Travel Treat Tips - Goodies on the Go

I love to take long road trips. My little place up north is about an eight hundred mile drive and I usually make the trip at least four or five times a year. I've been making the same trip my entire life. The first time up I was less than a year old. There's been enough spilled pops and cookie crumbs to fill quite a few waste baskets, I'm sure. In taking so many trips , I've learned a few tricks to keep the mess to a minimum while still enjoying plenty of munching along the way.

It would be easy to say just stay away from sweets and sticky candies. That's no fun! When I'm on a long road trip, I like to eat a lot and anything my mood calls for. What I've learned is that it's easy to avoid a mess no matter what you like to eat. You just need to know a few simple tricks to make it easy to drive and munch at the same time. If you have children in the car, these tricks are even more important than if you were alone. Try them the next time you take off for a lengthy ride.

Cups with flip sip lids :
If you invest a small amount into purchasing cups with snap or flip lids, you can enjoy any drink you like on the road. Pack a large cooler with whatever drinks you enjoy in their original containers. Bring along plenty of cups with tight fitting flip lids and pour only what you intend to drink. This way everyone can have whatever they want with a lessor risk of any real spill damage. Flip lid cups will spill if you don't snap the flip lid tight so remind small children. The nice part is that if they do spill, they tend to pour out slower than a cup without a lid. This gives you the chance to catch it and possibly keep spill damage down to a minimum.

Wax paper wraps :
This is such an easy way to make sticky treats possible on the road. All you have to do is portion out some wax paper and cut squares of it. Any sticky treat you enjoy can be portioned into the squares and twisted off at the top. Keep portions very small so that children can hold the wax paper after opening the top and lick or nibble the treat out without touching anything but the wax paper. Even toffee covered popcorn balls work great like this. Small brownies or candies can be easily kept fresh this way. After enjoying the snack, just ball up the wax paper and place it in your trash container.

Sandwich Slices in Plastic Wrap :
I like meatball sandwiches. When I go to a sandwich shop, I'm very likely to order something sloppy and hot. It's a little risky to eat sloppy, hot food on the road. The easiest way to deal with hot sandwiches that might be a mess is to ask the shop to cut the sub into several small slices. Portion these slices into plastic wrap so that they stay fresh and warm. You can unwrap and eat each portion with much less risk of a big mess in the car or on your lap.

Recycled Soup Cups for Chili or Stews:
Recycling soup cups for travel is so handy for so many things. Anything hot with liquid can be safely stored in a soup cup. If you travel a lot, you'll want to eat a variety of foods on the road. I like to have plenty of healthy home cooked foods along with me for any major ride. It's good to have at least one meal that sticks to your ribs. I like to have a good potato soup or chili. Sometimes I'll fix a batch of stew or even mostacoilli. Put whatever you cook into a larger container that travels well. When you are ready to eat, pull over and portion it out into your soup cups. Everyone will feel great with a healthy full meal in their tummies. After the trip, you can either just toss away the cups or wash them out to save for the next long ride.

These tips are just a few that can really come in handy on a long road trip. Keeping things in their proper containers and portions will allow you to focus more on your driving and less on the mess. Remember to bring along plenty of wet hand wipes and some bags to use for trash. Finally, if you do go on a long trip with a batch of chili, remember to roll the windows down!