Choosing Healthy Meals
You've probably already faced the struggle at restaurants of trying to order healthy options for your family. It seems especially difficult with children as often the only things available on the Kid's Menu are either deep fried or refined flour and processed cheese (macaroni and cheese, pizza, etc.). However, most restaurants will be happy to substitute and make alterations for you. For example, with a simple request a "deep fried chicken fingers and french fries" meal can be turned into a grilled chicken breast with green beans". They should still provide the smaller portions and price. Other things to watch out for is requesting "real butter" at the table instead of using transfat (hydrogenated) margarine as well as asking for steamed vegetables. Holding the sauce on entries also keeps you from fat and "mystery ingredients" that often aren't natural. Something else you'll want to avoid for you and your children is pop, kool aid and artificial punch. Regardless of health concerns over the ingredients, it's no fun being trapped in a car with kids hopped up on caffeine and sugar! Better options are milk, fruit juice (ask if it's 100% juice), unsweetened iced tea or just plain water. Restaurants have lemon or lime slices that they will provide free upon request that can add flavor and fun for young children.
Pack a Cooler with Fresh Veggies: Cut up carrots and celery last well on car trips. My daughter loves cucumber slices, but those are better for just one to two day outings. Try something different with slices of sweet bell peppers (orange, red and yellow all have distinct flavors), turnips or sweet pea pods. Personally, I enjoy nibbling on slivers of red cabbage with its natural sweet flavor.
Pack a Cooler with Fresh Veggies: Cut up carrots and celery last well on car trips. My daughter loves cucumber slices, but those are better for just one to two day outings. Try something different with slices of sweet bell peppers (orange, red and yellow all have distinct flavors), turnips or sweet pea pods. Personally, I enjoy nibbling on slivers of red cabbage with its natural sweet flavor.
Bring bags of Fresh Fruit: Wash these before you pack them. Apples and oranges hold up well under the bustling of a trip. From personal experience avoid bananas, they might sound like a good idea, but after being banged up on a roads trip, they’ll just end up being brown and squashed.
Mix Your Own Trail Mix: I like to mix my own trail mix by buying from the bulk bins at the health food store. Some personal favorite ingredients are: sunflower seeds, almonds, pumpkin seeds and dried fruit. Granola works well as a great base, buy pre-made or try the naturally low-fat recipe below. Great additions are all-natural yogurt covered raisins and semi-sweet chocolate chips, yet limit these as the calories can add up. This is especially true of dried fruit because even though it has most of the nutrients of fresh fruit, it has the natural sugar as well because it is in a concentrated form with the water removed. Therefore, it’s easy to lose track of how many calories you’ve actually eaten. Another caution about dried fruit is that you have to read the ingredients closely as much of what the regular grocery stores offer has added sugar and even artificial dye for coloring!
Take Hard boiled Eggs: Store them in a cooler with ice and keep them unpeeled. You can put a little sea salt in a ziplock baggie and just dip the eggs into it to enjoy. Eggs are an excellent snacking choice as they are a super food, packed with protein, vitamins and nutrients. For just 70 calories – an egg provides 6 grams of protein, that equals 10% of the daily-recommended value of protein (in a 2,000-calorie diet). Eggs contain all the essential protein, minerals and vitamins, except Vitamin C. In addition, egg yolks are one of few foods that naturally contain Vitamin D.
Bring Your Own Sweets: If you know your family will get the munchies for sugary sweets on the trip and will buy them anyway (it is a vacation after all!), then just make your own and pack before you go. Cookies and brownies can be made and frozen a few weeks ahead of time. When you make them homemade, from scratch and with 100% all-natural ingredients you'll get your sweet tooth filled, yet have the satisfaction knowing that you’re avoiding health hazards such as transfats (hydrogenated oils), high fructose corn syrup, artificial preservatives and dyes. Plus, homemade always tastes better!
