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On the go foods...for your car

yasminara
yasminara Posts: 247 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Hello,

I find a lot of the time my diet is screwed over when I'm stuck somewhere for a while with friends or work and either cannot bring a meal or don't have the ability to eat at all until I'm in my car hours later. Usually this is when I crack and get drive-thru food or worse restaurant food. Even if my friends insist on eating out, since I'm so hungry my better decision making goes out the window. I hate when I do it because it throws away the hard work of a few days good eating! Time to make life easier.

Now, I don't like protein bars because I ate one once and it had a long hair in it...same reason with shakes. (I drank one that had dish washing liquid in it, yuck! I swear I'm the Mr. Bean of healthy eating.)

Anyway, I wanted to ask what do you keep in your car/backpack that is genuinely healthy? This way, I can kill hunger when I'm out and about until I can get to my healthy food or so that when friends suggest we eat out, I'm not so hungry I eat all the chips at the table!

Thanks,
Yasmin

Replies

  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Nuts, sandwiches (relatively dry will keep longer - I like a little bit of mustard for flavor but doesn't make the bread soggy), string cheese, fruit, jerky, granola/trail mix, pretzels, etc. There are tons of things that are easy to eat on the run (as long as you don't drive a manual transmission that is).
  • amgreenwell
    amgreenwell Posts: 1,267 Member
    I used to hate milk b/c I was given a sour one once as a kid and I couldn't stomach it. Once I grew up I tried it again and LOVE milk. Give the protein bars and smoothies another try. I use them a lot when I'm in the car and need something quick. I make the smoothies at home but grab a bar when I need that after work/before work out pick me up.
  • yasminara
    yasminara Posts: 247 Member
    Thank you @auddii and @amgreenwell I'll try lol on the protein bars...the hair thing was fairly recent lol! I'm open to the dry fruit/trailmix, that might be my best option for something I can leave in a car. The other things (string cheese/fresh fruit/etc. are great for throwing in a bag. Thank you!
  • sonyaruns
    sonyaruns Posts: 24 Member
    I have almonds in my car all the time - healthy and they don't easily go bad
  • Holly_Wood_888
    Holly_Wood_888 Posts: 268 Member
    apples keep well, as well as dried fruit, melba toast, almonds... even a can of tuna (you can always open it up at a friends place)
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Nothing. The weather here wouldn't permit it.

    It would be just about as easy to go to a grocery store and get something good as go to a fast food place and not.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Here's my list.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/jgnatca/view/mid-day-snacks-722504

    Watch the portions on those trail mixes. They add up FAST.

    When you do go through a fast food place or a restaurant, have a plan. Maybe skip the fries. I'll pick the sandwich that has veggies in it. And you can easily split a restaurant meal in half and save the rest for later.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 35,433 Member
    +1 to nuts (in reasonable portions). It may be good to pre-portion those (e.g., in plastic bags) so things stay under control. Explore things you can get in single-serve packages (more expensive, but convenient), like unsweetened applesauce, peanut butter, etc. If you get a semi-rigid plastic container, you can carry crumbly things like crackers (pick nutritious ones, of course) to go with the peanut butter. There are some surprising canned foods in peel-open cans nowadays if you look around (or get one of those P38 can openers & put it on your key chain).
  • yasminara
    yasminara Posts: 247 Member
    Oh great idea!
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    yasminara wrote: »
    On the go foods...for your car

    Typically 87 or 89. Never diesel.

  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,647 Member
    NOT the Crunchwrap from Taco Bell. The commercials said it was "good to go." It most certainly is not. I have shirts stained with grease and sour cream to prove it.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,368 Member
    Nuts, fruit, and granola or protein bars.
  • sdraper2014
    sdraper2014 Posts: 81 Member
    Protein bars (your favourite), I measure out nuts into one ounce bags, same with fruit so I have portion control, I write the calorie content on the bags so I can make a quick choice about what I have room for. Moon cheese is a good one as well, it is like...dried puffed cheese. Apple sauce is also a good option in the individual packs, there are also options for tuna and crackers in the individual packets, I find any two of these choices together will get me to 300 calories pretty easily and I consider that my meal.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    Some "Kind" bars, Macadamia nuts.
  • vegemitesandwich
    vegemitesandwich Posts: 66 Member
    edited September 2015
    I like the individual serving sachets of Sahale Snacks. I'm in Aus so I have to order them online from iherb, but the Cashew and Raspberry Crumble ones are delicious - dried raspberries, peanuts, cashews and some other stuff, and one little packet (they come 9 to a box) is about 200 calories.

    Other staples for the box in the car, are:

    Clif Bars
    Peanut butter sachets - Justin's, also from iherb
    25/50g bags of beef jerky
    Single serve cans of tuna
    Single sachets packs of crackers - either with the tuna, or peanut butter
    ultra-emergency box of raisins - I hate them, so if I get down to that and choose to eat it I must be desperate
  • rachiriot
    rachiriot Posts: 24 Member
    Whitworths do these really great snack shots, Tesco Express stores do the 2 for 80p. They are nuts/seeds/dried fruit and about 80 calories per serving and can be thrown in the bottom of your handbag until you need it. :)
  • vegemitesandwich
    vegemitesandwich Posts: 66 Member
    rachiriot wrote: »
    Whitworths do these really great snack shots, Tesco Express stores do the 2 for 80p. They are nuts/seeds/dried fruit and about 80 calories per serving and can be thrown in the bottom of your handbag until you need it. :)

    Thanks for this - I know what I'm getting my mum to send over next now! Toffee and Pecan looks GOOD - (last time was Angel Delight haha, I have about 12 in the cupboard)
  • KellieTru
    KellieTru Posts: 285 Member
    I don't keep food in the car per se, but when I'm off to the cottage (2 1/2 hr drive) or driving a far distance, I usually cut up apples in wedges and bring
    babybel cheese wheels. Also bring bottled water. Keeps me from making bad choices (donuts @ Tim Hortons!) along the way :)
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