Healthy Vegetarian Snacks for Long Road Trips with Kids

If you're taking the kids on a long road trip, snacks can help avoid too many stops. They are essential to keeping everyone healthy and happy. Here are some great, portable and healthy vegetarian snacks for long road trips with kids.

Organic Granola Bars
Granola bars are great for road trips because they're healthy, but also lightweight and portable. Depending on the ingredients and your vegetarian preferences, most granola bars will likely fit the veggie lifestyle.

Peanut Butter and Crackers
To make this healthy vegetarian snack easier to pack, consider packing the peanut butter in a small resealable container and the crackers in a ziplock bag. Peanuts are great for energy and can also be filling. Whole grain crackers can provide even more essential nutrients.

Plain Cheerios
Plain cheerios are a great vegetarian treat for all. Cheerios have long been a first finger food for many young kids. In the toddler aisle, it's easy to find plastic containers that have a special kid-friendly opening for grabbing Cheerios. These containers are great for promoting less mess on long road trips with kids.

Mama's Trail Mix
Trail mix is one of the best snack choices for long road trips with kids. If you choose the right ingredients, trail mix can be wholesome, tasty, and many blends are vegetarian. Click Here for Mama's Trail Mix, which is my version of a healthy vegetarian trail mix that kids love.

Maranatha Almond Butter Sandwiches
If you've never had almond butter before, you're missing out. Maranatha Almond Butter is a favorite in our household. It's a great way to add variety to the classic PB&J sandwich. Almond butter keeps better in the cooler. Use whole grain bread for the healthiest sandwich option.

Rice Cakes
OK, so some people may automatically think boring when thinking of rice cakes. My kids like all varieties of rice cakes, but for those with a sweet tooth, try Mother's Natural Caramel Rice and Popped Corn Cakes. They're only 45 calories each and come in a simple, plastic bag that's great for for portability. A hint if you're taking these on long car rides: Be sure the kids eat them over a lap tray or napkin.

Graham Sticks
Back to Nature makes great honey graham sticks. They can be found in the organic aisle at many grocers or organic/whole food markets. These vegetarian snacks are good from toddlers on up to adults. They're easy for the little ones to grasp and are missing the icky high fructose corn syrup and fat that other honey graham products can have.

Cascadian Farm Organic Vanilla Almond Crunch Cereal
For long road trips with kids, pack some of this vegetarian treat in ziplock bags for munching. Cascadian Farm Organic Vanilla Almond Crunch is a crunchy cereal consisting of oats, wheat, almonds, and vanilla flavoring.

Fruit Leather
Fruit leather is small and portable and many varieties contain a full serving or more of fruit. This is great for long road trips with kids as they'll likely be craving something sweet. Instead of grabbing candy at the gas station, opt for the much healthier fruit leather.

Dried Fruits
In the same fashion as the fruit leather, dried fruits are a great alternative to fresh fruit when on the road. It's a healthy, yet portable way to get in those daily fruit servings.

*There are many varieties to the vegetarian diet. Not all of these snacks apply to each one.

*Note that the author is not a licensed nutritionist or medical professional. The above is provided for informational purposes. Always seek a professional for diet, nutrition, and health matters.

Sources:

http://www.backtonaturefoods.com

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/183461/healthy_snacks_that_kids_love.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/598273/maranatha_almond_butter_one_of_my_favorite.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/202084/product_review_cascadian_farm_organic.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2080737/mothers_natural_caramel_rice_and_popped.html