Conscious Choice: Eating Healthy on the Road

March 1999

Eating Healthy on the Road

by Lauren Malloy

The aggressive personality changes some people seem to undergo once they step foot inside a vehicle aren’t the only kind of alterations in behavior people seem to make. More often than not, otherwise healthy-minded individuals succumb while traveling to all kinds of unhealthy eating patterns that they ordinarily would never consider. Indeed, some take the road trip as an excuse to dig into junk foods that they would not allow themselves to touch at home.

But eating healthy on the road isn’t difficult,though it does takes a bit of planning — and a desire to make it happen. If you can make the commitment, you’ll end up feeling lighter, more energetic, and less weighed down by the ardors of a long journey.

Most travelers depend on the kindness of rest stops for their feeds. Unfortunately, few outlets are so kind, especially for vegetarians. Long lines or slow service can also add to the total time spent on the road, and cut down on the amount of time you actually get to spend eating and relaxing. For healthier options for on-the-road stops, check out a copy of The Tofu Tollbooth, a guidebook for natural food stores and eating spots while on the road.

For a truly healthful experience, you may have to give up the numbers game. By this, I mean that obsessive concern about the number of hours it takes to cover a set distance, for example, "I did Pittsburgh in six." Drivers engage in all kinds of strategies to lower this number, like not counting minutes until reaching the highway, or never stopping unless absolutely required. But stopping to eat must qualify as an essential task. Abandon the notion that you should guzzle your food while driving at breakneck speeds. Part of eating healthy is how you eat. It doesn’t do much good for your digestion process — much less your nerves — to eat in a rush. And it may not even be safe.

A picnic, on the other hand, is always a good idea. Simply stop at designated rest stops and pull out your spread, however humble or noble it may be. Don’t forget to pack plenty of bottled water or other beverages. Staying healthy on the road also means not becoming dehydrated.

All it takes to pack the right food is a bit of planning. If your trip is relatively short, you can buy prepared food or prepare your own and throw it in a cooler. But if your trip is longer, the foods will stay a lot fresher, safer, and more appetizing if you do the assembly when you arrive. Just don’t forget can and bottle openers, knives, napkins, trash bags, and disposable plates, cups, and cutlery.

If day-old bagels or deli food just don’t do it for you, it’s okay to pick up snacks the morning of your trip. But be realistic. If you decide that the only way to ensure fresh food is to pick it up right before you leave, allow plenty of time for this so you don’t have to abandon the idea. Otherwise, you’re back relying on rest stops for nourishment.

Food Safety

Of course, bringing your own food raises the risk of spoilage. Yet that risk isn’t so great at all, if you use common sense. What’s apparent to anyone who’s traveled to other countries is that the world clearly doesn’t share America’s zest for food sanitation. Street vendors, shops owners, and restaurants around the world tend to let food sit out for hours on end without heating or cooling mechanisms, and no one seems to be suffering.

Basically, food spoilage is caused by growth of bacteria. A temperature between 45 and 140šF is within what is called the Food Danger Zone because potentially disease-causing bacteria thrive in this range. But there are no absolutes when it comes to food storage. Food service operators in the U.S. must adhere to a strict set of guidelines for handling food outside the safe zone, but these rules were meant to cover the riskiest situations and may overdo what is actually necessary to keep food safe.

And while Christopher Ryding, Midwest Chef/Coordinator of Prepared Foods for Whole Foods Market, was quick to point out the company’s adherence to governmental regulations, he did allow for certain rules of thumb that could extend the shelf life of prepared foods beyond the recommended four-hour window. Keep in mind the following guidelines when planning your menus:

Pack Food in the Raw State According to regulations, Chicago food service professionals must dispose of prepared food held at a temperature within the Food Danger Zone after four hours. But remember that this applies only to prepared food. In other words, a whole tomato becomes prepared once it has been sliced. The moment you cut it up, it starts to break down. Food that is still in the raw or canned state is not subject to the same standards. For maximum viability and safety, don’t cut up the fruit or open the cans, jars, and bottles until you’re ready to eat them.

Keep Food Cool The most effective way to slow down the growth of bacteria is to hold food at a temperature below 45š F. Coolers do not cool food, but a good one will hold the food at the temperature it was at when it was packed. With ice, the temperature inside the case may even drop. Without a cooler, a cloth or towel around the food can provide some kind of insulation. In any case, keep food out of the sun’s rays or any other source of heat.

