Seven Healthy Snack Ideas for Family Road Trips

When you’re on the move it can be difficult to keep up some semblance of routine, and to provide everything you would at home. I don’t know about you, but I’m in real danger sometimes of letting my family live on little more than motorway burgers and crisps while travelling. This is fine for the odd treat, but greasy food isn’t necessarily a good option for long, hot car journeys (bleurgh!). It can also start to get VERY expensive.

I have found some much healthier snack options for road trips. Do you fancy any of these?

1) Salad sticks. Chopped up carrot sticks and cucumber sticks are a favorite of my children, and are very easy to prepare and store. It is rumored that carrots can help you to see in the dark. There is actually some truth in this as carrots contain Vitamin A which is important for our visual health, including night vision. Not sure they give you super-hero level sight though! If you’re feeling adventurous, then you can also take along some dips and sides, such as hummus or guacamole, or rice and couscous.

2) Wraps. For a sandwich, wraps and pitta pockets are a better option then sliced bread or bread cakes/buns. White bread especially tends to soak up the liquid from ingredients like tomatoes or cucumber making the bread a soggy, inedible mess. Wraps tend not to, so stay drier for longer. Wraps and pitta pockets are great for a multitude of fillings including ham, cheese, chicken, beef, and more.

3) Fruit. Want to psyche your children into eating more fruit? Chop it up. Studies have shown that the simple act of slicing fruit increases a child’s willingness to consume it. Avoid tinned fruit as it tends to be syrupy and contains much more sugar. Rather, take your fresh fruit and chop it up and make it into kid-sized portions. Mix it up to give it some colour variation and it will be more visually appealing. Harder fruits such as apples, pears, raisins, and grapes tend to stay fresher longer and be less messy to eat than softer fruits such as bananas, melon, and pineapple. Don’t forget to cut the grapes in half before giving them to your young children.

4) Rice cakes are a healthier alternative to crisps. They tend to contain less fat and calories, but still can be quite high in salt, so you should still moderate your intake. However, they are fairly cheap, light for ease of transport, and will last without having to keep them cool for long periods.

5) Quiche. I’ve found this recipe for mini quiches, which are a good option for children and adults. The children can help you make them (which always increases their willingness to eat them), and they are easy to carry and store. You can tailor the recipe to suit your own individual tastes, and they fit nicely into reusable containers. Not too messy to eat either!

© Eats Amazing

6) Pasta salads. Cook a job lot of pasta and then place into individual tubs. Each person can then have their own accompaniment, such as cheese, chicken chunks, ham strips, chopped vegetables, tuna, or sausage slices. Pasta is a good source of carbohydrates which provide slow release energy to keep them sustained all day. Much better than filling them with something which gives them a quick energy burst and then expecting them to sit still in the car!

7) Breakfast cereal. Dry cereal is brilliant! It’s cheap and filling, and you know your children will eat it. Put some from your regular box into individual airtight containers for a cheap, easy snack. Our favourites are Cheerios, Curiously Cinammon, and Rice Krispies. The best thing about these is that while they can end up all over your car, they are very quick to vacuum back up again.

Have toddlers? Here are some great ideas for travel snacks for toddlers

How to keep your food cool while on the move

1) You can buy an electric cool-box with cigarette lighter adapters for use in the car. We have one and it’s great. It also comes with a 12-amp plug for use indoors too. It won’t keep things frozen for long but will keep fruit and drinks cool for the entire journey.

2) You can use a more traditional cool box or cool bag, which tend to be cheaper. Rather than have to lug around and refreeze freezer packs, I freeze bottled water and use those as the packs. Once they melt a little, they become extra-refreshing drinks. Sorted!

Other picnic essentials include……

1) Hand sanitiser. Essential to make sure your hands are germ free before you eat
2) Kitchen roll. I take this everywhere! Deals with a million and more messes.
3) Carrier bags. One for litter, and one for your used reusable food containers. Unless you’d rather have food debris all over your car’s newly-valeted interior, no?
4) Plastic forks. Keep them wrapped up until you need them if you’re going to store them in your car to avoid contamination.

Are car picnics going to be a regular thing? Here’s some great advice from a seasoned family of picnickers with some pointers to good quality picnic-ware

And now I’ve decided I really need a picnic hamper! What about one of these? Five of the Best Picnic Hampers