Dinner for a Car Trip

My 2-year-old prefers a steady rotation of little things, so I would pack little baggies of olives, chicken or hot dog pieces, slices of apples and peanut butter, box of milk or chocolate milk, baby carrots that have been boiled (or microwaved) so that they are bit softened and hummus to dip, maybe blueberries. Hope that helps!

I just did a 4 hour road trip with a 2 1/2 yr old last week. Go ahead and stop around dinner time. Try to plan it out so that its at about the 1/2 way point. Do bathroom breaks, drinks, get dinner to go, etc. This lets them stretch their legs, and if done right, shouldn't be more than 15m. Ideas:
- Gerber yogurt drops
- to go fruit snacks. (apple slices, dried fruits)
- Nuggets or meat rollups.
- Don't forget the sippy cups
- Don't forget wet ones/napkins
- I would avoid cheese. it gets soft and messy in the car seat.
M.

I bought each of my kids a sectioned Tupperware-type box and packed them with a meal. I packed sandwiches when they were older, but at two string cheese and cut up lunchmeat works well, cut up fruit(mix with a few drops of lemon juice to prevent browning), dry cereal, raw carrot coins, etc. I wasn't so concerned with healthy as I was with quiet, so I would let them choose a candy/cookie treat for one section, and there was room for a juice box. My gang is all in their 20's, and a couple of months ago we found the boxes--"Oh, the travel kits!!!" they said, "those were great!" Yes, they were.

IF you have traveled before, I am sure you know if this will work with your daughter and your family. From my experience, it is a bad idea. Consider two things. first, 5 hours is a LONG time for a two year old to sit still in a car. My kids did much better if they could stop, take a break, get a diaper, walk around. Second, consider that it is pretty unsafe for a toddler to eat in the car. If you do this, at least be wary of choking foods - no grapes, carrots, etc.

We travel a lot by car and have found that the Lunchable JRs are great. They are healthy and not messy at all. We also keep juice and water, cubed cheese,goldfish,gogurt portable yogurt. Our trips are about 10 hours and these work great. Hope this helps.

S.

Hi - what about just a variety of finger foods. It may not feel like a traditional dinner but with the right "snacks" and enough of them - it can become dinner.:

- Cheese slices / meat slices (protein)
- crackers or little bread rolls (grain/carbs)
- plain cooked pasta that she can just eat with her fingers (grain/carbs)(the smallest that you can get that she can still hold so she doesn't choke).
- veggies like grape tomatoes, cooked carrots, broccoli, peas, cucumber sticks, etc. (veggies) Just make sure to cut into small pieces even for the grape tomatoes so she doesn't choke on it in the car.
- fruit like cut up apple slices or watermelon for desert

Another suggestion is sandwiches. I have one of those sandwich makers which are awesome. You can make some kind of filling and make a bunch of sandwiches. You don't necessary even need a filling as such. You can even just put in some ham and cheese slices. Its great because the sandwich maker essentially seals in the edges so its not as messy as other sandwiches might be.

Good luck and safe trip!!

We make our own "Lunchables". We bring cheese slices or sticks, chunks of ham or turkey and crackers. If you feed it to the children one piece at a time there's really not much opportunity for mess.

Cut veggies, grapes, apple slices, cheese sticks, lunch meat rolls, sippy cups for drinks.

Make sure you have lots of toys and books, that is a long ride for a little person. We just went to and from FL with our 3 and 8 year olds, even the dvd player wasn't enough to keep them entertained.

Good luck!
S.