Snacks to Pack When You’re On the Go
It’s easy to sabotage healthy eating with unhealthy snacks, especially when you’re on the road. Items such as candy, cookies, chips, donuts, and soda are convenient and plentiful in airports, roadside mini-marts, and vacation resorts. Restaurants, too, can serve up snacks quickly, like nachos, wings, burgers and fries, or fried cheese sticks. But these foods are a healthy diet disaster, loaded with calories, butter, saturated fat, salt, and sugar.
The Pitfalls of Snacking
A little indulgence is fine every once in a while. But eating unhealthy snacks every day can spike your blood sugar, which can lead to periods of fatigue. Also, consuming lots of saturated fat is associated with an increased risk for elevating your “bad” LDL cholesterol. And bulking up on high-calorie snacks between meals can lead to weight gain.
Healthy Snack Solutions
Instead of relying on whatever snacks you may find on the road, it’s best to pack your own healthy versions. While that may seem like a lot of work, the biggest job is planning.
Keep several grab-and-go items on hand so you can quickly assemble a healthy snack without having to run to the store. Foods that come ready to eat include baby carrots and pre-cut celery sticks, dried fruit (raisins, dates, apricots, banana or apple chips), dried coconut, granola, whole grain cereals (like bran or corn cereals that have little to no added sugar in them), nuts (peanuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios), fresh fruit (bananas or apples), and whole-wheat crackers.
Refrigerated foods that make great travel snacks include hard-boiled eggs, plain non-fat Greek yogurt, hummus, fresh fruit such as cherries, blueberries, or strawberries (be sure to wash them first and let them dry before packing), raw chopped vegetables (carrots, cherry tomatoes, red peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli), low-fat cheese sticks, and small air-tight containers of nut butters (such as peanut, sunflower seed, or almond).
Save time by preparing some of these items in advance. For example, you can batch cook hard-boiled eggs or chop raw vegetables early in the week; they’ll last about a week in your refrigerator. (Note: peeled hard boiled eggs last only a day, so peel them the morning of your trip.)
Another important ingredient: Water. Freeze your water bottles; then use them as “ice” to keep your foods cold. As the water melts, you can drink out of the bottle, then recycle it when it’s empty.
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