Planning may be the secret to finding healthy road trip snacks.
Before you leave for a road trip, in most cases at least, you make a plan; you map out where you’re going. Otherwise, you might end up driving around in circles and never getting anywhere. If you haven’t planned ahead for healthy road trip snacks, then you could end up walking around in circles at roadside convenience stores. You feel lost…and starving. You might end up panicking and grabbing the first items you see, namely soda,salty potato chips, and candy.
The list below will help you plan out healthy road trip snacks before you leave for any trip. Having a plan will keep you happy and healthy, and it might also help you avoid settling for sub-par snacks during pit stops.
Selecting Healthy Road Trip Snacks
Sure, road trips have a lot of excitement to offer. They also offer a lot of sitting, and then more sitting, and even more sitting after that. Even if you have an office job, and you usually sit for a major chunk of the day, you might find road trips especially challenging because you can’t simply stand up and stretch out whenever you want.
Since road trips involve so much sitting, figuring out what to eat when you’re in the middle of one requires upholding a few key rules.
When you’re planning healthy snacks for a road trip:
- Opt for high-nutrient, yet low-calorie, foods. While the amount of calories you need in any given day will fluctuate drastically with your activity level, you always need your essential nutrients to stay healthy. Finding ways to get key nutrients into your body in packages with fewer calories will help you get everything you need while avoiding a surplus that you won’t have a chance to burn off in the car.
- Watch your intake of unhealthy carbohydrates and sugar. Refined carbohydrates, such as donuts, sugary cereal, and other foods with lots of added sugar can send your blood sugar on a roller-coaster ride. Instead of feeling satisfied, you might end up feeling hungry every time you make a pit stop. Eventually, you’ll be caught in a cycle of overeating.
- Eat mostly vegetables. People have been telling you to eat your vegetables since you were a kid. Vegetables have few calories, and they provide essential vitamins and nutrients.
- Eat plenty of fruit. Fruit usually has more calories than most vegetables, but nature’s colorful candy still has a powerful nutrient-to-calorie ratio.
- Get plenty of anti-inflammatory foods. Sitting can trigger inflammation in your body, but a host of healthy anti-inflammatory foods might be able to counteract it. Foods with omega-3 fatty acids, bromelain, curcumin, or epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) may help fight inflammation.
Healthy Road Trip Snacks to Make Ahead
Before you leave for your trip, make big batches of your favorite healthy road trip snacks, snacks you can’t find at an average convenience store. Tip: Divide your snacks into individual sandwich bags, one for each day of the trip. This will help you avoid the mindless snacking that could lead you to finish an entire bag of snacks on the first day of a trip.
Road Mix
Trail mix fuels people on hikes and backpacking trips that require constant motion. Road mix lightens things up to suit people sitting for hours in a car. To make road mix, toss together air-popped popcorn, freeze-dried green peas, puffed brown rice, and kale chips.
Why it’s car-approved:
- It’s high in nutrients and low in calories
Low-calorie eggplants have fiber, niacin, magnesium, and copper. Make a big batch of crispy eggplant chips to take on the road so you won’t be tempted by all the less-healthy chips you’ll meet.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s veggie-forward
Roasted Edamame
Roast some edamame with your favorite seasonings to make a crispy, flavorful snack packed with lean protein. With roasted edamame in tow, your trip will kick off and move along with good vibes andfull bellies.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s high in nutrients and low in calories
Kale Chips
Keepinggood kale chips on hand will make life easier if you’re used to having at least one fresh salad a day. Master the art of the kale chip, and make several batches to bring on your trip.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s veggie-forward
- It’s high in nutrients and low in calories
To avoid an over-abundance of sugar, try making these homemade snack bars from Quitokeeto. The bars combine oats, kale chips, olives, and crispy rice cereal. Each bar tastes more like a Mediterranean meal than a granola bar.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s veggie-forward
- It’s light on sugar
Savory Granola Bar With Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Another savory bar option, To Her Core’s granola bar is perfect for avoiding sugar during road trips. Made with the usual granola-bar ingredients, including oats, nuts, and peanut butter, these bars feature savory sun-dried tomatoes and thyme to produce a sophisticated flavor experience.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s veggie-forward
