When I was single and carefree going on road trips, I would say “I’ll just grab something to eat on the road”. But those days are well and truly over, as all parents now know! This is a must when travelling with kids… it can save us from a potential crisis, as hungry kids are meltdown kids! Here are some food and drink travel tips:
1) Keep food and drinks up front with you or at least in reaching distance. There is nothing worse on a car trip than screaming hungry kids when you cannot pull over to grab something from the boot!
2) I tend to pack special boxes of little nibbles for each child. They love having their own boxes of goodies and it keeps them quiet for quite some time! A win-win situation for everyone! I love kids’ lunch boxes with different sections in them, which I can then “top up” with other food items I keep in my zip lock bags. These lunch boxes also come in handy when we are at our holiday destination for taking on day trips etc.
3) If however, you are not a fan of taking containers – snacks in small ziplock bags are useful.
4) Remember not to take food that can stink out the car!! This can potentially cause motion sickness in kids (and us!).
5) Store food in a cooler bag with an ice pack to keep things nice and chilled. This is essential to keep food from going bad – especially in summer!
6) Use Stubby Coolers to keep milk for babies cold or hot (whichever the case may be) for a short time. This is perfect when you expect to feed your baby in the next hour or so and your bottle carrier is full with other full bottles for your car trip.
7) Bring plenty of fluids! I tend to bring lots of water bottles instead of soft drinks etc, as they can get sticky and can add to the sugar intake of the kids!
8) I am a bit more relaxed with my usual “not too much junk food” attitude. My thinking is one day of eating this kind of food is not going to harm them. I just watch their sugar intake … so they do not get too hyper!
9) Great snacks to take with you that are not too messy are:
- sultanas
- pieces of fruit
- pieces of cheese (stored in a cool bag)
- crackers/biscuits
- mini muffins
- muesli/fruit bars
- carrot and celery sticks
- little treats – chocolate, sweets, chips, lollipops (great as it takes them ages to suck on them which will ensure you peace and quiet for at least 5 mins!) Treats can also be used as prizes for your car games.
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