After recently returning from a family road trip to the US, snacks were an important part of our journey. Even during a two hour drive on the weekend to cottage country garners at least one Mom, I’m hungry preceded by a Are we there yet? Whether it’s boredom or genuine hunger, having easy to eat finger food on hand is as crucial as packing enough underwear.
Here are some ideas for my favourite snacks that will satisfy the whole gang in transit, and keep the moods and bickering at bay. A little planning, and you can steer clear from having to source overpriced, processed, sugary snacks at rest stops.
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Fruit
Although it generally doesn’t travel that well, start off with some just-ripe bananas and apple slices sprinkled with lemon juice to stop them going brown. Smaller soft fruits like grapes apricots or plums are thirst quenching and juicy when they need a sweet boost.
Pre-Packaged Granola Bars
Although I’m not a fan of most pre-packaged foods, we found some Kashi bars that my girls devoured. They were packed with various types of grain and so were a better pick of what was on offer in the supermarket aisle. Larabar, made from dried fruit and ground nuts, make a nice change from the usual oat based bars too.
Trail Mix
Make up a mix of of Nature’s Path rice, corn and/or kamut puffs, raisins, goji berries, along with sunflower or pumpkin seeds, almond, walnut, cashew or pecan and fill a RuMe re-usable snack bag. It’s a must for any trip–road or otherwise.
Veggies
Carrot, celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, green beans and sugar snap peas travel well and add to the 5 - 10 a day minimum. Add in a small container of hummus or edamame dip to your cooler and it’ll offer some protein for satiety lessening the “I’m still hungry” five minutes after the last snack was inhaled.
Rice Cake Sandwiches
I’ve made rice cake sandwiches for years, and they are still a firm favourite. My daughters now make and pack them for themselves with honey or jam with almond butter or tahini. You could use cream cheese and jam, hummus or another favourite dip or spread.
Packing snacks into individual re-usable bags or even labeled freezer bags stop the squabbles and “Mom, she’s not sharing” from the peanut gallery in the back seat.
We used the kids school lunch bags to keep snacks and water close in an organized way. You know what the back seat can look like on a road trip. Just enough room for little bums and car seat as every book, pencil crayon and marker hits the car floor or is scattered around before you hit the highway.
Do you have a favourite road-trip snack to share?
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