Car habit

It would. My sister brought up a good point which is very apparent in my life. Do not plan your activities around food - the when's, the what's, the where's. Plan your activitiy and food comes secondary. I know that's hard for us, but if we focus on the activity, eventually food will not be the forerunner.  As long as we are prepared, it will become routine, just as eating while driving or smoking while driving once did as well.

The Ricola's are a good idea too - who wants to eat with that menthal taste ;)

Hm.  That's an interesting thought that leads me to wonder if maybe I should change what I do in the car to see if planning the driving part better might help get me out of my old thought patterns and habits.  Maybe if I switch from mindless music to something like NPR podcasts I might feel more entertained/focused/distracted/something and that might be a nudge that I need.  Something worth trying!  

Or books on tape LOL..if cars even still come with tape players!

Audible for the win! :D

I will give you my number...you can talk to me LOL.

String cheese  nuts carrot sticks cucumber bites... ham chunks of cheese beef jerky.... and I'm sure all of those will taste much better then combos...and are sure to keep u awake ... :-) best of luck....

I like the idea of cutting a string cheese up into small pieces before a trip so I have little bite size pieces.  Maybe those pepperoni chips people make would work well too, and be sort of like the pizza combos ;)

And Wawa actually sells little cups with cheese cubes and pepperoni, so I could always take nothing and buy one en route if I get really desperate.  

(Although, like I mentioned above, one of my concerns was that if I did get a snack I knew I'd have no room for dinner with my parents when I got there!)

I, too, have this habit when driving long distances, so I'm interested in the responses you might get. It used to be smoking, but I quit that 10 years ago, and then it became food. Mindless eating, of course, to keep one soothed during the long drive.

A couple of things I have been thinking to try:

• Water
• Protein shake/drink
• SF hard candies
• Portion of sunflower seeds, eat them one at a time
• Cut up cheese into teeny pieces
• String cheese

Thanks!  I appreciate your suggestions :)  It definitely is a mindless habit and it needs to be dealt a swift justice!

I have been struggling w/ this too.  My problem time is when I am flying.  At first I came prepared - quest bar, pistachios etc.  So I would have ok options.  But then I realized these were too many healthy options -- all I really wanted to do was snack, and my options allowed me to do it.  Now I make sure I have the day planned, and I have what I need, but no more.  

I keep extras in my carry-on which sits above on the plane.  If I'm drastically delayed I can get more, but I don't keep stuff easily accessible beyond my planned food for the day.  

I still have to battle the monster when they come around w/ peanuts ARG!