Eating healthy on a road trip shouldn’t be hard. With these 7 easy road trip snacks, you’ll stay fresh and fueled for longer than your gas tank.
When planning a road trip, the first thing you think about isn’t typically which snacks you’ll be bringing.
We’ve all been there: You’re trying to run to the grocery store and pack away whatever will fit in your cooler or bags for some last-minute road trip goodies. If you’re in a fully packed car, it can be even more difficult to fit everything you need. Finding convenient and easy snacks will ensure that you stay energized throughout your trip without much hassle.
While most grab-and-go snacks are loaded with sugars and salt, packing your own homemade plant-based snacks creates a healthier environment for your trip. You won’t feel like crashing after stuffing a homemade granola bar in your face, and you’ll know everything that you’re putting into your body.
Making snacks homemade might feel time-consuming, but you can limit your amount of packaging waste and feel more confident that you and your road trip buddies are eating healthily and mindfully. To find some inspiration on what you could bring with you, keep reading ✨
Snacking On-the-Go
When you’re planning a road trip, you want to limit the amount of trash you produce and find foods that will do well sitting in the car. Ice cream, potato chips, veggie straws, sugary gummies, fruit snacks, and frozen pizzas might not be the best road trip snack ideas, unfortunately.
However, by putting together your snacks yourself, you can know what ingredients are going in and choose foods that will revitalize you throughout the drive. From a two-hour road trip to a 20-hour road trip, coming prepared can make the drive go smoothly.
What’s the Importance of Refueling Your Energy?
Balanced meals are important to fuel your body with the energy it needs to function all day. It might not seem like a road trip would tire you out—especially if you're not the one driving—but that’s not completely true. Food helps to supply your body with the nutrition it needs to function.
There’s a thing called “travel fatigue” that can happen to anyone who is traveling long distances, including passengers. Even if you aren’t flexing your leg muscles to push and pull off of the gas pedal, your body is accounting for changes in pace and motion. If you experience a bumpy ride, your muscles are working to keep your body upright and in a comfortable position. Even if you have just been sitting in the car, your muscles are still at work.
The motion might also tire you out without even realizing it. You could feel like you’re being lulled to sleep, so energizing with food can keep you awake and alert. This is especially important while driving.
Make Sure To Pack the Proper Equipment
Before you even hit the road, you’re going to want to make sure you have space for a decent-sized cooler or reusable bags. It’s best to store your food in a cooler space because traveling in the car and sitting in a place stuck between other luggage could ruin certain snacks. Of course, not everything needs to be cool, but it’s up to your preference.
Packing your own snacks means you can use reusable containers and avoid too much waste. This will keep your car in a much tidier state throughout the trip, which almost no one can complain about 🙌
Plant-Based Healthy Road Trip Snacks to Pack
When driving long distances, it’s important to have food ready to go in case there is not a gas station stop for several miles. If you feel hungry during a car ride, don’t hesitate to pull one of these seven snacks out to re-energize.
You’ll feel more focused, awake, and confident heading into the next long stretch.
1. Fresh Fruits and Veggies
You can never go wrong with fresh fruits and veggies. There are many different kinds that will do well in a car—especially if they are packed away in a cooler—but others do just as well un-cooled if you don’t have space for a cooler in the car.
Cutting up carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, and cucumber and storing them away for snacking allows you to munch without worrying about a mess. If everything is pre-cut, all you have to do is pop them into your mouth to get a boost of energy.
Fruit makes a great sweet snack that can revitalize your body and also satisfy a sweet tooth. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, and watermelon all provide your body with hydration from the water content, as well as natural sugars that can keep your energy up.
Apples, oranges, and bananas don’t need to be refrigerated, so you can fit more things in your cooler by putting them into a reusable fruit bag and chucking them into the backseat.
2. Hummus or Other Dips
To make your fruits and veggies even more delicious, you can bring along hummus, plant-based cream cheeses, peanut butter or another nut butter, or even your own homemade fruit dip. These can be stored in the cooler and make for an easy addition to your other snacks.
