Car travel on a budget: foods to help families avoid restaurants.

[testkitchen45]

This is early for summer, but we're planning our vacation and will really have to watch our budget this year. I know others are in the same boat! :p Let's share ideas for foods we can carry in a car cooler to avoid the fast-food places on the way to & from a vacation spot. I'm starting early b/c it'll take some planning, & summer will be here b4 we know it. Ideas, anyone? I'd like to include easy dinners that can be cooked in a vacation cabin with poor cookware & utensils ;). We've done the cooking-in thing before, and it was actually more fun than dining out b/c not only were we saving money and the food was good, but also we could eat whenever we wanted to. :) Here we go (BTW, the recipes listed below are TNTs for me--nothing's untried):

Car snacks and on-the-road light lunches:
Baby carrots, celery, broccoli, and Ranch (good ol' Ranch ;))
Quick breads: pumpkin, banana, etc. (fruit will bruise, but breads won't)
Moist bran muffins :p
Triscuit and little squares of cheese
PB&J, lunchmeat, cheese, mustard, relish
Rice cakes (can put with PB also)
Big jug o'water
(And freeze muffins & quick breads for use at vacation spot.)

In-hotel dinner (or hearty lunch) while on the road:
Turkey salad with dried cranberries (I've posted this on BB before; would use on Day 1 b/c it's poultry)
Black-eyed pea salad (I've posted; this one uses dried BEpeas)
Blackberry-Mustard Glazed Ham (CL Annual 2006), sliced & ready
Brisket, also sliced & ready
Other cold salads of some sort?

Easy recipe possibilities to cook in cabin (bring Thermapen & foodie basics):
Chicken Breasts w/Savory Apple Stuffing (CLBB Jessnc), or W-S Crunchy Coated Chicken Breasts
Italian Chicken w/Chickpeas (CL Annual 2003)
Quick Chicken-Corn Chowder (CL Annual 2002) (chicken, again?? :D)
Chili Mac (CL Annual 1999)
Meat Loaf (from CL Annual 1999 or 2002)
Spaghetti Pie (from CL Annual 2001)
Beef Stew (easy version: CL Annual 2005)
Hot dogs & eggs (1970's staple from Mom)
Spiced Fillet of Trout (CL Annual 1999)
Grilled Trout w/Lemon Butter & Almonds (BA June 2004)
Trout Dijon (very old CL)
*need more trout recipes; I'm bored with mine*

[mkc]

We (there's just DH and me) travel by motorhome, so we have the luxury of an accessible refrigerator in our vehicle, BUT we're oddballs in that we cook almost every meal - we found out many RVers eat every meal out :eek:

Some ideas will work for car travel, though, especially if you have a cooler.

For snacks - we keep washed grapes, baby carrots, broccoli and cauliflower florets, and small containers of ranch dressing. The square Ziploc containers happen to fit perfectly in the steering wheel of the coach, so we can have a snack while we drive without too much "only one hand on the wheel' time.

I make tortilla wraps with cold cuts, cheese, romaine lettuce, etc. and wrap those in plastic wrap so we can have a quick lunch on the road or when we stop to fuel up the coach and empty the dogs.

We'll split a 6" Subway sandwich between the two of us, OR buy the footlong and cut it into 4 pieces. That's $1.25 to $1.40 plus tax for plenty of sandwich for each of us.

Kashi GoLean bars are a good breakfast or snack for us, especially the ones with nuts - the protein seems to hold us longer.

Many grocery stores have grab-and-go salads and sandwiches which can give you a somewhat healthy option. Some even have hot soup bars, hummus, tabbouleh, etc.

Where we like to visit in Maine most of the fish counters in grocery stores will steam your seafood for you at no cost. We will splurge on lobster and steamers this way - all we have to do is melt some butter and cut up a lemon once we get back the campground. You could do the same at a vacation cabin.

