Hey y’all! Did you miss me? I left you for quite awhile, didn’t I?
Gradually readjusting to the daily rhythm after a vacation, I find myself with a lengthy list of tasks, including unpacking, tidying up, restocking our pantry, catching up on my blog and work commitments, and more. Despite the wonderful and restful experience I had (details to come on my blog this week), returning from vacations always leaves me feeling surprisingly exhausted. Nonetheless, I’m eager to share the adventures and insights from my travels, especially those facilitated by the excellent travel team we chose, similar to the one at https://madeinturkeytours.com, who made the journey all the more memorable. Now, if only I could summon the energy to tackle that to-do list with the same vigor!!
Just the 8 hour drive back on Saturday was enough to exhaust me for a day or so. Let’s hope I make it through the work day in one piece and with some sanity intact.
I’ll be recapping the Colorado trip sometime this week, but since I am still trying to get my brain working I am going to keep things simple today by sharing how I prepared for my trip food-wise. Since adopting a mostly plant-based diet, I have definitely been more conscious about prepping food and snacks for road trips and vacations. It is not always as easy to find vegan options, so I always plan ahead. It has paid off for me on several occasions. Hopefully this recap of my food will help you out when you are prepping food and snacks for a road trip- vegetarian, vegan, or not. I sold my old car to get cash for cars and bought a new, safer one for this road trip.
How to Pack for a Roadtrip (Vegan Style)
Travel tip: grab a plastic Tupperware container and place all of your snacky foods in it. It keeps things organized and you know exactly where to reach when your hunger strikes!
I filled my container with some of my favorite bars…
…and baby food. Yes, you are seeing this right. I actually got this idea from Heather and thought that these would make for the perfect easy and healthy snack. It isn’t always easy to get your fruits and veggies in for the day when you are traveling, but these help. I hate to even refer to these pouches as “baby” food because they are essentially just veggie and fruit purees. Therefore, these are people food that babies just happen to be able to eat. Don’t knock it until you try it!
I also made sure I had a good supply of one of my favorites foods: nuts! Crunchy peanut butter, chocolate peanut butter, and almonds. Those toasted coconut almonds are amazing!
While these may not be the “healthiest” of things, they help keep me busy/awake while driving and help me to drink more water, which I sometimes find difficult while traveling and out and about.
Crunchy munchies are a must on long road trips. I packed lots of chips, crackers…
…and popcorn. Duh!
Of course I had to pack up some healthier goodies, too! I made these Maple Kissed Pumpkin Muffins from The Happy Herbivore for breakfasts and snacks. These are the perfect thing to grab while on the road.
I also packed the produce that is easiest to travel with: apples and bananas!
You know I cannot be without my cereal right now. I am a bit obsessed. But in all seriousness, cereal is a super easy breakfast to pack so I packed three bowls!
And finally, I packed up my lunch box with his and her bagel sandwiches and carrots for lunch on the road. Yes, this girl bought meat from the grocery store. I can’t say I’ve done that in awhile. I must like my boyfriend or something 😉
So now that I have made it to the end, I am thinking that it probably seems like I majorly over-packed. But my motto is that you can never be too prepared. Or maybe I am just a chronic over-packer 😉 Either way, we were eating good the whole way there, during the trip, and the whole ride back. Just a little preparation helps to keep things healthy and cheaper while on the road.
Have a great Monday, friends!
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Looks like a lot of great snacks! When we drive long distances, I like to have snacks in the car but in a kind of out of reach location, otherwise I’m so bored that I can’t stop snacking 😉
Oh I hear you… I ALWAYS eat more than I normally would when I travel. I just cannot help it! 😉
I would have never thought of using baby food as a snack!
Joanna and I will have to try some of these tips when we go on our Milwaukee road trip in July!
I’m sure you all will pack baby food but it will be for an actual baby!! 😉 haha
I ate baby food as a snack up until highschool!! haha That’s so embarrassing to admit but I love the taste. I’m glad to see it’s becoming more socially acceptable! ;p
I am SO glad that you said that because now I feel like slightly less of a weirdo!! 😉
Wow! You’re an organized snack-packer! I really need to plan ahead when I travel, because I’m usually left to scramble and pack what I have around the house. Which isn’t terrible, but boring, the same old almonds, Clif bars, and bananas that I always eat.
I definitely try to keep my travel snacks interesting and full of variety so that I am at least eating healthy in the car and for breakfasts… the rest of the time when I am on vacation I tend to let loose 😉
those are some great tips there..i dont know how i feel about my fruits and veggies as puree though, do you eat them up straight up?
Haha, yes I admit that it is slightly strange 😉 I do eat it plain… though I suppose they would be good to bake with or put in smoothies?
Yes please to all those wonderful vegan eats! Can never have enough food while road tripping! 🙂
I am SO glad that you agree so that I don’t feel like such an over-packer!! 😉
I want to go on a road trip with you!! I really like all of your snacks. That baby food might actually be useful for recipes too! I brought baby carrots, popcorn and apples for my road trip.
It sounds like you definitely brought along some of my favorite snacks! And yes, good idea on the baby food! I bet it would be awesome to bake with and in smoothies!
I always bring along car snacks on trips – saves money and you eat better. And skinny pop is the best thing ever!!
SO true!! And yes… I am so obsessed with Skinny Pop (or really anything popcorn-related!)
Great ideas! Wish I could find all of those goodies
Hopefully you will be able to find a lot of them! Some you can probably order online too!
These are great recommendations! My roommate is vegan and we’re going to embark on a 19 hour train ride and I was looking for good things to snack on during the journey.
I’m so glad you found some ideas! Have an awesome trip 🙂
Hi!!! I happened to come across your blog.
So are you better?? I’ve been vegan for exactly 1 month. I started this way of life because of my joint pain. I feel better but it’s not all gone away. So how long have you been vegan and is your pain Better? Please let me know.
Hi Melissa. I actually started eating meat again (Paleo, essentially) close to a year ago because my joint pain and acid reflux got so bad. It is somewhat better, but still not at all where I want to be. I’m still working on things! 🙁
These are great ideas but I’m disappointed there’s meat when it specifically says at the top vegan style..
To clarify, the meat on the sandwich was for my boyfriend. It was not eaten by me at that time. Everything else is 100% vegan-friendly. I hope you still found some great ideas!
Thanks for great ideas! We will however, be on a motorcycle, so space is a challenge! Lol. Definitely can use some of these, but are they all ‘clean eating’ snacks. Or are you just trying to get ‘best of the worst’ because it’s for a trip and no fridge, etc. With my clean eating I try to stay away from any pkg’d food, SOOO many ingredients! ? Which makes it hard unless you pack cut up veggies, fruits, nuts, etc. but that would keep it clean and Vegan!
Thanks again!
I think each person’s definition of “clean” is different and also highly dependent on travel style/what is available to them. I hope you found some great ideas, nonetheless!