How to Eat Healthy on the Road

As nutritionists and travel enthusiasts, one question we hear a lot is some variation of, “I really want to travel and explore the US in an RV, but how do I eat healthy, nutritious meals on the road?” It’s common to believe that in order to eat well, we have to live in a house in the suburbs and have access to a local health food store every week. But Fraser and I travel a ton and maintain a healthy lifestyle on the road, so I’m here to share our top strategies for eating healthy, no matter where you go.

Eating nutrient-rich whole foods gives you a ton of extra energy you can use to go hiking, exploring and adventuring when you travel. There’s nothing like getting through a long hike and seeing a beautiful waterfall hidden away in the heart of the forest. All too often, our physical health can limit what we can do, but every meal provides an opportunity to fuel better energy and wellness.

Not to mention, whole foods help keep your brain sharp and your mood balanced, even on long drives. Eat healthy on the road and you’ll be able to stay focused and keep your loved ones safe while driving or towing an RV.

Here are our best tips for eating healthy on the road:

A woman holding a small child, who is smiling and eating a banana.

Fruits like bananas are high in potassium, an important electrolyte that can help prevent muscle cramps. We always pack bananas for our hikes for this reason.

Load up on staples in bigger cities

More populated areas often have better access to high quality, organic, whole-plant foods. When we travel, we plan to stock up at bigger grocery stores and health food stores, especially on specialty items we can’t find in more rural areas. These stops get planned into our travel itinerary as their own destinations. We always take into account how long it will be before our next stop in a bigger city so we can plan our shopping list accordingly. And when we’re in smaller towns or areas we don’t know very well, we use a great app called HappyCow that helps find vegan and vegetarian restaurants near our current location.

Frozen foods are your friend

If you are planning extensive travel where you might have 7-14 days between grocery hauls, it’s easy for fresh food to spoil. We’ve found the best way around this is prepping fresh foods and freezing them, or buying bags of frozen fruits and vegetables. Frozen produce is flash-frozen at peak freshness, which makes it a perfect way to extend your stores of produce while still getting a dose of nutrients and vitamins.

A man knelt in front of a freezer drawer, handing a woman a bag of frozen blueberries.

Frozen fruits and vegetables can be a great tool that allows you to get healthy produce into your diet without having to worry about food spoiling.

Shop at farmer’s markets

What rural locations lack in specialty stores, they can more than make up for in farmer’s markets. If you’re fortunate enough to have access to a farmer’s market during the growing season, make the most of it. Not only do farmer’s markets tend to have the freshest, healthiest kinds of fruits and veggies, but they also tend to carry foods you may not normally come across in a larger supermarket. Don’t be afraid to experiment with something new!

Invest in an air fryer or an Instant Pot

With RV life comes an awareness of our resources, propane being one of them. Propane is very important, especially in colder months. A great way to reduce your propane usage from a gas top cooker is to invest in an Instant Pot or an air fryer.

Instant Pots are great for busy families because you can get out, explore and come back to a meal that’s ready to eat. We like to throw together some lentils, rice, potatoes, greens, carrots, onion and garlic in the Instant Pot and let it do its thing.

Our air fryer is incredibly fast at cooking food. It provides the amazing crispy texture of fried foods without adding oil. It does draw a bit of power when running, so just make sure you aren’t using too many other appliances when you use it.

A man chopping up fruit in an RV kitchen with a bag of produce on the counter.

Be sure to capitalize on local farmers markets as you travel. They often have affordable, high quality produce and they allow you to experience the diversity and beauty of smaller local communities as well.

A top-down photo of tofu cubes in an air fryer.

An air fryer cooks foods with a delicious crispy texture without using oil. It cooks foods quickly and saves on propane gas use, which is always great when you're in your RV.

Do some extra prep for travel days

Prepping food before a long travel day is a fundamental way to stay healthy on the road. We know how it typically goes: we pack up and leave, then stop at a gas station to fuel up. We grab some snacks from the convenience store and munch away, only to arrive at our campground feeling bloated from too much salt or too many processed foods. We’ve all done it.

But now that we travel so frequently, we’ve found new approaches to prepping that have helped a lot.

For instance:

Prep small meals in glass containers
Portion out nuts and seeds in baggies
Have protein bars on hand, like MacroBars, Lara Bars and ProBars
Cut up fresh fruits ahead of time
Use smaller water bottles to hydrate so you don’t need to stop as often

A woman, man and young child putting together a bag of trail mix with nuts and seeds.

Pack nuts and seeds for long hikes, travel days and times where you will be out exploring. They are a nutrient-dense and tasty source of protein. We like raw and unsalted almonds, cashews, walnuts, Brazil nuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds!

A man holding a bag of orange slices for a young child to eat.

Fruit is another great way to eat on the go. We love to pack orange slices in little reusable baggies. Simply by pre-cutting fruits you give yourself access to a quick, healthy snack that will help boost your energy and improve your digestion.

Using the tips above helps us eat healthy on the road. It’s been so freeing to know we can combine our love of health and fitness and our love of RV travel and still thrive. Sure, it may come down to a little extra awareness and preparation, but it truly pays off in the end with improved health, more energy and a happy mood–perfect for making the most of our amazing RV adventures!

A man, woman and young child sitting together inside an RV, eating healthy snacks.

Eating nutrient-rich foods gives you amazing energy, which makes it easy to have more memorable experiences with the people you love. And isn't that what life is all about?

The Bayleys RV in their 2018 Heartland Road Warrior Toy Hauler.

This story first appeared on Thor Industries.

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