What to take on a Short Road Triip?

[Pailani]

I'm going to be going out of town for a long weekend, driving with someone else (who will probably be stopping for fast food along the way!) I guess I'll need to bring along every bite of food I plan on eating since I won't be able to go to any grocery stores, and we'll be eating pre-planned cafeteria meals while we're there. I don't want to be sluggish, so nuts and dried fruit/nut desserts won't work. I don't have a dehydrator.

I can't bring anything too messy. I'm already imagining my ride pulling up and saying, "You're taking all THAT? What did you pack, your entire wardrobe? It's only a three day trip!" and me saying, "This is just my food . . . "

I wonder if I'll be able to bring a blender so I can make smoothies in the dorm where I'll be staying? Or, will pre-made smoothies travel well and keep in a cooler for 3 days?

I can bring bananas, apples (if I can slice them - I hate chomping into whole apples). Grapes aren't quite in season yet. Salad chopped dense enough to pack in small containers. Am I overlooking anything obvious?

[Sharon in Colorado]

How about dates? They are small and light.

Another thing, if you don't mind dehydrated food, is some of the Just Tomatoes brand freeze dried food. I am addicted to the Just Corn, I need to stop eating it.

You can cut up melon and pack for the first day of the trip (be prepared for lots of bathroom breaks)...and bring along a second melon to cut up in your dorm for the way back.

Get a little cutting board for the apple. I use an apple wedger all the time. Or just line a hard cover book with a kitchen towel to use as a board.

Stop at a supermarket and buy a bag of organic greens and an orange and squirt the orange in the bag and chomp down.

Or you can fast on the road, that will definately eliminate the need for several meals!

I can tell you that my smoothies don't taste good at all the 2nd day. You might consider investing in a Magic Bullet or other small personal blender.

[rawpriestess]

Well, let's see, you don't have a dehydrator, so you can't make crackers or bars, and you won't be able to stop at a grocery store to buy fresh greens and produce?, and you don't want anything too messy, and yet you don't want to take too much food, as there is a challenge with how much luggage you will be taking, and yet you don't want to eat alot of nuts or dried fruit either.

so, in my opinion that leaves either pre packaged crackers and breads from the raw section at the HFS, and lots of veggies, already prepaired so you can eat the entire veggie, without having to toss the tops and ends, and spend alot of time prepping them on the road.

I'd also take some fruit like oranges, and already cut up apples, dipped in lemon to keep from browning, and some bananas, pears, etc. We do have grapes here, so I don't know why you don't have them where you are.

I'm sorry I can't be more helpful, but there seem to be a lot of restrictions on your going, maybe you could drive yourself, then you could have more control over your food and packing and eating, or maybe you could just talk to the driver and ask them if they will be able to stop at some grocery stores, so you can eat too.

this is what I did once, when I was taking a class with a friend,
she went to McDonalds every morning for breakfast, and she felt that my stopping at a store and searching for fruits and veggies was a big hinderance on her time, so I had her drop me at the store on her way to Micky D's then stop to pick me back up on her way back, this worked great, I just bought a pre-cut fruit tray each day, and one of veggies, it was expensive, but lasted me the entire day, cost about $14 for the fruit tray and $14 for the veggie tray, but there was no waste, no fuss, no muss, and It fed me breakfast, lunch and dinner, I was totally happy.

that was the last time, I allowed anyone to attempt to control my choices, if she wouldn't have wanted to do that, I could easily have taken a cab to the class (parking was extremely limited), and stayed in a hotel room, instead of at her hourse. She did not wish to drive in my 2 seater car, as she had to drop off her daughter at school each morning that we went to the class we were attending.

[Brianna]

I don't think a smoothie would keep for more than a couple hours, even in the cooler. Avocados travel pretty well and bell peppers, carrots, celery, cucumber, etc. You could make a raw dip and take plenty of veggies. Seeds for sprouting and a sprouting jar are also a good idea.

[Pailani]

Well, let's see, you don't have a dehydrator, so you can't make crackers or bars, and you won't be able to stop at a grocery store to buy fresh greens and produce?, and you don't want anything too messy, and yet you don't want to take too much food, as there is a challenge with how much luggage you will be taking, and yet you don't want to eat alot of nuts or dried fruit either.

I'll bring a cooler; I have some leeway about how much luggage I bring. But most of my luggage will be FOOD! :D And I asked about the dorm, and there's no problem bringing a blender and a knife and cutting board. So, with apples, smoothies, bagged lettuce, bananas, a few other fruits, that should work for three days. And I can bring sunflower seeds. The idea of fasting during the drive might help, too.

I've been seeing grapes at the grocery store, but so far they're all from Mexico. I don't buy organic produce, so I don't buy fruits from foreign countries unless they have a peel I can throw away. By the time of my trip (two weeks), maybe domestic grapes will be in the stores. Grapes are great on car trips!

