Healthiest Gas Station Snacks

Healthy Gas Station Snacks

Gas stations are not the first places that come to mind when you want a healthy snack. However, they can be a great stop for your pre-workout meal or to grab something healthy when you're too late to make breakfast.

While you're traveling it can be hard to eat healthy and convenience will often trump nutrition. But all is not lost, here are the healthiest foods I've found at gas stations.

Fruits

Fruits are always smart choice whenever they are fresh. Pay close attention to expiration dates and the overall condition of the fruit.

Also be sure to wash the fruit before you eat them or give them to your kids! There are all sorts of gross people that pass through gas stations and rub on the produce.

You don't want to ingest germs found in shady truck stops. In fact, if you are not 200% certain the fruit is clean don't buy it.

It's too big of a risk to buy unsealed food from a place you don't know well.

Planters Cashews

Cashews are great high protein gas station snacks. The caloric value is relatively low and they taste great.

Just be mindful of the salt content. Many brands dump, what tastes like 6 metric tons of salt in a single pack.

If you can, run some clean water over your cashews before eating them to reduce your sodium intake a bit.

Mega Omega Trail Mix

Mega Omega trail mix is for people who hate raisins. And since I am one of those people, I thoroughly enjoy this snack.

It contains the following healthy yet tasty ingredients.

• Cranberries
• Almonds
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Walnuts
• Mangos

The only downside with the snack is that a single-pack 4oz bag contains nearly 300 calories. This is nearly the same amount that a cheeseburger from McDonalds contains, albeit with much less grease and fat.

Graze Veggie Protein Power Pack

I normally run into these protein-packed snacks at 7-Eleven but according to the manufacturer they can be found at retailers all over the U.S. The package contains these ingredients.

• black pepper cashews
• edamame beans
• chickpeas

For a vegan-friendly snack it's very flavorful and provides a decent amount of protein per serving.

Skinny Pop

Skinny Pop tastes surprisingly close to regular popcorn. The product contains no artificial ingredients at all, which is rare for a popcorn-based snack.

Amazingly there are only 3 ingredients: popcorn of course, sunflower oil, and salt. It's also gluten and GMO-free and contains only 39 calories per cup.

This makes it a perfect preworkout snack for people looking to lose weight.

Wawa's Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Croissant (without the sausage)

Wawa has some great food options, all are not healthy but this breakfast sandwich is...which some minor modifications. Removing the sausage from the croissant just leaves the egg and cheese.

This effectively turns it into an egg sandwich with a nice flaky croissant. The calorie count is reduced drastically while preserving taste. So, it's a win-win.

Terra Vegetable Chips, Sweet Potato with Sea Salt

Terra claims that these chips are sliced directly from the vegetable and they certainly taste like it. Not only do they taste fresh, but they are also free from preservatives and just salty enough to still taste like chips.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Protein Bar

Cinnamon Toast Crunch protein bars are a nice alternative to Quest, Cliff, and others. It definitely tastes like cereal but not so much that you forget it's a protein bar.

With protein bars in general I've noticed that anything above 15 grams of protein tastes less like what it's being advertised as (i.e. vanilla ice cream, fruity pebbles, etc.). With these bars containing 20 grams, you definitely taste more "protein" than cereal.

Kind Dark Chocolate Protein Bar

These bars actually taste like what they are being advertised as. The dark chocolate is rich and almost makes you forgive them for how hard the bar is.

If you are in the mood for something crunchy and healthy this is the snack for you.

There are tons of healthy options at gas stations that won't break your budget or diet while traveling. If you're in a rush and don't have time to sit in the 40-car long line at Dunkin or Starbucks, grab a healthy snack from your local gas station.