Fruit, Veggies Healthy Snacks For Road Trip

Hitting the road this summer? Look no farther than the produce aisle of the grocery store for perfect take-along snacks.

Many fruits and vegetables require no preparation, come in their own edible packaging and don’t need any cleanup.

Be creative with your treats. Pack quick individual salads using pre-washed, pre-cut greens and sliced vegetables. Spice up sandwiches and picnic salads with sliced or diced apples.

Make vegetable matchsticks for a colorful, crunchy and convenient car snack by slicing carrots, zucchini, yellow squash and green bell peppers into thin strips.

Pack a variety of nuts with dried fruit for a nonperishable pick-me-up.

Carry along fresh fruit. The U.S. Apple Commission suggests dipping apples into low- or no-fat vanilla yogurt for a refreshing, healthy snack. And the National Cancer Institute offers this recipe for a take-along fruit salad:

Mix about 2 cups of a variety of fruits such as melons, peaches, strawberries, grapes and pineapple. Cut the fruit yourself or buy it pre-sliced from a grocery store salad bar.

Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice and 1 tablespoon sugar, and scoop the salad into a storage container. Freeze overnight. Bring the salad along in the car, and in a few hours it will be thawed but still icy cold and refreshing.