Tuesday Tip - Guest Post!

Today's post is brought to you from my Ms. Katie from the Spankstas.  We really appreciate her jumping in and helping out!  Take it away, Katie!  ~Sara

Hi Ladies!

My name is Katie. I am Sara’s sister-in-law.  Most of my time is spent teaching middle school, but now that it is summer, I’ve had a bit of free time on my hands.

Actually, I have spent most of the summer on the road.  My hubby and I took off on a week long road trip around Idaho. Then the next week, I did a mad dash road trip to Los Angeles with my mom.  Last week I drove to a teaching conference in Utah.

All of this time behind the wheel has made the weight loss challenge, well, really challenging. While I’ve only lost about three pounds so far this summer, I didn’t gain a single ounce on vacation. 




Here are five tips to healthy travels that I have discovered first hand this summer.

1. Pack healthy foods. I have to have snack food when I’m on a road trip. It helps me to stay awake and it makes traveling so much more fun.  But in order to stay within my calorie count, I filled a small cooler with baggies of grapes and Bing cherries. (Bing cherries are really helpful for drowsiness, because you have to focus on spitting out the seed.) I also sliced up a block of cheese so that I could make little whole grain cracker and cheese sandwiches. String cheese is handy and fun to eat too.  I kept all of these things within arm’s reach of the passenger’s seat so they were very accessible.  This also included water bottles, not sodas. Sure, that soda will keep you peppy but so will an icy slushy. Freeze the water bottles before you leave home, and then keep them in a cooler on the floor of the back seat. Feeling thirsty- drink healthy water. Feeling sleepy- put the icy water bottle on the back of your neck. Win-win situation.  If you’re really sleepy pull over and take a little hike. Stretch your legs and get some exercise. That’s way better than an energy drink or a soda pop.
2. Put unhealthy foods out of reach.  Nobody goes camping without s’more ingredients, right? Or what about chips, cookies, or yummy desserts? I would imagine that with kids in tow those foods would be a must have. Well, that’s fine. We are on vacation after all. But put them in the trunk of the car, or the bed of the pickup. Somewhere so inaccessible that you have to pull over, stop the car, and unpack it just to get to the goodies. This will prevent unnecessary snacking until it is actually time for dessert.
3. Don’t eat out every meal – particularly breakfast.  Staying in a hotel or motel while on the road? That’s great! Most of them come with miniature refrigerators.  So run to the store and pick up some yogurt cups and a small box of granola.  Maybe pack a few extra string cheese or some mini-bagels and fat free cream cheese. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Start your day off right.  Continental breakfasts are okay, but be aware of your portion sizes. If you wouldn’t have a waffle with lots of syrup at home, you don’t have to have one at the hotel, either. 
   
   Maybe it’s not breakfast that’s the problem. You don’t have to buy lunches either.  Before you leave, make some sandwiches or pack some apples and peanut butter.  The picture below is on a typical lunch on the Idaho road trip.  We pulled over near a grassy park, grabbed some apples, some peanut butter, and some string cheese. It was a good chance to stretch our legs. The apples were nice and crisp, the peanut butter was filling, and the cheese was tasty.  If that’s not enough food for you and your brood, add a handful of those whole-grain crackers from Tip #1 or pack a loaf of whole grain bread to make sandwiches.
   
   

   

   You’ve probably noticed the Oreo package in the background. We limited ourselves to two cookies a piece (one serving) and then packed them back into the bed of the truck so we wouldn’t be tempted to eat more.

   
   

4. Eat local.  Okay, so we’re driving around the town of Wallace, Idaho trying to decide what to do for dinner. There are the usual fast food restaurants of course, but there were also some great little locally owned joints like the 1313 Club. Yes, Jake’s hamburger was huge and greasy. Yes, my philly cheese steak sandwich was oozing caloric goodness. But here’s the deal- eating local is good in multiple ways. First of all, that restaurant is more likely to have bought local, fresh ingredients which will always be better for you than whatever is shipped in from some unknown source. Second, the food is going to taste better because it is made fresh, not frozen. Unlike chain stores that have set recipes, locally owned restaurants have chefs who are thinking on their feet to produce delicious food specifically for you at that moment. If you’re going to be eating the calories anyway, you might as well enjoy them. Finally, it helps the local economy.  If you drive all the way across the country just to eat at a Burger King, you’re missing out on one of the best reasons to travel – to try the local cuisine.
5. Indulge a little. If you eat healthy snacks, and keep an eye on your portions, and take the time to do some hiking/sight-seeing you deserve an extra s’more around the campfire or that homemade apple pie at the diner.  Plus, you’re on vacation and what happens on vacation, stays on vacation. ☺