Minimize Air Circulation Most bacteria need air to multiply, so food that is sealed in some way is bound to keep longer. Deep-fried foods, for example, create a protective shell around the food that makes it hard for bacteria to penetrate. Think falafel, pakora, samosa, or empanada. Cooked couscous dishes, on the other hand, are airy and porous, and won’t keep for long. Sticky oily food surfaces build yet another natural barrier that keeps out bacteria. For this reason, the oil base of tahini and pesto makes them keep well. The less surface area exposed to air, the slower the rate of contamination. Pack prepared foods in a closed container to keep out the oxygen bacteria love.

Food Handling Most bacteria are actually spread by food handling, so it’s essential that you don’t contaminate the food yourself while preparing it, or that you trust the place from which you’re buying it. Work on clean surfaces and cutting boards and try not to touch the food with your hands. Wash any raw fruits and vegetables before you pack them and beware of opportunities for cross-contamination (don’t mingle raw food with prepared food). For example, if you cut raw meat or fish on a cutting board, thoroughly sanitize the surface before chopping vegetables.

Natural Preservatives Certain ingredients, like lemon, vinegar, or pickling liquids, act as natural preservatives. Salt and sugar also slow bacterial growth because bacteria need moisture to grow, and these ingredients will make them unable to use the moisture present. When buying or making a dish for the road, select one that incorporates binding ingredients like tamari, oils, vinegar, and nut butters, rather than mayonnaise or dairy products.

Cheese Storage "Cheese will not make you sick — but it may go moldy or sour," reveals Sally Biagi, manager of the cheese department at Whole Foods Market Lincoln Park. A quick glance at the cheese station drives her point home. Indeed, many of the cheeses on display are not refrigerated. Hunks of Parmesan-Reggiano are strewn into straw baskets, and hunks of cheese are stacked like building blocks. While you need to wrap them tightly in plastic or cloth to prevent them from drying out, it isn’t actually necessary to refrigerate them. "Backpackers come in all the time and pick up aged gouda and throw it in their sacks," comments Biagi.

Top Picks for Healthy Packing

Most people like to snack on the road almost as much as they like to stop and eat and some may simply snack the whole time. Even if you choose meals, however, you will need food that is portable, quickly prepared, and remains fresh over time.

We’ve rounded up some examples of the the kinds of products worthy of inclusion on any health-oriented packing list. Whole Foods Market is a good source for foods marketed as "health foods" and carries a great selection of cheese, deli foods, and dried fruits and nuts. Cost Plus World Market sells canned goods from around the world. You can buy fruit, produce, and bread in any supermarket, though you’re more likely to find an array of organics at Whole Foods.

Dried Fruits Figs, prunes, and dates are high in fiber and a good way to keep the digestion process rolling. Dried fruits like papaya, mango, apricot, and cranberries can also do the trick. Banana chips have almost a potato chip-like taste and crunch, and a few organic potato chips won’t hurt, though they’re loaded with fat.

Fruits Unpeeled fruits like oranges, bananas, kiwi, and grapes make great snacks; just make sure you wash the fruit before you leave home. Slicing up an orange and putting the segments in a Ziploc-style bag makes it easy to eat while driving — but remember, only slice your fruit if you plan to eat it within a few hours.

Food Bars Food bars can offer a quick boost on the road, and everyone has their favorites. Mine are Odwalla Bars and Balance Bars. Odwalla Bars were invented by "musicians with a dream of a healthy world." High in fiber and vitamins, low in fat, and devoid of refined sugar, wheat and dairy, these grainy bars are loaded with chunks of dried fruits and nuts — a great energy booster and very tasty. They come in Cranberry Citrus, Carrot and Raisins, or Peanut Crunch flavors.

Balance Bars come pre-loaded with a 40-30-30 mix of carbohydrates, protein and fat with high %DVs (percentage of daily value based on 2,000 calorie diet) of a lengthy list of vitamins and minerals. They taste a bit like candy bars and come in flavors like Honey Peanut and Almond Butter Crunch.

Canned Fish Those short little tins contain more than (dolphin-safe) tuna. Look around at Whole Foods or any specialty store and find an amazing assortment of imported fish: grilled mackerel fillets, smoked salmon fillets, haddock and cod fish balls, lumpfish caviar, and even escargot. Spread these babies on a slice of bread or cracker or wrap them in a pita or tortilla. Make a sandwich or just a snack.

The Bread Group Sourdough bread is an excellent choice for travel because it almost gets better with age — it simply turns into a cracker. Scandinavian countries like Finland have known this secret as their answer to the bread supply problem during the frosty winter months. But worthy breads abound. Pumpernickel bread wins points for its compact brick-like shape. Dense and chewy, these loaves rarely get hard, much less stale. Pint-sized cocktail loaves can be especially convenient for on-the-road eating.

