Monday, March 20, 2023

Road Trip Food! by Jenn McKinlay



JENN MCKINLAY: Hub and I just did a short road trip to Tucson where I attended Left Coast Crime (more to come on that tomorrow). Now Tucson is only two hours away but we had to fill up the gas tank before we departed which means of course…snacks!!! Yes, even for a short road trip, I require snacks. I mean, what if you break down? You might have to live off that Cherry Dr. Pepper and Bugles for hours if you’re in a remote location. One has to be prepared.



Now Hub is an Arizona Sweet Tea, chili cheese Fritos, and beef jerky kind of guy, while I am a Hostess Sno-ball, Charleston Chew minis, and Dunkin’ coffee sort of gal. Yes, it’s shocking we managed to set aside these differences and marry, but here we are many years later. But on this road trip, I was in a pickle because I declared this March the month of no candy or processed carbs because I suspect I might have a sugar problem as in I love it but it’s unrequited. 



So, as I stood looking over my options at the convenient store (more accurately our local Circle K), I was stymied. Yes, I could have just bought water and called it a day but…road trip! I ventured into aisles I’d never seen before and ended up with a banana (they have fruit, who knew?) and a yogurt. Neither of these was as satisfying as my Sno-balls but I did not get colored coconut all over the interior of the car so I consider that a win.


All right, Reds, what’s your go to road trip snack? 


HALLIE EPHRON: Mini Mounds! You can buy them in bulk and eat them while driving. And tangerines. If one (or part of one) gets lost in the car while you’re driving, it won’t stink. And roasted almonds.



I made the mistake of not putting together snacks flying out of Key West a few weeks ago. I paid more than $6 in the airport for a pathetic 2 oz bag of stale trail mix. 


HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Almonds. Definitely. I always keep almonds in my bag in case I might be starving (which happens all the  time on book tour, I’m not quite sure why, airport fast food is so unreliable unless it’s Dunkins or Starbucks, and I always seem to be out of food.) I also tuck away a plain bagel.



Almonds and plain bagels are good for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and go with wine and diet coke and coffee and  tea, so they are perfect no matter when.  And they are not too messy in the car–that’s why plain bagels, not sesame! 


RHYS BOWEN: We also completed that two hour road trip to Tucson–in the rain! Imagine, Arizona and it’s gloomy and raining. But I had brought snacks along so all was well: gluten free crackers and mini cheeses for Clare who is gluten free, Trader Joes cheese straws, cashews and pistachios and of course gummi bears. 





When I’m on book tour I always have a Kind bar, those tiny gouda cheeses, sometimes dried mango or preserved ginger… now I’m getting hungry thinking about it.


JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Hank taught me the trick with almonds, and now I keep a bag stashed in my glove compartment for hunger emergencies. But road trips demand FUN snacks, to my mind, as a reward for the chore of driving, driving, driving. I’ve always had a a soft spot for peanut M&Ms (the fact several of my kids don’t like them may play a role in this.)  And I’m crazy for Target’s Handful of Everything Trail Mix, which has, “a delectable blend of sweetened banana chips, mangos, pineapple, yogurt-flavored coated peanuts, chocolate chips, almonds, raisins, apricots, cranberries and coconut.” 



That last is the problem, as I will end up at my destination with a gentle layer of coconut flakes drifting across the drivers seat and the floor, as if I drove through show flurries. On the plus side, it makes my car smell slightly like a tropical resort, which is nice when I’m headed to Syracuse, NY in January.


DEBORAH CROMBIE: I love Corn Nuts. What's not to like about risking breaking a tooth or two and swelling up like the Michelin Man from the salt? But they are so good.



Next would be Cheddar popcorn, or Fritos. You can tell I have a weakness for the salty stuff. But on my most recent road trip, my daughter and I stopped at Buccee's (heaven in a truck stop) and discovered to our dismay that they don't carry Corn Nuts! We had to settle for Buccee's famous roasted pecans.


LUCY BURDETTE: Oh Rhys, I love Trader Joe’s cheese straws–bought them for our last trip south.





