(per request…) Our Top Ten “Must Pack” Kids’ Food for Hotel Travel:
- Single-serve, microwavable, macaroni-and-cheese packs. I buy lots of the Back to Nature ones and pack them for trips. (K & O will eat 3 each in one sitting.) These are a real special hotel treat for the bambinos. If we’re going for more than a day or two, I’ll often also pack pre-made pasta… I’ll make a batch of penne with pesto before we go (I’ll often mix into it a can of white beans, or a whole bunch of frozen peas), let it cool, then dump it into a heavy-duty storage back. Packed in the cooler, then stored in the hotel room mini-fridge, then microwaved in single-serve portions, this is an easy way to give the bambinos some comfort food while away from home. (note: plastic spoons and forks are always on my To-Pack list.)
- Fresh fruit & veggies (and a good, small, portable knife to slice them up with) to augment whatever else they’ll be eating at the hotel (room service; pizza delivery; take out; etc.). Baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, apples, bananas, clementines, and grapes make regular appearances on our hotel trips.
- Cheese & crackers. Our kids love the Cracker Barrel extra-sharp cheddar cheese sticks. I often pack those, along with mozzarella sticks, and other easy on-the-go cheeses.
- Yogurt tubes & single-serve yogurt smoothies. (and I try to remember to pack straws for the smoothies).
- Nuts and/or trail mix. A quick and easy great source of protein (and we thank our lucky stars that none of our kids are allergic!).
- Milk. And lots of it. Our kids are whole-milk drinkers. I’ve always packed milk in our trusty Nalgene bottles (leak-proof and compact). We bring a small cooler for the drive, and then store the milk in the hotel room mini-fridge (if we have one. if not, we use the hotel ice-machine to keep the cooler cold in the room).
- Bottled water. and lots of it. If we’re traveling by car I buy a case of bottled water in advance of the trip and stick it in the trunk of the car. it is sooooo much cheaper to do it that way that to buy bottles of water along the way! AND Seltzer (or other sparkling water). There is nothing more refreshing. I often toss in a lemon or lime for the trip for Braydon and I to slice up for our bubbly water (the bambinos like it straight up).
- Wine and/or Beer. Yup! The saving grace for the bambinos’ parents on each and every trip! Nothing like a nice glass of wine in the hotel room once the kiddos are snoozing! (and nothing like a cold one on the beach at sunset either!)
- Treats. Of course! Because trips are a special occasion! Road trip treats of choice: Kyle = Fig Newtons, Owen = Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies from our grocery store bakery, Meera = Fruit Snacks. I also always pack single-serve bags of Smartfood and at least a couple boxes of cereal bars/granola bars.
- Drink containers. bottles and sippy cups are no longer needed by us J-Ms.
but we still pack a “straw cup” for Meera, and our kids’ Camelbak bottles are our steady companions (whether we’re traveling or not). this way we can re-fill the containers as we go, and we don’t need to worry about car or hotel-room spills.
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