Eating On The Road

Whew!  What a weekend!

Saturday was spent at Girl Scout Day at the Kennedy Space Center.  We woke up at 3:30 a.m. in order to be at the chartered bus by 4:45 a.m.

There was an organized day for Girl Scouts with all sorts of activities and we had to be there by 9:45 a.m.

The night before I made a list of things to pack, and put into the cooker whatever didn’t need refrigeration.  I also put some water bottles into the freezer as well as some O.N.E. coconut water.

I definitely wanted to be prepared for the long bus ride and for the day at KSC.  I knew we had veggie burgers available for us in our included lunch…but I also knew the other stops on the road would probably include fast food of some description and I wanted a healthier alternative for FabPreteen and myself (only of us was excited about that preplanning…the other was really hoping for a rare fast food indulgence!)

Once again I was lousy with the photos!  But I packed:

• Two organic pears
• A thermos of coffee
• Waters
• Coconut water
• Two organic apples
• Organic sweet mini bell peppers
• Organic carrots
• Laughing Cow cheese
• Stacey’s Pita chips
• Larabars:  Two minis and one regular
• Cliff bars, for FabPreteen
• almond butter packets
• Peanut butter and jelly sammies for the FabPreteen
• An incredibly awesome wrap for me which consisted of an organic avocado, some of my amazingly delicious homegrown (by me!!) sprouts,  organic tomatoes, organic scallions, organic cucumber slices, and some S&P on a multigrain Flatout wrap. 
• A gigantic salad…with all sorts of veggies, feta crumbles, and chickpeas
• A square of Ghirardelli dark chocolate for yours truly

Before we left in the morning I filled the thermos with coffee and made us some Mom McMuffins!  (scrambled eggs and cheddar slices on an Arnold Sandwich thin).

By 8:30 I was starting to get pretty hungry.  I thought it was kind of early to be eating…but as I started to think about it I had eaten breakfast at 4:30 a.m.!  We weren’t scheduled to be there until 9:45 and I knew lunch would not be served until noonish of course…so I broke out the snacks!

Over the next hour I had a pear, some Stacey’s, and a miniLarabar!  This was enough to get me by.

When the bus stopped for the rest of the troops to get coffee and snacks, I loaded up a mini backpack cooler I brought to tote around inside NASA.

I brought with me one of the coco waters, regular waters, pears and apples, carrots, Cliff bar, and Larabar.

FabPreteen and I arrived looking quite haggard after only a few hours of sleep..hair crazy blowing in the wind!  My hat went on right after I saw this!

While there we got to talk to an astronaut…..

….stand underneath the actual Saturn V rocket that was flown as part of the Apollo program.  We looked and felt really insignificant under this….it is 36 stories tall and lying on its side here…it goes down the length of this very very very long building!!!

…and see the Discovery shuttle already out at the launch pad ready to go up on April 5!  The picture doesn’t do it justice with my little point and shoot!

Lunch was a little eventful…I had called to find out about vegetarian options and was told lunch would be a choice of hot dogs, hamburgers, or veggie burgers. 

But we were the last group to get lunch and by the time we got there, they only had hamburgers and ONE veggie burger.  NOT COOL!

I was just not going to eat and give the veggie burger to FabPreteen…but she ended up eating a burger (which she has not had in at least six months) and gave me the veggie burger. 

I was not happy at all and found that to be quite unreasonable!!!

In addition to the burger, they included a drink (we chose bottles of water…although FabPreteen did beg for the soda!); a bag of chips (which I ate); and a bag of cookies (which I ate).

No fresh fruit..no salad..no veggies.  So I broke out my carrots and munched away on those!  I try to make it a goal to have some fresh fruit or veggie at every single meal!

Otherwise…the day went well and we were back on the bus by 6 p.m. to head home.

At dinnertime, sure enough they made a rest stop/fast food run.  I broke out the PB&J for dear daughter and I had my wonderful wrap!  Which I even remembered to photograph!

With flash and without…lighting on the bus was awful!!!!      We finally arrived a little after 11 pm.  totally exhausted!!

Foodwise the day ended up working quite well for me (other than the veggie burger incident) because I packed and planned…but I have to say that quite a few people commented (with wry humor) on my packed cooker and the backpack I brought in…as if I had packed for a longer trip.

I am not sure why I am expected to settle…at the rest stop many of the places were closed and someone mentioned to me that there was very little available for someone who didn’t eat meat…I was content because I had brought healthy food that I really enjoyed..plus I saved a whole bunch of money by packing my own.

On trips do you usually take your own foods or do you get whatever is available?  What are some of your favorite easy to pack meals and snacks?