5 Healthy Foods You’ll Find at Lufkin Gas Stations
Those rotating hot dogs on the gas station rotisserie might look tempting, but they're probably not the healthiest choice to grab next time you fill up. Just like grocery stores, convenience stores are adding more fruit and protein bars to the grab-and-go areas, and we couldn't help but notice these five.
I went on a long road trip to Wyoming in July and taking into account my three daughters and my own urge to go, we had to stop for bathroom breaks a lot.
Since the restrooms are always in the back of the store I had plenty of opportunities to weave my way through the pork rinds and beef jerky on the way to the loo, and I noticed that convenience stores sure have added an abundance of protein shakes and seedy granola bars lately. It's an explosion of flax, chia, and carrot sticks like never before. Lufkin and Nacogdoches gas stations are no exception.
Five Healthy Foods You'll Find at East Texas Gas Stations:
1. Protein bars. There are just as many protein bars now as there are candy bars, and maybe more. You can get them with nuts and seeds, drizzled with chocolate and caramel, or chock full of cashews and walnuts. They're definitely not lo-cal or fat-free, but they're usually a better choice than other bars because the sugar content is usually lower and there are other benefits from fiber and healthy fat. We just have to read the labels.
2. Veggies and dip. These are usually in the coolers sitting right next to the bean burritos, so grabbing them is a test of will. Which way to go. The cauliflower bites and broccoli florets usually come with a side of thick ranch, and it's easy dippin' for the car.
3. Hard-boiled eggs. Does anyone else separate the whites and yolks and just eat the whites wrapped around something salty like a pretzel? Asking for a friend. Hard-boiled eggs are good no matter how you slice 'em, and also if you don't. The whites have protein, and they clock in at well under a hundred calories. This might be the most lo-cal item at the gas station. Unless you wrap them around pretzels.
4. Bananas. Sometimes we wonder how long a certain food has been on the shelf, and with bananas and their brown spots, there is no keeping that a secret. I'm amazed at the number of gas stations that have spotless ones. Even green ones. So it's not just the fact that they have bananas at gas stations. Sometimes they're better than the ones at the grocery store produce section.
5. Nuts. A handful of almonds can usually knock out a hunger pang, but we can't ever stop at a handful and the next thing we know we've eaten a cheeseburger's worth of nut-calories because we mixed them with chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Oops. But they are tasty, and they can be healthy and gas stations have a huge supply to choose from.
Self Magazine adds air-popped popcorn, string cheese, sunflower seeds, bean chips, and hummus to the list of healthy gas station snacks.
The gas stations I grew up with always had healthy supplies of rotisserie hot dogs, pork rinds, and melted cheese to drizzle on every snack. When the craving strikes those things are still an option, but now we've got a better chance of mixing in some eggs and carrots too. Will ya do it?