Sodium-Packed Chips
Sugar-Infused Soda
Icing-Drenched Donuts
Perfectly-Rectangular Poptarts
Fried This
Fried That
Processed This
Processed That
The above represents one typical day of snacking and slurping on a camping trip. It’s not that any of the above items should be banned, it’s that having all the above items in a single trip is a swift uppercut to both your physical and mental health.
As the summer sun calls to families and outside excursions like hiking, camping, and boating become the norm, think of fueling your family’s bodies as readily as you think about sunscreen reapplication. After all, you didn’t take the time to prep all week for your family’s outing only to have them feeling bloated and their energy tanks to be at all-time lows thanks to sugary and salty food and beverage options.
So what do you pack for subsistence when your refrigerator and packed pantry isn’t readily available, and you don’t want your family to feel deprived of deliciousness while you frolic in the warm weather?
Fitness Magazine recommends hard vegetables that don’t easily perish like carrots, apples, and oranges, as well as unsalted raw nuts and seeds, and whole-grain pita bread stuffed with a favorite protein. ActiveBeat.com recommends considering the inclusion of a hardboiled egg, blueberries, baked sweet potato, and shelled edamame in your family’s day. ActiveKids.com encourages parents to pack protein bars, homemade trail mix, peanut butter-banana tortilla wraps, and fruit kabobs. And at the very least, it’s important to include a multivitamin, such as EMPowerplus Advanced, in your diet, especially when you know your day, weekend, and or week is going to be lacking in nutritional content and bursting at the seams with temptations.
Here’s the truth: Youth under sixteen cannot drive themselves to the store. Their diet, nutritional habits, and what their tastebuds are exposed to rest in the hands of their caretakers. The more caretakers take the time to think about what will fuel youth and keep their stomachs and minds healthy, the more likely those youth will grow into adults who have healthy habits and healthy tendencies ingrained in their thinking and choices. And remember, adults need just as much nutritional consideration and boundaries as youth. After all, it’s the adults who are tasked with keeping up with the youth!
It may be tempting to give your health the day off or even the weekend or week off, depending how long your summer excursion is, but fight that urge. If an excursion ends with someone feeling dehydrated, bloated, stuffed… or if an excursion suffers because someone’s energy is at an all-time low and as a result, their patience is even lower, that is not an excursion likely to make it into the family scrapbook. Take the time to plan how to fuel you and your family’s bodies during excursions, and you take the time to better ensure the excursion is enjoyed and memory-filled, in an extremely positive way.
Author: Evelyn Lindell
Certified Health & Wellness Coach