With summer upon us and thoughts of vacation in everyone’s head, my Works For Me Wednesday tip for this week is about eating in the car.
When we go on road trips, rather than eat out the whole way we try to pack some snacks and meals that are not too messy: crumbs are easy to clean up, but we try to avoid grease and stickiness.
My best and brightest idea: wraps instead of sandwiches. No spread necessary. Just a bag of tortillas and some lunchmeat or deli meat and presliced cheese. These are a snap to assemble on your lap, and clean and easy for the kids to eat.
Baby carrots are another good snack for both kids and adults – a little natural sugar gives a natural pick-me-up, but no kids bouncing off the walls or lasting consequences to the size of my hips. I find that the crunch also helps me stay alert on long drowsy drives.
Pretzels leave crumbs, but none of the greasy mess of chips.
Jerky is great, but expensive.
Dried fruit is delicious and not terribly sticky – but be careful. It packs a lot of energy. You may want to serve it a few minutes before a break in the drive.
We also like to use (and re-use) the water bottles with pull-out squirt tops for drinks – nearly spill proof, and no lost caps. Drinking only water decreases potty stops, since they will be more likely to drink for true thirst rather than for the sugar. Not letting them drink sugary sodas also reduces the number of times you will want to throw your children out the window.
Oh, and now that we’ve mentioned potty breaks: just resign yourself, and stop frequently. Don’t try to skimp on these. Otherwise you might find yourself on a deserted stretch of highway at 2 AM, changing a crying wet 3yo with a curious State Trooper breathing down your neck. Just trust me on this.
Related posts:
Yeah, my 5 year old daughter (the only girl) doesn’t understand why we can’t just pull over and let her potty out the open van door like her brothers! Ya might be a redneck if…
Great tips. I’ll have to try the wraps. No squished bread! We’ve found bagels to be good car eats, too. Thanks for sharing!
Great idea, particularly the wrap idea! Thanks for sharing!
I love that your snack suggestions are also nutritious. My kinda mom!
And you are totally right about the water. Double-true for dehydrating airplane rides.
Great topic Kim! We’re getting to leave for Dollywood and I was just sitting down making a list of snacks to pack. Thanks for the ideas!
When we were kids, we did a lot of camping instead hotels. so whenever we went on trips, Dad packed the potty chair in the back of the car. When we had to go, he stopped wherever we were, put the chair on the ground, hidden by the car, and let us go right there like that.
Love the idea of the wraps!
Ruth,
We’ve brought the potty chair along too – we even got brave and let the little ones use it while we were driving. We lined it with plastic bags, used extra TP to absorb the liquid, and tied them securely. Then we tossed them in the trash at the next stop, like a dirty diaper.
Yucky, but it really helped reduce the stress when somebody HAD TO GO RIGHT NOW!
LOL @ the State trooper comment!
*smiles*
Great idea—wraps!
That’s a great idea….I get frustrated with the constant potty stops, but unfortunately I’m usually the one needing them LOL
Thanks, Kim. Our kids are resigned to “eating in” on car trips. You’re right about the water – squirt tops are the way to go and if they do spill (by getting sat or stepped upon, usually!), it’s no biggie. Love reading your tips.