ISO ideas for road trip food (take along kind)

[vagriller]

I'm looking for good ideas for things to bring in a cooler for road trips. I keep hearing people say they prefer to bring something along in a cooler rather than stop for fast food on the road. Would prefer kid-friendly stuff, but they like pretty much everything. My son will eat brocolli before candy! Unless the candy is chocolate of course. I can bring different things for them and the wife and I too. Then we can take our cooler and find a park to have a picnic, rather than a McDs with the playplace. What do you guys bring along? Here are some ideas I have.

- paninis (I guess they would still be good cold)
- cuban sandwiches (these would be better warmed though)
- cheese, summer sausage, & crackers
- cut up fruit
- nuts

 

[Andy M.]

Try to keep it as simple as possible. If a food needs a lot of work at home so you can take it on the road, it's probably not worth it. I would put the paninis and cubans that need grilling in that category.

It also depends on how long you will be on the road.

Some dinner leftovers are good cold.

Buy a pizza from your favorite pizza place and wrap the slices individually for the cooler.

 

[jabbur]

When our kids were little we did this often. It helped to save money on the many trips back to visit family. I would make sandwiches and have them all assembled without condiments. Then I'd put the ketchup and mustard and mayo in small Tupperware containers to spread on the sandwiches when we stopped. That kept them from getting soggy. I'd also slice apples and have them in Sprite to keep them from browning. Grapes are good too. I would have crackers and cheese. The cheese would either be pimento spread or sliced cheddar depending on mood. One thing that worked great was to take the water bottles and freeze them. I'd use them in the cooler to keep food cold and usually by the time we stopped they were mostly thawed and drinkable. Good cold water! Hope this helps. Chips, pretzels, cookies to round out the meal.

 

[froggythefrog]

I often drive across state and there's often only a hand full of places I could find anything to eat at (Taco Bell and Subway). I will usually wrap myself a ton of fresh spring rolls because they're really compact and easy to eat. They do fall into the "a lot of work" category though unless you have a mandolin. I make mine with fried tofu, romaine lettuce, shredded carrot, mint, basil, and bean sprouts.

Along these lines, I would suggest wraps -- a nice flexible flatbread like a tortilla, and then add spinach, white cheese, tomatoes, and basil if you have it. Be sure to dry your veggies well so it does not get soggy.

Burritos -- they were invented to be a portable food. Make sure you dry your ingredients sufficiently. Go for nice, think refried beans. Keep salsa or other chile sauce in a separate container.

 

[bethzaring]

I generally travel by myself and my main food is hard cooked eggs. Keep the eggs cold. When ready to eat, roll the egg, discard shell, pop into a sandwich baggie, sprinkle with salt and eat the egg out of the bag. I also take granola and yogurt and combine when ready to eat...also peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and home made cookies

 

[vagriller]

Along these lines, I would suggest wraps -- a nice flexible flatbread like a tortilla, and then add spinach, white cheese, tomatoes, and basil if you have it. Be sure to dry your veggies well so it does not get soggy.

Burritos -- they were invented to be a portable food. Make sure you dry your ingredients sufficiently. Go for nice, think refried beans. Keep salsa or other chile sauce in a separate container.

Well, you would think with my bent toward latin foods that these would be a natural! Great idea, and the wife and kids love them too! My son will eat just about anything I put in a tortilla. I could also make some flatbread pizzas or quesadillas the night before too.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Cookies...Brownies.
Mayo, Mustard, Ketchup in $1 squeeze bottles...
Meats, Cheeses, Spreads for Sammiches
Chips, Dips.
Cold Fried Chicken (Day One)
Potato, Tuna, Pasta, etc. salads
Fruit...What you like.
Yogurts....PB&J
Variety of bottled/carton liquids/juices
Nuts, trail mixes, dried fruit

Fun!

 

[vagriller]

I was just think about how many lunches would be easier if my son liked PB&J! Thank goodness my daughter likes it! I guess it's ok that he doesn't like PB&J if he likes broccoli, spinach, peas, etc. All things that I won't eat unless they are raw.

 

[ChefJune]

I like to take along cold roast chicken that has been cut into pieces. It's a lot less messy than fried chicken, not to mention less fatty.

We also take carrot and celery sticks, some good cookies like chocolate chip or shortbread, grapes, bananas, apples (nothing too juicy). Pound cake already sliced and in baggies travels well, too.

You could also take a loaf of an already sliced bread of your choice and some sliced ham and cheese, ready for making sandwiches. Pack some lettuce if you like it in your sandwich, and a few of those travel packs of mayo and mustard.