On-The-Road Snacking

Travel much?

If so, do you bring along your own snacks, or do you play Russian Roulette with buying stuff on the road?

It is oh-so-easy (and oh-so-tempting) to just pull  up to a drive-thru window or grab a bag of "stuff" from a convenience store. I know I'm guilty. I have been there and done that a time or two (or several).

Did you know it's just as easy to take your own snacks along with you? It's usually a lot less expensive, too.

Now, first things first, let me emphasize that I do NOT eat 100%  lean, clean, or green all the time. I'm not gluten-free, nor vegan. And, I do not have any specialized training, education or certification in nutrition.

I do have common sense, though.

Here are some of the options I take along with me on road trips:

First and foremost, nuts. I've never been much of a peanut butter fan (unless it comes in a Reese's wrapper), but I do like peanuts for snacking. I also like cashews, mixed nuts, and almonds (my favorite!). All of these nut products are rich in protein, which is a vital nutrient for muscle strength and endurance.

A word of caution, though, you need to be mindful of portion size. Nuts also are a "fatty" snack. Though it's a good kind of fat, you need to consume it in moderation. My trick? Instead of slamming a handful of nuts in my mouth all at once, I eat them one-by-one. It takes longer, and actually allows you more time to enjoy the process of eating (yes! Eating should be enjoyable!). The protein will also make you feel full longer, ideally preventing a hunger crash before your next real meal.

Another favorite snack is dried fruit, particularly raisins. I have a horrendous sweet tooth, and raisins give me that "sweet fix"  with a little bit of nutrition on the side. Mixing raisins with peanuts really enhances the flavor of each. Also, adding a little bit of granola will sweeten up the mix.

The last snack option I usually bring along with me is trail mix. You can buy the pre-packaged bags at a grocery store or you can easily make your own. If you make your own mix, you have the bonus of picking YOUR favorite ingredients. Some of my favorite (and convenient) ingredients are nuts, raisins, dark chocolate chips, and granola. It's best to mix it in a bowl and then divide into individually-sized portions (in zip-lock bags). If I'm given a big bowl (or bag) of the stuff, I'll keep mindlessly eating and munching; if I'm given a proper-sized individual serving, I'll stop when the portion is gone.

Like any snack, these are not meant to replace an actual meal. They will, however, help take the edge off of any in-between-meal hunger. You may notice there isn't any fresh fruit (or vegetables) mentioned....that's because they're not very "travel-friendly," especially if you're the driver (in my humble opinion). If we were hanging out at a table (with easy access to a garbage can), that would be a different story.

What do you do for on-the-road snacking?

I'm linking up for the Thursday Throwdown, hosted by Tamieka at Fit Balling Mom , Sarah at Cardigan Sarah , and Lex at Flecks of Lex .This week's theme is "spring cleaning."  I have been working on cleaning up my snacks (on the road and otherwise). I invite you to head over and checkout the hosts, as well as all the other bloggers who are "cleaning up" this week.

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