Food for Road Trip to CA

Updated on September 14, 2011
H.B. asks from Boulder, CO
9 answers

We are taking a road trip with my four year old and two year old who both have food allergies (soy!) so we can't do fast food. We will have a cooler stocked with fruit and veggies, some meats and cheeses. I made a double batch of calzones last week and froze half of them so we could have a good dinner one night while driving. So besides PBJ what other healthy, not too messy meals do you like to do on the road?

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S.K.

answers from Denver on

These are all great! Just one more thing to add: squeezable apple sauce! You can get a big box at costco or the regular grocery store also carry it. It's great because it doesn't spill and you can recap it if they don't finish.
Have a great trip and don't forget the DVD player. It's a long trip with litlle guys. Also you might consider bringing the portable kids potty so you can pull over where ever you are! Especially since you are making a point to eat fiber. I promise you will be glad you did! Have a great trip!

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L.M.

answers from New York on

We always travel with the picnic box that has supplies (a table cloth, paper towels, hand sanitizer, silverware, plastic bags for garbage, zip lock bag for dirty silverware) and food that does not have to be refrigerated (granola bars, crackers, peanut butter, bread, homemade cookies and rice crispie bars - our special vacation trip goodies).

In the cooler and cut up veggies and dip, pickles, black olives, grapes, apples, cheese, egg salad, quiche, lunch meats/grilled chicken/roast beef, yogurt.

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J.I.

answers from San Antonio on

I don't know what has soy in it, but we recently drove from TX to CA and packed:
- string cheese
- beef jerky
- mandarin oranges
- apples
- juice
- water

Granted, we also ate out. So if it were me, I'd also pack if I were you:
- pretzels
- granola bars/cereal bars/protein bars
- cereal
- goldfish crackers or other non-soy crackers
- rice cakes
- Jif makes a peanut butter 'to go' in little individually wrapped packages. Very easy for dipping.

Someone else recently posted a question about packing food for a road trip and she was going to bring hummus and whole wheat pita and yogurt. I would not recommend that unless you plan to sit in the back seat with he kids. IMO that's just a mess waiting to happen.

1 mom found this helpful

K.M.

answers from Chicago on

My fav is deli sliced salami and meunster cheese with ritz crackers.
You could also the night before make smoothies and freeze them then allow them to defrost on the road they are a great treat.

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L.D.

answers from Los Angeles on

- Bagels with cream cheese or mascarpone & jam.
- Trail Mix (Trader Joe's has some great ones).
- I'm not sure if Kids Clif Bars have soy in them.
- Trader Joe's also has some good BBQ pulled pork and chicken, you could bring french rolls and make sandwiches - altho it may be a little spicy for the little ones if they don't like BBQ.
- Some of those salads in a bag that come with all the ingredients (dressing, etc) that you could just toss in a bowl and serve.
I guess the last two could get a little messy.

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J.P.

answers from Denver on

Hi--
It's not a meal, but we've found that popcorn keeps them busy and full (and the salt keeps them from having to stop to go to the bathroom so much!!)
J. :-)

F.H.

answers from Phoenix on

We freeze go-gurts and grapes. We also have the individual snack bags of chips and crackers and cheese. Sometimes we buy the Lunchables and sometimes we make our own. Good luck and have fun!

J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

I'm not sure what and what doesn't have soy in it but here's what I like on road trips...
Granola Bars, Trail mix, English muffins and peanut butter, bagels and cream cheese, butter crackers cheese and pepporoni (like a mini pizza), yogurt, fruit, ants on a log (celery, peanutbutter and raisins), Pita pockets stuffed with whatever. Oh and nachos!
Have fun...not sure where in cali you're going but, it's cooling off here in So Cal and the weather has been nice! =)

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N.W.

answers from Eugene on

I'm allergic to soy and take our big cooler for road trips. Here's what I bring:

Breakfast is cereal and milk. Granola for me and cheerios or corn flakes for my kids.

Lunch is sandwiches. I make up to 3 days worth of sandwiches ahead and put days 2&3 in the freezer so they defrost along the way. To keep things simple, I don't bother with lettuce and tomato, just bread, meat and cheese.

Some dinners that travel well and are easy to heat in the hotel microwave are:
meatloaf, rice, peas.

spaghetti with ground turkey. Bag salad or frozen vegies.

Beef barley stew with vegies, and bread on the side.

For snacks: potato chips, crackers, cookies, carrot stix, apples, juice boxes, water. Fig bars and raisins keep everyone, um, regular since we are sitting for many hours. My boys like Clif bars, and for me: Lara bars are soy free.

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