Almighty Dad | A stay at home dad blog

We have been driving for several days.  The kids are able to endure longer stints in the car these days, and we can cover longer distances.  We’ve driven more than half the way across the country from Colorado to the coast of North Carolina, and every 4 hours or less we have to stop for a bathroom break and food.  I am quite conscience about the foods my kids eat, so I am always looking for healthier choices.  I do not count McDonalds, Hardees, DQ, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Burger Kind, and every other fast food restaurant as regularly acceptable options.  There is no part of the country that get’s and A+ for good quality highway food, but some places are worse than other.  The best way to get good food, even though it is somewhat space consuming, is a cooler with food from home.  What options do we have if we decide not to pack a cooler?  I did not pack a cooler for this trip, and my struggle to find food has been frustrating.

Fast Food

It’s been shown that fast food, depending on which fast food, is not actually going to kill us.  It might surprise some people that according to the Men’s Health Magazine McDonald’s and a few other fast food restaurants did pretty well against other higher priced restaurants in terms of healthfulness.  They got rid of the trans fats and removed a few killers from the menu.  It should be noted that restaurants like Applebee’s and Chili’s scored very poorly.  I haven’t eaten at either of those restaurants since I’ve had kids anyway, and that fact doesn’t much matter to me.  But, for people who think Applebee’s is healthy, maybe learning that Macdonald’s scored better is an eye opener. Most fast food is acceptable if taken in extreme moderation and not every day, or even every two days.  We don’t need to feel guilty about an occasional foray into that world.  But, on long trips, we have to have a choice.  The highway simply isn’t designed for healthy eating.  But things are improving.

Service Stations

I can’t be the only one who sees that there has been an improvement recently in fruit selection at service stations.  I can almost always find at least a banana and an apple.  10 years ago I would never have been able to even do that well.  When we get gas and walk into the station for a snack, what do we chose to eat?  First, I grab a banana and a bottle of water (boys gotta have something to pee in during an emergency).  The boys have gotten used to bananas.  What else is there?  Popcorn is good.  Popcorn (as natural as possible) is a reasonably low calorie food that is high in fiber.  It’s a good filler without being a killer.  Yogurt is another option that a lot of convenience stores sell these days.  It’s also good because it is easy to eat in the car.  Other good choices that have the right calories and decent nutrition are milk, lunch meat, peanuts, small boxes of cereal, and some juices.  All of these options will sustain life without risking heart failure.  Service stations are hardly a way to live, but they will do in a pinch.

GPS

I have used my GPS two times, to find a grocery store, during this most recent trip.  Both times were laughable failures.  We were in St Louis yesterday at a hotel off the highway, and I wanted a grocery store to get some fresh fruit and veggies.  I punched in Grocery into my GPS and was immediately presented with 5 or 6 choices.  The first one was Schnucks’ corporate offices!  But, the GPS didn’t tell me that so we made a trip to their parking lot.  The second location was an IGA distribution center, closer but not quite.  I tried one more time and found a run-down Mexican looking market.  Sometimes GPS devices can have too much information in them.  We finally got lucky last night and found a grocery store right next to the highway.  I bought sliced apples, carrots, bread, yogurt, cheese squares, and a box of bottled water and threw it all in the trunk.  I’m hoping we can make it the rest of the way today without having to hunt and peck for food.

At the Hotel

Never, unless there is no choice, will I order food from a hotel for delivery.  Pizza and Chinese food is no way to go through life.  The only places that I know that have great delivery and hotel food are in Las Vegas.  Unfortunately I’ve been driving through Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, and West Virginia.  Our options have been vending machines.  Again, it is best to find a grocery store and stock up.  The kids love a chance to have a picnic.  In the spirit of adventure we have a blanket that we set down and we drink milk and tea with bread and veggies with a cookie.  That is what is call making the best out of a situation.

Even under the best conditions eating while traveling is challenging.  Driving through Kansas was a nightmare.  I did not find a single fruit other than bananas at any convenience store.  The restaurants we stopped at specialized in chicken fried steak and meatloaf.  St. Louis was much better because at least they have good barbeque (sometimes food that is really yummy trumps health).  Luckily we didn’t have to stop in West Virginia because I was not looking forward to finding out what they have to offer.  I realize it sounds snobby to be so picky about food,  I get it.  It is, however, an established fact that fried food and processed foods are terribly bad choices.  We have a responsibility to do better when it is more than ourselves we are responsible for.  Our kids don’t know that the things they put into themselves are bad for them.  We have to make responsible choices for them.  A cooler in the trunk is the best way to eat while on the road.  Absent of that our choices are limited.  The best we can do is eat foods that won’t kill us.  That isn’t saying much, but it’s better than it was years ago.

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