Michelle

[helene]

We (there's just DH and me) travel by motorhome, so we have the luxury of an accessible refrigerator in our vehicle, BUT we're oddballs in that we cook almost every meal - we found out many RVers eat every meal out :eek:

Michelle

We have a RV as well. I found out also that many RVers eat out. We prefer to cook in our RV. Much healthier & cheaper.

Great ideas so far.

[kwormann]

Ahhh, memories :) We had no money growing up, and our vacations were going to FL to visit grandma. My mom would pack carrots, peanut butter, triscuits and EASY CHEESE :) Sometimes I still crave the stuff....

[srahndennis]

Ahhh, memories :) We had no money growing up, and our vacations were going to FL to visit grandma. My mom would pack carrots, peanut butter, triscuits and EASY CHEESE :) Sometimes I still crave the stuff....

Too funny! I was thinking of our cross-country picnics, too. Summer sausage, Velveeta and saltines!!!!!

[srahndennis]

I often make these burritos to take when we travel. I add guac and/or sour cream, too.

Quick Brownbag Burritos

From Allrecipes.com

Submitted By: Lori Brodhurst

Prep Time: 2 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes Ready In: 12 Minutes

Servings: 8

"These are quick enough to whip up anytime and are even good cold, which makes them great for bagged lunches!"

INGREDIENTS:
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 cup salsa
1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon chili powder
8 (10 inch) flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Rinse beans in cold water, drain well.

2. Combine beans, salsa, cumin and chili powder in large pan. Cook over medium-high heat for about ten minutes, mashing beans slightly with back of wooden spoon. Stir occasionally, adding a little water if mixture looks too dry.

3. Spoon bean mixture into tortillas. Top with cheese. Fold each tortilla into an envelope shape, ensuring both ends are tucked in. Eat warm or wrap in plastic to take for lunch.

[Spotted Pony]

Great thread!

We go to 5-6 horse shows every summer...Friday afternoon through Sunday evening. We have been very bad about eating out! This summer, we can't do that. It's just too expensive!

We're not very creative about the food we do take with us... grapes, cheese cubes, crackers, cookies, pasta salads. I'm planning to take my little propane powered burner with me this summer. I can do french toast or eggs for breakfast and grilled ham and cheese for lunch easily. I can slice some chicken breasts and store them in a marinade too. Or some shrimp!!

I'm sure we'll still go out at least one night. We have lots of trailer room, just no kitchen, so I will have plenty of space for the coolers I will need. Now it will be finding the time and energy to get it all packed up... and used when we get there!

[testkitchen45]

Thanks, everyone. :)

We won't be in an RV, but a car. So no cooking along the way--we'll have to take rest stops, of course, but we can't heat things up in the car. What other cooler-friendly, no-cook ideas are out there, other than sandwiches? :p

[veschke]

Lots of summer salads travel well -- pasta or couscous, or even potatoes in vinaigrette. You can add beans for more heft. You could grill chicken ahead, steam some veggies, and add sauce or dressing (peanut sauce might be good... now I want lunch!!).

Oh, and pack some cookies and brownies. :)

[Tutalady]

We like the deviled ham with a little mayo and sweet relish on hard rolls. Was a favorite of ours when we lived in Germany and used to take the duty train to Berlin. A fellow used to come around with a coffee cart and that was our dinner.

[Jewel]

Last summer we took a week long road trip, and just having good and filling snacks in the car helped us so much! We relied on this granola for breakfast along with a chunk of cheese, and it was a great snack during the rest of the day. Sub any dried fruit you like for the cranberries. This is my tweak of a posted Kathleen Daelman's granola recipe. By far the easiest and best granola I've ever made.

Cranberry Almond Granola

1 3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 cups rolled oats
2 cups slivered almonds
6-7 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

Line 2 cookie sheets (lipped jellyroll pans work best) with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine brown sugar and water in a 4-cup microwave proof glass measuring cup or bowl. Place in microwave on high for 5 minutes and cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from microwave, add vanilla extract.

In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, almonds and cinnamon. Pour hot brown sugar syrup mixture over the top and stir until thoroughly mixed. Spread the granola onto cookie sheets and bake 45 minutes until golden and crunchy.

