Ahhh ... summer vacation. A trip to the Rockies. A visit to the nation's capital. Taking the kids to Disney World.

It's what you dreamt about on the fifth day of single-digit temperatures last winter or when the boss asked you to work late one too many times. It's a break from routine and an opportunity for families to come together.

But vacation trips and changes in daily routine can wreak havoc on good habits normally adhered to, particularly healthy eating. Fast food consumption might increase, candy and other sweet snacks frequently are more accessible, and meal times tend to vary.

Vicki Book of Grabill, Ind., and her husband, Dan, look forward to family vacations. With Little League finished and ballet and piano lessons on hiatus, "This is our travel time," Vicki said.

Book fixes well-balanced meals at home for her family, ensuring Gabrielle, 11, Morgan, 9, Madeline, 6, and Audri, 4, get plenty of fruit, vegetables and milk. But on the road, when they stop for meals, "Like most kids, they want chicken and French fries," she said. "They ask for pop. I just laugh."

Dairy is an important food group that often gets cheated during travels, said Julie Hardin, a dietitian with the Indiana Dairy and Nutrition Council.

The latest dietary guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture include three daily servings of low-fat dairy, which include yogurt and cheese. Hardin said older children should have four. Three dairy servings could be an 8-ounce glass of milk, 6 ounces of yogurt and 1 ½ ounces of cheese. Think of six small cheese blocks the size of dice or one 9-volt battery to see how much cheese is one serving, Hardin said.

Through the years, Book said, she has learned some mom-tricks to keep the youngsters' tummies filled while not totally throwing their healthy diet out the window during road trips.

Here are some of her snack and meal suggestions for surviving an 8-hour trip — or longer — with children:

"Bananas are always good." She recommends buying just enough for that day, stopping at a grocery to get fresh fruit as needed.

Seedless grapes are another favorite. Try freezing grapes for an icy treat.

Individually-packaged string cheese works well; one stick gives 200 milligrams of the recommended 300 milligrams of calcium that constitute one dairy serving.

Crackers and cheese. Book prefers to buy wheat or multi-grain crackers and packages of cheese already cut in small squares or fun shapes, which are available in a store's dairy aisle. The small rectangular packages of cheese spread and crackers are higher in fat and have fewer nutrients.

Rather than buying milkshakes at a fast-food restaurant, she purchases fruit smoothies from the dairy case. They contain yogurt, and the children like their own bottles.

"The kids like the short-cut carrots," sometimes called baby carrots. Each child has a plastic drinking cup, and Book puts a few carrots, grapes or whatever snack they are having that time in the cups.

If they have the munchies and are begging for chips, she offers a few baked, multi-grain or cheddar chips. They are lower in fat and higher in nutrients than most other potato chips.

"When they were younger, it was Cheerios."

Bottled water is what they drink in the car. "We've spilled a lot of things in our vehicle," Book said. Water doesn't leave a telltale stain _ and water is the best way to keep well hydrated. Doctors recommend going easy on the fruit juices. Even 100 percent juice drinks contain high amounts of sugar.

Some non-food advice from Book: Don't forget the hand wipes for the car and dining out.

Although the Book children don't like to eat yogurt except in smoothies, the Dairy Council's Hardin says squeezable individual tubes of yogurt, such as Yoplait's Go-GURT, are a healthy and convenient travel snack. They should be kept chilled, so take along a small cooler.

"Fruit is so portable. Grapes, apples and plums this time of year are readily available," Hardin said. Another option: peanut butter on whole wheat crackers. The peanut butter can be spread prior to the trip. Put two crackers together for cracker sandwiches; store in small sealable bags that can be handed to each child.

Do the Books ever let their kids eat French fries? "Sure," she said, every so often. "When traveling and stopping at restaurants, we replace the fries with veggies and fruit. Places such as Applebee's, she said, allow substitutions.

Even fast food chains have improved kids' — and parents' — meal choices.

For example, at McDonald's, apple slices and low-fat caramel dip can replace French fries. Ask for just apples to avoid the sugar in the dip. Wendy's has mandarin oranges, and Burger King serves applesauce; 1 percent chocolate milk is now offered at McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King.

If parents choose a fresh salad for a side, children are more likely to do the same, research at Cornell University shows.

Try McDonald's or Burger King's yogurt and granola treats. Other healthy travel snacks: raisins, bagel chips, pretzels or popcorn.

Warning: thirst will increase with salty snacks, and popcorn kernels can be a choking hazard for young children.

More options include: dried fruit and cereal bars, but make sure the cereal bars' first ingredient says whole grain and they have fewer than 10 grams of sugar.