But I usually make sandwiches–egg salad or tuna salad or turkey and cheese with pickles and potato chips. And then some kind of gorp and maybe fruit and cheese and crackers. We eat all the way up and down the coast!


And now, Readers, what about you? What's your go-to road trip food?

92 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Yum to all those . . . cheese crackers for me, please!

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  3. Yes to the crunchy and salty. Cape Cod potato chips are a favorite. Back in my youth, when I did a lot of solo long-distance driving, I'd pack a jar of instant coffee. Stop for a chocolate milkshake, stir in a spoonful of coffee, and I'd be good for another two hundred miles.

    But I don't usually pack snacks for a two hour road trip (the distance to my son's house, where we drove back from yesterday). Water, certainly.

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    1. In addition, I do always have Dove dark minis on hand.

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    2. From Celia: Edith, that is inspired! Instant coffee, we always have it in the house as V loves it, me, not so much but to brighten up a road trip!

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    3. Instant coffee in a milkshake. Pure genius. I stop for snacks for any trip longer than 45 min. LOL.

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  4. I live in Texas, and you don’t travel across the state without a snack bag. Mine has Cheetos and a snickers candy bar, and a coke.

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  5. I learn so much from The Jungle Reds! I was reading about all the wonderful snacks then suddenly ..."and some kind of gorp"... Gorp? Well according to Google it is basically trail mix. I had never heard this word before. Is it primarily an East Coast thing or just me not knowing here on the West Coast?

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    1. I didn't hear the word until I moved from west coast to east.

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    2. Oh funny, I've always known what gorp was so didn't even think!

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    3. Evidently it started out as an acronym for Good Old Raisins and Peanuts, but I've eaten some pretty fancy gorps in my time and I personally feel robbed if it doesn't include chocolate at least.

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    4. I’ve known about gorp here in the Midwest, I think dating all the way back to my days in Girl Scouts.

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    5. I knew it from growing up in the east, but you're right. You don't hear it out west.

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    6. I'm in California, I know Gorp. Reading it brought a quick smile when I readit. Thanks, Edith.

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    7. Maybe gorp isn't a Southern term either, as I'd never heard of it before. I'll have to ask some friends if they're familiar with it.

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  6. Pretzels, we never travel without pretzels!

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  7. My ideal road trip snack bag includes Smarties, salt 'n vinegar chips, and Doritos nachos cheese-flavoured tortilla chips (to ensure I arrive with bright orange finger tips!) Water to wash it all down.

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    1. I love salt and vinegar chips, especially with a tuna fish sandwich.

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  8. Just about to start a road and hiking trip to Grand Canyon and Page, AZ and thinking of what snacks to bring. I also have salty - potato chips, tortilla chips, and nuts-especially the trail mix you can get with M&Ms. My husband tends to agree with the salt concept but he always adds spice to his collection of snacks - anything that makes you sweat is great for him.

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    1. My Hub loves the Tex-Mex trail mix. I pick out all the sesame thingys in it - yum :)

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  9. I am two hours from anything so I do a lot of road trips. Coffee and a Hershey bar are my reward on these trips (I don't buy chocolate otherwise, as I have no self control).

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  10. Cheez-its, white cheddar, preferably. Trail mix. I am in love with Target's Peanut Butter Monster mix, but I haven't eaten it on a road trip...yet.

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  11. These might be Canadian, but it was always Crispers crackers when I travelled with my son. He loved them, so we usually had salt & vinegar or dill pickle. The trouble was I was a newly diagnosed diabetic, so they were not in my list of foods I could eat. Problem solved – I would lick all the flavouring off the chip, and then slip the rest out the window (for the crows you know).
    It also used to be strawberry twizzlers – gone to just a memory.
    However, a Tim Horton’s (Canada’s version of Dunkin Donuts) Boston Cream donut is always on the 5 hr trip to Halifax – diabetes be damned! (I usually have french fries then too…)

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    1. Love Tim Horton's - it's the first place I hit when I cross the border into New Brunswick.

