Summer is often framed

as the right time to lose weight and get in the best beach shape of your life, but the change to a warm season can make anyone want to watch what they eat for a variety of reasons.

Taking a road trip is also a key aspect of summer, and they don’t typically go well for people wanting to eat healthier. Snack aisles are packed with potato and corn chips, and when you try to load up a cooler with drinks for the road, what greets you at the store are endless soda flavors. Think you might find something good at a gas station? Good luck searching for something healthy between the plastic-wrapped doughnuts and deep-fried pork skins.

Don’t let the idea of a road trip intimidate you away from your plan to eat better this summer.  If you are your designated road trip planner, there are lots of ways to keep you on track with your diet no matter where you are. It’ll take a bit of planning ahead, but if you’re eating healthy meals, aren’t you doing that already?

Snap Peas and Carrots

This snack is like the holy grail of summer road trips for people who are health conscious. They add practically no calories to your daily diet and provide that satisfying feeling of having a crunchy snack. They also trick the tongue into thinking you’re eating something sugary. Just try a snap pea and try to think about anything other than how sweet it is.

Peanut Butter Banana Energy Bites

There’s no reason to compromise on your morning energy boost just because you’re not cracking open a can full of caffeine. Make peanut butter banana energy bites instead! This snack will energize and doesn’t need to be baked. It’s the perfect snack for those of us who’ll miss our favorite chocolate and peanut butter candies, too.

Apple Cinnamon Granola Bars 

Missing your favorite brown sugar and cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast?

Missing your favorite brown sugar and cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast? These apple cinnamon granola bars will fill that hole in your heart. By quickly combining just a few ingredients, you’ll have a sweet and chewy snack to keep you company while you hit the road. Or after you’ve been on the road for a while. At 127 calories per bar, you could eat them all day long.

Trail Mix

One of the biggest issues that come along with having a summer road trip is that you might not have time to do everything you’d like. Maybe you’ll get to just some of the homemade snacks you’d like to take with you, or maybe none at all. If you’re in a rush, there are always healthy snack options like trail mix that are already pre-packaged and ready to eat, as well as packaged energy bars, granola bites, and other nutritiously dense options that won’t compromise your time. No one will be able to resist reaching in for a handful of your snack.

Trail mix is an easy option for snacking on the road

Almonds

If you’re not allergic to nuts, take advantage of all their health benefits and stick a couple bags in your cooler. Nuts—especially almonds—have a lot of protein, which means you’ll hold off your hunger without paying a lot for meat or protein powder. Plus, they’ll last the whole trip without going bad.

Fruit Smoothie

Smoothies are really easy to make at home. If you have a blender, all you need is some frozen fruit (bought with no added sugar), ice and whatever liquid you’d like to add. This can be water, milk, or even your favorite fruit juice. A fabulous summer fruit smoothie is a great drink to add to your trip since they’ll fill you up and add variety to your diet.

When it gets closer to your road trip this summer, don’t worry about having to eat unhealthy foods in order to enjoy some time away from home. Healthy snacks are easy to make and include in any vacation, even road trips. As long as you plan ahead for what you want to eat, you won’t have to break a sweat—or your diet.

Kacey Bradley is a lifestyle blogger for The Drifter Collective, an eclectic lifestyle blog that expresses various forms of style through the influence of culture and the world around us and a frequent contributor to followsummer.  You can follow Kacey on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.