Healthy Eating Recommendations for Families on the Road

Trying to create Gluten-Free meals while traveling?

Although it’s tough to keep fresh veggies and fruits around with RV size fridges, you can be creative.

Buy grapes and strip them off their stems and put them in small reusable containers

Get the mini (or Dulcinea) watermelons, cut them up, and put them in containers

Cut up fresh veggies like red pepper, celery, carrots, radishes, etc. and store them in ice water in a cup or container

Tangerines are small as are kiwi, baby carrots and celery sticks

Frozen fruits and veggies like peas, spinach boxes, blueberries, raspberries, mango, etc. don’t take up much room in the freezer.

Buy the large broccoli and cut off the crowns; store in containers

Buy frozen OJ and make it instead of those cartons that take up valuable fridge space. If there’s any left over, you can store it in a reusable water bottle or small jug.

I really like those green bags you can buy in the produce section at large supermarkets that keep veggies fresh longer they do work

Canned fruits and vegetables are easy to store anywhere

Pre-made, bagged salads are worth the slight extra cost for a quick, easy salad

First, here are a few of my favorite online healthy recipe sources:

Gluten Free – Living For a limited time, you can subscribe to Gluten-Free Living and get 6 Issues & A Free Tote Bag for only $25!

Cooking Lite this site/magazine has a reputation for being a bit gourmet, but there are many recipes that are designed to be made in 30 minutes with easy to-find ingredients.

Menus For Moms a homeschooling friend of mine with 6 kids swears by this site to keep her sanity!

Aicr. org check out the rest of the site for cancer prevention and latest research on diet and cancer.

Here are a few more ideas:

Beans are healthy, inexpensive and easy to store. Make soup, dips, burritos, etc.

Make smoothies with frozen fruit, yogurt, OJ or pineapple juice and ice

Try tofu (I like extra-firm); it works well in stir fry or pad thai (dip in egg white first for a nice crust, smoothies (instead of yogurt you’ll never taste it), and even desserts (I have a great recipe for chocolate mousse using tofu)

Limit red meat to once or twice a week

Frozen fish and canned tuna are easy to store and make for quick meals

Limit desserts to once a week and make/buy something really special and worth the calories

Encourage your kids to help you prepare meals. Teach them how to read labels and make healthy choices

Buy chicken breasts on sale and freeze for a quick meal. We like to grill them with Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce and corn on the cob; you can also use them for chicken tacos, stir fry, etc.

Eating out:

Limit to once or twice a week

Order an appetizer instead of a big meal

Share meals with a family member

Tell your server to skip the bread, rolls, chips, etc.

Ask for lunch portions

Fast food places often offer healthy choices. McDonalds, Chick-Fil-A, Arbys, Subway, Wendy’s, etc. all have great salads or healthy sandwiches

Pizza is cheap and not that bad for you if you order veggie or cheese (ask for light cheese), thin crust and limit yourself to 2 pieces

Many grocery stores have really increased their supply of organic foods. The cost has also come down quite a bit. Some Wal-Mart offer organics. I really like Safeway. Their “O” products are delicious and inexpensive. (I especially like the “O” milk and OJ. )

Another tip: Buy the local paper on Wednesdays. This is usually the day that new grocery ads come out. (You can ask the campground staff if this is true for your location. ) Look through the ads to help you decide where to shop for the foods you need. Seasonal fruits and vegetables are usually cheaper than those not in season.

One last thing: The best investment I have made for our family’s health is a grain mill. It’s relatively small and easy to store. I buy wheat, rye, millet, spelt, barley, corn, oats, etc. and throw them in the mill. Seconds later, I have freshly-milled flour, with all the nutrients intact. I make bread, muffins, pancakes, cookies, energy bars, etc. They taste unbelievably good. I bought my mill through a business in Georgia: Breadbeckers.com You can also buy grain and other ingredients for healthy cooking. If you buy a mill from this company (about $200), they’ll include a free cookbook.