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  12. Road trip food would include a Kind bar - gluten free non dairy ; trail mix and water bottle. Unfortunately Airport security never lets you bring water. If you bring a water bottle, it has to be EMPTY!

    Diana

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    1. Yes, very annoying. Although, I've noticed they've started providing hydration stations near the gates so you can fill your own water bottle.

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    2. Yes! Thank you for the reminder! I noticed the hydration stations on my last plane trip.

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  13. Hanover's makes GF pretzels, which are tasty.I have an unfortunate gummy bear addiction (only Haribo) which I fell into a few years ago when gummy bears were allowed (except for the red ones) during the liquid diet prep for a procedure. Now I have to be careful because I know I can eat a party size bag in a very short amount of time. Once they're in the house, I'm a goner. Did you know that a serving of gummy bears is 13? HA! How ridiculous is that???

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    1. Funny story. When my boys were young, I told them they could have two cookies each. I saw older son (who had recently learned to read) doling out three each. When I reminded him of the rule, he pointed to the box and said, "It says one serving is three." Can't argue with that!

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    2. I'm convinced the party sized bags are for a party of one!

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    3. Jenn, you are right! Edith, that's funny! When my son was a toddler and he wanted something to eat before dinner, I told him he could have one pretzel or zero pretzels and asked him which he preferred. He said, "A one and a zero, that's 10 pretzels, mom." It's hard to argue with a little smarty pants.

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  14. Trail mix, goldfish crackers, sandwiches for the road. For overseas flights, I add granola bars and a small package of shortbread.

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    1. Overseas, you must have snacks! For me, it's protein bars and dried fruit.

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  15. Oh, talk about an easy one! Living in northern Maine, even a simple trip to the vet is a road trip. Give me Twizzlers (mini ones acceptable), Fritos, a bottle of water, and Belvita breakfast bars. Something with that much protein can't be bad, right :)

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  16. I've got celiac, so most of the traditional snacks are out for me. I've been in the almonds-dried apricots-and dates camp for years. They make a great snack any time of day and don't leave a mess.

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    1. My nephew has ceilac - I gave him a food dehydrator for his wedding so he can prep his own snacks :)

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  17. Hank Phillippi RyanMarch 20, 2023 at 9:08 AM

    Oh, Debs, I love corn nuts so much! What are they even? But yes, they are so delicious.

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  18. This is like a tour of American junk food. Hardly any of us prefer the same supplies for the road, it seems.

    I try to pack nuts, too, but usually cashews. Travel tip: but ahead, because they cost twice as much at a highway gas station. On this trip I brought a Ziploc of shelled pistachios. I like kettle chips, and chocolate. And of course there is always a reusable water bottle in my car.

    Steve used to drive 30,000 miles a year, and he always had a small cooler with oranges, apples, bananas, bread, peanut butter, a jar of jelly, and hardboiled eggs. I "cooked" pbjs on the cooler lid for him while he drove when I went along

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  19. I’m with Liz on the Cheez-its! And I definitely have a thing for white cheddar- Cheez-its, popcorn, or whatever they want to sprinkle that magic dust on. Also anything peanut butter and/or chocolate. If I’m driving by myself I like to chew on Twizzlers. My go to beverage is Wild Cherry Pepsi but will settle for regular Pepsi, all the sugar and all the caffeine. If I’m trying to be sensible I will skip the pop and have water.

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    1. I try to drink water but...it's a struggle. I never have soda at home (no will power) so it's a road trip treat for sure.

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  20. The king of all travel food, IMO, is the Triple Delight Roll from Gachi Sushi at BWI airport. You can't get the Triple Delight at the sushi grab-n-go. Nope. This roll is only made fresh at the sushi bar opposite Southwest Airlines Gate A8. FWIW, there's a Gachi at PHL, but my only experience is through BWI because of Southwest. It makes a layover a special experience.

