Hitting the road? Some meals that travel well.
Thousands of vacationers will be hitting the open road next week during school break. Teens and their parents will be touring colleges (and worrying about how to pay for it), families will be visiting our nation's capital to give the kids a history lesson, and other lucky folks will be descending upon relatives and friends in warmer climes.
Hunger increases in direct proportion to miles traveled. Just after you've answered, "Are we there yet?" for the fourth time comes "Did you bring anything good to eat?" Carrying your own food keeps appetites and moods in check. It also helps the checkbook; fast-food restaurant tabs really add up.
Drive to your destination, and you'll have the greatest flexibility; plane travel offers the least. Some families turn the car into a portable kitchen. If you don't want to lug coolers and freezer packs, plan on a combo of bringing and buying. You're probably never too far from a supermarket.
One practical way to travel is to pack some meals and most snacks, then stop at fast food restaurants for cold drinks and hot coffee (and restrooms and more napkins). Some rest stops have picnic tables, which offer a pleasant break on a nice day. Or throw a blanket on a patch of grass. A makeshift picnic in your hotel room is a fun way to celebrate arriving at that day's destination.
Foods fit for the road must keep well and be compact. Given that, you can eat like kings. One or two days before leaving, roast a turkey breast, a chicken, or pork tenderloin, all of which yield unbeatable sandwich fillings, and prepare a few hearty salads. Blanched and chilled veggies such as green beans, sugar snaps, and cauliflower tossed with vinaigrette; an orzo salad with olives and pumpkin seeds; or quinoa with tomatoes and scallions will stay well in a cooler.
Cut up all kinds of fruit - oranges, melons, pineapples, and apples - and pack them into containers. Bananas and grapes are the most portable fruits of all. Carry baby carrots, celery stalks, cucumber spears, red pepper strips, and steamed green beans in gallon-size zipper bags, and place dips and spreads in small plastic containers.
For transporting, opt for the largest cooler that will fit in your vehicle along with a few insulated bags. Take plenty of garbage bags to stash dirty containers until you can clean them somewhere. Most hotel rooms have mini-fridges where you can store small perishables, but note that some automatically charge you when you move something in the fridge to make space for your food. An alternative is to raid the ice machine to keep your cooler chilled. If you do use the fridge, leave yourself a reminder to empty it before you leave or someone else will be enjoying your corned beef on rye. Sometimes a friendly front desk clerk will chill your freezer packs overnight. (Ditto on the reminder.)
When traveling by train, bus, or plane, eating options are more limited. Your neighbor will not appreciate strong aromas from your meals and anything made with peanut butter may not be welcome either. If you're seated next to someone with an allergy, you and your PB&J might be asked to move. In the not-so-friendly skies, airlines usually offer free sodas and expensive sandwiches on short trips.
No matter how you travel, you'll never know what situation you might find yourself in. Take this advice: BYO. 