Healthy Snacks For The Car

Last weekend I led a group of customers from my boot camps in Campbell and San Jose on a tour of a local grocery store.  We talked about how to pick the healthiest options at the store, and how to decipher faulty and misleading advertising on food packaging.

One of the attendees, Massimo, who attends my fitness boot camp in the Cambrian area of San Jose, asked what to do when he finds himself in the car a lot during the day going from one meeting to the next.  The temptation to go grab some fast food can get the best of us.

The solution is to plan ahead and put some healthy food items in your car so that the fast food restaurants aren’t such a temptation.  If you can stay hydrated, dampen your hunger and keep your blood sugar steady, you’re less likely to fall victim to a greasy, salty fast food meal.

So, thank you, Massimo, for giving me a great idea for a blog post!

Here are some ideas for healthy “car” food (and most of them only take one hand to eat, so you can keep the other hand on the wheel!)

• A ziplock bag of nuts (pre-measured  so that you don’t overdo it!)

• A ziplock bag of dried fruit

•  A ziplock bag of  sliced apples

•  A peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread

• Several skewers of fresh fruit chunks (you can eat them off the skewer with one hand without getting your hands sticky!)

Prograde Cravers (the healthiest snack bar on the planet!)

• String cheese

• Zip lock bag of little shredded wheat biscuits

On warm days when I’m going to be in the car a lot, I put my food in a small cooler with an ice pack in it, and make sure to pack a couple of water bottles as well.  Snacking can tide you over until you can get home for a real meal, but you can also get a “real meal” by combining several of the snacks I’ve listed above.

Not only will healthy car snacking help you maintain a healthier body, it will also help you keep a few extra dollars in your wallet.  Regular fast food meals (or sugar laden venti coffee drinks!) put a dent in your wallet and flab on your waistline.

With just a little pre-planning and packing, you can get through a day of numerous car trips without having to resort to hitting the drive through.

If you’re a frequent car snacker, leave a post and list your favorite healthy snacks!

Committed to your success,

Becky