20 Great Snacks for Your Next Road Trip with the Kids
Traveling by car or RV for hours on end can make anyone feel like snacking. When it comes to travel snacks, we like to keep things a bit lighter and easy to access. No boxes of crackers or chips floating around this RV! We found if we use individual zip-top snack bags for our munchie treats things are a lot cleaner. When there is a defined portion in each bag we also eat less than we might if we had the whole box of crackers at our disposal.
The same concept works well when traveling with kids. Although you can keep them busy with games and screens, eventually you'll begin to hear a continual demand for snacks. Rather than filling them up with fast food or cookies, here are a few kid-friendly snacks you can make ahead of time to quiet the cries for french fries!
Consider creating individual zip snack bags with one serving each of their favorite foods or, another idea, fill a multi-compartment bento box for each child with their favorite snacks. The box keeps snacks from getting crushed as well as keeping them fresh. Avoiding candy or cookies is healthier but be sure to include some naturally sweet snacks to quiet that craving. Here are some kid-approved snack favorites:
seedless grapes - red or green are delicious. If you have a toddler, you may want to slice the grapes in half for easier handling.
carrot sticks and cucumber slices w/ranch salad dressing to dip: you can purchase individual servings of ranch dressing in plastic, foil topped bowls. Alternates are snow pea pods, celery, broccoli florets, or green beans.
raisins - naturally sweet and delicious, raisins come in an array of flavors from golden to currents or covered in yogurt.
pretzels - crunchy and salty, pretzels are a great go-to snack. Dip them in honey mustard or peanut butter individual serving packets.
cereal - oat circles, checks, Krispies, or flakes cereals are a kids go-to snack.
fruit roll-ups - fruit leather is sweet and easy to eat.
peanut butter cracker sandwiches - without jelly. Or, if you choose to add jelly, bring along the pre-moistened wipes!
cheese crackers - a classic. You can purchase pre-made cheese cracker sandwiches or make your own with any cheese you like.
animal crackers - just a little sweet and fun shapes make snacking a game.
graham crackers - a real treat with a little cream cheese, but just fine on their own as a lightly-sweet snack
string cheese sticks - kids tear them apart string by string and make eating them an exercise in restraint.
mandarin orange segments - little packages of sweet-tart fun. You may need the wipes again, but these are worth the sticky hands.
apple slices w/peanut butter dip - Use Gala or Fuji apples for a crunchy sweet bite
granola - crunchy goodness in a mix. You can make it ahead of time and add in salty or sweet bits according to your taste.
strawberries and blueberries - little bites of heaven, berries are healthy and not-too-sweet. Great all by themselves or delightful dipped in yogurt.
baby bell wrapped cheese bites - a new favorite at our house, these wax-wrapped individual wheels are great as a filling snack.
frozen go-gurt push-ups - freeze these goodies and give them just a minute to thaw before eating.
hummus - even kids like hummus with pita chips or veggies for an afternoon snack that will hold them over 'til your dinner stop.
popcorn - an all-time fav for most kids, flavor it with cheese or just a bit of salt and they will eat it up
watermelon bites - cut up into bite-sized pieces watermelon is a summer delight.
No matter what your kid's tastes, finding the right combination of nutritious travel snacks is an easy as shopping the produce section at the grocery. Just add something salty, a bottled water, and maybe a baked item to create a kids’ snack menu that will keep their case of the munchies at bay.
