Your Healthy Guide to Road Trip Snacks and Meals

Vacations are meant for fun and relaxation!  They allow us to let loose, break free from our daily routine and go with the flow.  There’s an opportunity to meet new people, see new sights and to discover new and delicious food!  For all of these reasons and more, I absolutely love to travel whether it’s for a quick road trip or a longer getaway abroad.

While traveling I’ll often allow myself to indulge in foods I don’t regularly eat at home.  I love visiting eclectic little restaurants and trying new and unique dishes!  For me this is an integral part of the travel or vacation experience.  Though I’ll indulge in a few meals outside of my typical selection while traveling, my desire is still to feel healthy and energetic so I can take in all there is to see and explore. As a naturopathic doctor and healthy foodie I’ve achieved balance by packing a few nourishing meals and healthy road trip snacks while allowing myself freedom at dinner to try new and delicious food!

Download your Healthy Road Trip Guide, which includes 10 BONUS meal ideas not included in this post!

While traveling I’ll often allow myself to indulge in foods I don’t regularly eat at home.  I love visiting eclectic little restaurants and trying new and unique dishes!  For me this is an integral part of the travel or vacation experience.  Though I’ll indulge in a few meals outside of my typical selection while traveling, my desire is still to feel healthy and energetic so I can take in all there is to see and explore. As a naturopathic doctor and healthy foodie I’ve achieved balance by packing a few nourishing meals and healthy road trip snacks while allowing myself freedom at dinner to try new and delicious food!

How-to prepare healthy road trip snacks and meals:

The inspiration for this blog post was a road trip my husband, Michael, and I enjoyed last week to Nelson, BC.  We struck a perfect balance between enjoying healthy pre-made meals while leaving room for delicious indulgences!  Nelson is a mecca for healthy foodies and offers a diverse array of unique restaurants that craft delicious meals using farm fresh ingredients.  Although there were many amazing restaurants we were eager to explore, we split our drive over 2 days and needed quick meals we could easily eat in the car in addition to healthy road trip snacks.  I also wanted to pack our breakfasts so we could relax with a cup of tea at our cottage in the morning instead of immediately heading out in search of food.

The prep work was well worth the 2-3 hours of time invested and it saved us a lot of money we would have otherwise spent dining out.  I kept things simple and prepared only 3 recipes for this trip, including my Dijon Lime Quinoa Salad, Maple Walnut & Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and a batch of my Fall Spice Granola. We also brought Kombucha, Lara bars and apples as refreshments and simple road trip snacks.

Dijon Lime Quinoa Salad

Packing a batch of Dijon Lime Quinoa Salad allowed us to save time on our drive to Nelson and eat healthy along the way.  The quinoa salad also made for fresh and tasty lunches at the cute cottage we rented just outside of town and saved us from having to drive in to Nelson whenever we were hungry.

This quinoa and kale salad is perfect for road trips because it won’t wilt and still tastes just as fresh 2-3 days later. A quick lunch couldn’t be easier…all you need to bring is a fork!

Fall Spice Granola

Fall-Spice Granola is my absolute favourite cereal recipe and is one of our regular staples at home and on the road.  It’s deliciously spiced, and despite it’s name is perfect to enjoy anytime of year!  You will never buy a box of breakfast cereal again once you realize how simple, cost-effective and delicious it can be to make your own!

I packed a carton of unsweetened coconut milk and some sliced strawberries and kiwi to enjoy with the granola each morning.  The nuts and seeds make this granola quite filling and it’s a perfect option to fuel yourself for a busy day exploring!

My favourite morning of our getaway involved the opportunity to explore my creative side over breakfast while taking in the sunshine and birds chirping on our patio. It’s a morning I won’t soon forget!

Maple Walnut & Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

The Maple Walnut & Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins made for a quick and easy snack on-the-go and ensured I reached my quota for chocolate intake while away 😉 All joking aside, the muffins are a healthy yet delicious snack that tided us over between meals while also satisfying our sweet tooth!

Additional Recipes for Travel Meals and Road Trip Snacks

Other Healthy Life Redesign recipes that are perfect to bring along on your next adventure include my Banana Blueberry Muffins and Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies.

Fabulous options for quick breakfasts include Apricot Honey-Nut Muesli and Healthy Roasted Nut and Seed Muesli.

Like the quinoa salad, my Strawberry Mint Chickpea Salad is another delicious option that packs well for road trip meals since it’s dressed in advance. It’s fresh, delicious and flavourful!

Simple Spinach Guacamole makes a great dip to pack along to enjoy with organic corn chips or chopped veggies!

If you’d like to bring a hot meal and have a stove or microwave where you’ll be staying, a batch of Simple Vegetarian Chili can do just the trick! It’s also a delicious meal to enjoy around the campfire.

Download your Healthy Road Trip Guide, which includes all of these recipe links plus 10 BONUS ideas not included in this post!

Nothing beats reconnecting with nature!

This trip Michael and I were fortunate to be staying in a lovely cottage on a beautiful mountain acreage just outside of Nelson.

This was the beautiful property we rented in Nelson.
It was such a rejuvenating place to stay on our mini-vacation!

We enjoyed absolutely amazingly delicious fresh eggs from the free-range chickens every morning. We plucked them right from the hen house and I’ve never before had eggs with such a thick, golden yolk and so much flavour. It sure made me dream of full-time country living!

Bringing along a few key dishes enabled us to stick to a healthy meal plan while saving money for the other delicious indulgences we enjoyed while there; like sipping Oso Negro coffee on our patio, savouring red wine next to the campfire and taking in all of the delicious dinner options Nelson offered us!

Michael and I on the patio at Oso Negro, our favourite Nelson café!

What are your favourite healthy foods to bring along on a road trip? How do you strike a balance between indulging in new foods and maintaining your health and energy? Let me know in the comments below!

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