How to Cut Costs on A Road Trip With Children

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By Jerrie DeRose
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Cut Costs on A Road Trip With Children

Going on a road trip with children can be a harrowing experience, not to mention an expensive one. They get restless, hungry and tired of being in the car for hours at a time. Although eating in restaurants and fast food establishments is fine, the cost can add up. Here are some ideas for picking and packing food for a road trip with kids that will also cut the cost of the trip. And you can take plenty along to keep in hotel refrigerators, as well.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Plastic containers with lids that fit snugly in different sizes
Plastic forks and spoons
Packets of mustard and ketchup that come with food purchased from convenience stores or fast food establishments
Disposable container of salt and pepper
A large cooler or two or three smaller ones depending on the space available in a vehicle
Zip lock bags with slides to seal them better

Step 1

Purchase 2 coolers. You should get one large cooler to put most of your food items into and a smaller one for drinks, sandwiches and breakfast items. There are coolers that have flip top openings where you can just reach in and get out what you want, and that have a separate pocket on the side for either cans, snack bags or other smaller items. These coolers are ideal for keeping at the front of your vehicle.
Step 2

Purchase ice packs to freeze ahead. When you are ready to go, put ice packs in one smaller cooler along with sandwiches and snacks for breakfast and lunch--or lunch and a snack before dinner--and drinks.
Step 3

For breakfast you can put fruit-flavored cream cheese on bagels or English muffins, put the tops on and place them in individual bags for breakfast. You can also purchase individual mini containers of cereal and milk.
Step 4

Put the bagels or English muffins into individual sandwich-size ziplock baggies.
Step 5

Purchase the kinds of lunch meat your children like. Or make tuna or chicken salad if your children like them for a more nutritious lunch. You can also purchase ready-made sandwich spreads. Put them in plastic container with snug fitting lids for serving later.
Step 6

For dinner, or even lunch, you can make fried chicken, which is something your child probably likes. You might consider frying chicken legs, which would be easy for your child to handle. Bag the chicken in gallon-size ziplock bags. Tuna salad is good for dinner, too.
Step 7

If you have fried chicken or roast beef slices that you will be serving for lunch, take the meat out of the cooler 30 minutes or so before you are going to eat, and lay it on top of the dash or in the back window so that the sun will warm it up some.
Step 8

Take a shoe box or other small box and toss in a few apples and oranges, pre-packaged peanut butter or other crackers with spreads in the middle. Add cream cheese and cheddar cheese, and individual bags of chips. You can buy variety packs of chips.
Step 9

Purchase individual juice boxes. There is little mess since you just put the straw into the juice container through a tiny hole. You should consider purchasing individual cartons of milk as well. Then you could purchase individual mini boxes of cereal to use the milk on as well as for drinking.
Step 10

You can put fruit that is easily eaten by hand, such as grapes or other small berries, into small single-serving cups to give your children for a snack on the road. You can give your children small single boxes of raisins as another nutritional snack on the go.
Step 11

Make a large thermos or insulated jug of tea or koolaid, canned lemonade or other liquid and fill it with ice to take along.
Step 12

If you have a stand-alone deep freezer, put your coolers in there for several hours before filling with food and drinks for your trip.
Step 13

Put aluminum cans of soda and other drinks on the bottom of your large cooler. If you purchased ice packs, lay them on the bottom of the cooler first. Purchase and pour a large bag of ice on top of the canned beverages and then place your sealed plastic containers or sealed bags of sandwiches and other items on top of the ice to keep them cool.