Ultimate Guide to Packing Healthy Travel Food

When you’re heading out on a trip, having food packed can save money and moods when hunger strikes. These tips for packing travel food (and travel snacks!) will cover what to pack—but also how to pack it to ensure that the food is safe and in good shape come mealtime.

Travel Food

We always pack food with us when we travel, whether on vacations or simply on day trips because it’s a great way to keep our travel budget in check. It also allows me to make sure I have nourishing food ready for my family whenever we get hungry—so we don’t have to rely on whatever happens to be available at the closest rest stop. It’s also the easiest way to ensure that I have options that are safe and easy for even my youngest eater to enjoy.

That said, packing travel food can be a little daunting, so I’m going to share all of my best tips to make it easier for you to fuel your family while on the go!

Best Tips for Packing Travel Food

Before you start packing food, you’ll want to keep these pointers in mind. These will help you to pack enough food and to think through what you actually put it in before you start.

• How long is your trip and approximately how many meals do you need to provide?
• Do you want to bring all of your meals and snacks or do you plan to purchase some?
• What are the foods that your kids love to eat and will help to keep them happy while you’re getting where you’re going?
• What sort of space do you have for food during your travel?

TIP: Eating while on the go is a temporary situation, so it’s okay if the kids don’t eat the same way or the same foods as they do at home!

Best Containers to Use When Traveling

These are my favorite containers to use for packing travel food. I find them easy to pack and to clean—and they’ve each lasted for years so were totally worth the investment of buying them once!

Bento Boxes: To keep things contained and easy to access, I recommend packing a bento-style lunchbox for each family member. I like that these fit a meal and two snacks for younger kids and they are stackable when full and nestable when empty. This makes it possible to easily fit 3 boxes in a backpack, even if you have other things to tote. And they don’t take up much space once the food is gone but you still need to store them on your trip.

TIP: Check out the regular size Easy Lunchboxes and the smaller Snack Boxes. They’re affordable and durable.

Stackable Containers: If you prefer to have snacks in separate containers, which would limit the possible amount that can be spilled at once, look for a set that hooks together. They are super durable and attach to each other for easy packing—and finding in your bag.

TIP: Look for the Stackable Snack Containers from Replay Recycled.

Reusable Pouches: These are great to bring since you can rinse them out and reuse them for applesauce, yogurt, smoothies, and more. You can even use them at a restaurant to make it easier for your little to eat!

TIP: We love the Squeasy Gear pouch.

How to Keep Food Cool

I try to pack shelf-stable foods when packing travel food, but if you need or want to pack things that need to be refrigerated, these thin ice packs are compact and light.

You can also freeze applesauce pouches and pack them as ice packs that the kids can eat with their lunch or snack later in the day! They usually thaw in 2-3 hours when kept at either room temperature or in a cooler bag.

Best Recipes for Travel Food

I like to pack foods that are relatively fuss-free and not too messy. These travel snacks don’t need to be refrigerated and hold up well when packed in a reusable container.

1. Blueberry Banana Muffins
2. Soft-Baked Granola Bars
3. Spinach Banana Muffins
4. Breakfast Cookies
5. Apple Cinnamon Bread
6. Oven-Dried Strawberries
7. Cheese Crackers
8. Homemade Larabars
9. Granola Clusters
10. Strawberry Fruit Leather

TIP: You can also consider packing foods like Overnight Oats, hummus and crackers, and even a make-ahead smoothie with an ice pack in a cooler bag.

Best Travel Snacks to Take on the Go

You of course don’t have to make any snacks from scratch if you don’t want to since there are so many great options at the store. Here are my favorites.

1. Apples
2. Applesauce pouches
3. Bananas
4. Cheese sticks
5. Clementines
6. Crackers, whole grain
7. Dry cereal
8. Dried fruit like raisins or lower sugar craisins
9. Fruit leather
10. Fruit/veggie pouches
11. Dino Bars snack bars
12. Mini Larabars
13. Milk (in the shelf-stable containers)

TIP: Find my full list of favorite healthy store bought snacks here.

What snacks can I bring on a plane—and what’s not allowed?

If you’ll be flying with your kids, you may be wondering what you can bring along. A common question is whether or not families can pack food pouches and the short answer is that TSA allows them in “reasonable quantities” and they should be fine. They also say:

Formula, breast milk, juice in quantities greater than 3.4 ounces or 100 milliliters are allowed in carry-on baggage and do not need to fit within a quart-sized bag. Remove these items from your carry-on bag to be screened separately from the rest of your belongings. You do not need to travel with your child to bring breast milk.

Ice packs, freezer packs, frozen gel packs and other accessories required to cool formula, breast milk and juice are allowed in carry-on. If these accessories are partially frozen or slushy, they are subject to the same screening as described above. You may also bring gel or liquid-filled teethers, canned, jarred and processed baby food in carry-on baggage. These items may be subject to additional screening.

TIP: Many Starbucks and other airport kiosks carry food pouches so in the event you can’t or don’t pack your own, you should be able to buy one. Same goes for milk.

What about tips for how to eat well once I get to where I’m going?

I have lots of those too! Check out my post on How to Eat Well When Traveling with Toddlers for specific tips.

I’d love to hear your best travel food tips so please comment below to share! I appreciate each and every comment and love hearing what works best for your family.

Filder Under:Advice, Snacks, Travel