Road trips can cost a lot of money. Everything adds up: The gas, the snacks, the drinks, the meals. Temptation to buy gas station snacks always takes over when I go on road trips. For some reason I equate Combos and Coca Cola with long road trips and I still crave them when I embark on one.
To combat this craving for unhealthy and overly priced food I always try to pack some road trip snacks. Yes, Mom, I learned this from you! Thanks for imparting your wisdom on me.
When I left for my most recent trip this is what I packed:
I didn’t leave until 10 a.m. so I had already had lunch and a snack. I decided to pack leftover homemade pizza for lunch, a Fiber One bar, cherry tomatoes, bags of tea and two bottles of water. At the last-minute I pitched in half a loaf of French bread just in case I needed to carb load.
Snacking is a favorite pastime of mine so I knew this wouldn’t keep me completely happy on my 8 hour drive. I decided to make a pretty big investment of $1.59 for a banana and a bag of salt and vinegar chips (the best).
Hot tea is my obsession. I used to love Cokes, then moved on to coffee and I have finally settled on hot tea. I do one green tea in the morning for caffeine and then herbal decaf the rest of the day. One benefit to drinking hot tea is that hot water is FREE at gas stations, all you have to do is bring your own mug!
Overall I only ended up spending $1.59 for food on my trip to Atlanta. Unfortunately I made the mistake of not being as prepared on the way back home (Mary, I should have stolen those kettle chips from you). I ended up out $8 and had some greasy food from a gas station. To make matters worse the gas station was out of hot water… how does that happen?
Moral of the story: Pack snacks/ meals/ water for your road trips. It saves money and helps you avoid the unhealthy gas station/ fast food meals.
What are your favorite road trip snacks?
I love packing apples (of course!), pretzels, trail mix, and sparkling water (if driving). You should see me board a plane…I always have a bag full of food.
this sure would have been convenient had I BEEN ON A ROAD TRIP TODAY! :(((((((((((((((((((
Thanks for the tip about hot water at gas stations!
Hannah, you totally should have taken those kettle chips. They are still sitting in the pantry!
And I TOTALLY always want to get Combos when I go on road trips, too! It was really bad when me and John were still doing the long distance thing, so I was on the road 12 hours a weekend, at least two times a month. I would stop at gas stations and load up on crap, mostly Combos.
Then I started dieting and needed to bring my own snacks, I do not suggest grapes. I love snacking on grapes so much, but I was having to stop for bathroom breaks every hour!! No bueno.
Still loving the blog, keep it up!
Thanks Mary! You are SO sweet.