I drove a friend to an outpatient procedure today. The appointment was for 1 p.m. but we left at 11:15 a.m., which timing was awkward: It was too early for me to have lunch and the procedure didn’t take place until 1:30 p.m.
Even if it hadn’t been too early, eating in front of someone who’d been fasting since midnight would have been cruel.
Even though I’d had oatmeal and homemade yogurt before the appointment, I was hungry long before it was over. Fortunately, I was also prepared.
In my tote bag were a small container of peanuts, a package of cheese crackers and a partially frozen Diet Coke wrapped in newspaper. All were frugal options:
- The peanuts were from a huge can that DF bought at Costco.
- The crackers came from an on-sale multipack.
- The soft drink was from a 12-pack, also bought on sale.
A couple of snack machines in the waiting area could have fed me, but it would have cost $2.25 for crackers and a soft drink. The ones I brought with me cost about 56 cents.
Not that crunchy sodium washed down with liquid sodium was the healthiest choice. But dang, those crackers (Munchies, a Frito-Lay product) were tasty. The super-cold jolt of caffeine helped counteract a not-enough-sleep night, especially since the soft-drink machine emitted a constant, mesmerizing hummmmmm.
The peanuts probably would have been better for me, even though they too are drenched in salt (which is what makes them delicious).
Survival rations?
Other portable snacks I recommend are dried or fresh fruit, string cheese, protein bars, jerky, fruit leather (non-sugar-laden brands do exist), nut butter spread on crackers or flatbread, and a bottle of water or homemade tea.
Carrying food when traveling is an obvious frugal tactic. But I also carry at least one thing to eat when out for part of the day (appointments, errands, working on my book at the library). That’s because at least once a day there comes a point when I crash.
Exhaustion envelops me like a mud wrap. What’s left to do seems insurmountable and I question my abilities as a writer and a functioning adult. I’m tempted to curl up on the first flat space I can find, even if that’s a highway median.
When this happens I need my blood sugar to rise, stat. Toting my own food keeps me from buying a pricey snack from someone else.
Once I’ve chewed down a few peanuts, my manuscript looks brilliant once more. An apple gives me the strength to wait out the long line at the post office. Recently a bag of dried mango kept me going during 12-hour days of sightseeing and business meetings on the East Coast.
And that old saw about never shopping for groceries while hungry? Believe it. When I shop on an empty stomach I want to buy All The Foods, even though I know it’s a bad idea. Last week I found myself at Fred Meyer without anything to eat because I’d left my jacket in the car. I came home with strawberry ice cream and those Munchies. At least they were both on sale.
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I keep a tiny Tupperware container with nuts in my purse at all times. Saved me many times from the fast food drive thru. Also, I travel with my Nalgene bottle full of water whenever I leave the house. If I know I’ll be gone for a longer period, I pack additional snacks, usually fruit of some sort.
I couldn’t agree more with this post. The world becomes a scary place when I am hungry, from both my prospective and those who must interact with me. I’m big fan a apple slices and small Tupperware of peanut butter or carrots and hummus. Weird combo that satisfies a variety of cravings with few items: pork rinds and dried apple pieces.
Pork rinds and apple pieces, huh? As they say in the midwest, “Well, that’s different.”
I don’t normally eat them in quick succession but over the course of a drive I’ll want something salty, something sweet, something chewy, something crunchy. Voila Pork rinds and dried apple pieces. 😀
It’s so easy to pack snacks, but I think we’re used to it at our house as we have a 7 year old and 4 year old, so we’ve learned to never, ever leave the house without snacks in tow 🙂
Nice reminder! I also think that packing your own snacks could also make for a healthier choice.
I always try to have a bottle of water with me just in case. I have such a hard time paying $1 or more for water…
It’s maddening, isn’t it? All you’re getting is water…!
I concur with a previous comment about leaving the house with small kids and snacks. Imperative. I have started packing more and more snacks on shopping trips and lunch away from the house. My husband and I were the type of people who would treat ourselves to lunch when we were shopping or on pay day. I now put that money in an account for Christmas saving and it adds up! I always have water and will fill up with water when out where I can. Coffee too is so much more fun with a thermos and a go mug 🙂
I’m a personal trainer and most times, with seeing clients and teaching group classes, my days are 12 hours long. My gym has a tiny little fridge for employees and since it is usually taken up by weird macho protein shakes and the like I always carry non-perishable snacks with me… homemade vegan protein bars (I’m not vegan but a friend is and gave me this awesome recipe), nuts, fruits, nut butters that I can eat between appointments so I don’t get hangry. I need my clients to be scared of squats, not me!
