How to Avoid Fast Food on Family Road Trips

Too pooped to put one more foot in front of the other? Is your favorite part of the day the moment you get to dive into bed and shut the world off for a few hours? Does the mere thought of the days ahead suck the life energy right out of you?
I know how that feels. I’ve been there — for years. I complained I was tired all the time. People said I needed to eat more. Tried that, still felt the abyss of an energy void.

Of course I thought my exhaustion was an effect of my career. I was doing some international consulting and was sure that my energy would come flooding back if I cut back once my contract ended at the end of the month.

Free at last without seemingly not a care in the world I was still too spent to do much of anything. I got plenty of sleep and I was still lethargic.One day I simply had enough. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

If it wasn’t my food intake, or lack thereof, and it wasn’t a result of my career why was I tired all the time? A visit to the doctor told me I was in good health so what was the problem? Maybe a new wardrobe would renew my spirits.

Nope, that didn’t work.

A face lift?

Too chicken to go under the knife.

Seeing too many friends in a zombie like state from popping too many Mother’s little helpers steered my away from any interest in a pharmaceutical solution.

Maybe I need to find something to do, get a new client. Perhaps that would renew my spirit.

Yeah, right. I conveniently forgot that I had been in that revolving doorway of busy client load and time off over and over again and it did little, if anything, to rejuvenate my life force. As Einstein said, “Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome is the very definition of insanity.”

This time the universe conspired to give me the wake up call I needed.

The phone that rang often with lucrative offers stopped ringing. If I wanted more work I was going to have to get up off my tushie and find something to do.

What do I want to do?

And then it hit me. I had no idea what I really want to do. I was clueless when it came to the question, “What are you passionate about?”

I had a job to do! I was on a mission to find out what would make my heart sing.

Sounds simple, but it wasn’t. Being disconnected from what fed my soul for so long I struggled for many months examining one possibility after the other and none of it relit the fire within me. It finally dawned on me that in order to get in touch with my passion I had to know who I am. Who am I? I had no career so how do I define myself? Wife? Mother of two rescued cats? Sister? Aunt? Who the heck am I?

Realizing that I really was out of touch with my ‘truth’ was my watershed moment.

Today I enjoy a very active and productive life. I have all the energy I want or need. What changed?
I turned around. Instead of swimming upstream in the flow of life, I learned how to flow with the current. It’s exhausting to swim upstream day after day. No wonder I was tired all the time!

For the first time I no longer looked to external things and people to make my life better. The path I choose was an inner journey to reclaim my truth, own my power and command my stage. This shift in how I showed up in my life wasn’t an overnight phenomenon. It took a year or so to get my inner engine firing on all cylinders. But what a ride! I highly recommend it.

When you know who you really are – stripped of all unrealistic expectations and early conditioning that just doesn’t work for you – life flows. You know, with certainty, what you really want. With this power you think, speak and act towards this purpose – instead of away from – each and every day. It’s the life force that allows you to command your stage in life – be the master of your opportunities instead of the victim of your circumstance.

Dare to dance to the beat of your own drum. Have the guts to sing your song out loud. Muster up your moxie – the confident courage to achieve and express your authentic greatness – no matter what anyone else thinks.

I invite you to be willing to shift how you show up in your life. By saying Yes to who you really are you naturally have the life force to fully express your potential. It’s what you’re here to do. If I can do it, so can you.

How to Avoid Fast Food on Family Road Trips20671How to Avoid Fast Food on Family Road TripsTips on How to Avoid Fast Food and Truck Stops on Family Road Trips

Whenever I hear the phrasefamily road trip, my head goes immediately to theholiday road tune from the National Lampoon movie and I think to myself; who really ties their dead great-aunt to the roof of a station wagon? And the answer is, the one and only Clark W. Griswold.

That movie has made families laugh for many years because it perfectly depicts a family road tripfunny experiences are waiting behind every turn with lodging, the car, or the food. I recall road trips from my youth fueled by Twinkies and Ho-Ho’s and McDonalds. My memories are of long days, late nights and a set of parents fried from the four fighting offspring in the back seat.