Pack Your Own Water: My hubby and I like to keep our travel expenses down and health up by bringing along some gallons of water that we distilled at home with our reverse osmosis system. We bring stainless steel drinking containers that can follow us out of the car and along on our adventures. This keeps the plastic bottles out of the landfill. (67 million water bottles are thrown away each day.) It also guarantees the quality of the water we're drinking and prevents any toxins from the plastic water bottles from getting into our bodies. Potentially dangerous, endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in most pre-packed water bottles are BPA (Bisphenol A) and Phthlates. These can negatively affect hormones of both genders which can cause fertility problems, immune systems, increase risks of cancer and learning and behavior problems.
Take Hard boiled Eggs: Store them in a cooler with ice and keep them unpeeled. You can put a little sea salt in a ziplock baggie and just dip the eggs into it to enjoy. Eggs are an excellent snacking choice as they are a super food, packed with protein, vitamins and nutrients. For just 70 calories – an egg provides 6 grams of protein, that equals 10% of the daily-recommended value of protein (in a 2,000-calorie diet). Eggs contain all the essential protein, minerals and vitamins, except Vitamin C. In addition, egg yolks are one of few foods that naturally contain Vitamin D.
Bring Your Own Sweets: If you know your family will get the munchies for sugary sweets on the trip and will buy them anyway (it is a vacation after all!), then just make your own and pack before you go. Cookies and brownies can be made and frozen a few weeks ahead of time. When you make them homemade, from scratch and with 100% all-natural ingredients you'll get your sweet tooth filled, yet have the satisfaction knowing that you’re avoiding health hazards such as transfats (hydrogenated oils), high fructose corn syrup, artificial preservatives and dyes. Plus, homemade always tastes better!
Pack Your Own Water: My hubby and I like to keep our travel expenses down and health up by bringing along some gallons of water that we distilled at home with our reverse osmosis system. We bring stainless steel drinking containers that can follow us out of the car and along on our adventures. This keeps the plastic bottles out of the landfill. (67 million water bottles are thrown away each day.) It also guarantees the quality of the water we're drinking and prevents any toxins from the plastic water bottles from getting into our bodies. Potentially dangerous, endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in most pre-packed water bottles are BPA (Bisphenol A) and Phthlates. These can negatively affect hormones of both genders which can cause fertility problems, immune systems, increase risks of cancer and learning and behavior problems.
Easy Clean Up: Bring trash bags along to help keep your area clean - we reuse our plastic grocery bags as small trash bags. This is especially helpful as you'll have fruit peels that will need disposing. Throwing in a roll of paper towels for napkins is also a good idea.
Low Fat Granola Recipe
Yields: 20 servings
I love this homemade granola - it is very tasty and perfect for both morning cereal or trail mix snacking. It will keep for at least a month, store it in recycled oatmeal containers. For morning cereal, I usually leave out the almonds and just use raisins in it. For trail mix I like almonds with various dried fruit. For a nice holidy trail mix you can use dried cranberries, cherries and mini semi-sweet chips. (Package these in decorated bags or cute containers and it also makes great gifts.) Enjoy and get creative!
Ingredients:
- 3 Bananas, peeled and diced
- 1/4 Cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 Cup Hot Water
- 1 TBS Vanilla Extract
- 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Salt
- 8 Cups Quick Cooking Oats
- 8 oz. Raisins (or dried fruit of choice)
- 8 oz. Blanched Slivered Almonds (or nuts of your choice. I pre-roasting my almonds to give them a richer flavor and texture)
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
- Puree the bananas in a food processor or blender. Add the brown sugar, hot water, vanilla, cinnamon and salt mix well.
- Pour mixture into a large mixing bowl, add oatmeal and mix well.
- Spread onto large baking sheets and bake for 1 & ½ to 2 hours (depending upon your oven) stirring frequently. Cook longer for crunchier if desired. Once cooled add the dried raisins and nuts or other additions, as little or as much as you want. Mix and enjoy.
