Summer Road Trip. As American as apple pie and Patsy Cline. Give us a hot day, a long road and a desirable destination and we’re ready to roll. The romanticized vision I’ve created of myself cruising down a deserted highway, warm-wind rushing through my hair as I bellow tracks from Pat Benatar (yes, I was a teenager of the 80’s), screeches to an alarming halt as I’m yanked back to my reality — a loaded minivan, numerous potty stops, cries of “Are we there yet?” and “I’m hungry.” Yeah, that reality.
Before my family embarked on our Out of the Box Food journey, road trips meant stops at fast food restaurants and mini marts for meals and snacks. But now that we’ve turned a “nu”tritious-leaf, I know I need to give some thought to what I will provide for my kids along the way. If we could only throw a refrigerator into the back of minivan alongside the piles of suitcases, we’d be in great shape. Alas, we are stuck with a lowly cooler and some hungry kids. What’s a mom to do? Enter the dream road trip: GE’s “Freshpedition”, a journey embarked upon by Justin Berger, a GE engineer, Ben Sargent, a celebrity chef…and the new GE French Door refrigerator. 
Yes, you heard me correctly…a refrigerator. When I was offered the opportunity to join in the Freshpedition movement, I jumped at the chance. What could possibly be better than exploring ways to make the traditionally junkfood-centric road trip into a healthy, fresh experience for the whole family. GE chronicled their innovative road trip in a series of webisodes filled with farm fresh cross-country experiences, delicious and interesting food and exciting new technology in the form of the GE French Door Refrigerator. Check out the Freshpedition trailer here for some great road trip food inspiration, or just to wallow in a little “road trip envy”:
Though not lucky enough to be traveling like Ben and Justin with our own fridge, our summer road trip will still require fresh food for my family. That being said, I’ve assembled a list of some of our favorite healthier alternatives to fast food that can be kept in a cooler and brought out for those plentiful, “I’m hungry” moments. Though we may not have Pat Benatar blaring from the speakers these days, family road trips should still be fun and it’s time to make them easy, enjoyable and healthy.
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Road Trip Meal/Snack Ideas
*Try packing these meal/snack options in bento-style containers for a healthy ready to go, meal on the go. They stack easily in a cooler, and make meals on-the-go easy and ready-to-serve.
Meals:
- Homemade Cracker-Stacker “Lunchables”
- Mini Gougères Lunch Box Sandwiches
- Hardboiled eggs, sliced cheese, sliced rustic bread, dried fruit & nuts
- Peanut Butter & Jam sandwiches on whole wheat bread
- Corn Muffin “Sandwiches”
- Pita pocket sandwiches stuffed with hummus, romaine lettuce, sliced Kalamata olives and feta cheese
- Mini Gougères Lunch Box Sandwiches
- Lunch Box Kebabs
Snacks:
- Wholesome & Hearty Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Homemade Food Long Berry Fruit Roll ups
- Assorted fruit: Grapes, bananas, sliced apples, sliced pears
- Rosemary-Garlic Almonds
- Natural peanut or almond butter between two healthy crackers
- Dried fruit and nuts
- Chewy Dark Chocolate Granola Bars
- Assorted veggies: carrot sticks, celery sticks, snap peas, red pepper, cucumber sticks
- Berry Breakfast Bars
- Homemade “Better Choice” Snack Mix (using healthier alternative snack foods)
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We’ll be featuring another Freshpedition post in two weeks, August 15th. Until then, GE is continuing this same passion for fresh food with the Freshpedition Sweepstakes. This sweepstakes uses Pinterest, which means you can actually pin for a chance to win all new GE kitchen appliances.
But wait, there’s even more to win!
You can also enter each day of the sweepstakes for a chance to win a $100 VISA® Prepaid Card. Entering for this prize is fun as you’re asked to pin your favorite fresh foods or your own recipes. Also, these pins when hashtagged with your state (e.g. #GEfreshTX) become part of a “Best of Fresh” map featuring freshness from around the country. Explore the map here: http://www.freshpedition.com/sweepstakes/fresh-map.htm
For official rules and to enter visit here: http://www.freshpedition.com/sweepstakes/
Until next week…
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Disclosure: Compensation was provided by GE via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of GE.
