Road Trip Foods

My family spends a lot of time in the car. Over the last year, we have done a lot of road trips, partly to stretch our budget for a family of five.

At home, I’m pretty conscious of providing lots of variety in my fridge and pantry. I want my kids to have nutritious options and to learn healthy eating habits. I also buy a lot in bulk, avoiding excess packaging when possible. Like most people, our priorities shift when we’re traveling. And when we’re road tripping, convenience becomes the most important factor.

There are three main qualifiers that I use when looking for food to take along on a road trip, whether by car or train. First, I look for things that don’t need refrigeration. Sometimes we don’t have a cooler, and replenishing ice is just another to-do. Removing that factor often relieves stress on me. Second, I bring a lot of individually-wrapped snacks. The packaging can be a pain and create lots of trash in the car, but it’s much easier to pass snacks around the car and portion things out. The other consideration is foods that can be eaten by hand. We’re often eating in the car, so anything that needs utensils does not come.

One thing that we ALWAYS take, whether we’re out for the day or spending a day in the car, is a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. This is really a must-have for us. It’s simple, easy to put together, not too messy, and relatively filling. And if we don’t eat it, it won’t go bad. I leave off the jelly, for simplicity sake. I also pack some disposable knives to throw sandwiches together on the fly.

We eat so many peanut butter sandwiches when
we’re out and about.

My Road Trip Food List

• Loaf of bread

• Jar of peanut butter

• Meat sticks

• Pringles - we like these over other chips because the plastic package prevents the chips getting crushed

• Pouches - applesauce, smoothie, any that don’t require refrigeration

• Protein bars or granola bars

• Fresh Fruit - apples, bananas, clementines are all easy

• Nuts or trail mix

• Dried Fruit - raisins, mango, craisins, and any that your family likes

• Fresh veggies - baby carrots and celery sticks can add some variety

• Muffins - prepackaged or homemade are both great options

• Water - if you don’t plan on stopping much, you can bring gallons of water for refills or individual water bottles

Don’t Forget!

• Roll of paper towels

• Disposable knives

• Ziplock bags - in case you need to make an ice pack from hotel ice or want to portion out anything in bulk

• Reusable water bottles

• Baby wipes

• Hand sanitizer

• Trash bags

Some of our must-haves for any road trip

Everything gets packed into a clear plastic bin so it can be spotted quickly and reached easily.