Tips On Avoiding Fast Food And Truck Stops On Your Family Road Trip

July 28th, 2010 |

Do road trips give you memories of fast food, flat tires, stale coffee and the melody to “Holiday Road” from the National Lampoon movie where Clark tied his dead great-aunt to the roof of the family station wagon?

That movie has made families laugh for many years because it perfectly depicts a family road trip…funny experiences are waiting behind every turn with lodging, the car, or the food. I recall road trips from my youth fueled by Twinkies and Ho-Ho’s and McDonalds. My memories are of long days, late nights and a set of parents fried from the four fighting offspring in the back seat.

Fast forward fifteen years and you’ve got, the black lab, the Subaru, and everyone’s favorite book, cuddly, blanket and pillow. Don’t forget the cargo carrier on top, the cooler or backpack of food in the back and you’ve got yourself a road trip. Oh, and you can’t forget the bickering offspring in the backseat.

Though the cooler is full, it’s always packed for when you get there, not for while you’re on the road. What you need to do is bring an extra cooler for the drive itself or leave a little room for a couple picnic items. When all you have to do is reach over the backseat to reach for (already packed) healthy options, you’ll be less tempted to pull over for fast food. Here are a few tips on how to make that happen:

It’s important to avoid blood sugar crashing empty calorie foods. You don’t want these items taking up precious space in your cooler:

* Candy

* Soda

* White flour products ( if going with bagels, go whole grain or pumpernickel)

Stock up beforehand with the following (or similar) items:

* Water

* Cheese sticks

* Crackers ( whole wheat or gluten free)

* Fresh fruit ( which you can purchase pre-cut at almost any grocery store to save on time)….apples and pears work well as they’re not too messy and can be cut into slices beforehand and sprinkled with lemon juice to keep from browning.

* Fresh produce: mini carrots, celery sticks, bell pepper strips, etc.

* Mini packets of natural peanut butter such as Justin’s

* Whole wheat pita bread holds sandwich contents nicely

* Rice cakes

* Nuts and seeds

* Pre-packaged trail mix packets (Trader Joe’s carries perfectly sized packets for kids)

* Organic Valley milk in aseptic containers, Rice Dream carries small juice-box sized cartons for Rice Milk as well

* If you’re up to it, go ahead and bake some whole grain muffins or cookies as a special treat. Remember to use alternative sweeteners such as applesauce and real maple syrup.

* Air popped popcorn with a little coconut oil and salt make for a tasty treat everyone will enjoy

* Granola bars-home made or purchased. Watch the sugar content here.

* Dried fruit…this will also help keep everyone “on schedule” for potty breaks as you’re limited on activity with long road trips.

Other essentials to pack:

You can use truck stops for one thing, their parking lot. Pack a picnic blanket and a few jump ropes so in the event you can’t find a nice rest stop, you can pull over to a grassy spot after fueling the car, lay out the blanket, break out the cooler and catch a bit of fresh air, sun, activity and good food. You’ll all feel much better when you get back into the car after you’ve raised your heart rates a bit.

* jump ropes ( not JUST for the kids!)

* picnic blanket

* baseball and glove

* chalk (in a corner of the parking lot, draw lines on the asphalt such as for a relay race or sprints and challenge each other for who can run back and forth in the least amount of time!)

A word about treats:

I was a kid once, too, and though I think we had many more treats than we needed, I always take into consideration what treats mean for my kids and when and how to bring them out. Being on the road for long periods of time is tough on everyone, even with exciting scenery, audio stories and DVD players. Sometimes sugar free gum isn’t enough to tide a child over for one more hour. Though bribery is a fine line, we all know when to pull out the tricks needed to bar off one more question of, “are we there yet?” Having a couple things tucked out of view might be a good idea. I might include all natural licorice, sugar & HFCS free lollipops or perhaps a small bag of M&M’s…goodness knows what I’d do for a few peanut M&M’s myself!

It is also good to remember that food doesn’t have to be the only thing we consider treats. Perhaps we’ve downloaded a few extra audio stories or brought home videos of Christmas at grandma’s house to play on the DVD player to buy a little time. Maybe each child gets a new set of crayons or colored pencils, stickers or beeswax to keep little hands busy and voices to a whisper.

You will reap the benefits of a more harmonious road trip by implementing some of these ideas…though sibling rivalry will be what it is…maybe, for a little humor, the parent who drives the longest is granted a special set of ear plugs! To many happy road trips for you and your family!

Nichi Hirsch supports moms during pregnancy, birth, postpartum and beyond as a lifestyle coach, craniosacral therapist and birth & postpartum doula in Minneapolis. You can get Nichi’s New Parent Tool Kit, for free, by going to: http://www.MyHealthyBeginning.com, which is filled with natural baby care tips.