Eating Healthy On the Road w/ Kids

Omg, was this real life?!

My husband and I recently traveled with our two and four year old daughters for the first time this spring. We took them on their first vacation to the beach/ocean. As much as I love MI as my home, there's something so amazing about the ocean! We drove 16 hours to our destination, and honestly, they did great! I’ve had several moms ask me how we stayed on track with our diet while traveling. Since summer is near, and trips to the beach and road trips will be plentiful, I thought I’d give you some advice on what worked for us to have a successful trip while eating healthy.

• PLAN: I spent a lot of time preparing and planning for the trip. I sat down and calculated how many meals we would be eating on the road. Some might find this a bit excessive, but the food options off the highway are usually not that great, nor are they healthy. I like nothing about spending money on cheap, crappy food. And who wants to travel on an upset stomach from that food? I planned for lunches and lots of snacks, and made sure I had whatever snacks and ingredients I needed a good week or two before we left. Making a list really helped me. This made it less stressful to plan and execute before the trip.
• PREP: After I planned and made my list of everything I needed, I did a lot of food and snack prep. I made my paleo bread, which you can find on my blog, and packed sandwiches for lunches. I also stocked up on healthier, organic lunch meats. I cleaned and sliced fruits and vegetables and stored them in baggies. I stocked up on their favorite snacks like Larabars, plantain chips, and their favorite treats like my paleo chocolate chips cookies and gummie bears. After the food was prepped, I made sure proper storage was taken care of. I stored sandwiches in our cooler with ice packs. I stored my room temperature snacks in large bags that were always assessible in the car. A big case of water in the back of the car was also a life saver for us. I also brought extra plastic grocery bags to use as garbage bags to hold any food waste.
• PATIENCE: This applies to so many areas while traveling with kids (ha), but take the time to make pit stops to have lunch, take bathroom breaks, and walk around. It really helped to have a set “stop” schedule to grab food from the cooler, and move. I know that it’s daunting to think about stopping when trying to reach a destination, but it makes for happier kids (and parents!).

A little time and effort can save you a lot of money and stomach aches. And, if you are out of food options while traveling, stop at a local grocery store and grab some food! Overall, I think a solid list, and setting aside some time to prep food and snacks is the key to eating healthy and feeling great on the road. Feeling and eating healthy will make for a happier trip – and happier kids and parents!