Tortillas and pita bread offer a big plus if you insist on eating and driving: they hold the food tight to keep spillage at a minimum. And crispbread and crackers, of course, offer several advantages. They can be broken into small, easy-to handle pieces, and they are slow to get moldy or stale. Combine crackers with the endless variety of spreads available, and you’ve got easy access to variety, flavor, and nourishment.

Vegetable Dips and Toppings Vegetable paté, sun-dried tomato paste, pesto paste, and artichoke spreads can dress up the bread and crackers you bring along. And the high oil content keeps these products safe.

Roasted portabellos or red peppers can be the vegetarian answer to lunch meat; their meaty texture and roasted aroma make for a particularly wonderful sandwich filling. Peppers are readily available in a jar, and the mushrooms are now a common feature in deli sections at the supermarket.

While salsa sometimes gets a bad name in fat from its association with truly fatty tortilla chips, this spicy sauce from Mexico is actually completely free of fat. If you eat it with organic, low-fat chips, you’re in good hands nutritionally.

Bean Dips Nowadays, hummus has become almost a generic term for kind of creamy bean dip, and the original recipe has been enhanced with a range of flavors as diverse as those you’d find in cream cheese spreads. Hummus spreads come in garlic and chive, tomato and basil, roasted red pepper, and lemon.You can find them in a refrigerated section of the supermarket, and you should keep them chilled.

But you can find canned bean dips, too, in the bean segment of the chips and salsa zone of any grocery store. Whether pinto or black bean, these dips can serve as a dip, a side dish, or a sandwich filling. Most bean dips are loaded with iron, fiber and protein, and some are fat-free, as well.

Pre-Packaged Wraps In the dairy section of Whole Foods Market, next to the tofu, you’ll find Organic Food’s full line of "healthy wraps." Exhibitors at the Whole Life Expo in Rosemont this past October, the Minnesota purveyors of these products showcased their full line of pre-packaged wrap sandwiches, including the Herbed Wild Rice and Broccoli, Roma, Mediterranean, Indonesian, Curried Rice and Lentils and my personal favorite — the Japanese with Toasted Sesame Seeds. The beauty of the Japanese variety is that it’s wrapped in Nori and therefore doesn’t suffer from the pasty dryness of tortilla-based wraps. More like sushi than a wrap, and compact as a clenched fist, this wrap tops the charts for protein (8 g) and fiber (12 g) as well — the consummate healthy road food.

If the prepackaged wraps inspire you, try making some of your own, using roasted veggies, rice and beans, or even peanut butter and jelly.

Traditional Spreads Speaking of PBJ, you can go all out with nut butters, jams, preserves, and chutneys. Travel is a means to adventure, so try almond or cashew butter with Lost Acres Apple, Apricot, and Cherry Butters, or the Autumn Harvest Country Cranberry Relish and Orchid Plum & Cherry Medly, or the World Market Rhubarb Strawberry, Wild Cranberry and Mango Jam preserves.

Cheese Biagi recommends aged cheeses like Parmesan-Reggiano, Dutch gouda, feta (with its high salt content), or (unexplainably) Spanish cheeses like Machego and Idiazabal as examples of cheeses that go the distance. If you need help selecting a cheese, she seems quite willing to share her knowledge of cheese and the durability of different kinds on the road.

Meals in a Cup If you want to eat well, but you don’t want to mess with fresh food on the road, you still have some options. There seems to be no end to the sorts of soups that turn up in a cup in not-so-boring variations, like Nile Spice and Soup’s Potato Leek, Lentil Curry, or Tomato Rice. Fantastic Foods seems to have put everything but the kitchen sink in a cup, including rice and beans, chili, polenta, stuffed mashed potatoes, and pastas. Most taste more like thick soups than what their name suggests, but they’re tasty and filling, for about a dollar each.

Breakfast It was news to me that breakfast and a bunch of other products also come packaged in a cup, rustled to life with an infusion of hot water. Hot cereals such as Nature’s Path in Apple Cinnamon or Multigrain Raisin Spice, or Natural Goodness in Banana Gone Nuts, Maple Madness and Terrific 10 Grain flavors start your day with a healthy dose of vitamins and complex carbohydrates. Just add hot water from any coffee machine. Kashi’s Go Seven Whole Grains & Sesame ready-to-eat breakfast is a bit pricey but comes with real chunks of blackberries and raspberries in the Berry Tart flavor. It can be eaten right out of the tray or heated up in a microwave.

You can pull out a red tablecloth and light some candles, or throw a few sandwiches in the cooler. It depends on how much preparation you want to do and how much time you want to spend.Whether you’re a picnicker or a guzzler, though, one thing is clear: you can go on the road without giving up good food.

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