As we make it through the long days of winter and ease our way into Spring, it will be time to take a fun family Spring break vacation before we know it. So, while it’s fun to splurge and enjoy eating out, especially while traveling, you don’t have to spoil eating habits at the same time. Below are some healthier and easy travel snacks to pack and bring along for the ride.
I am always on the lookout for snacks that travel well and are healthy, especially when we have long flights. I always pack my own snacks for flights, because twice now they have run out of food before getting to our area on the plane and flying with 3 starving children is completely miserable. The other reason I take snacks is food allergies. My daughter is allergic to oats and peanuts.
9 Healthy & Easy Travel Snacks
1. Mixed nuts. Not only are nuts such as almonds and walnuts a healthy choice because of their high protein, they are easy and compact to pack and travel with on any trip.
2. Whole wheat crackers. Just add some low fat cheese from your cooler and you have a great snack to pass around and enjoy.
3. Granola bars. Again, an easy and transportable snack option, but be careful to check the ingredients and make sure you are buying low sugar options instead of the high calorie and chocolate only bars.
4. Turkey jerky. If you check in any supermarket in the organic aisle you can find an assortment of great tasting jerky that comes in easy to reseal packages. This protein packing snack is a super solution to hunger in between pit stops on the road.
5. Clementines. These little bundles of vitamin C are one of the best travel snacks. Not only are they easy to peel, but are sweet and juicy and kids love them.
6. Yogurt. So many flavors, so little road time. Individual low fat, low sugar yogurts are excellent snacks for a trip anywhere. Don’t forget to pack plastic spoons!
7. Popcorn. Pop your own low-fat popcorn at home before heading out and store in individual zipped plastic bags. A fun idea is to label the bags with each person’s name on the trip to make it fun and add their favorite pretzel, nut, chocolate mini candy, or gummy candy to the bag as a personal treat.
8. Veggies. An easy and low-cost snack is to pre-cut celery, carrots, and any other favorite vegetable your family enjoys. Keep in a cooler and pass around or enjoy at a picnic rest stop.
9. Applesauce. Nowadays you can get applesauce in those handy little pouches in all kinds of flavors. Make sure the sugar content is not too high, otherwise it isn’t healthy.
10. Onebar. A Onebar has a full serving of fruit and they taste good. It is only 70 calories and they do not crumble or break apart during travel. OneBar has no added sugars, is gluten-free and peanut-free, and is vegan. They are enriched with baobab, an African super-fruit and fiber.
Now you might be wondering why I only have one type of fruit on this list. Often when I take a bag full of snacks some do not travel as well as others and this is true of fruit. It is always a pain when their snacks cannot be eaten because they are crushed, plus it’s messy. I find this same problem when packing the kid’s lunches. I do not want to make their lunch only for half of it to get smashed to the point they can’t even eat it, like a banana.
Vacations and family road trips area time for fun and creating lasting memories, so if you can eat a little more healthy while traveling, then you can have a lot more fun splurging when you reach your destination – without the guilt!