[rawpriestess]

Pailani, that helps so much.

How about some truffles or fudge balls, I know they have nuts in them, but you could use coconut instead, as long as you have a cooler, you can take so much more stuff.

I'd take some pate (keep on ice) maybe the salmon pate' to pop into some fresh tomatoe or wrap up in romaine or collard greens, make some olive tapenade with some tomatoes and you've got a great wrap too.

I like to have a variety of textures and flavors,

I find if I have something sweet, like fruit, and somthing salty like olives, I'm so much better off, plus something crunchy like carrot sticks or celery and something smooth like nut butter, then I've pretty much got it covered, I also like to take hot peppers and pickles with me, when I travel, if I am wanting something, but not sure what it is, it is usually something with alot of flavor, and pickels and hot peppers works great.

I bet you're gonna' have a fun time

good luck on your food choices, since you can take a cooler, that will probably work beautifully for you.

[Pailani]

How about some truffles or fudge balls, I know they have nuts in them, but you could use coconut instead,

Coconut instead of nuts in truffles or fudge balls? That sounds interesting! I only have access with traditional hard coconuts, no baby Thai coconuts. Would I just put that through the food processor?

Should I start a new thread in the recipe/food prep section?

[rawpriestess]

Well, this is how I make truffles

1/2 cup dates(unsoaked and pitted)
1/2 cup walnuts (unsoaked)
then mix in food processor, you can add spices and vanilla if you like, I don't

Well, I would take fresh coconut, and just shred or grate it, and dates,and mix together,and see how you like it, you could always add a touch of vanillia or whatever

also coconut and apricots, would be good, with a touch of vanilla, mmmmmm

coconut and raisins or figs or prunes too,

any dried fruit you like will hold the coconut together.

let me know how you like it.

I'd let the coconut dry out in the fridge for a day or so before using unless it is pretty dry already, which the brown ones should be failry dry, not gelly like like the Thai ones.

[moonstone523]

I am going to a 5 day camp next week with my students. This is my shopping list for next week.

For breakfast:
10 apples
1 bundle of bananas
1 kg of oranges

For lunches and dinners:
Lots of lettuce (cleaned and bagged)
10 tomatoes (washed)
10 cucumbers (washed)
2 carrots (shredded and put in tuperware)
sunflower seeds
limes
olive oil

They will have a knife in the kitchen. So I plan on eating fruit in the AM and making a salad for lunch dinner. It will get boring, and I am sure I will have a "meal" some where along the way, but this is my plan.

Making a salad can easily be done in a car. In my opion anyways, if the veggies are already clean.

Hope this helps.

And I too will be looked at like: "why do you have so much shit?" They Thai's bring like a tiny bag for 1 week of travel and I have so much stuff. Plus, I want to try to bring my bike. AHHHH.
:cool:

[yeahbethany]

I am going to a 5 day camp next week with my students. This is my shopping list for next week.

For breakfast:
10 apples
1 bundle of bananas
1 kg of oranges

For lunches and dinners:
Lots of lettuce (cleaned and bagged)
10 tomatoes (washed)
10 cucumbers (washed)
2 carrots (shredded and put in tuperware)
sunflower seeds
limes
olive oil

They will have a knife in the kitchen. So I plan on eating fruit in the AM and making a salad for lunch dinner. It will get boring, and I am sure I will have a "meal" some where along the way, but this is my plan.

Making a salad can easily be done in a car. In my opion anyways, if the veggies are already clean.

Hope this helps.

And I too will be looked at like: "why do you have so much shit?" They Thai's bring like a tiny bag for 1 week of travel and I have so much stuff. Plus, I want to try to bring my bike. AHHHH.
:cool:

Moonstone, that seems like not nearly enough (at least to me...I'm a big eater!). Are you sure you won't be hungry! You'll probably need way more than that to keep you satisfied for five days....

I could be wrong. You know yourself better than any of us here. On the off-chance I'm not though...I just wanted to save you from being ravenously hungry!

Everyone has such great ideas! Me, I'd take oranges, since they travel so well!

[Pailani]

The trip went well. I brought a blender and decided to plan to have grapes every day for breakfast, 2 green smoothies made of an apple, a banana, celery and lettuce, I'd bring sunflower seeds and raisins to snack on, an avocado, and a Lara bar every day for a treat.

I packed 6 big ziploc bags with rinsed Romaine lettuce, mixed baby lettuce and a stalk of celery, and I squeezed all the air out of them so all six would fit in the cooler with my baggies of rinsed grapes. I brought apples and bananas but didn't chill them.

It was a good amount of food so I never got hungry, I had plenty of energy - no sugar dips, and no caffeine at all! And I never felt deprived because I had the avocados and Lara bars. So, I stayed raw and I feel really good. The food kept really well. I'll have to remember that trick about squeezing the air out and sealing the bag. It seemed to keep the lettuce and celery fresher.

