Eating on the road while maintaining our usual healthful habits can be a challenge. Toward this I thought I'd share how we ate on a recent camping trip through Utah to visit the national parks, as well as share some travel highlights. Below, looking out the back window of the van while driving through Nevada; so beautiful!
My boyfriend Avery and I headed out in May for an eight-day road trip from Northern California to Nevada and Utah to explore many of the national parks, as well as some other highlights along the way. We went to Great Basin National Park, Arches National Park, Dead Horse State Park, Canyonlands National Park, Natural Bridges National Monument, Capitol Reef National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Valley of Fire State Park. Yes, it was a lot for eight days, more of the sampler package vacation; but that's what a road trip is all about I suppose: trying a bit of everything while you keep moving forward. The below photo is of Bryce Canyon, one of the most amazing natural wonders I've ever seen. And we got to hike down into the belly of those formations. It was like being on another planet. Unforgettable!
We planned on camping four nights and staying in hotels three nights. Avery did all the driving and I did most of the navigating, and that worked out really well. Having taken a couple road trips previously, we learned a few things that were helpful this time around about planning and preparing our food. And since we both love to cook and both eat the same way, we each had a hand in it. Here is a glimpse at how we planned and ate during our eight days. (If you have a great travel-food tip, please leave a comment below.) Below, our first day; what an exhilarating feeling to be starting a road trip of thousands of miles and unknown adventures! We ate Tu-no salad sandwiches, and cut-up veggies and fruit in the van so we wouldn't have to take extra time at a restaurant or make food at a rest stop.
One thing we learned from our last road trip (to Yosemite) was to not bring too much prepared food, because even though we kept our ice chest cold, we found the prepared food less appealing after a couple days of being squished in there with everything else. We prepared about one-third of our food beforehand, which consisted of fruit salad, Tu-no salad sandwiches, a big batch of rice and beans (to last a few days), roasted potatoes, as well as a bunch of carrot cake muffins. Below is a photo of one of our dinners. We made a simple soup with a dried McDougall soup and leftover rice and beans, and heated it up with our small hiker's stove. Also, some roasted potatoes and bread.
Cooked, cold potatoes and yams are great travel food for the first couple of days because they are so easy to pack and they are filling. We had ours with leftover beans and rice, and salads. We also packed some salt-free canned vegetables, such as corn, peas, and garbanzo beans. Below, at our hotel we made some oil-free pasta sauce and noodles, and a spinach salad.
One thing we ended up doing is making salads most every night, which I would not have thought very practical, but it was pretty easy if you have a bowl, a knife, and a cutting board. We only needed a couple stops at grocery stores along the way, which were easy to locate on our phones. Below, it was so nice to have fresh vegetables, which can easily get overlooked when traveling.
We only ended up eating out twice, and one of those nights found us at the Peace Tree Juice Café in Moab, where we both had a great meal. Avery had a veggie burger (with a peace sign toasted into the bun; very clever). Below, I had a vegetable quinoa salad with tahini sauce on the side. Great presentation and taste!
For breakfast we usually had oatmeal or muesli and fruit with soy milk, or a muffin if we were up early and on the road. As for snacks, we brought plenty since we knew we’d need easily packable and filling food for hiking and driving. Our snacks included: homemade (no-oil) granola, rice cakes, dried fruit (dates, prunes, apricots, apples), as well as fresh fruit. We also cut up some fresh carrots and celery, which were so good with a bit of hummus or just plain. Also good were a few LarBars, which are made of just dates and fruit. Below, both of these pictures were taken in Canyonlands in Utah, probably our favorite stop on the trip. We had just hiked three miles to get up to this point and we were so happy to be there!
Looking back, I think we struck a nice balance of (1) preparing a small handful of dishes before leaving home, (2) planning some easy main dishes during the trip (soup, stew, pasta), (3) keeping plenty of snack foods on hand, (4) always maintaining a small stock of fresh fruit and vegetables, and (5) eating out and stopping at grocery stores only now and then. We were happy to repeat some menu items, especially with breakfasts, snacks, and salads, and when we did prepare pasta or soup, we made enough for at least two meals.
We did eat some things while traveling that we normally would not (or not as much of) due to higher salt, fat, or processing, like olives, nuts, granola, baked goods, LarBars, and packaged soups; but we gave ourselves this liberty since we were on vacation, and knew that we'd be ready to get back to our usual way of eating once home.
Thanks for reading! I hope some good ideas were planted for your next road trip!
Tom
Really great ideas! Thank you so much! I also do the LaraBars, fresh fruit, maybe a green smoothie. Often times before I hit the road I will put a sweet potato in the microwave and wrap it in paper towel. When its does I pack it and hit the road. By lunch time it still may be a bit warm and just eat it like a burrito (holding it wrapped in the paper towel and enjoy, skin and all). Hummus and some OIL FREE crackers works. Cut up veggies always nice. These are some great tips. Esp the rice/beans and add the McDougall soup mix to that. Really smart!! Im always looking for Whole Foods Markets on the road to run in and grab a fresh salad which is wonderful and such a treat. Curious what others do while on the road? Oh, I did purchase a Thermos, to put soup in if Im on a long drive. That can be nice to keep things warm too.
