Travel/Road food for car trip, 2024 Edition

Cafe Society
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1

So, as I’ve mentioned in a couple of other threads, I’m planning a long (630ish mile) drive to visit my folks in a few weeks. No fun, but it’s a drive I’ve done several times before. Sadly, unlike 90% of such trips, my wife won’t be able to come with me, so no one to split the driving with.

Now, we live in the future, so navigation and in car entertainment can be left to the various electronics I own, but being by myself means that snacking during the drive (I intend minimal stops) is a bit trickier - nothing that takes effort to open with one hand, put away, etc.

And for that matter, I’m tired of most of my road staples. Historically I’ll bring Trader Joe’s peanut butter filled pretzels, peanut M&Ms, or homemade jerky - things good for a bit of energy, but with options to mitigate any sugar or carb crashes - all put in resealable containers rather than the original packaging.

But we have a wide array of foodies, cooks, campers and raging individualists here who may have more inventive and interesting options!

For me, I’d prefer to avoid anything that is too sugary or messy/greasy, salty is mostly okay (I have a nice insulated 26oz travel container which will be filled with cold half-calf tea and will bring a spare water bottle), and it’s not like I’ll be making ZERO stops. I do have a decent mini travel cooler with a velcro top which can be used for cold food, but most of those start getting into the harder to manage without stopping.

Again, the emphasis is on snacks, as I figure I’ll probably stop once for a meal along the way and a longer break for my poor aching back, but all suggestions are welcome. It’s hopefully not going to be my last visit, and even if somethings not workable now, it might be a nice change in the future!

2

My wife and I just made a 2000 mile road trip last weekend. We packed a cooler with some cans of pop, cheese sticks, apple slices, and veggies (baby carrots and cut up broccoli and cauliflower). I also bought a box of Kind bars for the trip but left them in the pantry at home.

3

50/50 caffeinated vs. decaf or 50% milk? Is ‘calf’ a typo or what a baby cow drinks?


My go-to’s are (Parmesan) Goldfish &/or cherry Twizzler bites. They’re both easy to grab a couple or a handful & aren’t messy on the hand; I don’t want a greasy steering wheel. The top of the Goldfish bag is easy enough to get into (once opened once/seals cracked) & rolls shut again a few times so all the fish stay in the bag if anything happens, like stopping short. The Twizzlers bag, OTOH, sometimes rip, which is why they always go in a deli bag with a slider that can be sealed/opened w/ one hand & no looking.

4

When I saw the thread title I thought “man, I got this. PB filled pretzels, trail mix, beef jerky.” Then I read the OP…

The traditional road snacks are popular because, of course, they’re easy to access and consume while driving. It can get old eating the same stuff on every trip, but the alternatives can be a PITA.

For me personally, before hitting the road I’d stop somewhere that has hot food available early in the day – around here that’s Jack in the Box or Arby’s – and order a couple of sandwiches or burgers or chicken strips that I can keep in the cooler. I’d pull them out and eat as a proper meal when trail mix doesn’t cut it anymore (or, for me, I’m not interested in “snack” stuff). They’re individually wrapped and not too messy to eat while driving (at least, an Arby’s RB sandwich isn’t, and JitB has a dry burger on their menu). Making up some dry sandwiches at home to throw in the cooler serves the same purpose.

I’m not a big snack person, preferring to eat proper meals spread out across the day. I’m not sure if that makes me an outlier so while I usually have the aforementioned easy snacks available for just in case situations, I usually prefer to have something more substantial to eat even on the road. Hence the sandwiches/burgers/whatever.

Depending on your route and driving conditions 630 miles is somewhere between 10 and 12 hours of windshield time. In my car that would be at least two fueling stops, and with how much water I drink at minimum two additional pee stops, each of which would allow me time to pull out a different snack if I’m so inclined, get a fresh drink, or otherwise prep something to eat so it’s ready when I return to the highway.

Finding a proper restaurant while on a road trip, if you’re keeping to a schedule and aren’t familiar with the area you’ll be in come lunchtime, can be a pain even with Google helping out. That’s another reason I usually put proper if boring meals in a cooler and just plan on eating on the road.

5

–laughing–

Thanks for the catch, yes half the caffeine tea (brew with one caff bag, one decaf bag).

And I agree that the Parm Goldfish is good, they’re my favorite flavor. I just find that if I eat enough of a bag, it’s an invitation to heartburn!

@Lancia - this is a drive I do every year to every other year, from Colorado Springs to Las Cruces NM, so I know most of the easier places to stop, including places with decent food or decent-to-me food. Since one of the things I miss about living in NM is a green chili cheeseburger, I’ll probably stop in Las Vegas NM for a Blake’s Lotaburger or (if I can push it) the Owl Cafe in Albuquerque for a hit of nostalgia and a slightly longer break.

But I’m in the fewer stops mindset most of the time. So figure I’ll gas up twice, using the restroom and stretching each time, with one of the two stops also being the hot meal.

And I’ll have to do it again in the opposite direction in short order, since I’m planning on driving down (a full day as you mention) spending two days and driving back on the fourth day. That’s one of the reasons I’m soliciting advice, because not only are my classics (and you’re right, they’re classics for a reason!) getting old for me, but they’re be repeated in short order!

