I recently asked on Facebook for new road trip tips for eating. I headed to a conference Friday and we packed up the kids and lived in a hotel for a couple of days. I got some great responses from friends and readers and wanted to share them all with you! These tips vary, some are for longer trips (we were only heading out for the weekend, so not all of them apply to our road trip). You can also check my Pinterest board on camping and travel food for visual aids for several of these ideas. A huge amount of these came from my friend Mer, who messaged me her HUGE list of travel food tips. So awesome I had to share!
A few of our favorites that we take for short weekend trips include a big bag of air-popped popcorn and several little cloth snack bags to distribute the popcorn in the car. We also brought sunbutter, honey and bread as well as a knife for the spreading and cutting, a huge bag of spaghetti noodles, individual bags of baby carrots, fruit cups, string cheese and shelf-stable milk and juice boxes. We really could’ve eaten in the hotel room for the entire trip with all the food we packed! But, of course, we didn’t. We visited one of the Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives featured restaurants in the area, a diner called Landmark Diner in Charlotte. The food was awesome. Unfortunately the service was lacking, but I really want to try to emulate the eggplant parmesan I had there. It had no sauce on the eggplant at all! So it remained nice and crispy instead of being a soggy eggplant-seedy mess. Yum!
I had a great time at the Disney on the Road conference and met some lovely ladies (and a few gentlemen). I learned a few unexpected things about being a Mompreneur and really enjoyed the speakers. I completely geeked out at meeting Shannon Miller, Olympic gold medalist, because I’m a complete Olympics and gymnastics junkie! Her story was inspiring, too. She’s had a tough few years since being diagnosed with ovarian cancer and has really fought admirably. She’s doing great now, BTW and has an adorable little son. But, on to the road trip tips, enjoy!
- Look up local grocer’s sales for:If you are flying and can’t bring small appliances, look for them at local thrift stores when you get there
- cheeses – cottage, sandwich, string
- fresh fruit
- roasted chicken
- yogurt
- Consider eating breakfast and dinner at where you’re staying, but lunch out so you don’t have to pack things with you during the day and because lunch is less expensive than dinner!
- Remember to pack things like:Take a blender for smoothies; can add nut butters for added protein
- Non-perishables:
- canned chicken for chicken salad sandwiches
- chips (snack/with lunch)
- cold cereal
- cookies
- crackers (snack/with lunch)
- dried fruit (snack)
- fruit strips (snack)
- granola bars (snack)
- instant breakfast shakes
- jello mix (make it the night you arrive)
- nuts (snack)
- peanut butter for sandwiches
- powdered drink mix (one conventional thing we DO buy is Gatorade Powder – only in orange or green – that way it’s at least sugar and not HFCS – it’s great to have some on hand when someone isn’t feeling well – unless they have another drink that is comforting to them like decaf tea, etc.)
- pudding mix (make it the night you arrive)
- seasonings
- individual shelf stable milk/non-milks (can save fridge room)
- Perishables:
- Bagels
- Cheese (sliced for sandwiches, string for snacks)
- Cream cheese for bagels/toast
- Deli meat for sandwiches
- Eggs (pre-hardboiled) for breakfast; can also be used to make egg salad sandwiches
- Jam for sandwiches
- Mayo for sandwiches / chicken salad
- Milk for cold cereal
- Muffins (baked in advance)
- Pasta salad
- Potato salad
- Quick breads (baked in advance)
- Veggies (pre-cut) (snacks/lunch/supper)
- Non-perishables:
- If you have access to an electric cooktop:
- dried pasta mixes you add meat to on electric cooktop
- cook meat up at home for chili/sloppy joes – cook in sauce in crock pot/on electric cooktop once there
- cook veggies
- oatmeal
- boil water and heat hot dogs
- eggs, pancakes, and bacon
- grilled cheese
- tortilla pizzas
- French toast
- canned soup/dry soup (add water)
- quesadillas
- If you have access to a microwave:
- canned soup/dry soup (add water)
- cook spaghetti at home and reheat with sauce in microwave/electric cooktop
- microwave store-bought frozen lasagna (Amy’s – we’ve never done this, not a huge fan of nuking things like that)
- homemade mac & cheese freezes well and can be reheated in microwave/on electric cooktop
- quesadillas
- cook veggies
- oatmeal (Try Rachel’s Instant Fruit Porridge)
- boil water and heat hot dogs
- make/freeze pancakes/waffles before you leave and then warm in micro
- rice-cups/side dishes
- potatoes – cube them, put in a bit of oil and seasoning and cook till tender
- If you have access to an outdoor grill (if not, a george foreman would work too; could also bring a small one of your own)Take a rice cooker to do rice, can steam veggies in it, steam dumplings, etc.
- for meats put foil on grill, add seasonings, put veggies over top and it will make for easy clean-up
- bring marinated beef/chicken and veggies (mushroom caps, zukes, squash)
- make meatballs ahead of time and then warm them up on the grill/electric cooktop for meatball subs
- hot dogs
- burgers
- pizza
- cover baked potatoes in olive oil or butter, sprinkle on salt, wrap in foil and grill; also works for corn
- steak
- chicken
- fish
- cinnamon rolls in pie tins (store-bought dough)
- quesadillas on grill or on electric cooktop
- Take a slow cooker – may want to check with front desk/cleaning staff if at a hotel, they might not allow it or unplug it and leave you with an uncooked dish you were expecting to have at the end of the day!
- can cook a whole chicken in it
- layer a ground meat, potato slices, bag of frozen mixed veggies and cream of soup over top
- roasts
- soups
- fajitas
- bbq meat for sandwiches (on buns with chips)
- precook ground beef to do nachos or tacos
- bake potatoes
- stroganoff
- spaghetti
- start oatmeal at night and wake up to a breakfast ready (steel cut oats, 1 c oats/4c water, cook on low, *spray w/oil)
- baked ziti
- Take a toaster oven for:
- toast
- reheating pizza from eating out
- frozen chicken strips
- English muffins
- English muffin pizzas
*If you stay at a hotel with free breakfast, take some extra waffles, keep cold in room and do breakfast for supper
with fruit and microwaved bacon