Car Appropriate Snacks
Irrational childhood fears and food companions for the road.
I had an odd, slightly absurd and over dramatic fear as a child; it was an absolute necessity for there to be food in the car. I don’t know what I thought would happen if I didn’t have my safety blanket of oranges and crisps, I didn’t find out until years later when this ridiculous fear of mine had been consciously suppressed.
It wasn’t all bad when I faced my childhood fear, stuck on a train in Croatia for 15 hours or so without food or water. At the time I thought I was going to die, and the suppressed fear had returned to the surface. I complained a lot before trying to sleep to make the time go faster, couldn’t sleep so spoke for the whole 15 hours instead to distract myself, only most of this time I spoke about food and water. This experience will stop me from returning to Croatia for a while I imagine.
The resurfacing of my young pragmatic mind made me think of car appropriate snacks, and car inappropriate snacks for that matter. So if you have plans to soon be stuck in a car for a long enough time which has the potential of leaving you feeling peckish, I have accumulated a list to help you through, which will avoid sticky hands, food stained clothes and smells that reek out the entire car causing passenger angst and conflicts. Here we go:
1. Plums. Plums are great. They can handle being bashed and bruised unlike their relative The Apple. Take a few of these for each passenger as they are small, and really tasty.
2. Bananas. Despite a personal deep hatred for bananas, they are definitely a great car food. Plenty of potassium equals plenty of energy and fullness. This reminds me — don’t forget a plastic bag for your leftovers and rubbish.
3. Nuts. Nuts are a great source of protein, so take your pick from cashews, walnuts, almonds and so on, and you will be satisfied by this tasty little snack.
4. Carrots and hummus. One of the nicest healthy snacks in existence. Chop up some carrots before you leave and dip them into a jar of hummus. No mess, just an empty jar at the end and a happy tummy. If hummus isn’t your thing, choose another dip; but bear in mind, you’re best off choosing one of the less runny dips to avoid any spillage.
5. Cheese. This isn’t the time for a cheese board with your bries and stiltons, sorry. But it is the time for your cheese strings and Dairylea dunkers. Definitely not just for kids.
6. Something sweet. Now lastly, seen as the five food choices above are all pretty healthy, a road trip wouldn’t be a road trip without some unhealthy treats. A packet of sharing crisps, as well as some chocolate if it’s not an overly hot day (melted chocolate in cars is a big no no) will do the job.
With all of your car appropriate snacks in place, all you need now is a bottle of water to keep you hydrated and you will be able to enjoy the journey with the peace of mind that food is near and it will stay unbruised and edible along the way.
This story was brought to you by Newbury Leasing. If this article made you smile, think or feel, you can recommend it by clicking the 💜 below so other people can smile, think and feel too. Newbury Leasing is a car and van leasing company, and this is their platform to show you they are more than that. These ideas and perspectives are the inspirations that keep their company growing.