Fast forward twenty some years and picture my Subaru, the cargo carrier, the cooler, the dog, the backpacks, the books, and the snacks. Road trips still include some late nights, long days and always a set of parents fried from the two offspring in the back seat attempting to make each other as uncomfortable as possible.

Tackling the idea of what to eat on the road seems like a huge mountain to climb, but with a little preparation, I think you’ll be happily surprised. When on the road with kids, having healthy options available is an absolute must to staying out of truck stop and fast food restaurants. Here are a few tips on how to make that happen:

It’s important to avoid blood sugar crashing empty calorie foods. You don’t want these items taking up precious space in your cooler:

Candy

Soda

White flour products ( if going with bagels, go whole grain or pumpernickel)

Stock up beforehand with the following (or similar) items:

Water

Cheese sticks

Crackers ( whole wheat or gluten free)

Fresh fruit ( which you can purchase pre-cut at almost any grocery store to save on time).apples and pears work well as they’re not too messy and can be cut into slices beforehand and sprinkled with lemon juice to keep from browning.

Fresh produce: mini carrots, celery sticks, bell pepper strips, etc.

Mini packets of natural peanut butter such as Justin’s

Whole wheat pita bread holds sandwich contents nicely

Rice cakes

Nuts and seeds

Pre-packaged trail mix packets (Trader Joe’s carries perfectly sized packets for kids)

Organic Valley milk in aseptic containers, Rice Dream carries small juice-box sized cartons for Rice Milk as well

If you’re up to it, go ahead and bake some whole grain muffins or cookies as a special treat. Remember to use alternative sweeteners such as applesauce and real maple syrup.

Air popped popcorn with a little coconut oil and salt make for a tasty treat everyone will enjoy

Granola bars-home made or purchased. Watch the sugar content here.

Dried fruitthis will also help keep everyoneon schedule for potty breaks as you’re limited on activity with long road trips.

Other essentials to pack:

You can use truck stops for one thing, their parking lot. Pack a picnic blanket and a few jump ropes so in the event you can’t find a nice rest stop, you can pull over to a grassy spot after fueling the car, lay out the blanket, break out the cooler and catch a bit of fresh air, sun, activity and good food. You’ll all feel much better when you get back into the car after you’ve raised your heart rates a bit.

• jump ropes ( not JUST for the kids!)
• picnic blanket
• baseball and glove
• chalk (in a corner of the parking lot, draw lines on the asphalt such as for a relay race or sprints and challenge each other for who can run back and forth in the least amount of time!)

A word about treats:

I was a kid once, too, and though I think we had many more treats than we needed, I always take into consideration what treats mean for my kids and when and how to bring them out. Being on the road for long periods of time is tough on everyone, even with exciting scenery, audio stories and DVD players. Sometimes sugar free gum isn’t enough to tide a child over for one more hour. Though bribery is a fine line, we all know when to pull out the tricks needed to bar off one more question of,are we there yet? Having a couple things tucked out of view might be a good idea. I might include all natural licorice, sugar & HFCS free lollipops or perhaps a small bag of M&M’sgoodness knows what I’d do for a few peanut M&M’s myself!

It is also good to remember that food doesn’t have to be the only thing we consider treats. Perhaps we’ve downloaded a few extra audio stories or brought home videos of Christmas at grandma’s house to play on the DVD player to buy a little time. Maybe each child gets a new set of crayons or colored pencils, stickers or beeswax to keep little hands busy and voices to a whisper.

You will reap the benefits of a more harmonious road trip by implementing some of these ideasthough sibling rivalry will be what it ismaybe, for a little humor, the parent who drives the longest is granted a special set of ear plugs! To many happy road trips for you and your family!

About the Author

Nichi Hirsch Kuechle supports moms during pregnancy, birth, postpartum and beyond as a lifestyle coach, craniosacral therapist and birth & postpartum doula in Minneapolis. She publishes a bi-monthly e-newsletter called Natural Family, which offers tips, ideas and resources for naturally raising your children. She also teaches a variety of live and virtual workshops. You can get Nichi’s New Parent Tool Kit, for free, by going to: http://www.MyHealthyBeginning.com.

The toolkit includes a hospital-birth checklist, home-birth checklist, a list of her favorite natural baby care items, creative ideas for helping siblings adjust, and much more. Get yours today, while it’s free!