Traveling Snacks

My family loves to make fun of me whenever we go on a trip anywhere because I like to pack so much food. I might forget to pack a nice pair of shoes to wear with a dress. I might forget the toothpaste or hair brush or phone charger. I'm not so worried about all that junk. As long as I have snacks.

This past August we traveled to the southern part of Utah. We stayed in tiny towns with only one grocery store for miles around. And some of these stores were SCARY. I'm talking dirty, poorly stocked, almost no fresh foods, and really bad quality stuff. Also closed on Sundays! My husband likes to say "This is America!" What he means is that you can get anything you want, wherever you are, as long as you are in the US. Clearly this is untrue, as I discovered in southern Utah. My point is that you never know what you're going to find when it comes to food. And I am very picky about the quality of my food. Lesson: bring food with you.

Yes, I even like to carry food on a plane. There are quite a few foods you cannot carry onto a plane. I know this because these foods have been taken away from me. I do not believe these foods are liquids, yet TSA agents have stolen them from me. These include jars of peanut butter and small chocolate puddings. Unopened. Do not try to bring these on an airplane. On the other hand, fresh fruit and sandwiches are fine.

If you are traveling by car, then you can go to town. (Let's hope my husband is not reading this.) I mean, fill a cooler as well as a couple of grocery bags. Coolers are also great if you go out to dinner and come back to your hotel room with leftovers. (This happens to me all the time.) Make sure you reserve a room with both a fridge AND a microwave so you can reheat your leftovers if you get hungry. Otherwise, you can pack up your leftovers the next morning in your cooler and take them with you.

Snacks for traveling ideally should be nutritious, light-weight, individually wrapped, easy to eat with one hand, not messy, and tasty. Low in sugar goes without saying. You definitely do not want massive blood sugar swings while you are traveling.

Here are some great options:

*Venison jerky (high protein, tasty, light-weight, easy to munch on, low sugar)
*Apples (crunchy, juicy, high fiber, delicious)
*Nuts and/or Nut Bars (high in healthy fat, filling, delicious)
*Dark chocolate (High in antioxidants, yummy)
*Cheese sticks (high in protein and fat, easy to eat, filling)
*V-8 juice (Easy way to get veggies)

Of course you will also want to stop for meals along the way, and coffee. Plenty of coffee. These days McDonald's has much better coffee than they used to (and much cheaper than Starbuck's) as well as good salads, apple slices, and hot oatmeal, to name a few of their healthier options. And clean bathrooms. This is nothing to sneeze at.

So when you hit the road this holiday season, pack some snacks to keep everybody happy and well nourished! Even if you're not going far. You never know when the hunger pangs might hit.