My fiancé, Colin, and I do tons of road-tripping during the holidays. To save time and money, we snack in the car rather than stop for a meal along the way. Gas stations don’t have many healthy options, and if we’re not careful we end up eating lots of junk food like candy, soda and salty chips. So to stay healthy on the road, we never leave home without two big containers of water—one for each of us—and a bag full of quick healthy snacks to keep us going the whole car-ride long.
How do you stay healthy on the road? What’s your favorite snack to pack for the car ride?
Try whipping up these 6 quick healthy snacks to take on
the road this holiday season:
Spicy Energy Mix
Sweet mangoes and dates mixed with crunchy pumpkin seeds get a dose
of heat from a prepared spice rub.
To make, combine 1 ounce pepitas (pumpkin seeds), 1 1/2 ounces
dried mango, 1 ounce pitted chopped dates and 1/4 teaspoon prepared
spice rub. Makes 1 serving.
Nutrition: 368 calories; 14 g fat (3 g sat, 4 g mono); 0 mg
cholesterol; 63 g carbohydrate; 8 g protein; 5 g fiber; 121 mg
sodium; 456 mg potassium.
Cheesy Popcorn
One of my favorite road-trip snacks is cheese-flavored popcorn.
This healthy version is quick to whip up and has less salt and fat
than the bagged stuff. Plus it’s a whole grain!
Zesty Bean Dip & Chips
Stirring salsa into versatile canned refried beans makes a quick
and healthy bean dip.
Sesame Carrots
Toasted sesame seeds spruce up the flavor and visual appeal of
carrot sticks. Toss 2 cups of baby carrots with 1 tablespoon
toasted sesame seeds and a pinch each of dried thyme and kosher
salt.
Makes 3 servings, about 2/3 cup each. Per serving: 33 calories;
0 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 8 g carbohydrate; 1
g protein; 2 g fiber; 72 mg sodium; 220 mg potassium.
Chocolate Crunch
Crunchy wheat cereal, pretzels and almonds coated in bittersweet
chocolate makes an addictive sweet-salty snack.
Cinnamon Oranges
This simple dessert is a refreshing treat on a long car ride. The
flavors are the best and brightest this time of year when oranges
are in season. Just make sure to pack a fork so your fingers don’t
get sticky.
By Penelope Wall
Penelope is a web producer and writer for EatingWell.com. When she's not busy geeking out at the computer, she loves cooking and trying new recipes on her friends. Some of her favorite foods are dark chocolate, coffee, apples, sweet potatoes and cheese.
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