Road trips have been on the rise these last several months. Kimber recently drove all the way to California with her girls and mother in law and my little fam drove to Colorado a few months ago. Because not feeling crappy and eating delicious food are both so important to Kimber and I, you know we prepared a car full of food. Lord knows the middle of Kansas is not a bumpin food scene. And with young kids, snacks are necessary and snacks that don’t make their moods crazy is even more important (never ever to artificial food dyes or high fructose corn syrup any time for kids, but especially when you all trapped in a car). So here is a break down of our favorite meals and snacks for road trips that maybe will give you some great ideas. (healthy and not so messy)
Remember to bring a cooler so you can have more options!
Meals
Breakfast
I made overnight oats and overnight chia pudding for all of us to have for breakfast. I put them in mason jars and just washed when we got to VRBO. Kimber made her No Bake Banana Oat Bars from her Happy Baking and Desserts Cookbook and made her muffins to have on hand for the trip. Check out her Anti Inflammatory muffin recipe on her website.
Here is my go to Overnight Chia Pudding. You can customize ingredients (frozen wild blueberries or cherries, vanilla protein etc….)
Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding
If you love overnight oats but want more protein, fiber and omega 3's. Try Chia Seed Pudding.
1 cup house made almond milk, MALK brand or coconut milk from the can ( the simple kind)
1/2 - 1 banana mashed up
1 tbsp raw cacao
1 scoop chocolate plant based protein (I use LivWell which is what we use at Nourish)
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 tbsp almond butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
tiny pinch of sea salt
optional to add a little turmeric, maca or any superfoods you love
Add all the ingredients in a mason jar and stir. Store in the fridge and eat cold or you can warm them up if you are staying home.
Lunch
I actually packed a Broadway Bowl for me, Baby Broadway for Bo and Mac had the Mediterranean Salad with chicken salad as our lunches when we were in the middle of Kansas. I didn’t want to go to the grocery store to prep our own food since we were going to be gone for a week so I picked up Nourish when I was there the day before. But of course you also can prepare your own food of organic roasted veggies, hummus, protein or a salad. Or make turkey or hummus wraps. Keep them cold and they’ll all still taste delicious without being warmed up.
My favorite way to roast veggies:
1. Chop veggies (sweet potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts etc) into bite size pieces
2. Drizzle with PLENTY of olive oil, avocado oil or ghee (healthy fats make your veggies taste better, improves nutrient absorption and is healthy on it’s own)
3. Toss with seasoning…lots of seasoning! Garlic granules, sea salt and cumin are my go to. I also really love the Adobo seasoning from Frontier which you can get at NG or Clovers. Just coat those veggies in whatever spices and herbs you like (spices and herbs are not only delish but are nutrient powerhouses.)
4. Roast at 400 degrees for 20ish minutes then check on them. I like mine slightly charred on the edges so I usually toss mine and put back in for 10 minutes. But as long as they are fork tender you can decide your done preference.
5. Add delicious sauce like pesto or hummus, olives, greens, nuts or seeds, protein…whatever your heart desires!
We sell our sauces by the 8 oz container at Nourish but if you want to make your own Nourish style hummus here is the recipe from Kimber’s cookbook.
Snack Ideas
Dried mango
Organic cheese sticks
Lara bars
Salted and roasted pistachios (already shelled…obvz) or any nuts
Nourish energy bites! I always take these when traveling
Apples
Bananas
Already pealed oranges
Carrots
Simple Mills crackers
Lesser Evil puffs and/or popcorn
Siete Chips
Chocolate!! (Nourish truffles, Eating Evolved, Hu)
Skinny Dipped Chocolate covered almonds (not too sugary but so delish and sweet)
Make your own trail mix (Dark chocolate chips, dried goji berries, salted pistachios or almonds)
Fruit Leathers
Pouches for kids even if they are older because they are less messy (Bo really loves the Lifeway yogurt Kefir pouches ones and the Farm to Table brand in terms of quality)
Drinks: Water, Spindrift, kombucha, cold pressed juice (I always grab a couple from Nourish for the road and to keep on the trip), reduced sugar organic drinks for kids (like Honest brand), coconut water
Other Ideas for your Wellness!
Bring your own refillable water bottles so you aren’t drinking out of plastic. And yes keep drinking lots of water even when you have to pee. Keep things moving!
Stretch in the car and when you get out be sure to move around and take deep breathes of fresh air
Practice deep breathing in the car (slowly inhale for 5 seconds and exhale for 7 seconds ) Repeat. Get kids involved in deep breathing!
Catch up on inspiring podcasts
Bring your supplements
I always bring my teas (I love Pique Tea), greens from Organifi or Ora and you can bring coffee from Four Sigmatic that also has adaptogens.
With gratitude,
Kalle
