Tackling Vacation Food (part 1): Family Adventures

My next post was supposed to be a followup to Where to Start?, but I am going to take a detour.  I am in the process of packing to go on a 5-day trip to Yellowstone National Park (yippee!) and, as always, the question of "How am I going to eat healthy on vacation?" came up as I was packing.  I am only human---restaurants, snack stops, ice cream bars; it is all SO tempting!  So, here is what I do to come back weighing the same or LESS than when I left!

Most of the vacations my family goes on can be put into three different categories.  One type of vacation we take is a "family adventure", where we might camp or stay in KOA cabins and visit National Parks and landmarks.  The second kind of vacation would be the kind we all take at some point...to visit relatives!  The last kind of vacation would be to a place like San Diego to go to Sea World and Legoland, this is more of a "destination vacation" (probably the hardest to behave foodwise!).  I have found that I have different "coping" techniques for each different vacation type.  This post will tackle the "family adventures!"

My husband, my daughter and me in 2009 with Mammoth Hot Springs in the distance in Yellowstone National Park. 

"Family Adventures"

It is fairly easy to control food intake when we go on a family adventure, since we often do a lot of hiking.  I can actually eat less healthy on these trips than other vacations because I am much more active.  However, I don't like to go too crazy so I do a lot of planning.  Since we usually drive to these destinations, for a few nights prior to the trip, I take time to cut up vegetables so they are readily accessible.  I don't know about anyone else, but munching seems to come with the territory when riding in a vehicle, so having veggies on hand to "munch" on really helps. 

My family stays at a variety of places on these trips, including KOA cabins (no kitchens), rental cabins, a tent, our 5th-wheel camper or hotels.  If staying in a hotel, I try to find one that has a mini-fridge and a microwave; same goes with rental cabins.  If we are in a KOA cabin or a tent, we take a cooler and our propane stove!  We have a pretty basic menu for the times we are gone.  We don't eat out except a few allotted meals; it saves money and saves us from bulging waistbands! 

For breakfasts, we bring oatmeal, fruit, coffee and/or tea.  Sometimes we even bring mini-baking M&M's to put in the oatmeal (only a few, of course!).  I generally get a container of Old Fashioned Oats, the oatmeal that takes longer to cook.  Sometimes for a special treat I will get the sugar loaded "fruit" packages and mix it 1 to 4 with the Old Fashion Oats.  We also will put cut up apples or strawberries in our oatmeal too!  This is a pretty low cost, decently healthy meal that is easy to prepare.

Lunches are generally some sort of sandwich (whole wheat bread) or wrap (whole wheat tortilla), ranging from peanut butter (low fat/low sugar) & jelly (low sugar) to meat sandwiches with lettuce and cheese (fat free).  We usually throw in some nuts, fruit, veggies and usually a couple pieces of chocolate for dessert!  Generally we drink water on these trips to stay hydrated.

Dinners are harder.  If the weather is bad and we're "roughing it", it is easy to justify going out to dinner.  Sometimes I will splurge at these dinners because I am tired from a long day!  However, more often, I will try soup (if it isn't too fatty) and salad (dressing on the side, of course!).  If the weather is nice, or we have a kitchenette, we'll do a salad and a prepackaged meal, generally carb based like a rice packet or noodles, or a soup like chicken noodle.  However, when we do this, we usually cut back on butter in preparation and add a lot of veggies!  If we have our camper, I will have something pre-made like a casserole or spaghetti sauce (homemade---loaded with veggies), or sometimes I even prepare a roast or steaks!  If I prepare things in advance before we go on our trip, I am much more likely to eat healthy than if I just plan on "throwing" something together.

So, trips like this are likely the healthiest, both because I am more active and it is easy to plan out healthier meals because we're still preparing meals rather than eating out the entire trip.

I would love to hear your feedback on what tips you would have for this type of vacation!  Please comment below!

Still to come: Tackling Vacation Food (part 2): Visiting Relatives and Tackling Vacation Food (part 3): Destination Vacations.