When we started eating plant-based, we knew we had to find new ways for eating healthy on road trips. Since going vegan, the complimentary hotel breakfasts no longer fit our needs when the breakfasts consist of eggs, bacon, or sausage.

We learned how difficult it can be to find plant-based meals while dining out in some areas of the greater Midwest states we travel in. The best way to combat this and save some money is with some preparation; it’s easy to continue eating healthy on road trips.

With a bit of preparation, it’s possible and cheaper to be eating healthy on road trips.

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Tips for Eating Healthy on Road Trips

With some preparation before your trip, it’s easy to continue eating healthy on road trips.

Here are some ideas to help you succeed in eating plant-based food or whatever your food lifestyle is while on a road trip.

What to bring for Eating Healthy on Road Trips

• A cooler to fit your perishable items
• Small cutting board
• Paring knife
• Cutlery- forks and spoons
• Paper towels
• Disposable plates
• Small disposable cups for treats

Breakfast Ideas for Eating Healthy on Road Trips

We keep breakfast at home simple, and it turns out that it’s the perfect breakfast for a road trip. We make what we call breakfast bowls.

Our breakfast bowls include oatmeal, steel-cut oats, ground flax, cinnamon, and chia seeds. By prepping our breakfast bowls into baggies before the trip, we can maintain healthy eating on road trips.

Depending on your trip, you can either bring fresh fruit and milk along or purchase them when you reach your destination.

We’ve been in some rural areas where the grocery store doesn’t carry almond or oat milk, so rather than take a chance, we’ll bring our own.

We also pack two disposable or plastic bowls to eat out of when we arrive at our destination.

Lunch Ideas for Eating Healthy on Road Trips

We have some go-to lunch ideas for eating healthy on road trips.

During our epic road trip to Yellowstone, we came up with the idea of grabbing large plastic salad containers and buying pre-chopped vegetables from the produce aisle. Then, we found a vegan dressing. We threw all the chopped veggies into the salad and ate on that throughout the day.

Yes, buying the pre-chopped vegetables was a little more expensive, but it made sense for us since we were traveling not to have leftover vegetables. It’s still cheaper than eating out!

During that stay, we even used the public breakfast area to cut fruit for our road trip. The staff was so thankful that we left the fruit rinds in their big garbage bins, and we didn’t have a mess in our room. Win-win!

We ate the salads pictured below in Yellowstone National Park, which was awesome!

Another meal that travels well for us is peanut noodles with stir-fried vegetables. We make this at home and pre-pack it to bring with us. It contains a small amount of almond milk, so it travels well. This meal has sustained us in many awesome locations, like a huge road trip around Minnesota, the Black Hills, and Medora, ND.

On a trip to Alaska, we hit the local Costco and grocery store for sandwich supplies. We pre-made sandwiches in the kitchen of our Residence Inn hotel for our day trips each morning, which was perfect!

During another epic trip around Lake Superior, we hit a Walmart and bought frozen cooked rice, vegan chicken, mixed frozen veggies, and teriyaki sauce.

We were in a Staybridge Suites and had a kitchen, which made it easy to put this meal together.

The restaurants were closed, so this was the perfect late-night meal after a long day of exploring.

Tips for Arriving at Your Destination

Unpack your prepared food upon arriving at your hotel. Most hotels have a small refrigerator. We’ve even stayed at hotels where we could request a small refrigerator be brought to our room.

Don’t hesitate to call the front desk to request what you need for your room so you can eat healthy on road trips.

The worst case is that you have to keep your almond milk and fruit in your cooler. Keep it cool by using free hotel ice.

Eating Healthy On Road Trips

We’ve found no excuse for not eating healthy on road trips. The hotel waffles that Kelly used as a “treat yo-self” weren’t the best way to start the day. For us, getting whole grains and nutrients along with fruit is a better way to start our day of exploring a destination.

Pro Tip: Go to the breakfast area in the morning and grab a few bananas to add to your healthy cereal for your breakfast!

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What’s your favorite way to eat healthily when you’re on a road trip?