Stress-Free Group Travel and The (great) Good Bean is Great!

If any of you got a trip for Christmas, there's probably some group travel in your future. Group travel can be a lot of fun, but it can also be stressful. It's all about how you approach it!

Here are some of my best tips for stress-free group travel:

Stick together.
It's no fun racing through a terminal trying to find those missing members of your travel party five minutes before boarding closes. I know the gift shops are tempting, but just say no. Remember Home Alone 2? Lesson learned, guys.

Be prepared.
Travel is tougher for some people than others. Keep some gum, pain killers, and anti-motion sickness pills on hand, in case any of your travel mates are having a tough time dealing.

Keeping Hangry at bay.
Have plenty of snacks and take enough snack breaks, so that the divas don't come out! You'll be everyone's favorite travel partner if you pack enough to share :)

Snickers and Reese's are great choices now and then, but you'll want to keep the snack balance even by alternating with more healthful snacks. It's all about the balance!

Which brings me to the second part of the post - I recently got the chance to try The Good Bean snacks.

As soon as I heard about them, I was really excited to try their bars and crunchy chickpea snacks - they're great for anyone with nut allergies, because they're snacks and beans are all completely nut free. They get their crunch from protein and fiber rich beans, instead!

I tried the Chickpea snacks first - they're amazing.



Each bag has two servings and I tore into the Cracked Pepper bag first, as a topping on one of my yogurt messes. The Chickpea snacks were so tasty, however, that I ended up eating the second serving straight out of the bag!



They're super crunchy, just the right amount of spicy from the cracked pepper, and slightly sweet. They're a bit salty, but not too salty. They're satisfying, but not greasy - and they really provide the mouthfeel (and pretty close to the taste) of snacking on nuts! Yum!



The sweet cinnamon Chickpea snacks are a little sweeter and make a great granola alternative for those looking for a little extra protein :)

The sea salt ones are a nice simple flavor and would make a great topping for ice cream, too, if you don't just want to eat them plain!

But the smoky chili & lime have to be eaten plain. They're absolutely delicious, like the other three varieties, but also super flavorful. I really like the lime flavor, I think there's just the right amount!

The Fruit + No Nut bars are also super delicious. They basically taste like fruit and nut bars (think Kind bars) but the first ingredient is beans!



There are more ingredients in these bars than some others, but the stats are pretty good and they're a nice light snack bar with a good protein and nutrient punch.



The Chocolate Berry bar is my clear favorite of the three flavors, because I'm a real chocoholic! The chocolate is smooth and delicious, contrasting nicely with the crunchy beans - and the berry flavor complements it nicely,  but doesn't overwhelm the chocolate.



The Fruit & Seeds bar is a great trail mix type bar with a nice mix of dried fruits and extra crunch.

The apricot & coconut has great apricot flavor, but a little too much coconut for my tastes. I do like coconut a lot in certain places, but I'm not just a general big coconut fan and this combo just didn't do it for me - I would have liked the bar better with just apricot. But it's still a tasty bar that I'd snack on now and then! And, again, I love the crunchiness of these bars :)



So far, I've only seen these in Whole Foods stores. I hope they come to other grocery stores soon, too, because Whole Foods can be a little pricey!

But it's good stuff - all fair trade, non-GMO, and high fiber yumminess :)

Have you seen The Good Bean snacks?

Have you tried any of them?

What's your favorite snack bar of the moment?

Don't forget to enter my LUNA Protein Giveaway to win 24 yummy bars!