Travel-friendly snacks for kids

Let’s get ready for spring break! Whether you’re taking a big family vacation, a road trip to the nearest city, or just sending the kids to Grandma’s house, it is time to get organized. Spring break is supposed to be fun and relaxing, so don’t stress out and leave the planning to me. I’ve got a week of spring break vacation tips and ideas to share here on One Mama’s Daily Drama. Today’s topic is travel-friendly snacks. I’ve rounded up my favorite snacks that are mostly healthy, plus a fun way to store them.

Travel-friendly snacks storage

This scene is probably familiar. You arrive home from your trip, only to find your back seat is trashed. There is food covering the floor and a pile of wrappers covering the food. Something somewhere smells funny. Fortunately, I found a great solution on Blessings Multiplied: the food travel kit.

All you need is a tackle box, bead storage container, or some other kind of divided storage tub that is fairly small. It also needs to be easy for your child to open on his own. In each compartment, add a little serving of each food. You child can then open the pack and choose what he wants to eat. I recommend a “no refills” rule so that you don’t have to juggle food or negotiate.

Travel-friendly snacks

Tips

• Choose foods that are age-appropriate for your child, of course.
• Foods like peanut butter or hummus are good but depend on how messy your child is.
• Foods that need refrigeration, like cheese cubes or yogurt tubes, depend on how long your trip is.
• Include a mix of salty, sweet, and savory.
• If you have more than one child, be sure to label the containers with names.
• Bring a reusable bottle filled with water to drink.

Snack ideas

1. whole shelled nuts

2. dried fruit (apples, raisins, berries, banana chips)

3. graham crackers (Back to Nature Natural Honey Graham Sticks)

4. cheese crackers (Annie’s Homegrown Cheddar Bunnies)

5. pretzels (try Doritos-flavored pretzels for older kids)

6. popcorn

7. cereal (We are loving Aldi’s Simply Nature Organic Toasted Oats)

8. granola bars (Nature’s Path, Annie’s Homegrown, KIND, or Simply Nature)

9. spring bunny snack mix

10. cheesy ranch snack mix

11. fresh fruit (grapes travel well)

12. fresh veggies (cherry tomatoes need no refrigeration)

13. rice cakes (Lundberg Farms – Our favorite flavors are Kettle Corn and Apple Cinnamon.)

14. Slammer pouches

15. homemade animal cookies

If you have time to make everything from scratch, my Snack time Pinterest board is filled with recipes for things like homemade fruit leather and graham crackers. Of course, when you are going through your to-do list, sometimes convenience foods are worth saving your sanity. The brands mentioned above are my personal favorites because they are free from junk and my family enjoys them.

What travel-friendly snacks does your family like to take on road trips?

This post is part of a series on Spring Break Planning. Check out my other posts on vacation packing, local DFW staycation ideas, and car activities for road trips.