- It’s light on sugar
Healthy Road Trip Snacks to Replenish on the Road
Zego Raspberry and Chia Fruit Bar
This bar combines healthy fruit with chia seeds, which have plenty of omega-3 fatty acids. When fresh fruit is hard to find, this bar will rise to the occasion and help you get your daily quota.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s fruit focused
PopCorners Kettle Corn
These super-light snacks go easy on the calories while providing a generous sweet-and-salty flavor. Having both essential flavors covered, these snacks easily fulfill any road trip craving.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s high in nutrients and low in calories
- It’s light on sugar
Simply 7 Sea Salt Quinoa Chips
These healthy chips help you enjoy your daily side of quinoa, even when you’re stuck in the car without an oven or a microwave. These chips include simple and natural ingredients: quinoa flour, potato starch, sea salt, and more.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s high in nutrients and low in calories
Navitas Blueberry Hemp Power Snacks
Easy to pack and easy to store, these power snacks will provide a boost of energy thanks to an invigorating blend of nuts, seeds, and blueberries. They’re perfect for the days you actually get out of the car for an excursion, short hike, or city tour.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s high in nutrients and low in calories
Dried Blueberries
Fresh blueberries may be impossible to store when you’re in a car, but low-maintenance dried blueberries can go pretty much anywhere. Dried blueberries have all the flavor and goodness of fresh blueberries, and they won’t make a giant mess if you accidentally sit on one.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s fruit focused
- It’s anti-inflammatory
Dried Wasabi Peas
Available in the bulk-food section of most grocery stores, healthy dried wasabi peas are perfect for car rides; the extreme flavor of the wasabi keeps you from overdosing on your snack, even as the monotony of winding roads has you munching endlessly.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s high in nutrients and low in calories
Skinny Dipped Dark Chocolate Almonds
These snacks feature more protein-packed almonds than chocolate, so they’re ideal for satisfying a sweet tooth when you’re trying to avoid eating too much sugar.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s light on sugar
- It’s anti-inflammatory
Jerky packs a satisfying nutritional oomph into a lightweight, protein-rich package that will annihilate any hunger pangs that strike during your journey. Jerky fulfills those powerful pangs of hunger you might feel every time you pass a hamburger stand.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s light on sugar
Epic’s savory snack bars feature quality meat: bison, beef, chicken, bacon, salmon, and venison. The brand crafts their gluten-free, paleo-friendly bars from carefully sourced, humanely raised, organic meats complimented with wholesome nuts and seeds. These bars are perfect for those who crave savory snacks and those who are trying to watch their sugar intake.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s light on sugar
Craving an everything bagel? Reach for this healthy savory bar instead. It’s made with quinoa, millet, amaranth, chickpeas, and other awesome whole-food ingredients instead of refined wheat and processed fats. Each bar has zero added sugars and lots of protein and fiber.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s light on sugar
Freeze dried beets have all the spectacular crunch of potato chips, and they include far more beneficial nutrients. These pure and simple, conveniently packaged beets come ready to eat when you need a helping of vegetables on your trip.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s high in nutrients and low in calories
- It’s anti-inflammatory
Forager Project Organic Cheezy Greens
These delicious chips help you get spinach, kale, and ancient grains in a convenient, snackable chip. Snack on these tasty triangles when you’re feeling leafy green withdrawal from the lack of fresh salads available on the road.
Each fruit YoYo is made with real fruits and vegetables, has no added sugar, and gives you one of your recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. They also pack and store well—a major bonus for road trippers.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s fruit focused
Oh Snap! Pickling Co. Carrot Cuties Pickled Carrot Sticks
Pickled carrots sticks serve up way more flavor than baby carrots, but the flavor (from salt and vinegar) barely adds any calories. Best of all, there’s no messy brine added to these handy pouches, so the carrots are perfect for mess-free snacking in a car.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s veggie-forward
Go-To Road Trip Snacks
You can find most of these go-to snacks at grocery and convenience stores all along your route. If snack decision fatigue has you feeling overwhelmed, then find one of these go-to snacks and call it a day.
