We are heading down to the heat of Phoenix in a couple of weeks. We are a family of 3 kiddos, 11, 3, and 1 and half. I want to pack healthly snacks for the kiddos while traveling, but ran out of ideas. Don't want things that have too much sugar, because they are going to be restless as it is. If you have any idea's I would greatly appreciate your comments. Thank you in advance.
You have lots of good ideas. I would just add string cheese (keeps my daughter busy for quite a while and she loves it), and the quaker granola bites (not every store sells them - Target does though). They are good!
Good luck to you.
One quick tip: I've discovered that any finger foods you have -- grapes, Cheerios, goldfish crackers, blueberries -- are much more fun for the kids to eat if you serve them in ice cream cones. They're cheap (I use the non-sugar-cone kind), very little mess, and edible after the snacks are done.
I would bring a cooler and expect to change your ice frequently. Then you can bring fruit, yogurt, and healthy deli meat for snacks and for sandwiches to save money on meals. Then bring their favorite juice and dilute it by half with water. Hope this helps!
You will want to do fruits, grapes, watermelon chunks, pineapple chunks, strawberries. Phoenix is very dry as well as hot and salty snacks will make them really thirsty. You will also want bottles of water so they are well hydrated by time you get there. Make sure you are all well hydrated, nothing worse than too much heat when you aren't. It can make you dizzy. Have fun, its a beautiful town :)
I would pack a cooler bag for drinks, sandwiches & grapes/apples/carrots/ yogurt. (bring napkins and a bag for trash). Mixed nuts are always good because they fill you up, pretzels and dried mangoes ( we get them at Costco-yummy!) are good too. Never fails, we'll be in the car a 1/2 hour and the kids are already hungry - even though we just ate before leaving the house.
If you're thinking of ideas for in the car, dried fruit, nuts, crackers, cereal, jerky/primal sticks...I tend to hit the bulk bins and make small individual bags for each kid, small sandwiches like pb&j that do not have to be refrigerated are handy.
If you're thinking about snacks in general such as at the hotel etc., yogurt, applesauce, fresh fruit, instant oatmeal (heat water in coffee maker) have worked well for us.
I usually spend the day before we leave baking muffins which usually last for the morning of the trip and sometimes the second day.
hope that helps and have a great trip!
Theresa, thought I would respond as I too have 3 kids, and I too just returned from phoenix and guess what I forgot my snacks in the house! we replaced them at a frys on the way! what a bummer....My youngest is 3 so we can do a bit more advanced texture wise than maybe you can do with your one year old.. We do cheese sticks and prepackaged cheese and crackers (love trader joes mini kind) and their fruit srips made with actual fruit. Target makes a good one too. 10 come in a box and my kids really like the raspberry flavor. the thinner variety is the one they prefer. they are a good sub for the sugary fruit snacks kids love but parents don't if they read the label:) for your younger one you could try some of the gerber snacks. we liked the cheese puffs and cereal puffs type- real cereal works too but is more easily choked on in the car. depends on the chewing skills and teeth of course! lower salt pretzels, grape halves. animal crackers are lower sugar cookie, again love my trader Joes type. older kids like to munch apples and or baby carrots and I add peanut butter in individual cup for more of a meal. Jif makes a handy size. a handful of soft golden raisins goes well with the cheese crackers. Also pirates booty, a cheese flavored healthyish puff is well liked by all of my kids. its a good munchy but not too filling snack, sold at TRaders, healthy section of regular stores and sprouts. bring some water and juice boxes. partially frozen first!
Not sure if you're just looking for things to keep your kids busy on the road, but I have an idea that I do with my kids that I thought you might like. It's not food, but it is a treat! What I do is go to the dollar store and buy and bunch of $1 stuff that kids would like, and then wrap each item individually. Tissue paper works fine for wrapping. Then as the kids start getting bored, hand each child a wrapped package. They will delight in unwrapping it, and the trinket inside might keep 'em busy for a few more minutes. Happy travels!
