As we head south this weekend, I thought I would write a quick post about how we survive on the road without partaking in the junk food offerings along the Interstate. The list starts from most ambitious to least and we usually use a mixed strategy with any one trip.
Pack Leftovers in the Cooler
This is a good strategy for a well-prepared household. The limitation is that not all leftovers make a decent cold meal. My mom would tell you that all you have to do is warm your food up on your dashboard a few hours before you want to eat. But with the risk of foodborne illness, I thank mom for the suggestion and pack foods that taste good cold. My favorites are the following:
- Meat loaf. Just a small piece sustains me well. It’s best warm, but accepted cold. It takes a small space which makes it optimal.
- Most other left-over meats. Just like the meatloaf, they pack well.
- Wraps. Use some of those left-over meats and pack some tortillas as well. They make good wraps. (Go well prepared with vegetables and dressing for the wrap.)
- Yogurt. We have homemade yogurt or store-bought yogurt in our house most of the time. It travels well. Pre-sweeten it before the trip if you like it sweet.
- Hummus. Always a good travel companion.
- Seafood dip and vegetables. This is a five-minute meal that can be prepared in your trunk with the right tools.
Buy it on the Road
Note with the list above, that you can purchase any of those items on the road.
In some cases, you may prefer to do this. On longer trips you would run out of your leftovers anyway.
Whenever we travel in California, we actually travel with a list of Trader Joe’s locations. For those outside of California, you may have a Trader Joe’s near you, but you will not have nearly as many locations. There are few places we travel that do not have a Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s has a good selection of nuts, dried fruit, and jerky, all excellent travel food. They have cheeses, cold cuts, and tortillas that you can use to make wraps.
Where there is no Trader Joe’s, a regular supermarket can hook you up with any of these things as well. Just about every place these days has a prepared salad, always good in a pinch.
Eat at Health Food Stores
Trader Joe’s and health food stores increasingly carry prepared meals. Before we head to a new city, we also do a search of health food store locations and typically buy a prepared meal or two from one of them. We often take it as a picnic to our next destination. The cost is usually less than a restaurant, it’s faster, and it tends to be healthier.
Road Tools
Make sure your travel with:
- A small cooler.
- A bowl-like container you can use to mix items like dips or that would double as a bowl for items like yogurt.
- Utensils.
- Knife.
- A can opener.
If you want to get really fancy, I do like this To-Go Ware lunch system, which is really more for packed lunches than for a road trip.
The Wrap N Mat (pictured above) is a great option for sandwich-lovers who want a reusable option to package their sandwich. (It’s kind of cool looking too.)
@ Amazon.