When granola has cooled completely, sprinkle one cup of dried fruit onto each cookie sheet portion, and toss well to combine. Store in an airtight container.

[gertdog]

We don't eat out very often on vacation either. I like to make a big pasta salad for lunches- rotini, diced cheese, blanched broccoli florets, red bell pepper, whatever other veggies strike my fancy, and an Italian dressing.

I also like simple pastas for dinner- if you can bring or lay hands on good ripe tomatoes, dice 'em and toss with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, fresh herbs if you have them, and cheese.

Hummus and pita bread travel well for on-the-road meals.

I mix and bring big batches of the dry ingredients for whole-grain pancakes- just add water and eggs for a great breakfast. On one vacation we went to a pick-your-own blueberry place and ate blueberry pancakes every morning. :)

[GlobalKnives01]

One word - Couscous.
It's cheap, filling, and soooooo easy to make. Over the summer went went on a brief sailing adventure. We had one of the most delicious meals ever thanks to boiling water.

Our basic recipe:
Couscous
Tuna
Sundried tomatoes, thinly sliced
Crushed peanuts
Olive oil
Vinegar or Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper

Just add the hot water to the couscous, let it sit for 5 minutes, and add the other ingredients.

Of course, PB&J is great, but even easier are protein shakes (if you can stand the taste).

[Rae]

Thanks for posting this question, it's something I've been thinking about and trying to plan for as well. We're going on a ten day road trip this summer but will be staying in hotels (hopefully with refridgerators). I know we'll eat out, but I'd like to pack some food in order to both save money and make the meals we eat out seem fun and special. When I eat out too much, it gets "old" and I don't enjoy it as much.

Plus, I'm traveling with my preteen and teenaged nephews, who I know require more calories than I do.

I like your ideas and have added a few:

Car snacks and on-the-road light lunches:
Baby carrots, celery, broccoli, and Ranch (good ol' Ranch )
Quick breads: pumpkin, banana, etc. (fruit will bruise, but breads won't)
Moist bran muffins
Triscuit and little squares of cheese
PB&J, lunchmeat, cheese, mustard, relish
Rice cakes (can put with PB also)
Big jug o'water
(And freeze muffins & quick breads for use at vacation spot.)
String cheese
Granola bars
Mixed nuts
Cookies
Hard boiled eggs

[testkitchen45]

Great responses; thanks! :)

One factor I'd like to throw in is that the on-the-road foods (eaten in the car or at rest stops) need to be either freezable or last-minute purchases, for the most part (not all of them). The last thing I'll need to be doing as I pack for a trip & do all that related stuff is to go into a baking frenzy. :p I think the cold salads could be made at the last minute b/c I don't see much other option there, but if the majority of the foods can just be bought or pulled from the freezer, that'll be even better. Cold-salad ideas can also become easy in-cabin ideas to prepare once we're there, too. What we did last year was sketchy (hence my desire for an early start this year), but we wrote out a complete menu plan and brought along any staples or spices needed from home.

(and boy, did I miss my All-Clad. :D)

[cchhbb]

I usually cook almost all of our meals on vacation. It ended up being a huge planning session as we often vacation with more than 12 people. With the large group, my mom and I often did all of the prep work before we left home and froze the items. For example, if we were going to have bbq, I would season the boston butt before I froze it and I would freeze it in a crockpot liner so it would be the right shape. I also would have a rubbermaid type storage container in my pantry and I would add the shelf stable items as I purchased them. It really made packing faster.

Last fall, my family of 4 went on a trip to the beach and I decided to go simple this trip. I brought cereal, bagels, and quick breads (from the freezer) for breakfast. Lunch of PBJ for the boys generally. I did make a Costco run right before we left and bought a rotissarie chicken, spinach salad, 7 layer dip and a couple of other items. It was a great trip. The place we stayed had such a small kitchen that it would have been difficult to make a more involved meal.

Cheryl