If you have baby carrots or carrot sticks, bell peppers, snap peas, or celery sticks, these dips are great as toppings. Hummus is one of the best road trip snacks because it’s full of protein from the mashed chickpeas. You can also add your own flavors to hummus and make a unique travel snack, including red pepper, olive oil, and garlic. It’s a dip the whole family can enjoy!
3. Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Before you head out on your road trip, having something sweet with you is going to be key. Everyone has a sweet tooth, but you don’t want to be eating too much chocolate or high-carb candy that will lead you to a sugar crash. Instead, try out these Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies from Thistle.
Using Thistle's Steel Cut Oats with Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote, you can add almond flour, flaxseed meal, and your favorite plant-based chocolate chips into cookie dough balls. Bake these for 12 to 14 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, and voila! Delicious breakfast cookies are available to you. Breakfast might be in their name, but you’ll be eating them at any time of the day—not just during breakfast hours 🍪
4. Trail Mix
Crafting your own trail mix can ensure that you include all your favorite nuts, seeds, fruit pieces, and chocolates in the bag. Trail mix is great for on-the-go snacking and gives you a boost of energy when you eat it. You can add whichever ingredients appeal to you, including peanuts, dried fruit, almonds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, pecans, plant-based dark chocolate chips, walnuts, hazelnuts, pretzels, sunflower seeds, and so much more.
What’s great about making your own trail mix is that you can completely decide what goes into it and then it can be eaten for several days. The more protein-boosting nuts that you incorporate, the more energy you’ll have after eating them.
5. Popcorn
Believe it or not, popcorn made with olive oil that avoids added salt is extremely good for you — and makes a great snack to enjoy from the car seat on long drives. No, not the Movie Theater Butter popcorn—homemade, popped-over-the-stove popcorn.
It’s a whole-grain, gluten-free, light snack that is easy to make prior to leaving and then stored in airtight containers. You can add a little bit of olive oil, pink Himalayan salt, or nutritional yeast to give it a little something extra.
6. Lemon and Coconut Energy Balls
These homemade energy balls are perfect for a midday pick-me-up on long trips and are easy enough to pop into your mouth while driving. They aren’t super messy, especially if you make the portions bite-sized.
To make Thistle’s recipe for Lemon and Coconut Energy Balls, you’ll need a few ingredients:
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- ¼ cup macadamia nuts
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 8 dates, pitted
- ¼ cup cashew butter
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp turmeric
Put these items into a food processor and blend them into a dough. While this happens you will create the topping that you’ll dip the balls into. This consists of ¼ shredded coconut and 2 tablespoons of dried lemon zest. Once you’ve formed the energy balls, roll them in this mixture, set them on a tray with parchment paper, and place them in the freezer for two hours.
You can keep these in an airtight container in the cooler and have to snack on and energize with. They might take a few minutes to prepare, but they will be very convenient when you’re craving something sweet but need a boost to get you to the next rest stop.
7. Plant-Based Yogurt
A very convenient way to snack is by purchasing a few plant-based yogurts for the ride. These are great for a cool and easy snack and they don’t take up too much space in the cooler. Plant-based yogurt has fiber and protein needed to give you a little boost, and it can be added to the homemade trail mix we mentioned above for a yummy double whammy of nutrients.
By sprinkling some on top you are given additional protein and fiber to your snack, making it extra worth it 😍
Plant-Based Snacking with Thistle
If you’re someone who likes finding inspiration from other sources when it comes to recipes, consider signing up with Thistle. We provide you with a variety of plant-based Meals, Snacks, and Juices that will energize your body and impress you with their tastiness. Each week we deliver ready-to-eat meals right to your door.
Maybe you’ll find your new favorite dish or snack with us and you’ll find a way to incorporate it into your next road trip.
Sources:
Food as Fuel: Care Instructions | Government of Alberta
Bounce for the Ounce: The Energy of Fruits and Vegetables | University Medical Center: New Orleans
Eating healthy on a road trip shouldn’t be hard. With these 7 easy road trip snacks, you’ll stay fresh and fueled for longer than your gas tank.
