Thursday, March 11, 2010

Road Trip


Did anyone not roadtrip in a station wagon that looked like this sometime in their childhood? Ours was white.

It's the day before a big road trip. On my mind: car snacks.
I venture out to the store. I stand in the snack aisle in a dizzy haze wondering what of all that packaged fare will sound good at mile 357?? Tell me you've been there!

So, blog pals, what are your favorite snacks for a road trip?

(p.s. there is no such thing as a wrong answer to this question - normal conventions of nutrition do not apply on road trips (ie: corn nuts).

xo,
em

22 comments:

Amy said...

I lurve road trip snacks - my faves are mini hot cross buns and bite-size chunks of cheddar...not together obviously :D

Rachael said...

I usually make a double batch of carrot-raisin-WW muffins. My kids devour them and they make a great in-the-car breakfast. We also really like raisins, sugar snap peas, and apple slices. And I let my kids pick out one thing that we wouldn't normally buy, like fruit snacks or Teddy Grahams.

jeanine said...

growing up we always had red vines and corn nuts... they were our big treats.
clementine oranges are a great in the car treat because they are so easy to peel and small enough to pop a slice in your mouth (no dripping, sticky chins/hands/car)

Savannah said...

Growing up, my family only packed junk, and we loved it! However, upon getting to our destination (usually 11-14 hours away) we felt sick! I had the opportunity to go on a 16 hour road trip with my parents just two weeks ago. Some healthy options my mom included that we all enjoyed were: washed and hulled strawberries in a ziploc, peeled and separated California Cuties in a ziploc, and a loaf of soft french bread (in a sealed bag) that we could rip hunks off. It was really nice to have them! We also usually bring carrot sticks. And of course some doritos, m&m's, and cookies!

Trina said...

My main concern with road snacks is whether they can be vacuumed up (as opposed to scrubbed up) later. Some regulars are pretzels, fishies, cereal, fruit snacks, red vines, clementine cuties, and popcorn. I pre-pack in snack-size baggies so I can toss goodies at kids in the backseat, and I inevitably over-pack snacks. (I guess if we're ever stranded in a remote location, we'll be good to go.)

Stefani M. said...

I'm all about the Gardetto's!

Darcy said...

I usually pack a bunch of healthy stuff and then on our first gas station stop we end up buying all the 'good stuff' then LOL. We start with sliced apples, pretzels, Fiber One bars, maybe some honey-roasted peanuts, and if I remember, that kettle-corn sweet popcorn. We end up always buying Pringles and Doritos and maybe some Crunch N' Munch or something like that. Good luck and have fun on your road trip!

Jonesy said...

We never leave for a trip without our typical travel fare: a few gallon-sized zippies of popcorn (regular and caramel), red vines, peanut butter m&m's, trail mix, swedish fish, and of course, those sippy bottles from a previous post. Great. Now I've got a hankerin' for some swedish fish...

Quigley Family said...

Ritz carckers makes these mini-sandwich crackers (cookies really, but "cracker" makes me feel better) that are S'MORES. YUMMY!!! When I was in college and would drive back and forth to Idaho every few months these delicious bite-sixed treats were a must. Beef jerky is also good.

marymary said...

Am I the only one whose kids tend to get constipated when we travel? I think it has something to do with the typical car snacks too. Some snacks that aren't too messy and don't have the dreaded effect: Grapes, prewashed and cut into snack-sized clumps. Baby carrots. Sugar snap peas. Raisins are great, except they're kind of conducive to sticky fingers. Which is why we always have a package baby wipes at the ready.

Back to the other kind of snack: My kids love to get their own baggies of crackers, little cheese slabs, and circles of salami (or summer sausage, or pepperoni) to make their own little cracker sandwiches. If you can handle the cracker crumbs in the car. Or worse, melted, squished cheese.

Unknown said...

ours was red. so were the twizzlers.

Malinda Crow said...

My hubby and I really like ritz crackers with easy cheese, and trail mix with lots of peanuts, raisins, M&M's and other dried fruit.

Michelle said...

