sugar snap peas and baby carrots

are the only vegetables I've eaten in the last 3 days.

OK, that's a slight exaggeration. My dinner on Thursday did include scraps of arugula. But in the land of endless cornfields, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, salads, vegetables, beyond the limp lettuce leaf and cherry tomato in the lunch boxes, are remarkably scarce. Last night, the group dinner was at a sports bar where every single item on the menu was deep fried and / or a large chunk of meat on a large wedge of bread.

My salvation has been the little bags of sugar snap peas and baby carrots I carry when I travel. And oatmeal - my other on-the-road staple. It's the only food almost universally available in America that you can get without additions of sugar, grease, and other gunk. It keeps fresh on the windowsill of your hotel room. You can even carry it yourself, as dry rolled oats, minimal space and weight in your baggage. Soak it overnight in rice milk or water, and it's delicious in the morning.