When planning a road trip, the first thing you think about isn’t typically which snacks you’ll be bringing.
We’ve all been there: You’re trying to run to the grocery store and pack away whatever will fit in your cooler or bags for some last-minute road trip goodies. If you’re in a fully packed car, it can be even more difficult to fit everything you need. Finding convenient and easy snacks will ensure that you stay energized throughout your trip without much hassle.
While most grab-and-go snacks are loaded with sugars and salt, packing your own homemade plant-based snacks creates a healthier environment for your trip. You won’t feel like crashing after stuffing a homemade granola bar in your face, and you’ll know everything that you’re putting into your body.
Making snacks homemade might feel time-consuming, but you can limit your amount of packaging waste and feel more confident that you and your road trip buddies are eating healthily and mindfully. To find some inspiration on what you could bring with you, keep reading ✨
Snacking On-the-Go
When you’re planning a road trip, you want to limit the amount of trash you produce and find foods that will do well sitting in the car. Ice cream, potato chips, veggie straws, sugary gummies, fruit snacks, and frozen pizzas might not be the best road trip snack ideas, unfortunately.
However, by putting together your snacks yourself, you can know what ingredients are going in and choose foods that will revitalize you throughout the drive. From a two-hour road trip to a 20-hour road trip, coming prepared can make the drive go smoothly.
What’s the Importance of Refueling Your Energy?
Balanced meals are important to fuel your body with the energy it needs to function all day. It might not seem like a road trip would tire you out—especially if you're not the one driving—but that’s not completely true. Food helps to supply your body with the nutrition it needs to function.
There’s a thing called “travel fatigue” that can happen to anyone who is traveling long distances, including passengers. Even if you aren’t flexing your leg muscles to push and pull off of the gas pedal, your body is accounting for changes in pace and motion. If you experience a bumpy ride, your muscles are working to keep your body upright and in a comfortable position. Even if you have just been sitting in the car, your muscles are still at work.
The motion might also tire you out without even realizing it. You could feel like you’re being lulled to sleep, so energizing with food can keep you awake and alert. This is especially important while driving.
Make Sure To Pack the Proper Equipment
Before you even hit the road, you’re going to want to make sure you have space for a decent-sized cooler or reusable bags. It’s best to store your food in a cooler space because traveling in the car and sitting in a place stuck between other luggage could ruin certain snacks. Of course, not everything needs to be cool, but it’s up to your preference.
Packing your own snacks means you can use reusable containers and avoid too much waste. This will keep your car in a much tidier state throughout the trip, which almost no one can complain about 🙌
Plant-Based Healthy Road Trip Snacks to Pack
When driving long distances, it’s important to have food ready to go in case there is not a gas station stop for several miles. If you feel hungry during a car ride, don’t hesitate to pull one of these seven snacks out to re-energize.
You’ll feel more focused, awake, and confident heading into the next long stretch.
1. Fresh Fruits and Veggies
You can never go wrong with fresh fruits and veggies. There are many different kinds that will do well in a car—especially if they are packed away in a cooler—but others do just as well un-cooled if you don’t have space for a cooler in the car.
Cutting up carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, and cucumber and storing them away for snacking allows you to munch without worrying about a mess. If everything is pre-cut, all you have to do is pop them into your mouth to get a boost of energy.
Fruit makes a great sweet snack that can revitalize your body and also satisfy a sweet tooth. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, and watermelon all provide your body with hydration from the water content, as well as natural sugars that can keep your energy up.
Apples, oranges, and bananas don’t need to be refrigerated, so you can fit more things in your cooler by putting them into a reusable fruit bag and chucking them into the backseat.
2. Hummus or Other Dips
To make your fruits and veggies even more delicious, you can bring along hummus, plant-based cream cheeses, peanut butter or another nut butter, or even your own homemade fruit dip. These can be stored in the cooler and make for an easy addition to your other snacks.
