Easy Road Trip Food

We drive a lot with the kids. It's not unusual for us to wake up and decide to take a spur-of-the-moment road trip. Usually this means driving 4 or 5 hours at the drop of a hat. Luckily, we've always done this with our kids, so when we tell them we're going on a road trip, they quickly gather their things. I pack a cooler, hubby loads the car, and we're off.

This past week my husband got stuck at work, so the kids and I were on our own. We drove 18 hours in 3 days and I'm happy to say we're all still alive!

For me, road trip patience requires good food and drinks, easy road trip gear, and a good map. Here is my list of Must Have Food and Drink Items for any road trip:

Food and Drink
Logic states that junk food is asking for disaster, so I pack as many healthy foods as I can, as it keeps the kids calmer and in a better mood. Depending on my mood, our estimated time in the car and destination, as well as our space, I may pack one cooler for all of us, or individual lunch boxes for the kids and one for hubby and I. Either way, our food stash contains:

*fresh fruit that doesn't make a huge mess - apples, oranges, strawberries, pear slices, and bananas.


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*fresh veggies - cucumber, celery, carrots, and grape/cherry tomatoes are staples. We also love carrot and cucumber pickles (without the juice). Some new favorites are cooked green beans, broccoli, and cauliflower.

*protein - cheese strings or slices, turkey pepperoni sticks, peanut butter to go with the apples, and boiled eggs.


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For grains, it usually means homemade baking - whole grain and multigrain muffins, protein bars, squares, cookies, etc.

Drinks are pretty well limited to water, or water with with an orange or lemon slice. We try to stay away from juice and pop (soda for our American friends), but we're not perfect! When the kids do get juice, it's usually 100% fruit juice.

A side note for water - we have found these great BPA-free, leak-proof, 24oz (750mL) water bottles by Contigo. It didn't take us long to figure out that the kids needed bottles that they couldn't drain in 1/2 hour. We have bottles in 4 colors, so they don't get mixed up.

We find that if we make a a real effort to limit the intake of junk food and juice/pop, the kids are much better behaved, thus making us much more patient parents. Although, this week I did allow them a Sunny D and popcorn twists and it was a near disaster...

What are your favorite foods to take along on a trip?