Healthy Road Food?

[DDoghouse]

So I find myself booked on a couple of high school shows, and both of them infringe on the dinner hour. Travel time is roughly 1 hour or more for both, and being school shows, rehearsals start on the early side, putting travel at rush hour. Stated plainly, to make a 6 pm hit, I am leaving at 4 pm or earlier.

Eating prior to departure doesn't really work for me as I am patterned (as most of us) to eat at certain times of day, and to load up that early throws my whole meal thing out of whack.

I'm eating a lot of unhealthy crap that I am picking up on the way and not liking the way it makes me feel.

Any suggestions for healthy, portable food that I can bring along or purchase and eat on the road?

[Burgerbob]

I usually pack a bunch of leafy greens and a chicken sandwich, plus Builder's Bars for extra calories if needed. This gives me filler (the greens), protein, fat, and some carbs. It's not heavy but still makes me feel full and ready to play.

[Posaunus]

And of course you brush your teeth before you play!

[robcat2075]

So, you're eating while driving. That is always awkward.

How about a smoothie? Milk, banana, yogurt, berries...?

[harrisonreed]

Driving + eating = dangerous, messy, and sort of nasty (how often do you wipe down and sanitize your steering wheel?)

[Burgerbob]

Driving + eating = dangerous, messy, and sort of nasty (how often do you wipe down and sanitize your steering wheel?)

And sometimes necessary.

[harrisonreed]

The smoothie idea is a good one. Just don't forget that is really easy to make a 2000 calorie smoothie with only milk, yogurt, and fruit

[brassmedic]

Change your pattern. I gave up the fast food cuz it was killing me.

[hyperbolica]

I try to bring carrots and Celery and maybe a Tuna wrap. And of course water. Crunchy stuff helps, and wraps are easy to manage, the Tuna smells but it's way less unhealthy than typical fried or processed food. You can bring hummus dip for the vegs if you want to get fancy.

[timothy42b]

Having had a disastrous experience with a salad that went bad, I'm a little cautious bringing any lunch that needs refrigeration.

In a case like yours, I would rely on those tuna in foil packets (I use the oil if I can find them, I watch my carbs but not my fat, but everybody's diet ideas are different) and a baggie of nuts. Dry roasted peanuts, pecans, cashews, I mix them up. Pistachios and almonds are healthy but I'm scared to break a tooth before a gig. Maybe add a carrot for a little roughage.

[Bonearzt]

Veggie wraps, basically a salad in a burrito, are a good bet!

And a small collapsible cooler with an ice pack would be good for storage and easy to carry.

[SwissTbone]

Ehmm how about apples?

[BGuttman]

Ehmm how about apples?

Apples are good, but you have to remember to rinse out your mouth after eating them. They are rich in malic acid.

Also, keep away from any Swiss archer named Tell

[baileyman]

Veggie wraps, basically a salad in a burrito, are a good bet!

And a small collapsible cooler with an ice pack would be good for storage and easy to carry.

Yes to this. Can often be gotten on the fly at a local grocery or at Chipotle.

[timothy42b]

Ehmm how about apples?

Also, keep away from any Swiss archer named Tell

No quarrel with that advice, if I see one I'll bolt.

[mgladdish]

Huel is perfect for this.

https://huel.com

I keep a stash of bars in my mute bag for cases when the promised meal is either late/too small/absent, and will take a shake for those gigs where the timings are really unfriendly, just like in the OP. They're really good for you, as well as leaving you feeling relatively full for quite a long time.

[urbie5]

When I travel, I go on the Chicken Caesar Salad Diet. It's not portable, but it's order-able almost anywhere. I just automatically order a chicken caesar every night, wherever I am, and end up feeling great the whole trip. I get home and think, why don't I do this all the time?

[DDoghouse]

Thanks to all for the suggestions! I know it's poor form to post and then lurk, but this show had me pretty tied up. Friday we did 3 in-school 45 minute demos before doing the 6pm hit with the full show. Lots of good ideas here.

[MTbassbone]

If all else fails you could try Jaime Hyneman's (of Mythbusters fame) "444": a smoothie-like concoction of four fruit, four vegetable, and four grain servings.