If you have baby carrots or carrot sticks, bell peppers, snap peas, or celery sticks, these dips are great as toppings. Hummus is one of the best road trip snacks because it’s full of protein from the mashed chickpeas. You can also add your own flavors to hummus and make a unique travel snack, including red pepper, olive oil, and garlic. It’s a dip the whole family can enjoy!
3. Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Before you head out on your road trip, having something sweet with you is going to be key. Everyone has a sweet tooth, but you don’t want to be eating too much chocolate or high-carb candy that will lead you to a sugar crash. Instead, try out these Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies from Thistle.
Using Thistle's Steel Cut Oats with Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote, you can add almond flour, flaxseed meal, and your favorite plant-based chocolate chips into cookie dough balls. Bake these for 12 to 14 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, and voila! Delicious breakfast cookies are available to you. Breakfast might be in their name, but you’ll be eating them at any time of the day—not just during breakfast hours 🍪
4. Trail Mix
Crafting your own trail mix can ensure that you include all your favorite nuts, seeds, fruit pieces, and chocolates in the bag. Trail mix is great for on-the-go snacking and gives you a boost of energy when you eat it. You can add whichever ingredients appeal to you, including peanuts, dried fruit, almonds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, pecans, plant-based dark chocolate chips, walnuts, hazelnuts, pretzels, sunflower seeds, and so much more.
What’s great about making your own trail mix is that you can completely decide what goes into it and then it can be eaten for several days. The more protein-boosting nuts that you incorporate, the more energy you’ll have after eating them.
5. Popcorn
Believe it or not, popcorn made with olive oil that avoids added salt is extremely good for you — and makes a great snack to enjoy from the car seat on long drives. No, not the Movie Theater Butter popcorn—homemade, popped-over-the-stove popcorn.
It’s a whole-grain, gluten-free, light snack that is easy to make prior to leaving and then stored in airtight containers. You can add a little bit of olive oil, pink Himalayan salt, or nutritional yeast to give it a little something extra.
6. Lemon and Coconut Energy Balls
These homemade energy balls are perfect for a midday pick-me-up on long trips and are easy enough to pop into your mouth while driving. They aren’t super messy, especially if you make the portions bite-sized.
To make Thistle’s recipe for Lemon and Coconut Energy Balls, you’ll need a few ingredients:
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- ¼ cup macadamia nuts
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 8 dates, pitted
- ¼ cup cashew butter
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp turmeric
Put these items into a food processor and blend them into a dough. While this happens you will create the topping that you’ll dip the balls into. This consists of ¼ shredded coconut and 2 tablespoons of dried lemon zest. Once you’ve formed the energy balls, roll them in this mixture, set them on a tray with parchment paper, and place them in the freezer for two hours.
You can keep these in an airtight container in the cooler and have to snack on and energize with. They might take a few minutes to prepare, but they will be very convenient when you’re craving something sweet but need a boost to get you to the next rest stop.
7. Plant-Based Yogurt
A very convenient way to snack is by purchasing a few plant-based yogurts for the ride. These are great for a cool and easy snack and they don’t take up too much space in the cooler. Plant-based yogurt has fiber and protein needed to give you a little boost, and it can be added to the homemade trail mix we mentioned above for a yummy double whammy of nutrients.
By sprinkling some on top you are given additional protein and fiber to your snack, making it extra worth it 😍
Plant-Based Snacking with Thistle
If you’re someone who likes finding inspiration from other sources when it comes to recipes, consider signing up with Thistle. We provide you with a variety of plant-based Meals, Snacks, and Juices that will energize your body and impress you with their tastiness. Each week we deliver ready-to-eat meals right to your door.
Maybe you’ll find your new favorite dish or snack with us and you’ll find a way to incorporate it into your next road trip.
Sources:
Food as Fuel: Care Instructions | Government of Alberta
Bounce for the Ounce: The Energy of Fruits and Vegetables | University Medical Center: New Orleans
