Are you and your family planning to hit the road this summer for vacation? Planning ahead when it comes to feeding your family can make for a much more enjoyable traveling experience. Whether you are traveling by car, airplane, bus, train, etc. preparing and packing snacks ahead of time to feed the kids (and adults) will help to avoid choosing unhealthy, pricey last minute snacks throughout travel. Read below for travel friendly snacking ideas and be adventurous in choosing and creating your own snack ideas. Try for snacks that are #1: healthy, #2: not too messy, and #3: do not require refrigeration.
Fresh Fruit– bring fresh fruit that won’t bruise easily and has a longer shelf life such as apples, orange, clementines, blueberries, and grapes. Fruit and vegetable squeeze pouches are also a good option but can get messy with younger kids.
Dried Fruit– these have potential to contain lots of extra sugar so be sure to read nutrition labels and choose those with less sugar.
Veggies– Prepare veggies such as carrot and celery sticks and sliced peppers cucumbers.
Granola bars– choose healthy bars such as Kind bars, Cliff bars, or other organic granola bar versions. Read labels and choose those with few ingredients that you are able to pronounce. Also try making your own granola bars, although these tend to be soft and may be messier than store bought bars.
Nuts and trail mixes– almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews and other mix nut blends are very travel friendly. Be sure to check labels for sodium content of nut mixes and review ingredients labels.
Crackers & Chips– choose ones made without hydrogenated oils and minimal ingredients. Pretzels, veggie straws, baked chips, popcorn, and puffs are also good options.
Drinks– Pack a water bottle or sippy cup that can be refilled easy. If traveling by car, pack a case of bottled water so you always have fresh water on hand. As always, limit juice or choose juice boxes with no added sugar made from 100% fruit juice.