Junk Food + Road Trips

What's the first thing that comes to mind when I say "Road Trip?" Be honest. Besides having the windows rolled down, and the radio cranked up to "10," I bet the next thing you think about is junk food....a big old soda and a bag of potato chips, a baggie full of chocolate chip cookies, a giant sized candy bar, and McDonalds burgers and fries.

And so there you are....all day sitting on your butt in a car, and you're going to load up on about a zillion calories and a zillion grams of saturated fat...not a single vegetable or fruit in sight! Horrific! And by time you reach your destination, you'll probably feel pretty crummy as well.

Not me! I'm standing up to be the poster child of fabulous road trip nutrition! 

I'm hittin' the road and heading up to Monterey for a few days for the Sea Otter Classic (cycling races and cycling festival). My husband (now on referred to just as "husband") is racing on Friday. And on Saturday, we're both riding in the Medio Fondo 45 mile non-competitive ride. 

This is going to take some expert planning in order for me to eat healthy throughout the trip, and to not succumb to the chips, candy, cookies, and McDonalds diet I mentioned above. Hey, it's ok to live a little and enjoy the finer things in life, like chocolate. But it's not ok to gorge on high calorie, high fat, crummy food all day, and then expect to feel good at the end of the day.

Here are my Healthy Road Trips Tips. 

1. Road Trip Pact....make a pact with your road trip mates, to eat as healthy as possible, and keep the treats to a minimum. The first person to emerge from the gasoline station mini-mart with a family sized bag of chips, pays for dinner!

2. Healthy Drinks....fill your cooler with water, juice, tea, coffee, milk. Too healthy? Try vitamin water, low sugar energy drinks, sugar free sodas. Not saying these are all great for you, but, they're probably better than drinking a bunch of sugar laden sodas all day.

3. Nuts and Seeds....fill baggies with almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.. 

4. Veggies....fill baggies with pre-cut carrots, celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, jicama, etc.. 

5. Treats....think about moderation. Buy just one candy bar, share it with another person in the car, and make it last all day. Think of this as spreading the delightfullness throughout the entire day.

6. Sandwiches....pack a few sandwiches for lunch. Whole wheat breads, healthy meats, vegetables. Much better for you than getting a mystery meat burger and fries on the road.

7. Mystery Meat Meals....if/when you find yourself at the inevitable road trip fast food joint, try to make the healthiest decisions possible. Skip the fries, skip the super-sizing. Read the nutritional information that many places now provide, and make a smart, informed healthy decision.

Bon Voyage!! Have a great trip!