When planning an RV road trip, you need to figure out many details, such as your route, lodging if needed, and food. Since it’s not feasible to eat out for every meal, you need to bring some snacks along.
However, what if you want to stay healthy during your trip? Fortunately, we’ve compiled a road trip food list comprised of nutritious and delicious items. That said, feel free to add some indulgences as well. After all, what’s the fun of a road trip without a few empty calories along the way?
Fresh Fruit and Veggies
First and foremost, eating more fruits and vegetables will help you stay healthy whether or not you’re traveling. However, picking the right fruits and veggies can be a bit challenging. Some excellent healthy food to pack on a road trip include:
- Carrots
- Apples (sliced or whole)
- Sliced Oranges
- Broccoli Tips
- Celery Stalks
- Grapes
Basically, you want anything that you can eat with your hands that won’t create a mess. For example, orange slices are much better than a whole orange. Otherwise, you’ll have to do something with the peel afterward.
Why It’s Healthy: All fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamins and minerals. Also, since they have fiber, they can help you feel full for longer.
Nut Butter (Peanut, Almond, etc.)
These days, you can’t walk down a grocery store aisle without seeing all kinds of alternative nut butter. Almonds and peanuts still reign supreme, but there are far more options today than in years past.
Nut butter is an excellent road trip snack because it goes with other items as a dip. Or, you can use the nut butter in a sandwich for a quick and easy meal on the go. For example, you can put almond butter in celery slices or dip carrots directly into the jar.
Why It’s Healthy: Although nut butter is fatty, it’s full of good fat that can help lower cholesterol. According to Cedars-Sinai Hospital, almond and walnut butter are the best options.
Protein or Granola Bars
When packing foods for a road trip, you have to consider a few key elements:
- Space – Don’t crowd your car with too many snacks.
- Mess – Will you need to vacuum crumbs off of your seat cushions afterward?
- Satisfaction – Can you feel full from your snacks, or will you have to stop for lunch anyway?
Protein or granola bars check off all these boxes, but you have to be careful when considering the “mess” side of things. Some bars are neat and contained, while others can be pretty troublesome (looking at you, Nature Valley).
Best of all, you can find bars that have lots of calories so that they work well as a meal replacement.
Why It’s Healthy: Most granola bars have a mix of vitamins and minerals. Try to avoid ones with too much sugar, as they can cause your blood sugar to spike.
Trail Mix
You can think of trail mix as a deconstructed version of a granola bar. As with nut butter, there are tons of healthy options available today. You can find trail mixes with various ingredients, from yogurt to kale chips to quinoa.
- One 48-ounce stand-up, resealable bag.
- Packaging might vary
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While trail mix can be messy, the secret is how you store it. If you just have a loose bag of mix, you’ll likely spill some while grabbing a handful. However, if you put your trail mix into a pop-top container, you can pour it into your mouth and leave your hands mess-free.
Why It’s Healthy: Trail mix has a blend of carbs and protein, which helps you feel full. If you opt for an extra nutritious blend, you can get even more vitamins and minerals.
Seeds and Nuts
We’re still deconstructing the previous items on this list. While nut butter is good for dipping, what if you want something a bit more crunchy and salty? Mixed nuts are an excellent option since they come loaded with healthy fats and fatty acids.
You can also bring seeds into the mix, but be careful of ones that still have a shell. For example, sunflower seeds are tasty, but they leave a lot of waste. Trying to eat them in the car will create a huge mess to clean up later.
Some examples of healthy nuts and seeds include:
- Cashews
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Brazil Nuts
- Macadamia Nuts
- Chia Seeds
- Flaxseeds
Why It’s Healthy: Depending on the types of nuts you bring, you can get a lot of nutrition packed into a small container. But, be careful of eating too many, as they are pretty fatty and calorie-dense.
Fruit Chips
If eating regular fruit is too challenging, you can buy dried fruit chips instead. While these products usually have added sugar, they still retain many of the vitamins and minerals of the fruit itself. Try to look for organic versions or packages that say “no added sugar.” Some of our favorite fruit chips include:
- Banana Chips
- Mango Chips
- Dried Apricots
- Apple Chips
Why It’s Healthy: You get most of the nutritional value of the fruit without the hassle of peeling and eating. Plus, the chips still contain most of the dietary fiber.
Hard-Boiled Eggs
If you’re going to bring eggs on your road trip, we highly recommend peeling them first. As with other food options on this list, you want to avoid turning your seats into a culinary warzone.
Why It’s Healthy: Eggs have lean protein, which is good for your body. A few eggs will also help you feel full so that you snack less during your trip.
Fresh Avocados or Guacamole
Realistically, you’ll need some chips to dip into your fresh, homemade guacamole. Here is another instance where packaging matters. If you have a dish of guacamole, it might be too messy. However, if you use a squeeze bottle or something similar, you can add guacamole to the chip instead of dipping.
When choosing chips, try to pick ones that have extra nutrition, like those made of flaxseed.
Why It’s Healthy: Like nuts, avocados are full of healthy fats and acids. They also have lots of fiber. When making guacamole, try to limit the amount of mayo and other “filler” ingredients.
Cheese and Crackers
If you’re like us, you can probably just eat cheese straight without anything added. However, for road trips, the blend of creamy and crunchy is perfect for keeping you full and awake. As with everything else, preparation and storage are essential.
It helps to pre-slice the cheese and have crackers ready to go. If possible, you can store both items together as you would eat them. So, putting cheese in between crackers so that you can just grab and eat in one motion.
Why It’s Healthy: Cheese has calcium, healthy fat, and protein. If you choose high-quality crackers, you can boost your nutritional intake even more.
Yogurt
Last but not least, yogurt is a healthy snack for road trips and everyday life. Fortunately, there are to-go versions of yogurt that don’t require a spoon. However, if you need a spoon, we suggest using disposable versions so that you can toss everything in the trash when you’re finished.
Why It’s Healthy: Yogurt is almost a “complete” snack in that it contains all the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients your body needs to thrive. Plus, if you want calcium or a probiotic boost, you can’t go wrong with yogurt.
RV Road Trip Food List Final Thoughts
We hope that this road trip food list has inspired you to stay healthy on your journey, wherever it might lead. In addition to the healthy snacks, I have listed above don’t forget some walkie-talkies for your road trip. Here is an article I wrote on the best walkie-talkies for road trips.
