Roadtrip ideas HELP!!

  • I'm in a bit of a quandrey. My husband and I never go out to eat at restaurants and so I'm a bit unprepared for a roadtrip. I need some ideas for food on the road. We've not been eating much in the way of grains but sandwiches are easy to make. My next inclination would be to use lettuce leaves but then we have to eat them before we reach the US border and we have nothing for supper becuase if there is any fresh fruits or vegetables in the car they'll be confiscated by customs.

    We've been eatiing about 2 fruits a day and 1/2 c cup of all bran with milk. Otherwise its been vegetables and meats.

    I was thinking of using some wraps and turkey but we've not had that much in the way of carbs, some are over 40 and high in calories.

    If your describing a brand please give me a description of the product. Many US brands are not available up here. http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/images/smile/dizzy.gif
  • You could make some sandwiches on ww pitas or a good ww bread, and stuff them with fresh veggies and/or meat and cheese. I also like to wrap a slice of lean ham or turkey and lowfat cheese around a stalk of celery. Hard-boiled eggs, deviled eggs, and yogurt also make good portable meals. Are you sure fruits and vegetables confiscated at the border crossings? If they are allowed, apples stuffed with peanutbutter and raw veggies w/hummus or dip are also good.
  • foodnetwork
    on the foodnetwork there is a recipe for turkey rollups.

    2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
    2 teaspoons honey
    8 slices turkey breast
    2 large red leaf lettuce leaves, spines removed, torn into 8 pieces
    1/4 large English cucumber, seeded and cut into 3-inch long sticks
    1/4 large red pepper, sliced
    8 large basil leaves

    In a small bowl mix together the Dijon mustard and honey until well combined.
    Lay a slice of turkey on a plate or cutting board. Spread a 1/2 teaspoon of the honey-mustard mixture widthwise along the turkey about 2 inches from the end of the slice. Place a piece of lettuce on top, then a couple of sticks of cucumber and slices of red pepper. Top with a basil leaf and roll it all up in the turkey slice.


    Nutrition Information
    Nutritional analysis per serving Total Fat 1 gram
    Saturated Fat 0 grams Cholesterol 8 mg
    Sodium 222 mg Carbohydrates 5.5 grams
    Protein 4 grams Fiber 0.5 grams
    Calories 41
  • Do you plan on staying at a hotel along the way? If so then having a fridge and microwave in the room will help a lot.
    Bring along soups or stews in a thermos with some whole grain crackers.You may also be able to pick up some fruits at gas stations along the way especially the chain ones.
  • I am a vegetarian and detest fast food. I REFUSE to feed it to my children. So when we go on road trips (and we've been on a few...Washington state to Washington, D.C., Maryland to Texas, Maryland to Maine and back, Texas to northern California, California to New Jersey...) we always stop at grocery stores for lunch. Most have a deli department that can make sandwiches, or if someone wants a yogurt it's readily available. We grab a piece of fruit or a bag of baby carrots and we're good to go.

    Somehow I got my kids to think that fruit is this big treat. I'll say, "Go pick out any fruit you want," and they look at me like, "Really?!" and then get this crazy look in their eyes and go on the hunt for the perfect pear or orange or apple or whatever. It's cute!

    Generally there are grocery stores right off the highway in major towns. We've never had a problem finding one when we stopped for gas.

    Kara
  • When we traveled from Kansas City to Washington DC area to move we packed a small cooler with meats and cheeses and yogurts. I also put nuts and veggy's into baggies. I had 3-4 different types of meats and I think just 2 kinds of cheese. I cut everything into bite size pieces, this way we could munch on SBD compliant foods. Eating out, even fast food is doable. Just think of things like grilled chicken breast sandwich and throw away the bread. Many fast food places have decent salads. You might pack a small bottle of a SBD salad dressing. Most any "regular" (not fast food) restaurants we can always find things that work. Most will make substitutions. Like instead of potatoes or French fries you can usually get a veggy, tomato slices or cottage cheese.
    Happy Trails to you!
  • Yes fresh produce will be confiscated. I have to go get a work permit at the immigration office on the border. Immigration always searches the vehicles.

    We can get limited quantities and just eat them before we get to Calis. But we're relying on an unreliable source. I rarely see fresh food of any kind of quality at gas stations here. Fast food here is mostly Tim Horton's and A&W.
    I don't know what they have.

    I'll work on some of these ideas the turkey rollups will work good. I was thinking some salsa might be okay since its sort of processed ( food processer) I make my own salsa usually.

    Tomandkara how long does it take to get to B/W are of Maryland from Maine say Augusta or Bangor?

    My other half does not thing we will be hoteling it. I think he doesn't realize how far it is from Halfax to the Maine border.
  • Hi Spirit,

    I google mapped from Halifax to Bangor Maine and it's 7 hours and 22 minutes. They don't take into consideration the stop at the border though so you should figure that on top of it. Have a good time.
  • So, they confiscate fresh produce, but not other foods (meats, processed foods, etc.)? That's so weird--I wonder why that is. I guess you're allowed to bring more junk into America, but not the good stuff

    Jeff and I have driven from DC to Connecitcut and back, DC to Georgia and back, and we takelittle trips to Virginia Beach all the time. I like baggies of nuts (portioned out beforehand so I don't eat too many!) for some crunch. I also am with Kara in that I'd rather stop a grocery store than a restaurant. I know lots of grocery stores around here even have a salad bar, which works well and is more trustworthy than a restaurant salad, IMO, since you get to pick exactly what you want in it. Maybe some string cheese would make for good snacks, too. You could pack them in a little cooler with your turkey rollups I think a cooler will be tremendously helpful--maybe you could also do some chicken salad, egg salad, and/or tuna salad, all of which can be eaten just plain with a fork or scooped onto lettuce leaves or into celery or cucumbers (I don't like celery, so I like to cut big "stalks" of cucumber and cut out the part where the seeds are so it's shaped like celery--great for filling/dipping). Of course, the lettuce/celery/cucumbers would have to be eaten before hitting the border or could be bought once you cross over.
  • Jill, they don't allow produce over the border because of the buggies that could be on it. Any border is the same. Even flying from the mainland to Hawaii or Hawaii back you can't take fresh produce, and that's the same country, in name at least.

    Spirit, it took us about twelve hours to get to Fryeburg, Maine, and then we drove on to Bangor the next day and that was an additional (at least) eight hours, but we drove the coast most of the way up and then headed in-land so it would've been a lot shorter if we'd taken a direct route. Still a two-day trip, though (especially with a one and a half year old, which is how we were travelling at the time!).

    Have a great trip!

    Kara
  • I live near Baltimore/Washington, and used to live in Portland ME. We used to go back and forth quite a bit. It was 10 hours to Boston, then another two to Portland. Then after that, Maine is REALLY big.