road to family fun

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trek toward health

To rev up your road trip to the healthy indicator mark, it’s important to map out your strategy before setting out so that you can avoid potential pitfalls, says Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, mother of three and editor-in-chief of WeJustGotBack.com, a Web site devoted to family travel planning.

“I’m a huge fan of not just choosing a destination, but building an activity into your day,” Kelleher says. Take time to research scenic stops along the route, looking for beautiful places to get out of the car, go for an energizing walk, or share a picnic.

“With kids, bringing supplies whenever possible is my cardinal rule,” Kelleher says. For the journey, bring a cooler packed with healthful snacks—yogurt or yogurt drinks, apples and grapes, and low-fat string cheese—along with juice and water.

If fast food is your only option, order healthful choices, such as grilled chicken or fish, thin-crust pizza rather than deep-dish, and frozen yogurt instead of ice cream for dessert, she suggests.

Car games can keep the fun factor up and the stress level down. Find some car games online at www.MomsMinivan.com.

Or try this one: Put a colorful spin on the license-plate game by photocopying a map of the United States for each of your backseat passengers. Encourage them to color in each state as they spot it on the back of a passing car. Keep the results as a log of your journey.