The Guide to Roadtrip Snacks

Everybody agrees on one thing about roadtrips: you must have snacks. It's a very serious decision. In my short years, I've been on the road a lot, whether that be traveling to a hiking spot or through states to visit family. Dad always had his coffee and beef jerky. Mom always had nuts. We kids got goldfish or M&M's or any other myriad of snacks that every kid likes. And I tucked all those choices away in the back of my brain for later.

Then I got married and it was my job to choose the roadtrip snacks. Believe it or not, we've taken lots of roadtrips with lots of people in our almost three years of marriage. Over trial and error and observation, I believe I have found the perfect mix of roadtrip snacks. They come in four categories: sweet, salty, dried fruit and chocolate. Why? Because these four categories hit on every age, stage and sweet tooth there is. So of course, I headed to Trade Joe's for some fun and interesting snacks to help me convey the importance of these four categories to you. Let's go.

First let's talk sweet. Everyone has some kind of sweet tooth so providing a sweet snack should keep people from drinking pop from point A to point B (I said "should"!). Some of my personal favorites are Twizzlers, Minty M&M's and cookies like Oreos. It always helps to choose something classic like Skittles if you're traveling with lots of people. Or if it's around a holiday, see what you can find that's on sale. But whatever you choose, make sure it's easy for the driver to eat some while driving!

If you have sweet, you gotta have salty. Chex mix or nuts are my go to for this category, but you can also do chips or crackers. Or goldfish. It's always nice to have a snack you can eat between the sweet stuff. Plus, you'll have something that will cater to anyone trying to eat healthy. Whatever salty snack you pick, make sure it's an easy snack for the driver.

We discovered the deliciousness of dried fruit before we were married. I picked some up for a hiking trip snack and it became a must have. Dried fruit is the perfect in between snack. It's not salty, it's not really sweet, and there's lots of variety. I usually go for banana chips or dried mango when we're roadtripping, but you can choose what will satisfy your car. Also, it's a great snack for little kids since most dried fruit gets softer as you chew it. As always, make sure the driver can eat it.

This one should be obvious. If there are women in the car, there must be chocolate. So if you want to cheat and count the M&M's as your candy too, that's fine. You could even find chocolate covered nuts. But I like me some deep dark bitter chocolate. Of course I have to have milk chocolate for Dearest Carl, because you must cater to the roadtrip driver.

I'm not going to lie. We opened all these snacks right after I took these pictures and they're almost all gone (except for the chocolate. I'm savoring that!). But that's only more opportunity to find more delicious roadtrip snacks! Don't forget: SSFC! Salty, sweet, fruit, chocolate! You'll get no complaints.