Cathy
Thanks Tom! 🙂 I like the "burrito potato" idea! We looked for Whole Foods markets, but we were driving through pretty rural areas so didn't find any. I thought there would be one in Moab, but they only had a little health food store, which was great!
Pam
We're always looking for good "traveling" food. Pre-cooked veggie burgers (especially homemade beet burgers) and pre-cooked, homemade, no-oil falafel (includes fresh mint, parsley, onions and fresh or frozen peas) travel well and can be eaten cold with a salad, on a bun, or in a wrap. Made spinach and mushroom filling for tacos for our last trip - good hot or cold, but a little messy to eat. Kept well in the cooler. We also take our own oil-free granola which can be eaten dry as a snack or mixed with non-dairy milk and fresh fruit - banana and berries.
Tammie
I totally get what you're talking about with preparing too much food ahead. We took our first whole food road trip a few years back. I was gonna be "so" prepared, that I made 2 coolers full of food - beans & rice, a few grain salads, hummus, veggies, fruit, etc. Two days in, a couple of the salads started going south - and they had to be disposed of. I forget the hubs is perfectly content eating beans....every meal pretty much. We'd have oatmeal in the hotel with fruit, lunch would be at a roadside park - beans and rice. Then we'd hit the road and open the veggies and snack. We stopped a few times in the afternoon for salad fixins, and that was dinner. That worked for us too! Sadly, hubs isn't always "whole food". He had to stop for red beans and rice going through Louisiana - who doesn't!
I do recommend a cooler that plugs in to the power outlet in your vehicle. It keeps things really cold and can be plugged in at the hotel in the evening.
DIANE BASSETT
We just got one of those coolers, too, and we love it. Using it on a trip right now.
Connie Tresize
Which brand/size cooler did you buy? There are so many different ones available that I'm overwhelmed!
Cathy
I don't know. 🙁 It was borrowed.
Mary Sommermeyer
I enjoyed reading your travel tips and will try some for future trips. We often pack baked potatoes which are good even cold with nothing on them. Hadn't heard of Larabars so checked them out. A brand we like is Heart Thrive bars (www.suncakes.com) which are lower in fat content (they meet the Jeff Novick test). Apricot and cranberry are some favorite flavors. Chocolate chip warmed up is almost like fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.
paula
I also love sun cakes from way back in the seventies when they contained tofu.
Doreen Karp
Enjoyed reading about your vacation meals. I'm not particularly fond of McDougall's soups, because they taste too salty for me. Adding the rice and beans may help to cut the salty taste. The oil free granola bar sounds great! Is the recipe on your website?
Cathy
Thanks Doreen! 🙂 Here is the granola recipe.
JCB
When you made the carrot cake muffins for the trip did you put the icing on them or leave them plain? Also, speaking of the icing recipe, since I do not use any isolated soy protein.....is there a brand of silken tofu without soy isolates? Thanks for the road trip tips. We travel back and forth every year from Texas to NY and take our own food for the three or four days on the road. Love your recipes!
Cathy
Hi, I left the icing off. I'm not sure of tofu brands, you can also use cashews. 🙂
JCB
Another question. Did you add the avacado to the tuna sandwiches ahead of time? Because we leave early in the morning, I do all the food prep and sandwiches the night before. Should I keep the avacado out and add it at meal time?
Cathy
I went ahead and added the avo the night before we left; it was fine. 🙂
blackrabbit009
I'm so excited to hear you're writing a cookbook! I can't wait! Please include a section on vegan baking (no sugar, salt, oil, dairy or eggs); it's impossible to find those.
goober982014
Wow these are excellent tips! I love to travel but I always end up eating so poorly and gaining weight, even if I am active during the trip. Your post is very inspirational and your food looks so good! I will be taking this advice for my next trip!
Kirsten
Love, love, looove that Peace Tree Cafe in Moab! Thanks for bringing back some good memories. 🙂
Wonderful tips for staying "good" while traveling. Thanks!!
Shauna
LOve all these ideas for Travel ! One thing about the Mcdougals soups I discovered that they have Yeast Extract which is MSG!
Cathy
Thanks Shauna! I didn't know that; read this on Wiki: "Yeast extracts and fermented foods contain glutamic acid, which, in solution with sodium ions, is the same as monosodium glutamate. With various controversies surrounding MSG, food manufacturers use yeast extract instead to avoid adding 'MSG' to the food packaging label." Thanks!
Karen
Just wrote a blog about traveling in Alaska. We did not do all of our own food, though could have. But there are some tips we picked up and good spots to eat out, and get food that meets some special dietary needs (maybe not all of those for people on this site).
Karen
I have a hotel travel pack that consists of a tool kit, 3-cup Electric water kettle, cutting board & a glass dish (for use in the microwave).
