By Katy Wilkens, MS, RD
Nutrition and fitness manager, Northwest Kidney Centers

“Take along” food beats take-out food for car trips because it not only saves you time and money, it tastes better. Spending a little time before a trip to prepare food can save you dollars to put into your gas tank, and build meaningful, healthy memories for you and your travel companions.

Skip the chips!
Instead of salty, oily chips, pack popcorn. Not the packaged, full-of-butter kind, but low-fat homemade microwave (or air-popped) popcorn that has been juiced up with flavor (recipe below). Try making a big bowl of popcorn and divide it into fourths. Flavor the popcorn differently, and put it into many small bags – this way your passengers don’t get bored.

It’s the crunch!
If you think carrot sticks aren’t a good option to replace fries, think again! Carrots, celery, pea pods, radishes, sweet red pepper strips or jicama all have the crunch of French fries, but with less fat, salt and calories.

Use a special sauce like Joyce’s quick dip. Try keeping the dip in small individual containers. That way, everyone in the car can double-dip to their heart’s content. Save and recycle yogurt containers for this – and dump the used ones at the next rest stop.

Stop to shop!
Make your road trip an adventure in eating, so you’re not just getting the same food you can get at home. Keep your eye out for local produce stands or roadside farmers’ stalls. When you stop, ask for the local in-season specialty. You might get to try boiled peanuts in the South, tree-ripened peaches in the West, huckleberries in the North, or Muscat grapes in the East.

If you can stop at a U-pick farm, even for 10 minutes, your children will develop a whole new respect for peaches, cherries or berries after filling a bucket of their own.

If you need to make a food stop, stretch your legs and hit up the local grocery store. You’ll have fun looking at new brands and kinds of food you’ve never heard of. On a recent trip my family found four types of Hispanic fresh cheeses we’d never tried before. All went right into the car cooler for snacking on during the next few days.

Salt-free microwave popcorn with three seasonings

1/4 cup good quality popcorn
2 teaspoons olive oil
Brown paper lunch bag
Stapler

Toss popcorn with the oil in the paper bag. Fold to close and staple twice. Place the bag in the microwave on high for 2 minutes or until there is 5 seconds between pops. If you’re wondering: no, the staple won’t hurt your microwave.

Spicy popcorn: add 1-2 teaspoons of paprika and freshly ground pepper. If you like your food hot, add some cayenne pepper for an extra kick. Mix in a half cup of unsalted pumpkin seeds for a South of the border flavor.

Savory popcorn: Try a salt-free seasoning like Ms. Dash; there are many flavors to choose from! Grate a small amount of parmesan cheese over hot popcorn and toss.

Sweet popcorn: Mix vanilla in a little butter and toss with hot popcorn, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

The information in this column is meant for people who want to keep their kidneys healthy and blood pressure down by following a low-sodium diet. In most cases, except for dialysis patients, a diet high in potassium is thought to help lower high blood pressure. These recipes are not intended for people on dialysis without the supervision of a registered dietitian.

Joyce’s quick dip
http://www.nwkidney.org/healthyLiving/livingWell/nutrition/recipes/reci…

[Katy G. Wilkens is a registered dietitian and department head at Northwest Kidney Centers. The 2014 recipient of National Kidney Foundation Council on Renal Nutrition’s Susan Knapp Excellence in Education Award, she has a Master of Science degree in nutritional sciences from the University of Washington. See more of her recipes at www.nwkidney.org.]