What to eat on a road trip

LBCindy

Hello everyone! I have been following the main group on MFP, posting a few times, but someone pointed me to this group. I'm excited to find other bariatric surgery patients. Quick intro, and then on to my question.
In February of 2013 I was ready to make some changes with my life and had a lapband put in. I only lost around 30 pounds from my pre-surgery diet weight and then over the next 2 years I gained most of that back. I live a pretty sedentary lifestyle because of some physical disabilities, but I also made very poor choices and didn't allow the lapband to work for me. It is a "tool" which means you still have to be on a very restrictive diet. I ended up drinking a lot of my calories, which is also a no-no. A month ago I started again. I never really followed the plan previously, and I'm determined this time I'll be successful. I've lost 11 pounds this first 5 weeks back, which is ideal, so I'll take that!

I have a big hurdle now. We are going on a road trip and I have no idea how to eat on that trip. The first day we can eat out, but the next 2 will be spent camping, walking, driving, hiking (or my family will hike and I will go a little ways and then wait for them to come back down). With no place to prepare foods or purchase them, I'm nervous!
I need great ideas of things to pack in a small cooler that I can pull out and eat. Food for the rest of the family will require a large cooler and I won't have much room. Slider foods work great for me, but I'm not going back to that! I've been very strict with doing the protein first then cooked veggies, and sometimes some fruit. Breads do cause me problems so sandwiches are out. Lettuce gives me grief as well.
*Going to Jackson WY, Grand Teton National Park and then driving through to Yellowstone as well. I'm so wishing I was more fit so that I could hike as much as my family will do. Baby steps though...

So I'm needing help. What works for road trips? (my family will be eating all sorts of snacks and I need my own stash so that I don't eat what they bring along. I so wish they wouldn't bring chocolate and cookies around me!

lenac87

I've gone camping a few times this summer and some of my go-to things to take are greek yogurt, cheese, jerky, lunch meat, protein bars, cottage cheese, and chicken salad with cucumber slices. Last time I took some low carb wraps and made turkey and cheese wraps and just ate 1/2 at a time. Hope this helps! Have fun!

creepykbear

Cheese sticks, protein shakes, cut up lean lunch meat, maybe nuts? I cook up a whole batch of red peppers, asparagus and other veggies with a little olive oil and seasonings and those are good cold and last a few days. Yogurt probably lasts a few days in a cooler also.
If your family is going to do burgers or something like that, you could do that without the bun. Make room for yourself and your food - you should be able to put stuff in the big cooler if you need it! And no matter where you are going won't there be some kinda store at least a 20-30 minute drive away if you need to restock on healthy food while they are hiking or doing whatever?

ThinGwen

Tuna in cans

LBCindy

creepykbear wrote: »

Cheese sticks, protein shakes, cut up lean lunch meat, maybe nuts? I cook up a whole batch of red peppers, asparagus and other veggies with a little olive oil and seasonings and those are good cold and last a few days. Yogurt probably lasts a few days in a cooler also.
If your family is going to do burgers or something like that, you could do that without the bun. Make room for yourself and your food - you should be able to put stuff in the big cooler if you need it! And no matter where you are going won't there be some kinda store at least a 20-30 minute drive away if you need to restock on healthy food while they are hiking or doing whatever?

There will be a store before we enter Grand Teton, but I don't know if there is another one until we leave Yellowstone 2 days later.
You are right about the cooler thing. I could probably figure it out in one cooler, but wonder if it will help if I have my own. That way I know not to get stuff I shouldn't eat out of the other one. I'm concerned about my self control on this trip.

LBCindy

lenac87 wrote: »

I've gone camping a few times this summer and some of my go-to things to take are greek yogurt, cheese, jerky, lunch meat, protein bars, cottage cheese, and chicken salad with cucumber slices. Last time I took some low carb wraps and made turkey and cheese wraps and just ate 1/2 at a time. Hope this helps! Have fun!

I like the chicken salad and wraps idea. I want something that will stay in my pouch for a bit or else I'll be snacking. Thanks for the help.

