It doesn’t matter whether you’re about to take a road trip in a Nissan Sentra or head out camping in a Toyota 4Runner. Snack boxes for everyone involved are essential for long trips.
Some think snack boxes are associated with childhood, school trips, and visits to far-away family members. Anyone who’s gone for a long-distance road trip knows snacks are also essential for adults who plan to spend long periods in the car.
This article will focus on creating customized snack kits for road-trippers of all ages that are easy to pack in any vehicle, from a Nissan Sentra to a Ford F-150.
Before Starting, Take Note of People’s Diets
Before heading to the store for supplies, take a moment to talk to everyone going on the trip about their dietary needs and preferences. A vegan’s snack box will look quite different from a meat eater’s, and people with specific food allergies may need to avoid their triggers entirely, even if they’re not planning to eat them.
Creating snack boxes for people following specialized diets can be challenging, but it’s still doable. Just be sure to check the nutrition labels at grocery stores for common allergens like nuts, dairy, wheat, and soy.
Make a Shopping List That Includes Four Essential Groups
The options for road snacks fall into a few different groups, and it’s important to hit all of them. Making a grocery list before heading to the store helps to ensure that the snack boxes will be sufficiently varied and avoid impulse purchases.
The first thing to consider is protein-filled snacks. Protein keeps you full for longer, which is essential on long road trips. Think of jerky, hard-boiled eggs, nuts, string cheese, peanut butter, and roasted chickpeas. They all contain plenty of protein.
The second snack group is complex carbs, which also help people feel full for longer and even out blood sugar levels. The ideal complex carb snacks for road trips are salty and crunchy. Examples include whole-grain crackers, pretzels, potato chips, and dry cereal.
The third thing to consider is healthy snacks with vitamins and minerals. Fruit like grapes, bananas, and berries are good finger foods, as are veggies like celery and carrots. All these foods are packed with nutrients.
Finally, be sure to include some sweets. They can be healthy or just ordinary cookies, muffins, candy bars, or M&Ms. Sweets are meant to be treats on road trips, not to constitute the bulk of anyone’s snack intake.
Get Packed and Ready to Go
Once trip planners have everything they need to make individual road trip snack boxes for everyone going, they can pack them into lunchboxes or even create “snackle boxes” using any type of container with compartments for extra fun.
Snackle boxes can be made out of literal tackle boxes, bento boxes, or jewelry boxes with sufficient compartments. They’re great for kids and adults alike and make it easier to ensure everyone on board gets a little of everything they want.