HI, our kids have been on tons of road trips. It used to take us 5 1/2 hrs to get to one grama's house and another 4hrs past her house to get to the other grama's house. Use a regular small cooler put it on the floor in front of the shortest kid. Freeze 1/2 a gallon of water or two since it is Phoenix :) do the same for water bottles then top them off right before you leave then you have drinkable ice packs no wasted space. For the water bottles we buy Nalgene's you can get then in the sporting goods section of most stores if you don't have any, they don't absorb smell or flavor and the drinks have tasted like plastic, they are awesome! We actually take a loaf of bread usually PB&J or if you have enough ice lunch meat sandwiches and turn it into a moving picnic. when you have sammies you don't have to worry about a ton of snacks. You know it'll be a pricey all day evolution and if you have a free lunch you don't feel to bad if you end up buying dinner.
Have a fun road trip. Don't forget a knife for the sammies been there that sucks : >)!
H Theresa, I'm grandma to 2 and have found that Cheerios and Chex cereal are great snacks for kids, Low in salt and sugar. Also, grapes and apples are great for keeping some liquids going, without drinking a lot and needing to stop and use the bathroom every hour. Hope this helps!
pretzels and carrot sticks.
Bring your sunhat! We went to Phoenix over 4th of July weekend and we made a stop at Petrified Forest Visitor Center, parked in the shade and had lunch. We then took a short nature hike. My 4 yo daughter fell asleep afterward. This is what I packed:
Chicken Salad (with lots of celery and toasted walnuts--fills 'em up!)
Bread
Sunflower seeds (a little messy)
Apples
Grapes
Yogurt
Cheddar cheese chunks
Water
Iced mint tea (unsweetened)
Happy travels!
My kids are big fans of Goldfish crackers, Granola Bars, cheese crackers and Welsh's 100% fruit snacks. I also like to pack grapes, bananas and even a loaf of bread on long trips. They keep really well in the hotel room and make nice morning snacks when you can't quite make it out to breakfast ahead of those little grumbling tummys! We also always take at least a 24 pack of water bottles along with us. That way we always have some on hand in the hotel room and to take with us on our daily jaunts...you need LOTS of water in Phoenix, especially this time of year. Other things we've had that have been popular are trail mix, chex mix and even ziploc bags of their favorite cereal.
messy but cheap.. we bought the caramel corn from the mall but you can pop your own regular popcorn and they can snack on it. we played I spy alot on our road trip i forgot to look for a car bingo game. we also made sandwhiches and forgot them in the fridge but we remembered them on the way back. grapes were good for us too. my baby turned 1 the week we cam back so we kept her on baby foods but she did eat so many crackers that towards the end of the trip she would refuse them.
Trader Joes has some vegetable chips. They are actually like the texture of cheetos. My boy loves them.
I know you said you didn't want to many sugar ideas, but you might like this. buy some shoe string licorice and some fruit loops and have the kids string the froot loops through the licorice to make necklaces. Takes a lot of time and keeps them occupied for a while. I enjoyed making them when I was young. Just an idea. Also, have a grab bag (dollar store items) and tell them that for every 1/2 hour or 1hr. (your choice) that they are are behaving, they will get to draw from the goodie bag. It seemed to work for my kids. ;) good luck. Hope you don't melt here.
I have 4 kids and have traveled by car a ton this summer. Love the idea about serving snacks in ice cream cones...will definately use that! One product I found that I am now obsessed with is from Trader Joe's. It's called Crushers, there is an applesause one and a carrot/applesause. In Trader Joe's you will find them next to all the canned fruit and applesauce, they are packaged in a little box and they come in a four pack. They are so perfect to travel with, just throw them in a diaper bag (don't have to refrigerate) and you don't need a spoon. The packaging is brilliant and I wish they made a ton more flavors! I also get all my other snacks at Trader Joe's too...veggie sticks/pirate's bootie/dried fruit/granola bars/yogurt (the little ones made with cream are soooo yummy). All their food is so inexpensive and healthy! I just wish there were more Trader Joe's around...I have to drive 20 minutes to get to one, but it's worth it. Happy travels :)
