Good Food and Fun on Road Trips

Kelley and I are in Breckenridge, CO; it's just a bit cooler than Texas. Her parents have a cozy condo in an excellent location and they have happily allowed us to come with Abby (our Golden Retriever) for the week. We made the drive from Fort Worth to Breck in almost 14 hours flat; a new record for us!  This is easily going to be a lot more enjoyable than last year's trip to Breckenridge.  MRSA on your nose and face can really put a damper on things...

This is how happy Annie's Bunnies made us while driving.

The drive was pretty uneventful (a good thing!) and we switched-off to make sure the driver was alert. In our past treks, the roads were iced over for most of the way and conditions were unfavorable; but besides rain, it was a great drive.  We packed our own food to take along the way so we didn't have to stop at those crappy places lined along major roads...ok, my view is a little biased, but I am entitled to an opinion.

I had to take a pic of this....yeah, I had little sleep.  That's a dehydrated carrot, by the way.

I told Kelley I would make sure to bring all of the food we wanted.  Since we rarely go out to eat, even on vacation, I needed to make sure we had our staple foods.  I was so focused on getting our favorite baked whole wheat rye bread and goat cheese from a local store near home, that I completely forgot several other items that Kelley always uses.  Kelley, I'm sorry....but at least you have goat cheese!

She didn't get any bunnies....it shows.

I brought the Zevia Baked Donuts I made earlier this week for the drive.  Cut in half with peanut butter and a banana in the middle made for a quick and tasty belly pleaser!  The few packaged foods we brought included original Corn Thins, Annie's Homegrown Chocolate Bunny Grahams, and Uncle Jerry's Whole Wheat Pretzels.  I recommend trying all of these if/when you get a chance.

Kelley's power road trip fuel. Annie's Chocolate Bunnies in Oikos Plain Greek yogurt.

Other foods for the road include dry roasted pumpkin seeds and pistachios, organic Gala apples, bananas, baby carrots, and Oikos Greek yogurt cups.  Oh, and yes, I brought my own bottle of cayenne powder...it's a must!  I had dehydrated canned beets and carrots during the week to bring on the trip; besides being very very crunchy, I enjoyed them mixed with other crunchy items.  With this assortment, Kelley and I definitely had some fun with our food...as you see in the pics.

My power road trip food.  Baby carrots make great yogurt "spoons"...sometimes. I confess, I had some bunnies too.

Today, all four of us went tubing in Frisco, CO (right next to Breck) and had a blast going down alone and with our tubes connected.  The more weight we had, the faster we went...fun!

Kelley and I riding the conveyor belt up the tubing hill.

After tubing, we felt a little hungry went to Downstairs At Eric's afterward.  Since I'm not a fan of eating at most restaurants, I opted for a nice Guinness Stout to "hold me over" until we got back to the condo.  I brought frozen veggies and some sardines I quickly made when we got back.

Lunch is served poured!!

We plan on doing a lot of walking while here and I really look forward to having a great time with Kelley and her parents, Steve and Kathy.  Ok, I'll add the dogs too....

We have been really excited to try some coffee shops around the quaint town.  I think we'll visit a few of these tomorrow.

When going on a road trip, do you plan ahead and bring your own food or depend on whatever's around along the way?

Overnight Oatmeal Baked Donuts.....My New Favorite Treat

Do you spell it "Donut" or "Doughnut"?  Meh, no matter, they taste great either way!

I really like my new donut baking pan; it makes a fun shape (Donuts!) and having the hole in the center helps to cook the batter evenly. After successfully baking a few good batches for Kelley and myself (see yesterday’s post on Baked Zevia Pumpkin Protein Donuts), I decided to try using my overnight oats mixture as the batter.

As you can see, they turned out pretty good. They are just a tad soft in the center, which I like, and plan to make more soon!

Are you interested in making these for yourself? It’s easy peasy….as my mom likes to say.

First you prepare overnight oats, then pour into donut-shaped baking pan at 365 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.

Depending on if you like things really crunchy (more time in the oven) or a little soft in the middle (less time), these are a fun and easy way to make a healthy snack for everyone.

Let the delectable oat spheres cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Cooling in the pan is necessary for the baked goods to cool down and contract a little; pulling away from the sides. If you’re impatient like me, you know what happens when you don’t wait.

For those with kids, let them help by preparing their own overnight oats mixture; I bet they’ll be more inclined to eat healthy treats they made. This is way better than any kid’s treat in a box!

These Baked Oatmeal Donuts make a great snack for home or on the go. Kelley and I are leaving to Breckenridge in 2 days and the baked donuts I posted on yesterday along with these oatmeal donuts will make great companions for us both. I love road trips, and road trips with Kelley have always been fun.

Except for last year at this time when we went to Breck….I had MRSA and it was miserable! My unfortunate infection while in Breck was not very fun, but I did learn a tasty new recipe with sweet potatoes and black beans!!

Well, not this time, I will be illness-free and ready for a good trip with my wife! Her parents will already be where we are staying and we will have a great time enjoying the fresh air and good coffee from local shops. We also plan on making a couple trips to go snowshoeing as well. Coffee, snowshoeing, no work, minimal plans, good company……I think I’m ready!

For the trip, we will bring our own food since we are against most options (besides coffee) along the main roads. As I mentioned already, I’ll bring the baked donuts I made and the overnight oatmeal crisps I always talk about. Kelley’s must-haves are creamy goat cheese and good whole wheat rye bread. We will also have fresh sliced deli meat, plain Greek yogurt, baby carrots, organic apples, and mixed nuts for the trip.

I dehydrated carrots, zucchini squash, beets, and bananas in a dehydrator I just purchased and will bring along as well. Dehydrating foods will be in a future post…stay tuned! The few packaged foods we will bring include Annie’s Homegrown Bunny Grahams, Corn Thins, and Food For Life Ezekiel Cereal.

Do you have any go to road trip foods? Do you put convenience or health as top priority while traveling?