The tool kit consists of: a can opener, parry knife, bottle opener, peeler, timer, scissor, ½ c measuring cup (collapsible) , Swiss army knife & spoon/knife/fork.
I premeasure out my oatmeal in sandwich bags and then to prepare I let it soak overnight. I like heating it in the microwave in the morning but if one is not available it is okay cold after soaking overnight. I also carry pouches of Jyoti Beans. The Jyoti bean pouch can be opened without any tools. When I fly, I bring Jyoti beans in my carry on luggage.
I find eating away from home extremely stressful as I have a mold allergy and I cannot have manufactured Citric Acid. I avoid foods that are fermented and naturally contain mold, fungi. Citric Acid that is manufactured – this is added to canned, packaged and backed goods. It is in most anything that has a label.
Raissomat
Yeah, I bump into this article a little late. We just got back from a 8day holiday in Algarve. We traveled light, just one everyday backpack each, plus I had one handbag filled with "emergency supplies" like cut up fresh ginger, travel mug, lavender tisane, double ziplock lined with paper towels (puking bags), medicine (which I never actually take), two almond and soy proteine bars, pads, tissues, a small packet of buckwheat crackers (100%buckwheat, no salt or sugar), goji..and some aesop hand sanitizer, just in case (never used). We booked a 4* hotel since we were sure there I would be able to find enough healthy food at the breakfast buffet. I did not. I ate fruit and eggs, but got sick after 3 days. I bought rice crackers, oat cakes, cornflakes(100% corn) and oat milk at the supermarket, all organic, and took those to breakfast. Also the restaurants all have only one healthy option: eggplant with tomato. Vegetable salads where surprisingly hard to come by. We had no kettle at the hotel and no knives or anything (since we flew there).
The next time we book an apartment with a kitchenette. It will require more planning to avoid any waste, but we can do it. Thankfully my husband is not difficult at all and eats the same thing over and over again whitout complaining.
Cathy
Thanks for the great run-down! I had to look up Algarve, which I now know is in Portugal. What a wonderful adventure! 🙂
Martin
When we travel we carry a mini electric crock pot seen here. We hook it up to an inverter in our vehicle and it keeps our soups, vegan beans, veggie meatloaf or anything else warm as we travel. Food is hot when we get to our destination. We also use this in our hotel room in lieu of a microwave to keep our meals at the right temp while we are hiking, etc. Takes the pressure off as finding no-oil vegan meals up here in Maine can be quite an adventure. Come up to Acadia national park you guys!
Joe Agostine
For the maindtream in all of us, I sometimes stop at Subway and grab an extra spinach whole wheat sandwhich with everything except oil, cheese, mayo etc. Also, Wendys plain baked potato with a touch of ketchup is very filling and healthy. Or order a burger with no cheese or meat and extra lettuce onions or tomatoes!!!!! Justb a couple ideas for the road. The road more traveled.
Joe
Cathy
Thanks Joe! 🙂 I love the Wendy's potatoes too.
kpieczyn
Thank you thank you for this post!! I am preparing for a week and a 1/2 trip away from home. The area I'm traveling to doesn't have any vegan friendly restaurants so I am a bit NERVOUS!! I love your column and all the comments should help me plan & pack.
Evelyn Johnson
This is great! I just went on a long haul road trip with my best friend. We drove 3000 miles in 3 days and I definitely wish we had planned our meals a little bit better. We didn’t feel great after 3 days of not eating well and driving so much. I’ll definitely keep all this advice for our next trip!
V Marie Louise
Do you have suggestions for eating in restaurants?
Cathy
I don't on the blog, but I do talk about this quite a bit in my cookbook. Thanks! 🙂
Stella
Why are the John McDougall instant soups all such salt bombs, even the so-called low sodium ones? Did he sell out?
Cathy
I'm not sure. He doesn't own that line, he merely lends his name/likeness to the packaging. I think they tell people to only use half the seasoning pack to bring down the sodium.
Janice Bilbrey
Looking for non-spicy sandwiches for work. Any ideas? Thank you.
Cathy
I don't eat bread usually (and thus, no sandwiches), but do like a "wrap" in a corn tortilla on occasion. 🙂 If you do buy bread, make sure it's not full of SOS (salt, oil, sugar) and made with refined white flour. Bread found in the freezer section is usually good, and w/o preservatives (which is why it's in the freezer section).
Benjamin Andrews
I like that you state that it's nice to eat out on road trips so you don't have to eat unappealing cooler food after a couple of days. My wife and I are going on a road trip next month and we want to be able to eat good food while we are traveling. I will keep this in mind and look for good dining places in Lake Macquarie since that is where we will be around dinner time.
Cathy
Thanks for the comment, Benjamin! Yes, and you can always re-load the cooler with fresh stuff from the market along the way. We did a variety of things. But for as much "fun" as it is eating out on vacation, we always preferred our own food, even if it was a scrappy salad and pasta in our hotel room or tent. 🙂