What Should I Bring on the Train???

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McKayMachina
McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey!

I'm moving via Amtrak in a few days and want to bring my own food vs. eat in the dining car. I'll be on the train for a total of 65 hours. Seriously. I will be able to eat one meal off-train on my stopover in DC but everything else is on-board.

I can't cook anything and am not a big fan of sweets. I was thinking some of the Sweet 'n' Salty breakfast bars and the Quaker rice cakes. They are messy but the cheesy flavors are amazing and super low-cal. But, outside of that, I'm at a loss. HALPZ?!!1!

:drinker:

Replies

  • shovav91
    shovav91 Posts: 2,335 Member
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    Sandwiches, English muffin with peanut butter, burritos, nuts, fruits and vegetables...
    If you bring an ice pack you can take yogurts and cottage cheese/string cheese as well!
    Granola bars are always good as well :D
    Maybe some ready-to-eat containers of tuna. Yum!
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
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    Sandwiches, English muffin with peanut butter, burritos, nuts, fruits and vegetables...
    If you bring an ice pack you can take yogurts and cottage cheese/string cheese as well!
    Granola bars are always good as well :D
    Maybe some ready-to-eat containers of tuna. Yum!

    I love the tuna packs! Totally forgot about those. Thank you! And definitely nuts. Great ideas. :drinker:
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Peanut butter sandwiches (if you were Aussie I'd say cheese and vegemite!), fruit, boiled eggs, cheese triangles (the ones from the supermarket shelf not the fridge section) and crackers, cherry tomatoes, muesli bars, trail mix, salsa and celery sticks/baby carrots.... ummm, oh, dark chocolate!
  • Jennieam
    Jennieam Posts: 300 Member
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    Can you take a thermos of hot soup?
  • RNMDFF
    RNMDFF Posts: 153 Member
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    Veggies. fruit, hummus peanut butter. Rice cakes are a yummy idea. I always get the munchies is situations like that, if you do bring plenty of low cal munchies. Deli meat. At safeway they have calorie,sodium free sparkling flavored water that is really good.
    Sandwiches, leftovers.
    Bring what ever you have on hand or that you like to eat. It's better to take more then you need. You know what will happen if you run out :)
  • BrewerGeorge
    BrewerGeorge Posts: 397 Member
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    65 hrs is a pretty long time for no refrigeration at all. Any kind of cooler setup will warm long before the end of that. So what? like 8 meals totally non-perishable? That's tough.

    If you bring tuna packs, your car mates will hate you because of the smell when you open them. I'd probably get some of those sandwich thins (they'll hold up better than bread) and peanut butter for the bulk of the meals. Make them as needed instead of ahead of time for best taste/texture. Hummus should travel well also. Nuts, carrot sticks, pretzels, etc can add bulk and veggies. Dole makes great little fruit cups for 60 Cal.

    Do you think you'll have access to hot water? That opens up a lot of possibilities like instant oatmeal, or using a hot water bath to warm something pouched.

    If it were me, I wouldn't rule out the dining car completely, either. Breakfast is easy to control no matter who makes it. Cereal w/ milk and an egg or 2 pieces of bacon won't break the bank. They'll probably have yogurt in individual servings, too.
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
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    You guys are so awesome. Thank you for the great ideas! :D

    I was bummed to think I might have to eat cereal bars and dry rice cakes for 3 1/2 days straight. haha

    THANK YOU!
  • BrewerGeorge
    BrewerGeorge Posts: 397 Member
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    ...
    If you bring tuna packs, your car mates will hate you because of the smell when you open them.
    ...
    Please excuse me quoting myself, but I wanted to emphasize this in case it got lost in the larger post.

    Seriously, don't bring tuna or sardines or canned, smoked oysters or anything like that. When I was in the Navy, we used to beat people for eating that stuff in berthing. (Ok, not really beat them, but we'd...uh....do stuff to them to make our displeasure known. :laugh: )
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
    Options
    ...
    If you bring tuna packs, your car mates will hate you because of the smell when you open them.
    ...
    Please excuse me quoting myself, but I wanted to emphasize this in case it got lost in the larger post.

    Seriously, don't bring tuna or sardines or canned, smoked oysters or anything like that. When I was in the Navy, we used to beat people for eating that stuff in berthing. (Ok, not really beat them, but we'd...uh....do stuff to them to make our displeasure known. :laugh: )

    :laugh:

    Well, I'm definitely going to bring them but I'll eat them in the dining car. :)
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Good point about the tuna! Maybe those little cans of chicken instead.
    Or baked beans.
  • Mmmary212
    Mmmary212 Posts: 410 Member
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    ...
    If you bring tuna packs, your car mates will hate you because of the smell when you open them.
    ...
    Please excuse me quoting myself, but I wanted to emphasize this in case it got lost in the larger post.

    Seriously, don't bring tuna or sardines or canned, smoked oysters or anything like that. When I was in the Navy, we used to beat people for eating that stuff in berthing. (Ok, not really beat them, but we'd...uh....do stuff to them to make our displeasure known. :laugh: )

    Same with eggs....dont eat hard boiled eggs either. It'll smell like toots.
  • havalinaaa
    havalinaaa Posts: 333 Member
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    I recently took a longish Amtrak trip (not as long as you, just 40 hours) and found the dining car to not be totally unhealthy. They had at least one decent option at every meal I ate there, and the staff were all super nice. I brought my own tea bags and instant oatmeal packs and they were very obliging about giving me hot water.

    I brought a lot of fruit, nuts, crackers and peanut butter, and a giant homemade bag of popcorn (a gallon ziplock will hold a LOT) for snacks and ate my meals in the dining car. This was before I was counting calories but I was still aware of portion sizes and general healthy eating habits. Good luck to you, I hope the boredom isn't too bad! I got so restless on the train, I suggest getting out of the car at every smoking break just to walk around and see something other than the inside of the train.

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