LBCindy

ThinGwen wrote: »

Tuna in cans

I'll probably do Tuna, but will have it mixed already with pickle relish and a tiny bit of lite MIracle Whip. That is about the only way I can eat Tuna. I am still so hung up on what I shouldn't eat that I stress about the miracle whip, but then again a tiny bit should be okay, right?

sinderstorm

Chicken/tuna/egg salad, the flavored tuna pouches, cottage cheese, dannon light and fit greek yogurt, single serve milk boxes (so you only need 1-2 in the cooler to get cold at a time) to mix with protein powder or Carnation instant breakfast, Quaker or Kashi protein oatmeal, peanut butter, baybel cheese

badhair56

bumble,bee tuna has several flavors of tuna w/crackers that are low calorie and high protein

LBCindy

thanks for the ideas sinderstorm and badhair56. I love both of your names! I'm getting an idea of what I will take. My main concern is that I need weighted foods so that I don't get hungry. With twix bars and cookies in the back seat I will be tempted to cave and ask for some of the sweet stuff. I still get hungry after about 3 hours, and my program tells me absolutely only 3 meals and no snacking in between. I always have a protein shake in addition to what they say, because I just can't make it through without. And once in a while I have another snack too. But I am losing weight! FINALLY. I try to stay under 1,000 calories and most of what I eat is protein with a few steamed veggies or some fruit. I also like mozzarella string cheese. Just got to get those weighted foods in so that it doesn't just run through the band and then leave me hungry.

anbrdr

Veggie burger parties are protein packed and pretty compact. Will also make you feel like you are eating something real. I prefer the morningstar black bean ones.
Don't forget to bring protein powder, as you could mix up a quick shake for an on the go boost.
Also, if you are taking eggs, and everyone likes them scrambled, use a funnel and crack them all into a clean water bottle or similar container. Should be able to hold at least a dozen and take up very little room. They last a week as long as you keep them cold.

jillcwatson1

I was going to suggest carrying some hard boiled eggs. You can do those before you leave and have them ready to go whenever you need something. Also, use LIGHT Miracle whip as it is less guilt producing, and tastes as good. You should have a family that supports you. Perhaps they can pick up that junk food along the way, or when you are not around. It's not really healthy for them to eat all of that, and you shouldn't have to give up storage space for your healthy(and necessary for you) foods so that they can have junk. Do you plan to bring fruit? Fresh fruit can be a real treat for me since I am trying to limit carbs. It has become a kind of indulgence for me post surgery.

ki4eld

Starkist flavor packets of tuna save me on road trips. So do boiled eggs. Neither requires refrigeration. If I have a cooler, I'll add cheese cubes pre-packaged in 1oz servings.

teresa7926

my go to travel companions are: tuna pouches, string cheese, ind. almond butter packets and ind. packages of apples slices, quest bars (you can even bake them ahead of time on parachement paper for your own special cookies), jerky, raw nuts. individual humus with baby carrots. You can even buy individual serving sizes of almond milk that wont require refridgeration to mix your protein powder with.

cmchandler74

You can also get the chicken salad packs that don't require refrigeration as well. I'll be going camping in October so I'm taking good notes here.

Keikix3

I would make as many meals ahead of time as you can and freeze them in ziplock bags to put in the bottom of the cooler. Eg turkey spaghetti sauce then just defrost and boil the pasta when you are there. Make your hamburgs out of ground turkey and freeze them in individual baggies. Precook your chicken, freeze and heat up with the barbq sauce on the grill. Freeze your milk cartons and juice packs, freeze the applesauce containers and protein bars too. I would make a menu plan and do most of your shopping at home from the plan.Make the plan around the things you need to be eating and add other stuff if you need to for the kids. Buy individual little boxes of cereal for them and oatmeal for you. The stores near the campgrounds are expensive and won't have the selections as your bigger local supermarkets will. Just don't buy the twix and chips..if you don's see it chances are you won't want it as much and the family will deal with it if you provide them with apples and what nots you can eat in the car. I know, easier said than done but worth a good attempt.

pawoodhull

We love to road trip and take a cooler and a food box. What I take for me is protein shake mix, protein bars, cheese, a variety of jerky, some cut up veggies and sliced deli type meat. I make sure to have flavored water as well as plain water. I also take a bag of my favorite low calorie pop corn for when I need something that's not meat, cheese or sweet. The husband has his sandwiches, chips, pop, etc. It works great for us. When our road trip takes us to our son's place in FL I also add canned chicken and tuna for me so when they all decide to have something I don't want I can open a can of that for me. The other nice thing about road trips is there's always a grocery store somewhere close by if I need anything else.