Road trips push even snackers with incredible willpower into bad habits, including boredom eating. Keep some no-sugar-added lollipops in the car for anyone who feels the unstoppable urge to eat all the time. (Lollipops also help ease stress in any high-traffic areas you pass through!)
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s light on sugar
Fresh Apples
Unlike some fruits, apples can stay fresh and delicious outside the refrigerator for days. Have a bag of apples on hand during any road trip to help promote a balanced diet. Packed full of nutrients, apples also have a rejuvenating quality; after you eat an apple, you can’t help but feel a little bit more fresh and clean than youdid before. Plus, according to the CCE Suffolk County Family Health & Wellness blog, the natural sugars in apples “provoke a similar response to caffeine because vitamins from the apple are released slowly throughout the body, making you feel more awake.”
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s anti-inflammatory
- It’s fruit focused
If you’re a cheese lover, then you’ve probably daydreamed of a cheese that doesn’t require refrigeration, a cheese you can take anywhere—even on road trips. With the moisture removed, this cheese can live and travel comfortable in a convenient package.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s light on sugar
Prune Bites
Full of fiber, prunes help aid digestion, which can be a struggle when your stomach is cramped and irritated from constant sitting. If eating plain prunes doesn’t appeal to you, then you can follow this recipe to turn prunes into stylish and tasty bites.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s fruit focused
Mandarin Orange Cups
This packaged snack will help you get some fresh fruit when you need it. Refreshing, tangy mandarins make an appealing pick-me-up in the middle of a long day of driving.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s fruit focused
- It’s anti-inflammatory
Olives have a dense, real-food flare that hits the spot when you’re on the road. When you start craving a hot meal, say spaghetti and meatballs, but you know you don’t have time to stop, reach for olives to stay sane and satisfied.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s high in nutrients and low in calories
Almonds
Almonds have lean protein, vitamin E, manganese, and magnesium. They’re pretty much a go-to snack for any occasion ever, and road trips are no exception. Follow the master tip we mentioned above and divide almonds into individual sandwich bags to avoid eating more than a serving at one time.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s anti-inflammatory
Satisfy your savory cravings with low-calorie tomato juice. Drinking tomato juice will be especially helpful when you have flavor cravings without genuine hunger.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s anti-inflammatory
Grape Tomatoes
These tiny little packages seem designed for road-trip snacking. Tomatoes give you a nice helping of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as potassium. Grape tomatoes offer as much convenience as their namesake fruit, but they have a fraction of the sugar.
Why it’s car-approved
- It’s anti-inflammatory
- It’s veggie-forward
What do you eat on the road? Let us know if you have any snack suggestions or other tips we can all borrow to stay happy and healthy when we’re on road trips.
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Additional Resources:
- 31 Guilt-Free Healthy Sweet Snacks That Will Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
- 25 Healthy Snacks That Are Perfect For When You’re On The Go
- 30 Field-Tested Healthy Snacks for Kids
- 31 Healthy Low-Carb Snacks to Keep You Full and Energized
- 50 Healthy Gluten-Free Snacks That Taste Amazing
- 28 Guilt-Free Healthy Snacks For Diabetics
- 33 Healthy Snacks for Adults Who Need to Refuel
- Sweet, Salty, Sour, or Spicy: These 30 Healthy Snack Bars Cover It All
- 37 Healthy Salty Snacks for When You’re Craving Something Savory
- 30 Healthy Packaged Snacks You Can Feel Good About Eating
- 30 Healthy Filling Snacks to Conquer Your Hunger
- 80+ Healthy Crunchy Snacks Made from Fresh Ingredients
- Sweet or Savory: Choose Your Healthy Party Snacks
- 20+ Healthy Snacks for Weight Lose That Are Under 200 Calories
- Here’s How to Enjoy Your Favorite Healthy Snacks on Any Diet
- 20+ Healthy Road Trip Snacks for Feel-Good Traveling
- 30+ Healthy Pregnancy Snacks with Essential Nutrients
- 30+ Healthy Fruit Snacks That Will Change the Way You Look at Fruit
