Our family recently qualified for our new Shaklee Suburban.  Our goal was to have it by August to drive to the amazing Shaklee conference in Nashville, TN, which we did!  So grateful for that blessing.

As we prepared for this trip, I knew that if I did not plan well, my children (and my husband and I) would not be eating healthy and there would be effects of that on our health (more on that in the coming weeks).  Don’t get me wrong. When we vacation we do treat ourselves at times, especially to regional treats only available in areas we travel through such as Graeter’s Ice Cream in Louisville, Kentucky. Our goal is usually to have food for meals and snacks for most of the day and only have to eat out for lunch or dinner.

I prepared a variety of foods for both our road trip and to eat in the hotel (which had a tiny fridge but nothing else.)

Dry Foods:
For the car, we needed our road trip treat of Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso beans and Shaklee Energy Chews (much needed for car rides that start at 5:30 a.m.). We purchased freeze-dried fruit at Cost-Co as well as Happy Baby Organic “Veggie Bags.” The “Veggie Bags” are great for the car and even our littlest one could eat those while we were driving. I packed single servings of trail mix for my daughter (cashews, pecans, almonds, craisins). To ensure we had a good protein source on the road, we brought Shaklee180 snack bars and meal bars that have tons of great stuff in them including up to 20 grams of protein.  These made a great filling breakfast for all of us because of the protein and fiber. (We brought more of each of the items than pictured, but this covers which kinds of items we brought).

Cold Foods:
We packed a large cooler to bring into the hotel as well as a small cooler for easy access in the car (one of the great things I’ve learned from my mom).  I prepared my two favorite healthy muffins ahead of time and froze them. The muffins were great in the hotel for a healthy breakfast for the kids. I had mini peanut butter and jelly pitas made for the car and for the hotel for quick lunches. I brought frozen peas and frozen grapes in individual size baggies.  We had pre-cut carrots and apples. Another very important thing we brought for the trip were containers of food for my 10-month-old. When we had to go out to eat, I needed to be prepared with healthy foods that was soft enough for her entry level chewing ability. I had these frozen and then on ice in the cooler so that they stayed for the entire trip. The last thing you see pictured were water bottles pre-prepared with Performance and Pomegranate Energy Tea.

(For the record, the grapes were a major fail. They didn’t stay frozen and were just kind of squishy when thawed).

Shaking it up:
I also packed our single serving blender to make our daily  Shaklee180 smoothies in the hotel room. My much smarter husband brought his shaker bottle and we made those for our breakfasts (and sometimes lunches) and shared them with the girls. We even discovered that you can use natural peanut butter in a shaker cup. If you don’t refrigerate natural peanut butter it is actually pourable so you can pour the amount you want right into a shaker bottle and it blends right in.

I hope these simple things that worked for us and helped us save money and eat healthier on our trip can also help you! Please let me know if you try any of these things for your upcoming road trip or if you have ideas of your own to eat healthier on the road and not break the bank on eating out for each meal!

And in case you are under the strange impression that I have it all together when it comes to trip planning, I forgot to bring my youngest’s swim suit and swim diapers (although I remembered her floatie).