Do you pack food on Road Trips?

[suejai]

We are taking a 12 hour road trip on Sunday. I usually pack some fruit, which no one but me eats, and sometimes pack subs, water, and we stop for coffee. I'm looking for new ideas so we don't have to stop so often and we can avoid fast food and junk food. TIA

 

[Breezy_Carol]

We always pack Goldfish crackers, pretzel rods, bottled water, and cans of soda. We stop for lunch and just have them for snacks.

 

[Wishing on a star]

No, most of the time we don't....

We need frequent breaks anyhow to stretch our legs, go to the restroom, etc...

We always have bottled spring water, fruit juice jammers, etc... with us. And, snack-bars, etc...

But, nope, the only time we go thru the trouble of packing a meal is if part of the destination/journey might be some kind of picnic.

There is enough work to deal with packing, etc..... to get ready for a trip, that the last thing I want to do is add to that.

Usually one can find healthier choices other than McDonalds type fast food if you want. My husband really watches what he eats, and even if fast food is the only option he can usually find a grilled chicken sandwich, salad or wrap or something. He will often have protein bars and a piece of fruit handy as well.

But, nope, no tailgating for us.

 

[princess momma]

I hate roadtrips but when we do them we usually stop and have a picnic along the way. It's usually sandwiches, pasta salad, fruit, and chips.

And with kids I pack lots of drinks and snacks. We usually take lots of potty breaks too.

 

[mjantz]

We pack snacks. I usually let the kids pick out a snack of their own to take on the trip. Even if its not something I'd usually buy its cheaper than buying something at a gas station.
We don't usually pack a meal but between needing snacks for the trip there & snacks for the trip home it can seem like packing a meal.

 

[Kirby]

If the weather is good, we like to stop along the way at a nice rest stop and eat a picnic lunch. We've been known to make sandwiches in the car and keep on driving too.

 

[KirstenB]

Heck yeah!! It's Pavlovian. Once we leave the driveway, I'm hungry!! I don't pack sandwiches, because no one eats them--they claim they taste like the car, nice!! But I do pack a cooler full of waters/juices/cokes. And some non-melty snacks like pretzels, crackers, etc.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Nah. Part of the fun of a road trip is stopping along the way at quirky rest stops for snacks. Plus I found I eat less when I have to stop and buy something - if it's in the car, I will munch on it just because it's there.

 

[disneyhand]

My DH and I do a 2 day trip every summer to the same destination. The kids haven't come with us in a long time now. We drive almost 17 hrs the first day and 6-8 the next. We're used to the one long day and we have a town we like to stop for the night in as our goal.
We leave home with a cooler with water, salami, cheese, apples, carrots and celery. We also bring something sweet like cookies and red vines and some peanut butter, crackers and a thermos of coffee.
I have an inexpensive cutting board and sharp knife that I also bring along to slice the apples and balance the crackers and celery on while I put pb on them.
I buy the multi pack of the little peanut butter containers for convenience. And the small pre-sliced package of cheese and salami.
I also bring a couple of plastic knives, ziplocks, napkins and paper plates. Seems like I always use most of them. I know this sounds like a lot to bring, but it all fits in either the medium cooler or a grocery bag.
Since we leave home at 4:00am, we snack on these things and time our stops to use the restroom and fill up the gas tank.
Sometimes for lunch we split a subway sandwich. We prefer to not eat fast food on the road.
We usually have a good dinner when we stop for the night. We don't leave so early the next morning so we start off with a real breakfast and only eat the car snacks till we arrive at our destination.
We are fine with this and really think we save a lot of time and money too! I have fine tuned what we bring over the years.
Have a fun trip!

 

[portocall]

I haven't packed a full meal but things to stretch a few extra driving hours in before the full meal. My family likes beef jerky, string cheese, small lunchable to share, raisins, and the apple dipper packs in addition to some juices and water in a cooler. The cooler is small and fits between the driver and passenger seat in our van. None are cheap, but less expensive and somewhat better than what three kids in a gas station will come up with.

 

[shortbun]

I usually make a mix of nuts(almonds, cashews), dried cherries and cranberries, a few M&M's and some cereal like Cheerios, round pretzels....you can add whatever you've got. Trader Joes has a really good one that we took this last road trip. My son said, 'this is as good as yours Mom!" so maybe I'll just buy theirs from now on. I cut up a cantelope into chunks and give everyone a baggie with melon pieces. My husband likes dried Wasabi peas.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I always pack tons of stuff. Otherwise I get carsick. I pack pretzels, gummy bears, granola bars, drinks, chips, maybe some candies, and whatever else I moght have in the house. We usually stop for meals. Ever since I was a kid we always packed tons of stuff in the car when we were on a long trip.

 

[golfgal]

We like to get in the car and go and not stop all that much so we pack snack foods to munch on, cheese, apples, pretzels, chips, crackers, etc. Depending on how long we are driving we will coordinate a stop for a meal with a gas stop but generally get the food to go.

 

[Swimnoid]

It depends. We always pack drinks and snacks like Pringles and cookies. If we are leaving late and going on a long trip (like WDW ) I pack sandwiches because we may miss the window to stop at a restaurant or we want to get as far as we can more quickly.

 

[happygirl]

No, part of the fun for us is eating along the trip at places we have never ate at.

 

[ICF]

my wife packs so much food if we ever got stranded we could live for a week off of it!!!

 

[monkey68]

We used to drive from NY to Florida or South Carolina all the time, and we would always take a lot of food. Fruits, sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, a roasted chicken, salami, all sorts of stuff. And we would also bring a good thermos of coffee or tea.

 

[PatsGirl]

I used to pack snacks and a picnic lunch when the kids were smaller, knowing that they'd need to run a bit... now I bring a cooler with some waters and dry snacks (pretzels, trail mix) in case we get stuck in traffic or break down or something like that but for the most part, we schedule a "meal stop".

 

[lisajl]

Love Road trips! Yes, we pack pretty much what everyone else here does.
We do try to stop and eat the food at a rest area. We need to get out and stretch our legs now and again.
Sandwiches, chips, pretzles, apples, easy stuff. Oh yeah, cheese and crackers my fave.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

The smell of food in a car skeeves me out The only things we bring with us are water, sometimes cookies, fruit snacks, and pretzels. The smell of potato chips makes me want to hurl... I couldn't even imagine bringing a entire chicken