[Faithfullyfit]

Glad to hear that your trip went well :) I am not trying to sell anything....really- just thought I would share some information on Whole Food Farmacy goodies......I signed up because I love the foods and wanted to buy at wholesale!!!!! There are low heat dried fruits and vegetable's and a whole food meal replacement mix -(like a yummy spicy cookie dough!!!) called Phi Plus- My favorites are Phi Plus, Veggielicous and the fruitalicous- My kids LOVE them too! That are great for travel and outings- I keep them in my purse and in the car- I have these and some fresh fruit ready for a trip I am taking. Anyway, you can visit my site www.faithfullyfit.wholefoodfarmacy.com
or the site directly www.wholefoodfarmacy.com

I know you will love the mixes! It is great if you do not have a dehydrator....or like me and my dehydrated goodies never turn out :(

Faithfully FIT

[Pailani]

whole food meal replacement mix -(like a yummy spicy cookie dough!!!) called Phi Pluswww.wholefoodfarmacy.com

I know you will love the mixes! It is great if you do not have a dehydrator

Faithfully FIT

I don't have a dehydrator, and this might be the travel food I've been looking for. But I don't understand what this is - it looks like a small bag of granola or something loose. How do you eat that on the road?? Also, if I eat too much concentrated food - too many nuts and dried fruit, I start getting candida, so I rarely use things like Lara bars. Are these different than that?

[Sharon in Colorado]

Pailani thanks for the update and the tip! I usually squeeze the air out of the zip bags when freezing something, but hadn't thought of doing that with greens. Often I wash the romaine and wrap it in a paper towel a 'la Rachel Ray and then stick it in a plastic grocery bag. Maybe I should try your way because if the greens stay too long with being eaten they start going bad.

[threedogs]

I've been squeezing the air out of ziplock bags for my lettuces for a long time now - and I add a paper towel or two, to absorb moisture even more. (Do the same with the organic baby lettuces I buy in those hard plastic 'tub' like containers). They def. keep longer this way.

[ShantiDass]

I know this goes against what most people have been taught but I prepare lettuce greens weekly for my rabbits and I learned how to do it from "the rabbit people". I take the organic greens and wash them really well and dry them off as best I can and then let them sit out on paper towels until they are completely dry. I then place them in either one of those green bags especially for keeping food fresh or I put them in Ziplock bags and press all of the air out. When I use the green bags, I also press all of the air out. I feed from the bags daily and keep in the fridge and the greens stay fresh for a week without any problems.

[LeanAndHungry]

Figs are very good. They are supposed to be very high in minerals too. I bought a bunch of jumbo organic Turkish figs from the following site.

http://www.sweetwatermarket.net/fiordrfrju12.html

[Faithfullyfit]

I don't have a dehydrator, and this might be the travel food I've been looking for. But I don't understand what this is - it looks like a small bag of granola or something loose. How do you eat that on the road?? Also, if I eat too much concentrated food - too many nuts and dried fruit, I start getting candida, so I rarely use things like Lara bars. Are these different than that?

It does not taste as sweet as Lara Bars and has higher nutritional content-here is the ingredients of Phi PLUS The Veggie and fruit mixes are not this ingredient dense- just dried fruits and veggies!!!

Phi Plus: (texture and taste like a crumbly...spicy cookie dough!!!!)
Dates, Pecans, Cashews, Almonds, Oats, Raisins, Black Sesame Seeds, Golden Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, brown rice, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, kidney beans,green peas, carrots, nutritional yeast, rasberries, bluberries, cranberries, beet powder, apples, Macadamia nuts, filberts, walnuts, brazil nuts, prunes, figs, ceylon, cinnamon, ginger, clove nutmeg, maize, buckwheat, millet, malted oats, quinoa, wheat bran, chick peas, rice bran, walnut oil, grape seed oil, olive oil, stardust, raw sea salt, flower petals...(rose, hibiscus and lavender)

I don't eat it every day but it is great to keep handy for a quick grab and go- road trip, park, pool and my kids LOVE it! :D

Hope that helps!!!

[Dimond]

Phi Plus is way too yummy & addictive. :) It does taste like an oatmeal cookie or something.

[Lay-Lay]

Most of the time when we decide to travel for the weekend it is a last minute thing. I just throw some ice in my cooler. Slice up carrots and celery. Pack some nuts and seeds. Throw some fruit in the cooler and pack 1 to 3 avocados for each day I will be gone, and a few heads of lettuce. Sometimes I will make some salad dressing or I will just take some olive oil and sea salt. I never pack any machinary but if thats a good plan for you great! I usually will make some type of dip (hummus, etc) for my carrots and celery.

Hope you have a nice trip.