Plant-powered road trip—my best tips

I have a lot to thank my mom for.

One of the things I will always be grateful for is how she taught me to eat healthy on a road trip. My parents loved to take road trips when I was little.

🚗 Every other year or so, we would drive 1,630 miles from my hometown in New Mexico to Racine, Wisconsin, to visit my dad’s family.
🌲 We drove to Northern California to visit my sister.
🏔️ We drove to Colorado to visit my other sister.
🌊 We drove to Mexico to swim in the ocean.
🏕️ We drove all over New Mexico to go camping.
🛣️ If there was somewhere we needed to go, we’d pack up the car and drive.

One of my many favorite memories from when I was little is the mornings we would leave for a trip. We always left at 5am to get an early start. Of course, this was much too early for little me to wake up, so my dad would ever-so-gently transfer me from my bed to the backseat of the car where my mom had made me a comfy nest, full of blankets, pillows, and my favorite stuffed animals. By the time the car was up our bumpy driveway, I was back asleep—out like a light. I remember feeling so comfortable and so safe in my little cocoon with my most favorite humans.

When I woke up some hours later, my mom would give me a variety of fruit, and I would happily eat it as I watched the landscape whiz by outside the window. Eventually, we would be ready for lunch, and whether we were in the middle of nowhere on a dusty country road or passing through a big city, my dad (who always drove) would find a park, a nice rest stop, or an inviting parking lot, and we would stop to eat.

Mom would take out the cooler and her canvas road trip bag, equipped with silverware, cloth napkins, plates, a cutting board, a knife, and of course, nutritional yeast. She would proceed to whip up some magic for our bellies. She made sandwiches with avocado, baked tofu, and cucumbers. Or burritos with beans and rice topped with lettuce and avo. Rice cakes with hummus. Carrot sticks, oranges, and apples with peanut butter. It was always a feast, and the thing is, we would never rush. We always took this time to stretch our legs, walk around, enjoy our food, and explore the area a little. Sometimes we would throw a frisbee or play tag. I remember a lot of laughter and love.

Then, when we were all fed and happy, we would put everything away and get back on the road to our next destination. The first thing we would do after checking into a motel was to find a grocery store, a health food store, or a food co-op (depending on the town we were in) and pick up some ingredients. My favorites were the food co-ops and little health food stores because all of the products and ingredients were familiar to me. Plus, they all had the same smell, and to me, that smell was like home.

On all of the road trips my parents took me on growing up, we never stopped for fast food or restaurant food. My mom made our food, and that was totally normal to me. Fast forward many decades, and whenever I go on a road trip, I do exactly what my mom did all those years ago: I bring my own food and eat on the road.

This summer, I went on an epic road trip.

I wrote about how and what I ate along the way to show you that eating this way is possible, even on a road trip. I’ve literally been doing it my whole life. Mom, thank you for showing me what is possible.

Cruise over here to read how it’s done.

Molly