Road Tripping: Healthy Snacks and PackingTips!

Summer means road tripping.
GORP (or trail mix, you might call it)  is a favorite treat of mine to take on the road, to the pool, on a hike, or vacation. What exactly is GORP? I did a little research about the etymology of GORP and here's what wikipedia tells me.  Good Ole Raisins & Peanuts is one suggestion of the meaning of this oddly named snack.

[DISCLAIMER to Belmont students of mine: don't see this reference to wikipedia as a model of solid research which you can emulate in your research paper writing.  This is good for food blogging about silly inquiries like, "what does GORP mean?"]  

It's the simplest, easiest snack to make.  I will say, it can be pricy.  But it goes far and really packs in nutrients.  My ONLY complaint about GORP is when people select their handful, and pick out certain things.  Our GORP has nuts, dried fruit and M&Ms.  Guess which items disappears the fastest? You guessed it...the M&Ms.  I tell my people that they aren't allowed to pick out the M&Ms.  I tell them they need a balanced handful.

my Lucy says, "I just love that scoop! And I don't not like anything in GORP, Momma"

I tell them that the beauty of GORP is the salty/sweet/chewy/crunchy/chocolatey combo.  I tell them it's  a fun surprise to dig in the scoop and see what comes in their hand and then gobble it up and enjoy the combo.  They look at me like, "You don't understand."  Then they sneak.  Wikipedia references the word GORP in the dictionary being a verb meaning "to eat greedily".  So, I might need to use that technical term.  "STOP  GORPING the GORP!"

Another road trip favorite is Granola Bars.

I wrote about my love for Joy the Baker's Granola Bars a few months ago HERE.

My lovely friend, Lane, just wrote about another version of granola bars on her delightful blog, Apron Days.  I made these for our trip this week.  They are YUMMY with all that nutty, oaty goodness AND peanut butter, coconut,
 and mini chocolate chips.  You should try these.  I have eaten them for breakfast, afternoon snack, and as a cookie with homemade peach ice cream after dinner.  They are multi-purpose! 

I also made my standard granola to have with us on vacation for breakfast parfaits every morning- vanilla yogurt, peaches and cherries and a scoop of granola on top! Mmmm. (It's not great for eating in the car, as it's crumbly, but it's great to have for breakfast!)

If you are as overwhelmed by packing as I usually am, I have a tip for you.  A couple of days before our recent preparations for a beach trip, we saw our friend, John, at the pool.  I was telling him about our upcoming trip, and how much I appreciated that my son's spend the night camp provided a packing list, which made things so simple and how I wish someone would give me a vacation packing list.   He suggested I check out the trip packing list on Simple Mom blog.  (If you don't know this blog, you should check it out.  She is such a great resource – so practical and smart and creative).  

The list is a little overwhelming when you see that it's 4 pages, but it's comprehensive and it's really a helpful tool.   I loved having a checklist to ensure that we didn't forget things.  (She also has these daily docket "to do list" print-ables, which I like.)

Speaking of packing, one of my favorite ways to pack is with laundry baskets.  Depending on the room in your car, and your destination, packing at least some of your stuff in laundry baskets is super easy.  They hold tons of stuff, and are especially useful when you are carrying oddly shaped items (like sand toys and shoes) and bulky items (like beach towels), and great for when you arrive at your destination. You can USE the basket as your laundry basket on your trip – and then bring your dirty clothes home in it, ready to hit the wash when you return.

And one more fun tip.  Why not create a soundtrack for your trip?  I remember being on a trip with a friend in high school and her dad had a mix tape for the beach trip with all of his favorite vacation songs.  It was so fun to have a soundtrack to the vacation. We are working on our music Playlist for our vacation. It's a span of tunes including: You're the Inspiration, Careless Whisper, The Mexican Hat Dance, The Greatest Love of All, All The Good Things, and Cruel Summer.  Random, for sure.

So, here's to road trips: making memories, having fun – with yummy snacks, easy packing and a soundtrack!  Any favorite road trip snacks or tips you have up your sleeve?  Do share.