Who said road trip snacks can’t be healthy AND tasty? Going camping doesn’t mean you have to ditch your habits and eat processed foods. Read on to find out about healthy options you can pack quickly and enjoy guilt-free!
The first important thing you need to think about is whether you are going to have access to hot water and a fridge, so you can choose accordingly. Here are our tips on healthy travel snacks for all occasions.
Mess-free
Probably the best, universally liked thing you can pack are nuts, seeds and dried fruits. They are nutritious, delicious, and they don’t spoil or take up a lot of space. And there are a lot of different kinds to choose from. Add some vegetable or coconut chips for a tropical kick and you are good to go. Dried foods are also THE best healthy snacks for long road trips.
Do also pack some fresh fruit, such as grapes, apples, berries or bananas – just remember to eat them in the first few days, as they tend to get squashed easily.
Other kinds of excellent and healthy on-the-road snacks are energy bars or protein bars. They are a great choice for camping, or any other trip really, just make sure to buy quality ones as manufacturers love to stuff them with unhealthy sugar and suspicious additives.
For your first day, you can always count on good ol’ sandwiches – and proper, whole wheat bread tastes better and keeps longer anyway.
You probably know that canned foods are a must for camping, but let’s just remember that you can never go wrong with tuna. It’s so easy to combine and packed full of proteins to refill you after a nice day of hiking or swimming. Try it in a refreshing salad. You can add in some couscous or bulgur – they are really easy to make, just pour some hot water over them, wait 4 minutes for couscous or 20 minutes for bulgur, throw in a few tomatoes and enjoy.
If you have access to a fridge, you can take some yoghurt and cereals – a fast and delicious breakfast or snack that you can enrich with the nuts that you’ve already packed because you are a smart traveller, remember?
A bit more prep work, but worth it
If you like to be organised and prepared, you can boil some eggs at home and just peel them when you need a quick snack. They keep well for a week but have to be kept in a fridge. You can combine them with some simple low-fat ham and veggies.
Slice up some carrots, celery, cucumbers or other veggies that you like to snack on and have them ready in a handy container. Bring a delicious yoghurt dip to go along with it.
Crackers with hummus or guacamole! Home-made is the best.
You can make heavenly protein balls that taste out of this world, but are actually really good for you – throw some dates, cashews, cocoa, sesame seeds and coconut into a food processor, shape bite-sized balls and roll them into more coconut, crushed hazelnuts or cocoa and prepare to enjoy the most delicious, easy-to-make chocolaty goodies that keep well. Just be aware – they are addictive!
Healthy road trip snacks are not as fussy as they sound. For more advice on healthy living while camping, here is a blog with useful tips!
Also – psst! – rumour has it that Camping Village Šimuni is opening a fantastic new sports centre with a gym and private trainers, in addition to other fantastic activities for the active traveller.