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  21. From Celia: what an inspired topic Jen, here we are with all our desires bared as Lucifer might say. WOW food items I’ve never come across and how healthy. I think I’ll give the win to Rhonda, a triple delight roll, which reminds me. Looking for something in my car yesterday I found in the glove compartment the to go sushi maki remains thoughtfully stashed by my 96 year old beloved from well at least a week ago - no words. It’s so long that we have taken a road trip sadly but always water though I might take ginger ale for Victor who lives on it. Then salty whatever and chocolate usually KitKats. But we attend the Met Opera broadcasts faithfully with Julia. She drives to give me a break and I bring our snacks. She and Victor went to Lohengrin last weekend without me but I packed interval food, very important particularly when the opera is five hours of Wagner - sandwiches of smoked salmon and Hopjes, a Dutch coffee hard candy from my childhood, thank you Amazon, which we all love. Snacks rule.

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    1. Snacks do rule and KitKats are King.

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    2. Oh, Celia. Sushi left in the car. At least it hasn't been hot weather.

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    3. Sign me up on the KitKats! One of the few candy options that tempt me! The hotel I like to stay at in London stocks the rooms every day with crisps (potato chips), Walker's shortbread, and KitKats. And I wonder why I come home a pound of two heavier...

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  22. We travel a few times a year from North Carolina to Rhode Island to see the family since moving south and have found that the following works great for us: Sharp Cheddar Cheese and Salami (doubles as snacks and lunch the first day), home made Chip Cookie Bar (GF - I am GF, hence the homemade), some almonds and a protein bar - I find if I don't eat on some kind of schedule I can be difficult (cranky or worse) - Diet Coke (my addiction) and water. All of this is for me, the husband will eat at lunch but that's about it; for most of the trip he's like a camel - the occasional sip of water and that's it.

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    1. LOL. My people call it "hangry" (a hungry/angry mashup). If I say "I'm hungry" they start throwing food at me lest the evil Jenn arise.

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    2. Jenn, I have a 15 year old granddaughter who also gets "hangry." She refused to accept this description for years. With growing maturity she now recognizes it is true. She doesn't get evil just morose...~Emily Dame

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  23. I always have one or two baggies of almonds in my purse in case I get hungry. But on a road trip, which I do only once a year under normal circumstances, it’s Oreo cookies and Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies!! My road trips are generally with one of my sisters and her family. We restock the supply all week after we get to our vacation destination. My friends would be shocked to see this because normally I eat healthy foods, and snack on fruit. They think of me as a health food fanatic:-)
    DebRo

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  24. When I had a 5-hour commute twice a week, I stopped for gas and would grab an extra-large fountain regular pepsi to give me enough caffeine for the drive. Snacks might be baggies of grapes, Belvita (blueberry or orange, yum!), and a sausage biscuit from McD's midway if I got hungry enough. The return commute consisted of an extra-large pepsi with lots of ice and a bacon biscuit from Tudor's Biscuit House. If you've never had one of those--let's just say there's enough bacon to keep you covered for a 5-hour road trip. Chocolate of any kind was often on board, too.

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  25. Let's see. Water or coffee to drink. A breakfast Twinkie if it's that time. Salty snacks if it isn't. Combos and Nabisco cheese and crackers or PB and crackers, preferably the toxic orange ones. I horrified husband once by grabbing a bag of dill pickle potato chips to try.

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    1. One of my daughters loves any kind of pickle flavored anything. Vinegar, too.

      Kettle brand Jalapeno chips are amazing, for next time, Pat.

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    2. Road trips are not the time to experiment! Love Combos madly.

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  26. This is making me hungry. Please don't bring a banana or a hardboiled egg on a plan and sit next to me. The smell... Having said that I once brought fried chicken and a slice of apple pie on a train and got jealous looks from all quarters.

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    1. That would do it. Hub would arm wrestle you for the fried chicken.

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  27. Road trips starts with a cup of coffee. After about an hour, I start on the diet Pepsi and switch to water later. Currently I find myself addicted Chezits BIG and peanut butter M&Ms. I try to put plain crackers and cheese and an apple in the mini ice chest in the car, which includes a couple sandwich-sized bags of ice and/or a bottle of frozen water.

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  28. Such a fun post! I love Mounds! Anything with dark chocolate, please.

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    1. I used to be an Mounds girl but now I skew more to Almond Joys.

