Road trip rules: how to snack healthfully

This past weekend was the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend, so to take full advantage of the extra day off work, I headed off on a road trip with my brother, his girlfriend and her cousin. It's a 7-hour drive each way, just long and boring enough to get more than a few hunger pangs. Usually, I prepare some healthy snacks, but last week was crazy busy for me so I didn't get a chance.

On the way to our destination, I filled up on granola and yogurt before the car ride, so I managed to keep my junk and fast food eating to minimum. I wasn't so lucky on the way back -- the sandwich store we tried to eat at was packed so we ended up at Burger King (at least I resisted the urge to order a double whopper with cheese meal.) To add more salt to the wound, someone's mom thoughtfully stuffed two big bags of chips into the car before we left -- something that's irresistible to a carload of hungry travelers driving through the monotonous prairie landscape.

It's too late to salvage that road trip, but I decided to do a bit of research to find out what I can do better next time around. I found this great article with a bunch of realistic suggestions. By realistic, I mean that the author has acknowledged that it's sometimes impossible to avoid stopping at a fast food joint, but nonetheless has pointed out that we can still do okay health-wise. She also gives some tips on how to stay active on a road trip -- something I must try to do next time. I also found this short-but-sweet article about eating fast food salads on the go that's worth glancing at (I can really relate to what he says.) And last but not least, our own Kristi Anderson offers some tips on staying fit while traveling in this post.

Do you have any other healthy road trip tips?