Yes, healthy fast food does exist…and not only fast food, but “traveling fare” is also at you fingertips. Let’s say you are going on along car ride and don’t want to have to pack a huge cooler, or you are doing a hike and want to stop for lunch, or you are a flight attendant and are tired of unhealthy airplane and airport food Fear not, we’ve got you covered.

But first, some stats on “ordinary” fast food…

-30% of Americans eat at least one meal outside the home

-six out of ten Americans are either overweight or obese

-15% of 6 to 9 year olds are overweight

-one in three children in the US eat at least one fast food meal per day

There is the obvious, (or maybe not so obvious), healthy choices such as fruit bars and trial mix. These are usually my first choices, they are inexpensive, don’t need to be refrigerated and will help keep you healthy while under the stress of traveling. Be sure that whenever you purchase dried fruit, such as the kind found in trail mix, that there are no sulfites in the fruit. Sulfites are used as a preservative but they have been linked to cancer and other adverse health reactions. You will most likesly have to go to a "health food" store to find sulfite free dried fruit.

Sesame sticks made with wheat or spelt are always a hit. Dried pineapple or dried papaya are high in digestive enzymes and will satisfy your sweet tooth. Dried ginger has been shown to help with motion sickness, is great for circulation, and has been claimed to be an aphrodisiac (so be careful with this one!)

What if you want something a bit more exotic and more like a meal? Dried, packaged hummus is a great choice. Just add water and you have hummus! How about dried, packaged tabouli? Again, just add water and eat them as they are or put them on a baked chip or baked cracker. If you don’t mind your “traditionally hot foods” a little on the cool side, how about dried refried beans… just add water. A can of room temperature baked beans, no meat chili, soups, rice and beans or even a can of organic veggies are good choices. If you are going camping or on an over night trip and you want a “traditional” breakfast, bring along powdered soy milk and dry, healthy, organic cereal or granola, add water to the powdered soy milk and enjoy your All American breakfast of cereal and milk.

These ideas are quick, light weight, healthy and will save you a bundle on restaurant bills. Not to mention the convenience of having your choice of quality food where you want it and when you want it.