What do you do for road trip meals?

We're about to take a road trip out to California. We're planning to make it a three day trip each way and would like to save a little money by packing snacks and some of the meals. We won't be camping but I do have a Coleman single burner I could take. We'd prefer to keep prep and cleanup to a minimum though.

What do y'all like to do for this kind of thing?

 

I went from NC to CO full Overland style. Grabbed some fast food during gas stops and picked up some prepackaged seasoned steak, rice, kielbasa, etc from the grocery store for one pot kinda dinner meals.

 

recently traveled from PA to Idaho by myself, 2 1/2 days each way. All I took was beef jerky, granola bars, cheese crackers & a 40 bottle pack of water. I think I stopped twice for a burger at Hardee's. But I tend to push myself and not eat much while I'm on the road.

 

Usually prep some sandwiches (they will hold for a few days) chips, nut mix, gardettos, candy, apples (usually pre cut them beforehand - no trash), bananas - toss the peel on the side of the road for pee break. That's usually my go to, snacks / chips change from time to time though

And some of the above mentioned as well, jerky and waters / red bull and Kombucha

 

A good place to start for some ideas is take a look at your own pantry and fridge. In there you will find everything you know you will already like and not have to guess or experiment, then just buy those same things for the road.

If you bring an ice chest, you will need to refill that with ice, which will cost a couple dollars, even more if you are able to find a grocery store which sells dry-ice.

 

Definitely get yourself a 40-pack of water bottles (2 if necessary) Consider 1-gal. jugs of water too

Boiling water for food seems to be the next best thing compared to actually stopping and buying food. Consider some noodles/ramen or some hot dogs to boil--clamp between some buns and you're set (but definitely store hot dogs in a cooler or insulated container). Dried meals (the add-hot-water kind) are a great choice too

If you're reaaally lazy, you can live off of pretty much any dry food in a bag: jerky, chips, crackers, pretzels, muffins . . .
Bananas are excellent too. Oh, also, I'd suggest grabbing a twin-pack of King's Hawaiian Bread--I never leave on a road trip without one anymore

 

I eat peanut butter sandwiches mainly. My dog also LOVES them so it's bonus. Besides that I also prep some ham and cheese sandwiches. If I get tired of these I just stop at a McDonald's.

Something I've been doing more lately is going to Dominoes for a $8 large 3 topping pizza. Cheap and can feed multiple people.

 

Definitely do not consider getting a bunch of single use plastic water bottles as others recommended. Get a refillable water bottle.
(Like a yeti or nalgene). And strap two 5 gallon water cans in your truck bed. refill a bottle instead of make endless amounts of trash. one gallon jugs are fine but try and buy a couple and refill them.
Than I like to unload what I have in the pantry. I always make one pot meals like those rice packets and some sautéed veggies and a brat or something quick and easy like that. Pasta is always easy. Or just some ramen but add some fresh vegetables to make it not so boring.

 

Buy a bucket of chicken. Throw it in a cooler.

 

Also, something you may not have known: People actually make recipes for cooking stuff in your engine bay. I'm serious.
Make some burritos or hot dogs in the morning and enjoy a nice hot lunch later.

 

daym now that sounds awesome.

pack an icebox/cooler with some precooked meals; only put in the things that actually need to be refrigerated and the other dry, shelf stable stuff separate
like mentioned above grab those huge jugs of water
bring lots of nuts, snacks
if you do stop anywhere ask for utensils with your food and when you get gas empty your garbage

 

Kings Hawaiian

 

Sometimes there's no choice but to eat somewhere within the city. If you're driving all the way straight through with no plans of stopping, I would pack up on snacks, energy drinks, water bottles, and sandwiches you can keep in a cooler and preserve cold before it goes bad.

 

this. i have grown to hate single use plastic bottles. i drive with one of those water bottles you see upside down in an office environment. the five gallon water cooler bottle. cheap, water tight. i refill my nalgenes or similar. you can refill them easily at most grocery stores or those stores that sell water. so cheap!! 20 cents a gallon near my home.

food? sandwich parts. keep everything separate and build sandos as you need them.

now i google regional foods along the way and stop for food. its fun, and not that much more expensive to me.

 

I'll cook a meal the last night before we take a trip, bake a pan of chicken thighs and legs, then refrigerate them overnight. The next morning the chicken would be ready and we pack the chicken in a cooler loaded with ices.

What I want to mention you is that, it's those seemingly minor expense that can really bust your tight budget, forget the daily starbucks and just take instant coffee!