Family Road Trip

By: Maureen Callahan

Are we there yet? Get creative ideas for keeping everyone entertained and fed en route!

At some point the cooler will empty out. That's where a good stash of nonperishables can lend extra fuel for these spur-of-the-moment meals.

Spread cranberry walnut or cinnamon raisin bread with peanut or almond butter and top with sliced fresh banana. Serve with mini cartons of aseptic packaged chocolate milk.
Open and drain a can each of black beans, green beans, and red kidney beans to make three bean salad. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, and spices.
Mix a few large cans of tuna with a small can of sliced olives, lemon olive oil, dried basil, and chopped fresh tomato.
Consider baking extra goodies, particularly some breakfast treats. You can still stop at the funky local coffee shop for java and hot chocolate; just get it to go.

Rules of the Road

A few weeks ahead:

Decide length and style of trip. Do you want precise route plans and hotel reservations or are you going to wing it?
Search out information on your destination as well as sights along the way.
Buy or borrow car games or music CDs for kids; check audio books out of the library that the whole family can enjoy.
Decorate notebooks with pictures of the destination for each child as travel journals.
Give each kid a disposable camera and tell them to chronicle the high points of the trip.
Start thinking about meals and favorite snack items to bring along. Plan at least one picnic meal for that first day on the road.

Two days to departure:

Shop for fruits that hold well at room temperature: apples, grapes, bananas. Buy family favorite vegetables that are good for snacking: cucumbers, baby carrots, celery.
Leave some fruit whole. Cut up raw vegetables and fruit to store in zip top plastic bags. Make a bag for each kid or just one big bag of fruit and one of veggies.
Bake sweet treats that sport some healthful additions to satisfy family munchies, or make up a tasty dip to go along with fruits and vegetables. (The Zucchini Brownies and Granola Bars can cook side by side in a 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes.)

The night before:

Put plenty of blue ice packs in the freezer or freeze plastic bags with crushed ice.
Mix up a pasta salad for the main course to keep things simple.
Pack one cooler with everyone's favorite canned drinks and bottled water; store extras in the trunk. Add blue ice or crushed ice in the morning.
Ready a second cooler for food and pack it just before you leave.
Place eating supplies and nonperishables in a box in the trunk: napkins, utensils, plates, hand sanitizers or wipes, dish detergent, individual box cereals, nuts and mini snack mixes.
Pack a first aid kit: band aids, bug spray, aspirin, and sunscreen.

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