PrintFavorite road trip snacks!
I'm going on a 2 day road trip- I want to avoid stopping for (eeek!) gas station snacks. I'd prefer to make them at home rather than ingest a quanity of chili cheese fritos & gummyworms...even though (shhh!) I love them both) Do you have any take along road snacks... ideas or recipes to share? We will be bringing a (small) cooler along as well. Thanks for your ideas!!
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15 Comments:
I know you can buy this at the convenience store..but we always bring beef jerky..store bought or homemade. The chewiness keeps us awake.
FoodieCutie at 8:18PM on 01/29/08
Trail mix, pretzels, oranges, apples, turkey brie and apple sandwiches on multi grain bread, water, jolly ranchers, pringles, coke, gum, mixed sweet and spicy nuts, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies
eatmyfood at 9:30PM on 01/29/08
Italian heroes from the Pinnacle Deli in NY. I love them. And yes, Foodie Cutie, there are few things better than beef jerky on a road trip. i have a friend who makes it. It is ridiculously delicious. I need to offer her money to make a big batch for me.
Long into whichever journey, I end up begging to hit a rest stop to buy Nathan's Franks and French Fries. I am always disappointed because they taste nothing like the real thing. Yet I plow on, firmly believing that Next Time Will Be Better. I am always wrong.
chisai at 9:56PM on 01/29/08
Definitely fruits. Baby carrots? And anything Kashi related (like their granola bars or crackers). Cereal that you portion into little baggies would also be good to munch on. I wouldn't leave out some small candy--I like the jolly rancher idea--or Werthers (those butterscotch candies). Maybe make little sandwich triangles with PB and J. And gum!! Always good to chew on something.
Overall I'd say look for foods that will be tasteful and healthful--they'll sustain you longer, and keep from wanting to stop at those dreaded gas station convenient stores :)
(For a really addictive treat--maybe a bad thing!--make some puppy chow. That mix of chex cereal with a chocolate and confectioner sugar coating. It's a bit messy though...)
luswim06 at 10:37PM on 01/29/08
My mom and I typically bring a 5 pound bag of carrots when we go on road trips (which we always finish). Then again, we both turned orange when we were teenagers from eating too many carrots (which has worn off since then), so we're probably not quite normal in our driving snacks.
I also love snacking on pretzels, oranges, Red Vines or Twizzlers, and of course Diet Coke!
ChristineB at 11:21PM on 01/29/08
When my sister and I drove cross country last year, our favorite snack was an Archer Farms trail mix - I think called swiss mix, maybe. It had all the normal trail mix stuff plus peanut putter chips and dried pinapple. It comes in a huge tube, so it was great for the long drive.
Also, my guilty pleasure that I only eat on road trips...hostess donuts. Or maybe they're called Donettes. Anyway, if I ever show up to your house with powdered sugar on my shirt...well, you'll know where I've been!
LizNYC at 11:27PM on 01/29/08
My husband cannot live without sunflower seeds. I like Kasugai gummy candy. Kiwi, Pineapple, Grape, mmmm. Also I like to go to any roadside fruit stands we can find and get local fresh fruit.
evilchefmom at 11:57PM on 01/29/08
I like making or picking up kimbap (Korean-style sushi, I suppose) or California rolls and eating them on the way (nothing with anything raw, of course). They're a healthy and filling treat on the road.
brunjaune at 7:45AM on 01/30/08
dried not fried bannana chips with a thin layer of chocolate brushed on. A dear friend turned me on to the yum factor of choc banana shakes and I love the combination.
huney_bumper at 7:46AM on 01/30/08
I buy assorted cheeses, slice and bag them into ziplock bags and throw that along with some water crackers and grapes into a tiny cooler. Oh, and fresh lime slices to put into my diet cokes. Yes, I know they make diet coke with lime but it tastes weird. I adore diet coke with real lime!
sbelle at 9:03AM on 01/30/08
Before flying/long trips, I always buy a huge assortment of dried fruit and nuts, and make up small baggies with different combos. The carbs, protein, and vitamins are great for staving off hunger. My favorite combos are dried cranberries/almonds/golden raisins, dried apricots/walnuts/sweetened preserved plum, and dried pineapple/peanuts/dried mango.
savecara at 9:49AM on 01/30/08
I dump about an inch of water from bottled water and then freeze. The frozen bottles keep other foods cold and we drink them when they defrost and discard. I like to have hard candy to suck on to keep my mouth from getting dry (too many beverages mean extra stops if you know what I mean, and I know you know what I mean) . We usually bring along sandwiches or fixins, lots of fresh fruit and cookies. Try to avoid salty snacks because then we'd drink. Already covered that one.....ha ha. I don't want messy or hard to eat foods when I'm driving. I also like to bring at least one easy meal to stop and eat. I make parmesan chicken tenders, a salad and have fresh crusty bread. Lemonade or iced tea or soda.
@eatmyfood......the turkey, brie and apple sandwich mention made me want it, want it, want it!
PerkyMac at 10:19AM on 01/30/08
Your fave whole grain cereal (cheerios or chex work well, something you can eat w/fingers and not get all over the car) mixed with nuts and dried fruits- I made a bag for a business trip and my coworker was extremely grateful for it as we sped home on the Indiana tollroad....
Various fruits and veggies and always something chocolate so I don't end up buying it at a rest stop.
Drinks are good, too. Helps cut down on the number of beverage stops after you've devoured your trail mix and find yourself parched.
AuntJone at 10:20AM on 01/30/08
I hate to admit it -- cheese popcorn. I also like to munch on pistacios, grapes and something sweet -- werthers hard candy. Beverages are water or if we a lucky enough to pass a real A&W rootbeer stand, a rootbeer.
lakeloverhh at 12:39PM on 01/30/08
I'm surprised to see soda in so many posts. For some reason I just don't consider it something that you /bring along/. But oh well.
My mother and I always bring plenty of fresh fruit--apples, oranges, bananas-- along with roasted nuts. Central Market (a gourmet offspring of Texas-based HEB) now sells these amazing dried vegetable chips that are a mix of sweet potato, taro, green bean, carrot, and a few other things I frankly can't remember, tossed lightly with sea salt and a little olive oil. I could eat an entire 1 lb. bag in a day if I let myself! They're salty, sweet, crunchy, and full of the natural flavor of the vegetables. Yumm. Occasionally we bring along chocolate too.
Christina at 4:13PM on 02/02/08