road trip snacks.

We do a lot of road tripping... and I always pack our own snacks. I generally pack enough food to eat for eight hours straight so I asked on Instagram if anyone was interested in any of my ideas for car snacks...
and some people were.

So here we are..

Sorry in advance to people who like to follow a recipe (I'm one of them) but all of these ideas are a bit vague. Play around with the quantities or find recipes online. Hope this is a helpful starting point.

Sorry also to those who don't like to make food and want to buy it. I think it's much better to make it yourself – cause it's cheaper, often healthier and customisable, but luckily for you at the end I have added some ideas of healthy snacks that you can buy.

P O P C O R N

When you think of popcorn you probably think of the movies or those microwavable bags. Unfortunately neither of these types of popcorn are all that good for you, but popcorn, made a little differently, is actual an awesome healthy snack, easy to prepare and very yummy (especially if you make a range of favours)!

Pop some organic (because most corn is GMO) corn kernels in a saucepan (or you could do it in a glass microwavable container with a lid) in a little coconut oil til all the kernels are popped then... go crazy with the flavours!

To make, combine the ingredients with coconut oil (or butter or another oil) over heat and then mix through the popcorn (or alternatively, just sprinkle them over while it's warm – that's what I usually do!)

I love:

• sweet and salty (rapadura sugar and Himalayan salt)
• spicy (cumin, cinnamon, paprika, cayenne, salt)
• chocolate (cacao, maple)
• cheesy (nutritional yeast, cumin, garlic, onion)
• nutty (nut butter)

Be adventurous and experiment with your favourite combinations. Share with me some winning combos!

Warning: they're pretty addictive!!

N U T S

Nuts are amazing in their health benefits (especially if they've been activated [soaked and dehydrated] to help with digestion) but did you know they can also be flavoured and made even more delicious.

All you need to do is combine nuts and marinade in a bowl, then pop them in the oven (at about 170C) until they're golden (about 15 mins but keep an eye on them cause you don't want them to burn!).

Try:

• Tamari almonds (just tamari and almonds)
• Rosemary Walnuts (rosemary, salt, olive oil and walnuts)
• Honey Walnuts (honey, cinnamon, sesame seeds, coconut oil and walnuts)
• Paprika and Rosemary Almonds (paprika, rosemary, honey, salt, olive oil and almonds)
• Cinnamon Cashews (cinnamon, coconut sugar, coconut oil and cashews)
• Nacho Nuts (nutritional yeast, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, olive oil and cashews)

One again, so many flavours to try. Experiment with your own combinations or ask Mr Google. And yet again, they are super addictive and delicious! Or just eat them on their own; they're yummy!

A P P L E  C H I P S  ( O R  P E A R S  O R  S W E E T  P O T A T O )

I've written before about apples as I buy them in bulk and I'm always on the look out for recipes to use them. One of our favourites is super easy apple chips. You just need a mandolin (or a knife) and a dehydrator (or an oven). Slice 'em thin and dry 'em out and eat away.

As above, you can also flavour them in lots of ways. I've only tried this recipe: Cinnamon Baked Pear Chips (with pears and apples) and it was yum but I'm sure there are many combos that are gooooood!

For a more savoury option, try slicing sweet potato super thin and baking them for a yummy healthy snack.

T R A I L  M I X

Trail mix is filling, easy and transportable and if you find it in your handbag a couple of months later, you'll probably still be ok to eat it. The good thing is that you can just chuck in whatever you have on hand:

• almonds
• walnuts
• dried figs
• goji berries
• puffed rice
• coconut
• cashews
• pepitas
• sunflower seeds
• sultanas
• cacao nibs

F R U I T  A N D  V E G

Want no prep? Then grab an apple, banana, mandarin or pear (or whatever else is in season) and eat that. Full of goodness and deliciousness.

Or cut up some carrot sticks, celery, capsicum or cucumber and munch away (cutting optional). You can easily take some dips with you too...

W A T E R

Don't forget your water bottle (or two). The plastic from the number of one-use water bottles consumed in Australia makes me sad as well as the negative health effects from the water (yes, they actually sometimes add baddies to bottled water) and the bottle (no, they're not BPA free).

But actually, when I'm road tripping, I often crave sugar to keep me energised. If you stop for a drink, my guess is you'll be more likely to purchase a bottle of soft drink than water anyway. Resist the temptation, save some money and serve your body, by drinking water.

We also always bring our keep cups filled with a cup of tea... as well as a thermos filled with hot water and some tea bags. Sometimes we stop for a coffee and the staff happily rinse our cups with boiling water, add our new drink and off we go.

I F  Y O U   J U S T  W A N T  T O  B U Y  I T

• Tamari Almonds: Woolworths sells in their Macro range (look in the healthfood aisle)
• Popcorn: there are heaps of different types of popcorn you can buy in the supermarkets. Just be sure to check out the ingredients and buy the one with the least number of ingredients (i.e. corn and salt).
• Dried Fruit: you can buy dried fruit in many places but most of it has added preservatives. Check the labels and try and find ones that don't (steer clear of dried apricots, they pretty much always do).
• Sweet Potato Chips: you can find a range of veggie chips in the healthfood aisle or Red Rock Deli and Kettle do sweet potato chips which I believe just have sweet potato, oil and salt.
• Trail Mix: Aldi does Seeds and Sultanas, and I'm sure there are a million other ones out there too. Just check that the ingredients are just what you want to be eating... 

Hope this is gives some good ideas of some delicious snacks for the road and makes you less hangry on your trip and saves you money for the actual holiday! Snack on.

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