5 Healthy Snacks When You’re on the Open Road
The car is packed with your overnight bag, floppy sun hat and digital camera. Your hair is tied back and your sunglasses are on. It’s just you, your best buddies and the open road ahead. Summer road tripping is officially a go. Before you pull out of the driveway and make for the hills, be sure you’ve got your snack pack all prepared! Here are 5 healthy road trip snacks to pack this summer season.
Avocados
What’s green, portable, tastes like heaven and is great for your health? Avocados, the super fruit! Seriously, avocados are as on-the-go friendly as apples and oranges, and they’re just as healthy. The fats in avocados help your metabolism stay active, the fiber in there helps keep your tummy happy, and the perky, grassy flavor is always a refreshing change from the usual dry, salty road trip foods. Just toss a few near-ripe avocados in a paper bag along with a bio-plastic or bamboo knife and spoon, then slice in half and serve when your hunger hits.
Homemade Granola
Skip the store-bought stuff unless you have a brand you know and trust—most of it is loaded with sugar and will only bring you down. Instead, make your own granola with lots of mixed nuts, whole grains like quinoa and oats, and various dried fruits. Then spice it up with ample doses of ground cinnamon and cloves and sweeteners like honey or agave. Pack your granola in a large tub alongside a few Dixie-style cups, so you can scoop and toss it back without the mess of hand-picking those tiny oat nibs. Or better yet, bake the granola into bite-size bars and have them ready for single-portioned noshes.
Nut Butter Sammies
Get creative here! Forget the creamy peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches. There’s too much variety out there with organic nut butters and wholesome jams to miss out on. I love cashew butter with apricot jam on honey whole wheat. Try this—skip the bread altogether and make mini roll-ups: just layer nut butter and toppings of choice in a corn tortilla, and roll them up for easy snacks throughout the trip. Pitas stuffed with crunchy nut butter and slices of fresh fruit are also a great spin on this childhood fave.
Nutty, Fruity Cookies and Biscuits
Bake a few batches of nut- and fruit-packed cookies before the trip, and have them for portable munchies ready to go. Skip the regular chocolate chip or sugar cookies, and instead opt for anything with lots of oats in the mix, as well as chopped nuts, dried fruits and ample spices. Bake with olive oil instead of butter or margarine for an extra boost of heart-healthy fat.
Jerky Anything!
This doesn’t have to be just beef jerky, although there are some pretty good organic choices out there at the health food store nowadays. But you can also get your fill of wild salmon jerky and turkey jerky for a high-protein snack on the go. If you’ve got a dehydrator, you can make your own tofu-vegetable or fruit jerky strips and pack them for the trip. Jerky’s great for any trip, because it’s concentrated in flavor and nutrition and usually keeps in the dry heat for days on end.
What are your fave snacks to pack for a summer road trip?
Image: breahn
