Road Food or Why My Pants Don't Fit Anymore

About five weeks ago my sister and I trekked from CA to MN to move me.  In the last week we drove from NY to WI to officially move her. 

On the first portion of our country crossing adventure, we were methodical.  We bought snacks from the bulk bins at the natural foods store, we had fresh bread from the bakery and leftovers from the fridge.  We had wine easily accessible for the motel stays.  When we stopped to eat, we sat, were served, had some balance on a plate.  We only had fast food once, and it was Subway.  (That was only after we drove around the town of Hutchinson, Kansas for almost 45 minutes looking for what I thought might be a local deli/diner and all we could find were KFC's, Subways, and the state fair.  In hindsight, we should have hopped in there and had some food on sticks - less healthy but better for the soul than any Subway.  The Subway stop was especially disappointing because mere hours before we were in a gas station in Dodge City, KS that had pork ribs on a rotisserie, and a whole spread of accompaniments that looked amazing, but we moved on after mere snacks because we were holding out for a sit down further on up the road.  Bad choice.)

The second portion was much shorter, which is probably one of the reasons why we ate like a couple of truckers.  Pastries and bagels before we hit the road, snacks every time we stopped, and the closest to real meals we had were Dairy Queen (chicken strips, fries, burger, blizzard...  a balanced meal as far as Dairy Queen goes) and cheap Chinese take out in our motel in Ohio.  The final rest stop on the border of Illinois and Wisconsin I was even compelled to soft pretzel sticks with cheese dip...  that just made my stomach turn as I wrote that.

So what's the lesson in all this?  Better planning makes for better eating?  That I'm privileged to live in a place with easy access to fresh real food?  That if you're going to get a DQ kids meal you might as well have a full one so you don't have to eat four servings of General Tso's Chicken later?  Probably all of that.  All I know right now is that I want some kale, a banana, maybe some yogurt.
My big take-away is that if you're going to eat like hell, make it worth it.  BBQ in KC?  Yes.  Fake cheese on soft pretzels at rest stop?  No. 

CA to MN:
sesame sticks
trail mix
bananas
bakery bread
leftover grilled tri-tip
red licorice
banana chips
almonds
fruit &waffles for motel breakfasts
mexican food in AZ
Greek food in NM
fried okra/corndog then Subway in KS
BBQ in KC, KS
brunch of pancakes and benedicts in KC, KS


BK - WI:
bagel and ham&cheese croissant
peanut butter crackers
DQ burger, chicken strips, fries, blizzard, soda
cheap Chinese food (why bother with the details)
doughnuts and worst apple i've ever eaten for breakfast
pb&grape jelly sandwhich
mini peanut butter crackers
rice krispie treat
trail mix
banana
white rice
hard boiled egg
pretzel sticks with fake cheese