6

I don’t do much snacking and certainly not in the car, anyhow, but I’ve been munching these Trader Joe’s peanut butter pretzel nuggets lately. A one pound bag is only $2.49 and a scant handful makes for some satisfying bites. I’ve made a point to try other types, at least those in smaller bags like this (you can get giant tubs at Menards), and TJs is the best.

7

:wink:

So that’s three of us posting who are in thrall to TJ’s Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels.

It’s a conspiracy I tell you!

8

If you know, you know.

9

Twizzlers and Coke Zero, that’s all anyone needs. :wink:

I like pita chips, jerky, oranges (passenger peels, driver eats), apples. Sometimes I’ll make brownies or blondies for a treat along the way.

10

Hmmm, I could make my most pathetic face and ask my lovely wife to bake me some fudgy brownie bites with pecans (normally I don’t do nuts in brownies, but I’d need something to offset the sugar if I’m going to sit mostly still for 11+ hours!).

Keep 'em coming!

11

I’ve done some 12 hour drives.
All of the above suggestions are great.
I, on the other hand, get easily tired while driving and start to doze off. Not good. Eating makes it even worse. It seems my body needs all of it’s energy to digest food with none left over to stay awake. So my go-to driving snack is sunflower seeds in the shell. Shoving a handful in my mouth keeps me busy and awake extracting the kernel and it’s pretty much impossible to overeat them. I just have to remember to keep an empty cup on hand to spit out the shells.

12

A couple gummies from the green shop, some Flaming Hot Cheetos, Mountain Dew, the entire Phish catalog queued up, and those 600 miles will fly by!

I’m kidding!

Has anyone mentioned the TJs peanut better filled pretzel nugs?

We typically make sandwiches or wraps, or take cold pizza for our lunch breaks.

13

Although I’m also not a car snacker, or a pretzel fan, I’ve recently started eating these at home:

They have a lot more flavor than ordinary pretzels. There are a couple other flavors, sour cream and onion, which I didn’t care for, and jalapeño pepper, which I haven’t tried.

They are rather salty, but they don’t leave your hands as greasy as chips.

14

Heh. @Spiderman beat me to it, but I was going to ask how you managed to cram half a calf into a mere 26 oz cup. Even the Super Bass-o-Matic can’t reduce a half-calf to that size.

15

This reminds me of my brother snacking on a Mars Bar on a very hot day with no aircon in his car.

As he drove, something happened in front of him, and he had to make a quick grab for the gear lever. The Mars Bar (a sticky confection of caramel and nougat, coated with milk chocolate) was sandwiched between his hand and the hot gear knob, with the obvious unpleasant result.

16

I purchase Utz brand Peanut Butter filled Pretzel Nuggets as pet treats. Our parrot cracks them open to eat the center, dropping the pretzel part, which our dogs grab.

For car snacks my gf fills small zip-lock bags with various types of almonds.

17

I like a mix of cheesy and pretzel goldfish crackers. And throw in some almonds for protein. Trail mix is good, but chocolate bits don’t work if the weather is too warm. I like Target’s Coco-Nuts trail mix, which has cashews, little dark chocolate pieces, almonds, coconut chunks, and almond coated with the most delicious coconutty stuff.

18

Yeah, agreed, if trail mix ends up in the plan, I’ll go with one of the options that has mini-M&Ms rather than bits, although, TBH I prefer more fruit and nuts and no chocolate if you can find it (which you generally can, but it’s less common).

@commasense - I have used Snyder’s Hard Sourdough Pretzel’s on trips before, and they’re tasty, but, by themselves lead to much heartburn on stationary road trips for me at least. I’ve tried a few of the flavored options, but they generally have (to me) a nasty aftertaste from many of the flavor additives used, although granted, a LOT better than the aftertaste on some of the cheap brands.

19

I used to make interminable trips across the country to see my ex’s mother. Car full of kids and what have you. Since I had limited time, I would have long driving days and sleepiness was a problem. The best solution? Corn Nuts. It’s impossible to fall asleep while eating brain-jarring corn nuts. Chase them with Coke and you get a caffeine/sugar blast as well.

20

My wife countered the mini-brownie bites by offering to make me oatmeal raisin cookies with pecans from scratch, sweetened with maple syrup.

Damn I married well, that’s still going to add some pep but with somewhat better nutrition.

I think I might also splurge and blow a small chocolate allowance on some (thinly) dark chocolate covered coffee beans if I bring the mini-cooler. I haven’t had those in a long time, but I’ll have to watch the quantities.

I do like @Chefguy’s suggestion of something you have to work on in terms of staying awake, but I don’t want the concussion of eating corn nuts. My wife suggested a bag of baby carrots, which is chewy and good for me, but I’m 90% certain if I got them I wouldn’t make myself eat them.

So the plan so far is a batch of my homemade salsa verde jerky (for meaty and substantial), a batch of oatmeal-raisin-pecan cookies, and some dark chocolate coffee beans. One old standby, two new or infrequent options. None that are truly health food, but at least none that are absolute junk, although the part of me that knows better says “at least get dark chocolate dipped ALMONDS, or crunchy cinnamon roasted ones, they have nutrition!”

I hate being an adult sometimes. That part may very well win!