Prepare ye the way

Heyyyyyyyy!

Happy Monday! I hope your week is off to a fantastic start!

This past weekend my Sweet Husband and I drove up down to the Washington, D.C. area to visit friends we hadn't seen in a long time. Before we left Friday afternoon, I made sure to pack "emergency" snacks for the carnival ride so that I would have quasi-clean snacks readily available throughout the weekend should I end up in temptation's snare.

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Before we left, my Sweet Man asked, "Are you sure you don't want to pack the cooler?" I pointed to my stash and said, "Nah, this should be plenty for the drive and snacks over the weekend". I could easily fight the good fight temptation and keep my eats clean with:

I took two Jay Robb protein powder pouches, two Pure Protein bars, one sweet potato, 1/2 cup dry rolled oatmeal, 1 cup of Kashi GoLean cereal, and four 100 calorie Emerald nut packages. I also brought along two ZipFizz powders and an Amazing Grass packet which is hiding under Mr. Sweet Potato Head. Also not pictured is 3 oz Plainsville Farms no-salt turkey breast and a quart ziplock baggie full of spinach.

Yeah, that lasted about a day.

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On the way to D.C. I gobbled the turkey (pun definitely intended) and spinach, as well as one Barbie-sized packet of almonds and a Pink Lemonade ZipFizz:

Speaking of ZipFizz, when I taught 1st grade last year, one of the substitute teachers would give me ZipFizz every now and then so that I could keep up with those little energy stealers my class. I like that I feel alert and energized when I drink it, but I do wonder about the 41,667% of Vitamin b12 that each serving provides. Do I really need that much Vitamin B12 to function? Oh wait...yes I do. This kept me from zonking out in the car so I could keep my handsome driver company.

My handsome driver husband and I laughed a ton on our long trek, especially when I took a pictures of my food and he made little quips here about me and the "blogosphere". That's ok, he can laugh all he wants because he's just so darn cute!

Anyway, this weekend flew by and we had a wonderful time with our friends. They took us on a driving tour of the museums and monuments (Lincoln Memorial, Pentagon 911 Memorial, Capital building, WWII Memorial, Washington Memorial and Monument, as well as those museums that were filmed in Night at the Museum :) We also went to dinner and walked around some pretty posh places both nights, including a walk around National Harbor and a stop in a dueling piano bar.

All in all, the weekend was really fun and we had a b-l-a-s-t hanging with friends, but I will tell you the honest truth: As far as staying on my 'eat clean every 2-3 hours' schedule, I found it extremely difficult to adhere to because I did not plan accordingly. Yes, I brought snacks, but I also shared with my darling husband in the car so, consequently, I ran out of healthy options pretty quickly! Now, don't get me wrong, I chose the healthiest meals on the menu when we went out for lunch and dinners. I skipped any/all bread baskets, chips, appetizers, dressings, sauces and fun drinks alcoholic beverages. I did not eat anything processed and ate very clean the entire weekend. The problem wasn't what I was eating, but when I was eating. I went many hours in-between meals without eating and MUFASA reared his ugly head all weekend. I was constantly hungry and at one point felt like I would pass out if I didn't eat. I.Was.Not.Prepared. My blood sugar was low and a few times I started to get cranky, which I did NOT want while spending the weekend with great friends.

Another thing that threw me off was that we slept in over the weekend, which didn't help me and Mufasa's feeding time my eating schedule, either. I'm one of those gals who is hungry the minute she wakes, so waking up between 10-11am doesn't do me any favors as far as breakfast goes. By that time I'm usually right on track with my mid-morning snack, so getting up later only meant we ate later...as in hours later. ROARRRR! At least it was a learning experience and next time I will heed "O, Wise Husband" when he asks, "Are you sure you don't want to pack the cooler?" Sigh.

I'm happy to say I did not make the same mistake on our return drive home. Three cheers for me! The four of us went out for brunch on Sunday and our friends mentioned there was a Trader Joe's around the corner and we could stop there if I'd like. Well, guess what..I like:) I was super excited to go because we don't have one near our house in Pittsburgh and I even took a picture:
We grabbed some Greek yogurt (and, thankfully, I found a packet of Splenda in the glove box, though I typically don't use it)...

Sweet mini-bell peppers...

Nitrate-free turkey meat+ an Arnold's Sandwich Thin our friends gave us before we left)....

and Kashi Golean (which I had to pry from my Husband's lap. But, I can't complain because at least he likes healthy cereal YAY!!!

The moral of this story is: PREPARE FOR THE WORST AND HOPE FOR THE BEST. Meaning, take the extra time to really think about and prepare meals and snacks before you leave for an overnight trip or weekend so that you will always have healthy, clean options available and will not have to gnaw on seatbelts go ravenous because you've gone 4-5 hours without fuel. Though I did pack snacks, I didn't take into account what a loving wife I am that I would share them with Sweet Man and therefore I ran out quickly. It's always best to have too much than too little, especially if you're touring a city with this Texas Gunslinger. Watch out!

1) What healthy snacks do you typically take with you when you'll be away from home?