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  29. I've also recently discovered the allure of the sweet and hot mix - lots of crunchy stuff with a VERY spicy coating plus sweetened peanuts. I grabbed a bag at the Dollar Store (best place for movie candy, y'all!) and was instantly hooked. One of the best aspects - I have a super white woman mouth, coming from centuries of ancestors for whom salt was a racy spice. So I can't eat TOO much of this stuff at any one time, unlike, say, toffee popcorn with peanuts, which will be gone in 20 minutes.

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    1. Oh, yes, my backpack purse carried many a dollar store box of candy into the movies for the Hooligans.

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  30. A bag of a variety of Kind bars! My brother and I traveled this past summer and lived on them for eight hours and they work. And they’re good for us.

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    1. That's it - Imust try the Kind bars. I don't think I've ever had one.

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  31. If possible we get to a Publix and get Cuban sandwiches at the deli. Cut them into smaller slices & they’re perfect for eating in the car or at a picnic table along the way.
    I like BBQ or salt & vinegar chips. Sis is a Cool Ranch Dorito girl. Oreos or Milano cookies, occasionally Nutter Butters. Usually some sort of chocolate- M&Ms, Dove, Reese’s holiday shaped pb.
    I’ll start out with a Yeti full of tea & then switch to coke .
    Sometimes Little Debbie snacks. I know that’s sacrilege for a baker but Nutty Bars, Swiss Cake Rolls, etc… yum.

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    1. I love Little Debbies! Oatmeal pies , Nutty bars, and Swiss Rolls are my favs.

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    2. I love Little Debbies - no judgment here.

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  32. I can't say I have a go to road trip anything. I'm not a big snacker. If I do grab something, it's spur of the moment, and what sounds good at the time.

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  33. Since I generally avoid having to go on any kind of real road trip, I don't have any real go-to foods for said trip. But on my weekly Saturday run-around day (where I go pay bills in person and hit the comic and record shops...money depending), I have a bottle of water. There may be a couple pieces of those mini Jolly Rancher candies in my jacket too. I'm usually picking up some kind of lunch before I get to the comic shop so I don't usually have to bring anything extra unless I'm getting a sub. That means I have to bring extra cheese since nobody puts enough cheese on my steak and cheese subs and I don't want to pay the ridiculous extra fee for having them do it.

    That said, if I was going to something like a comic convention, I'd be there for the day and I would then pack my bag with two bottles of water, a bag of Cheeze-Its (I prefer Cheese Nips but they don't make them anymore), occasionally a candy bar or a Drake's coffee cake 2 pack. Oh, and a bottle of soda for the caffeine pick me up. And toothpaste and a toothbrush to get it all off my teeth and breath after the fact.

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    1. Oh, man, I haven't had a Drake's coffee cake in forever. Love those!

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  34. Love the mini Mounds Bars and Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! Coke Zero is also a favorite, along with Diamond Almonds and Cheetos. I can't travel without snacks!!

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  35. It's fun reading about all the different snacks you all like. I'm sitting here wondering why I haven't tried cheese straws before. They sound like the perfect road trip snack. Also, I'm thinking about the dehydrated fruit. I think I'll be adding those two items to road trip snacks. I know most people like some kind of nut to snack on, but I just am not a nut person. My husband is a major nut eater, buying the big bags for home. Since I'm the one who would be packing car snacks, he is out of luck for nuts then. Actually, I don't like the residue from the nuts on fingers or the car. To be honest though, when Philip was gone living elsewhere for work for almost sixteen years, I did lots of car trips alone, so I packed for myself.

    For me, I like to pack some Zone bars, the strawberry yogurt flavor. They're quite filling, so I would say one of those on a three-hour trip, or one per plane trip. I always like having some packs of Lance's Toasty Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers. I like buying the box of eight individually wrapped units, with six crackers in each unit. Candy is probably the Twixt mini-bars or Kit-Kat mini.

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  36. Forgot about Trader Joe's Parmsan Crisps. Yum!

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    1. Hub is ADDICTED to parm crisps. Seriously, it's a problem.

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