On the Road Again

We began road tripping when the boys were quite young. Our first trip took us 8 hours away, and since then we’ve done annual getaways spending 6 to 26 hours on the road. While I wouldn’t consider myself a road-tripping expert, I do think we’ve mastered a few food tips that I’d love to pass along.
We always pack two coolers for the trip—one for items we’d like to keep cold, and one for the room-temperature foods. I keep an ice pack (or Mason jar filled with ice) in the ‘cold’ cooler to keep our foods as fresh as possible. I also keep a garbage bag in the front and back of the vehicle for easy trash disposal.

Here are some of our favourite road trip foods. I like to choose approximately three items for every 2 hours of travel. Snacking makes long rides a little more fun, and variety in the cooler bag keeps us from becoming victims of the roadside vending machine.

Grains – Bagels, pitas, crackers, popcorn, cookies, granola bars, rice cakes, mini sandwiches

Fruits and Veggies – Cucumber slices, carrot sticks, grapes, strawberries, bananas, orange slices, dried fruits, melon, broccoli, celery

Protein – Hard-boiled eggs, cheese, nuts and seeds, hummus

Sweet/Salty Treats – Chocolate (keep in the cold food cooler as summer heat can cause the chocolate to melt), nacho chips, pretzels

Are you planning any road trips this summer? What does your family like to eat on the road?