Summer sunshine is here, kids are out of school, and reunions, weddings, and vacations are in full swing. If your family will be hitting the road this summer, you might be considering including some snacks for the trip. Packing food for the road will save you money, help decrease trip delays for stops, cut down on hungry cries from the backseat, and prevent you from having to resort to less than ideal dinner locations. Choosing to stock the car with nutritious options can help improve your family’s mood and help you and your family feel energized instead of sluggish when you reach your destination. Food is the body’s fuel, and the foods we consume affect how we feel and act. To help your kids be on the best behavior and your family feel at their prime, choose whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein and forgo the sugary sweets and high fat foods that can bring on moodiness, constipation, and feelings of sluggishness. Check out these ideas for some easy, kid-friendly treats to keep your family happy and healthy.

Hydrating Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are perfect for trips. They don’t leave crumbs and are filled with a refreshing dose of vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes. Because many contain 80-90 percent water, these treats can help prevent dehydration and the headaches that sometimes follow. Pack cucumbers for the hot days; the internal temperature is up to 20 degrees cooler than the outside air! Fill little containers or small zip-top bags with sliced cucumbers, sugar snap peas, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, grapes, cubes of watermelon and cantaloupe, and orange and apple slices (if you put them in the same bag, the juice from the oranges will help prevent the apples from browning). Kids often love to dip. Put a small amount of dip on the bottom of an empty, washed peanut butter jar, and stand up the vegetables in it. This works great with peanut butter and celery or carrots and hummus. Additionally, squeezable fruit pouches and boxes of raisins are great options that won’t be bothered by long car rides or heat!

Portable Power-Packed Protein

Nuts, peanut butter, turkey jerky, and tuna pouches are nutritious protein options that don’t need to be kept cool. Peanut butter can be put in small plastic containers and used as a dip with vegetables, fruit, whole grain crackers, or bread (washed salad dressing to-go containers work great). Make a trail mix by combining whole grain cereal, nuts, and dried fruit and putting it into individual snack size bags. If you have a cooler or insulated lunch bag, squeezable yogurt, hardboiled eggs, rolled slices of deli turkey or ham, and cheese sticks will provide satisfying protein for the road and take up minimal space.

Energizing Grains

Before your trip portion out graham crackers, whole grain crackers, whole grain cereal, animal crackers, or goldfish into individual snack size bags. If you find yourself missing this step, pick up some individual boxes of cereal, or bring a small cup to portion out snacks on the road. This helps prevents mindless snacking out of the box. If you have a muncher on the trip, low-fat popcorn is a great option. Three cups of this fluffy, whole grain snack is one serving and contains a good source of fiber.

Refreshing Drinks

Not drinking enough can lead to constipation, especially if your family is snacking on lots of crackers, which lack water. Prevent this by packing water bottles or re-fillable water bottles, small 100-percent juice boxes, and those water-filled fruits and vegetables. Leave the sodas and juice drinks on the shelf. If you are taking along a cooler, frozen water bottles can serve as the ice pack to keep your food cold.

Lastly, don’t forget paper towels or wet wipes, a plastic garbage bag, and extra snacks for your chauffeur. Enjoy your trip!

 

Andrea Nikolai is a Registered Dietitian at Washington Pediatrics and can be reached by calling 252-946-4134.