One of my fellow PTs brings cooked and frozen meat patties that he can just thaw out for lunch. Haven’t tried that yet but I might in the future.
I always carry snacks with me and water or a really cold Coke. My zip lunch bag holds enough drinks and snacks for two.
However, my exbf who is my emergency driver for me can no longer manage the lunch bag that he can eat from in the waiting room. He uses two canes now.
My last two emergency runs to eye hospital in the middle of the night were harrowing for me and such a pain for the two friends who each helped me once.
I just put snacks in a sandwich or pint storage bag. String cheese, snack bag of pistachios, and a slim jim, cherries or raisins are good for both of the guys. They can put the bag of treats in a pocket of pants or jacket. I always furnish a bottle of water. I do use kitchen scissors on the slim jim or jerky so they won’t have to gnaw on the whole thing in public.
When I am fasting, either can eat in front of me because both are diabetic and they were doing me the favor.
A bottle of water is $1.78 or higher. I figured I spent less buying a 24 pack of water and carrying that. Using each bottle a half-dozen times makes the price even cheaper. I ONLY started buying bottle water about two months ago. Yes, I do worry about the impact.
When hungry or even thirsty, I am whiny, faint, snappy, confused…nothing good, ever.
Frito Lay peanut butter crackers are the best cracker ever!
Well, these were cheese crackers — but I think they were the best I’ve ever eaten.
Donna,
I meant the Frito Lay MUNCHIES brand of peanut butter is the best brand of peanut butter crackers. I was not talking about the flavor, just the brand. I hate cheese crackers, but maybe I will try the cheese crackers and see if those are palatable to me.
Since my Type II Diabetes diagnosis, I usually carry snacks with me. I ALWAYS take lightly salted mixed nuts and nutrition bars to work, couldn’t make it through a shift without them.
AS for drinks, we have an understanding with the bar-b-q place next door. As long as it comes from the drink dispenser, it’s free. One of the few perks of my part-time retail job.
Protein snacks: Don’t leave home without ’em.
My favorite travel food trick is boiled eggs. I have a small 6-egg carrier that was probably intended for camping, that I use for trips. I boil the eggs, then take them in my carry-on bag along with crackers. They have served me as lunch, breakfast, and even dinner. I save a lot of money avoiding pricey airport food and almost as spendy hotel fare. I almost feel guilty, until I remember what I’m saving. It’s also great because it’s hard to find gluten-free options when traveling.
Smart! That boost of protein mid-trip probably helps you cope with the vicissitudes of travel.
Generally I carry a buttered roll and a couple of apples when I fly. (I may or may not put a Hershey bar and a little kosher salt in the roll each time.) Sometimes I bring a protein bar but only when I remember to go out and buy one.
Right now I’m making up snack sacks for my niece and her two boys, who are about to make a long plane trip. Thus far I have “breakfast flats” (these cost nothing thanks to a weekly freebie at the market), granola bars (we had these around), some no-sugar-added fruit leather, small bags of peanuts (from a giant Costco can), small bags of high-end trail mix (from my recent trips — thanks, Alaska Airlines!), and those Munchies cheese crackers I mentioned in this piece. I’ll add one of those “schoolboy”-sized apples to each bag and call it good. No doubt she’ll pack sandwiches, but they leave at about midnight and don’t land in Philly until almost 6 p.m. The sandwiches plus a fast-food burger at the Seattle airport plus these snacks should help keep costs down. I’ll mention the hard-boiled egg idea to her, too.
Wow! They are lucky to have you pitching in. I bet they’ll be set with all that. Traveling hungry is no fun.
Thanks for the post, Donna. I am getting serious about losing weight and I need to start carrying some healthy food with me. Besides, I need to save the money. The fajita pita I had at Jack in the Box yesterday was healthy, but those suckers cost almost five dollars now!
Let’s hold each other accountable: I need to lose weight, too.