Traveling With Kids & Keeping It Healthy

Yes please!

So, we are leaving soon for the beach, and I have been planning how to pack some travel-friendly and healthy snacks.  


One thing that has changed since I began eating clean is how I view vacations or time away from home.  I used to see it as this great opportunity to really blow my diet and eat whatever I want!!! Which never really turned out all that well for me.

But now, I view it a little differently.  Yes, I will definitely indulge in some things that I do not normally.  Especially when we go out to eat.  But that doesn’t mean I should just throw everything out the window in total abandon.  Fueling my body will good things will ensure that I enjoy the trip and have the energy to keep up with my boys!!

The same applies for them.  You will NOT find me loading up on candy bars, cookies and other sugar-packed items for the trip.  Instead, I will focus on fast and easy snacks that will fuel their little brains and bodies as well.  I don’t know about your kids, but mine get super cranky after too much sugar, and with 11 hours in a car, I am not about to add that to the list…


So, for the trip, I am planning to pack the following:


1. Carrots and sliced peppers.  My boys LOVE carrots and peppers.  I mean they will eat them like candy.  Yes…I said that with a little mommy pride.


2. Homemade Granola.  This stuff is so easy to whip up and store in a zip lock bag.  I might even throw in a few m&ms just for fun, but not many.  It is sweet enough with the honey and brown sugar.  My boys love cranberries too, so those will go in there.  Here’s a fast and easy recipe for that.


3.  Fruit....of course.  Apples, oranges, grapes.  Anything that I can pack in a cooler and not have to cut up.  


4. Muffins.  We all love muffins, and they are very cost effective ways to get some good things in our diet.  Fiber mostly.  I will probably make these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins as well as these Bran Muffins.  Matt will probably eat them all within the first few hours of the trip…


5.  Peanut Butter.  We all love peanut butter, and now it’s super travel-friendly in these little To-Go cups.  I even saw a cute idea somewhere about putting peanut butter in the bottom of a jar and throwing celery sticks in there and sealing it shut!!! Endless possibilities.  And peanut butter is very filling.  I don’t know about anyone else, but put my boys in a car for hours on end, and they turn into bottomless pits!!!


6. Nuts.  Again, fast and easy.  No prepping and good fuel for their bodies!


7. Water!! Lots of water!!!  Well, not too much, because we don’t want to stop every 20 minutes.  I love to take my La Croix waters too, because the boys love them, and it mixes it up a little bit.  


These things will last us for a few days.  After that, I will probably hit a store and load up for the rest of the trip. Most of these things are super convenient to throw in a backpack or take to the beach as well.  


One cost saving tip for snacking healthy on the road is to grab some fruit from the hotel each morning.  Most hotels provide fresh apples, oranges and bananas, so just get some fresh and consume them throughout the day!!


Eating healthy while traveling does require a little extra planning, but it is well worth it to know that my family is fueled for the days ahead.  And this definitely saves us some cash as opposed to stopping for something to eat every time we are hungry.


xoxo,
Rachel