Travel Tip Tuesdays: Seven Helpful Travel Foods

Splurging on food is always fun on a trip, but it’s really helpful to have some extra food on hand for snacks, side dishes, and the occasional meal. Here are seven foods that have served me well on my travels:

Me eating a Clif bar at the Golden Gate
Bridge. TOTALLY an unposed shot.

Clif bars. Yes, they’re a bit expensive, but I swear by these suckers. The peanut butter flavor is my favorite. I ate nothing but Clif bars my first three days in Europe and managed to keep myself alive before I could get over jet-lag enough to eat real food.

Trail mix. This is obvious to anyone who’s traveled: nuts and fruit (and sometimes chocolate) are the best staples on the road. Try almonds and craisins, cashews and coconut, or honey-roasted peanuts and peanut m&ms.

Kale. A handful of kale gives you over 100% of your daily dose of Vitamin A and almost 70% of Vitamin C. It’s hearty for a leafy green, so you can squash it into your bag and keep it at room temperature for several hours and barely see it wilt at all. It doesn’t taste great, but it’s worth a minute of chewing and swallowing to get more nutrition than you could from downing ten heads of iceberg lettuce.

Snickers. Speaking of nutrition, Snickers are… well, not healthy. But they give you energy, have about the same amount of fat and sugar as most “healthy” energy bars, and are a lot cheaper. Plus they don’t shatter in your pack like granola bars (although they do have a tendency to melt).

Peanut butter. A small jar of no-stir peanut butter is your friend. You can spread this stuff on bread or fruit, mix it with ramen, or eat it right out of the jar. If you only take one carry-on bag when you travel, this is something to buy at your destination in case the TSA decides that it counts as a liquid.

Apples. These fruits don’t spoil quickly, can be stored at most any temperature, and deal well with being jostled around in your backpack.

Instant oatmeal. Bring a mug with you and just add hot water (available for free at gas stations and many other places) for a small but satisfying meal.

What are your favorite travel foods?

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