Healthy Snacking on the Road

I recently went down to Disney World with my family so the husband could run in a marathon. For that 7 hour drive, I had to pack an assortment of snacks, drinks and entertainment options for all 4 of us. Road trips require lots of food and magazines to keep us going.

Well, we ate and drank everything I bought on the trip DOWN, leaving us scrambling for more nibbles on the trip back home. Finding healthy food on the road isn’t always easy but it can be done if you know what to look for! I was recently given the opportunity to work with Murphy USA on a healthy snacking mission and thought I would share with you what I learned!

 

I had never been to a Murphy USA before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. There was a small covered shopping area right outside instead of a huge convenience store to wander through. This made for a very quick purchase. Just pump gas, go up to the window, grab a snack from a very well stocked snack area and pay the lady for your gas and goodies.

So, what sort of goodies did I find? There were several coolers filled with drinks and about 3 to 4 sections of wall lined with snacks. There are the normal sodas, candy, etc but if you look closer you CAN find healthy options. Here are a few ideas:

Instead of soda, I picked up some organic Sweat Leaf green tea. I was really impressed to find this product! It is all natural with only 70 calories and contains nothing but water, organic green tea, organic cane sugar and natural flavors. It is a much better choice than sodas!

 

 

 

For healthy munchies I found a wide assortment of nuts, granola bars, peanut butter crackers and trail mix. These are much better choices than the bags of chips, beef jerky and candy that they also sell. To keep blood sugar levels stable, a blend of carbohydrates and protein is the best snacking idea so honey roasted peanuts were my first selection. I also love the crunchy Nature Valley granola bars because they don’t contain any high fructose corn syrup.
If you are really craving the ‘soda and chips’ kind of snack, you could choose the Sierra Mist and pretzels. The Sierra Mist is flavored with all natural ingredients and contains only real sugar. Pretzels are a nice fat free snack that satisfies that salty craving we all get on occasion.

I find that the hardest thing about healthy snacking on the road is making myself actually do it! I tend to use vacations as an excuse to eat junk food but then I just end up feeling BLAH about myself! I was very impressed with the selection of healthy snacks at Murphy USA. While my eye may have been drawn quickly to the rows of beef jerky and high calorie sodas, if you look a little deeper it is actually very easy to find healthy snack alternatives!

If you would like to see more of my shopping experience you can check out my Google + story.