Peanutbutter m&m's, goldfish, lots of H2O, and cut-up fruit!

Ria said...

Starbursts, skittles, gummies, pretzels, red vines, rice crispie treats (always the first to go), fruit snacks, cuties, cut up fruit, pringles, and an ice-cream treat when we stop at the gas station.

Jesslyn said...

M&M's and Whoppers! Although my husband turned me on to Malteasers while we were dating (the Cadbury version of Whoppers) and now I can't go back.
And Cheezits. Hubby loves Chicken in a Bisquit crackers or Triscuits and Squeezy Cheese. :)

Anonymous said...

i had a treat idea for road trips posted today - caramel pretzels http://www.simplymodernmom.com/2010/03/caramel-prezels/

and i had a post on monday about traveling w/ kids with ideas for snacks http://www.simplymodernmom.com/2010/03/children-traveling-tips/

hope that helps!

Marlo said...

The past year we have traveled A LOT! Mostly by myself with the 2 girls, so my road snacks must be easily accessible while driving with one hand. I cut up a lot of fruit before hand (apples, strawberries, grapes) and put them in individual plastic containers. I also buy individual applesauce and peach cups that we eat when we do have to stop. My oldest daughter's favorite is yogurt covered raisins. I try to pretend they are healthy. Cheese and whole wheat goldfish crackers round it out. These are all really easy to get ou of the cooler without looking away from the road. Most of the time. I'm not going to talk about the candy I secretly eat in the front seat. Now I am excited to try sugar snap peas and clementines. Thanks ladies.

Kate said...

Em, over the holiday travel season I was loving baked bbq lays. I think it was the crunchiness. I don't love eating a bunch of sweets on trips, but those I can scarf!

And as far as generics (I know this is the wrong post, but I only have a bout 30 seconds to write this seeing as Charlie is waking up from his nap) I can't buy generic lotion! Always too watery. Right now I'm loving Gold Bond with Shea Butter. It's my favorite yet!

Have fun on your trip!

Brianne said...

I took my kids on a 12 hour road trip to Colorado last summer (I followed my parents, but was the only driver in our car) and my sanity was saved by a huge bag of Dum-Dum lollipops. My boys were barely 2 and 4 years old at the time and passing a sucker back was easy for me to do while driving- it kept their little hands busy unwrapping them and their mouths quiet while they enjoyed them. Not healthy at all and a little sticky, but the clean-up was pretty easy and was well worth it!

Joan said...

I have to agree with Brianne--Dum Dums are the best thing ever. My kids think they're GOLD, they're super cheap, it isn't too much candy in each little one (helps the guilt factor), and they are SO easy in the car.
Other than that: I LOVE Trader Joe's food. They have all kinds of strange treats that appeal to me. If you don't have a TJ's I recommend any other whole foods store--Sprouts, Sunflower Market, Whole Foods (b/c you can always get gas station food along the way--but these rare treats are not a dime a dozen). I love sesame and honey covered almonds, shortbread of any kind!, pirates booty, cliff bars (oatmeal raisin), and of course the typical gas station crap that we all love: peanut butter M&Ms, cinnamon sugar pop tarts (SO bad, I know), Toll House ice cream cookie sandwiches (the chocolate with mint ice cream are just as delightful as the regular ones), Diet Coke with a shot of cherry coke or regular coke is one of my favorite guilty pleasures...hmmm, what else? I think I'll stop there before I confirm to others my blatant food addiction :)

Emily said...

We make the 5 hour drive up to my in-laws pretty frequently, and I am often traveling alone with my 2 girls. I am known to always over-pack in the snack category, and some of the ones that we love every time are cheese cubes/sticks, craisins, whole grain goldfish crackers, apple slices, carrot sticks, grapes and little PB&J or cream cheese sandwiches. For a little treat I really like FiberOne bars... plenty of sweetness, pretty filling, and who can argue with all that fiber? :)

Sarah said...

Beef Jerky.
Juice Boxes for the kidos.
Sunflower Seeds (for sure if husb is driving)
and lots more. but those are the staples