Fresh Foods on the Go!

August 2, 2012 By Leanne Vogel June 5, 2015

As you know, I’m a huge supporter of fresh ingredients, healthy foods, and intuitive eating. Whether I’m at home, on a camping trip, backpacking through India, setting off on a road trip, or jumping on a plane for a business trip, I like to continue to consume foods that I know will nourish my body. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the thought of packing foods with you on your journey, or trying to locate healthy alternatives when you’re in a city you’re not familiar with. But with just a bit of planning, and a couple of easy preparation tactics, you can go just about anywhere and continue to feel good about what you’re eating!

Road Trips

Packing non-perishable foods with you is key for road trips. You can stop along the way to purchase fresh ingredients to pair nicely with what you’ve brought along with you. If you don’t have access to a cooler, stopping once a day to load up on veggies and fruits is ideal.

Snack items such as homemade trail mix, chicken or turkey pepperoni sticks, homemade protein bars, and date balls are great. If you have access to a grocery store, pick up a couple of veggie sticks for added nutrients.
For protein, pack along a couple of individual tetra packs of non-dairy milk, a clean water bottle, and a couple packets of shake & go smoothie mix. If you have access to a grocery store, pick up some fresh fruits to have alongside your smoothie.
For breakfast, prepare homemade oatmeal packs in 2 cup (500mL) containers. My favorite mix is: 1/2 cup quick oat flakes, 1-2 teaspoon ground flax, 1-2 teaspoon brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon. Then, all you have to do is add 1 cup of cold or hot water, allow to sit for a couple of minutes, and dig in!
Nut butter packets such as these sunflower butter packets are perfect for road trips. Have them plain, on rice cakes, or stop off at a local grocery store for a piece of fresh fruit.

For more road trip tips, check out this post.

Plane Travel

Plane travel usually means you’ll be further away, which also means that you may not have access to the same foods you would generally have at home. I find protein is the hardest thing to find with my various allergies, dietary restrictions, and not much time to spend searching for the perfect restaurant in a city I’m unfamiliar with. With plane travel, you’re usually in a hotel. If you can find a hotel that offers a mini bar with their rooms, you can empty out the bar and make way for fresh foods you pick up here and there. Things like fresh veggies, fruits and cooked proteins are the way to go! In addition, some things you may want to bring with you include:

Vegetable based bars are great when you know you won’t be able to stop for a big bowl of veggies.
And easy-to-open tuna is fabulous as a take along snack for any trip.
Grass-fed and organic jerky can be enjoyed with a bunch of vegetable sticks, takeout salad, or on it’s own.

For more plane travel tips, check out this post.

Backpacking

Backpacking is a whole other breed of travel. You have limited space, concerns over what type of bugs may get into your food should be a top priority, and you have to be very selective with what you bring with you. To prepare your bag for the foods you’re bringing with you, and to make it easier to find food items on your trip, place similar items together and seal them in a large Ziploc bag. Then, place all of the bags into a larger vacuum seal bag – the anti-bug lifesaver! Best $10 you’ll ever spend, I can assure you.

Nut butters go well with dried fruits, fruit bowls, rice, oatmeal, toast, whatever you can get your hands on. They’ll give you a boost of healthy fats, protein, and fiber, something we all lack when we’re traveling. Packets of almond butter, coconut oil and sunflower butter are the way to go.
Just like plane travel, I find proteins are the hardest to find when backpacking. Items like hemp hearts or savi seeds can be added to salads or rice dishes, nuts and seeds are good on their own, and packets of protein powder will be used!
Relying on markets, restaurants and food carts may be your only opportunity to get fresh foods in you. Depending on where you are, go for fresh fruits, veggies, lean meats and cooked grains. In India, I would often whip out my nuts and seeds and sprinkle them on top of whatever I was eating for added protein and fiber.

For more backpacking travel tips, check out this post.

Camping

Camping is by far, my favorite activity to prepare for. You can eat the freshest, most amazing foods when you’re camping because you have a cooler along with you. It’s no fridge hooked up to the back of your truck, but it’s the next best thing.

Millet, rice, and quinoa can be used in place of oats for a lighter variation of porridge. Cook on the camping stove or on the fire when you need them. Any leftover grains can be used for lunch, or added to yogurt the next morning.
Veggie plate. Again, go for the veggies that are easy to travel with – greens, not so much. Carrots? YES!
Rice cakes instead of bread. Rice cakes travel well and make great make-shift sandwiches. Fill with a fried egg, hummus and veggies, or nut butter.
Vegetable medley. Wrap up your veggies in tin foil with a bit of coconut oil and cook on the campfire for 45 minutes or so. Add nuts, seeds, or cooked beans for protein and leftover grains for extra carbohydrates.

For more camping travel tips, check out this post.

The folks over at GE kitchen appliances are taking fresh foods on the road to a whole new level. The project is called Freshpedition and it’s quite an entertaining story. They’ve tasked a chef and one of the engineering leads of GE to go on a road trip across the US, picking up farm fresh foods along the way and sticking them in their generator-ran fridge. How cool is that?

GE is continuing this same passion for fresh food with the Freshpedition Sweepstakes. This sweepstakes uses Pinterest, which means you can actually pin for a chance to win all new GE kitchen appliances. But wait, there’s even more to win! You can also enter each day of the sweepstakes for a chance to win a $100 VISA® Prepaid Card. Entering for this prize is fun as you’re asked to pin your favorite fresh foods or your own recipes. Also, these pins when hashtagged with your state (e.g. #GEfreshTX) become part of a “Best of Fresh” map featuring freshness from around the country. Explore the map here. For official rules and to enter visit here.