick breakfast or snack option. Happy trails!

rebprest

This worked pretty well for breakfast and lunch. At dinner time I fell off the wagon when I went out with friends. I feel like there are times you're just going to have to roll with it and know you won't be perfect for the sake of ease/fun, knowing you will then need to make up for it.

RodaRose

Nice update.