Food tips for road trips

Over the weekend, the hubster had an optometry conference in Niagara Falls, Canada so Madilyn and I decided to tag along. These days, when planning a trip, I always think to myself, “what are we going to eat?” Visiting a high tourist area like the Falls can be a healthy eater’s worst nightmare. Chain restaurants and ice cream shops galore! Have no fear. A little planning ahead makes it all good. I took matters into my own hands and packed a bunch of healthy breakfast and lunch foods and snacks to avoid eating out too much. That way, we were able to spend the money we saved by eating at this amazing local, sustainable restaurant on Saturday night! Plus, a tall Starbucks latte was $5.50 American.  Wowza! That will break the bank. Packing saves you some dough as well.

Pack it up

I packed a cooler and a dry food bag full of yummy, healthy foods that travel well. For the cooler, I used some ice packs to keep the food cold. Most hotels have easy-to-access ice machines so it is easy to keep the food cool once you get to your destination.
I have to admit that I “stole” some plastic spoons from Starbucks. Next time I will bring my own.  🙂

What did I bring?

Breakfast:

• Kashi instant oatmeal (I used the coffee maker in the room to boil water. Oh yeah!)
• Teeccino herbal coffee tea bags (Sure beats $5.5 drinks!)
• Chia seeds (I put some in a small tupperware container to add to our oatmeal. Great source of fiber and calcium)
• Fresh fruit (We brought bananas, apples and blueberries along for the ride)

Lunch and Snacks:

• Avocados (A favorite of Madilyn and I. All you need is a butter knife to cut it open. It comes in its own packaging!)
• Whole grain corn chips (eat with the avocado – so freakin good)
• LARA bars (Madilyn’s favorite flavors are Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Peanut Butter and Jelly)
• Dried fruit
• Applesauce
• String cheese
• Leftover brown rice pilaf

What did we buy there?

• Local wine (an essential!)
• Sushi (Madilyn and I ate out lunch the one day and shared some yummy sushi)
• We splurged and went to this very high-end local sustainable restaurant called AG right in Niagara Falls. If you are ever in the area, check it out. Amazing! What is a sustainable restaurant? Sustainable restaurants are restaurants that are making an active commitment to being more sustainable, by addressing issues such as animal welfare, environment, food waste, etc.

Next time you go on a road trip check out website like www.localharvest.com or www.sustainabletable.org to find restaurants in your area that use awesome, local food in their dishes. Eating foods that are local are better for us too!
Here’s to a happy and healthy road trip to you this Spring! On your next road trip what foods will you be packing?