Despite just getting back from a 5 day trip to California on Sunday, we are now in Iowa for another track meet! Luckily, this hotel is much nicer and more centrally located. After yet ANOTHER Subway foot long Veggie Delight last night (of which I have eaten no less than 5 in the past few days), I made it my mission to brave the sidewalk-less bridge that stood between our hotel and the grocery store. I decided to just scout it out while I ran and end my run at the store because I find that it is easier to deal with traffic when running than when walking. It totally ended up being easier than I thought with a wide median I could walk down.
With a little planning, it really isn’t all that hard to eat well on the road. We have a fridge and a microwave in our room, but I think I still could’ve done OK without those as well. First up – pre-cooked rice and quinoa!
These don’t have to be heated or anything and are the perfect base for a healthy meal on the go. I figured I could eat one tonight and then take one to the track tomorrow to have for lunch. You never know when or where the bus might stop, so I have found it’s best to just be prepared or else I end up starving and eating whatever I can find at the first gas station or random restaurant we stop at on the way home 
This doesn’t just apply to track trips though – these ideas work well for any meal away from home, whether that be a road trip or just a day at work or school.
To go with my grains, I got some black bean soup.
This was only $3.50 and I can definitely get 2 meals out of it (with a little creative storage of leftovers in a coffee cup with lid 🙂 ). There were also “just add hot water” options, but the price per ounce would have been much greater (grocery shopping nerd alert). I also didn’t think I’d be able to get hot water on the bus or at the track if that is where I decided to eat this.
To go with my bean + grain mixes, I also grabbed a jar of salsa and some guacamole, which was cheaper than the pricy, unripe avocados. I always have salsa on hand at home anyway, so it will be an added bonus to have some left.
For another meal, I got this:
I haven’t had this exact one, but their other varieties that I’ve had are awesome. And I figured that, if worse comes to worse, it wouldn’t be terrible if I didn’t get to heat it up first. Room temperature Indian food > random gas station/fast food any day.
For snacking, I grabbed baby carrots, a HUGE box of strawberries ($1.88!!), 2 mangos ($0.68!!), a few bananas, 2 Greek yogurts, and some granola. Oh, and some sparkling water 🙂 There was also a great salad bar, so I grabbed a small salad for lunch today and was so impressed that I managed to not go nuts and end up with a $15 salad. Kept it at just over $4! With some of the homemade bread I brought from home + fruit, it was a great lunch! And much better than yet another $5 foot long from Subway.
Maybe I got some weird looks walking down the median in my running clothes with hands full of groceries, but I definitely saved money and the hassle of trying to find something decent to eat.
In the few days I was actually at home and able to cook my own meals, I came up with a great chickpea + potato curry dish that I’ll share soon! I have some leftovers and I might experiment with the spices a bit more, but I think it turned out pretty good 🙂
This is for Real 