Feeding Your Very Hungry Family—No Matter Where You Are

By Paula Farris

Long periods of time in the car, disrupted schedules, either not enough sleep or perhaps too much sleep—all of these can lead to a restaurant disaster when dining with children. Of course you could just grab some microwave sandwiches or a hot dog at a convenience store, but that isn’t the best tasting alternative and probably won’t fill you up for very long. There is also the choice of a fast food place, maybe one with a playground, but fast food can get expensive and boring after awhile. Room service, pizza delivery—nah! So how do you feed your hungry brood while you are on the road or staying in a motel?

Here are a few ideas:

On the Road Dining

[Excerpted from the book "101+ Ways to Enjoy the Journey as Much as You Enjoy the Destination" by Paula Farris]

Instead of stopping at ANOTHER fast food place for lunch, make a mealtime assembly line. Serve wraps instead of sandwiches (fewer crumbs). Have one person hold the tortilla, the next person spreads it with the topping, the next person rolls it up, and the next person puts it on a plate with the side dishes. Here is a list of possible fillings:

Peanut Butter & Jelly
Chicken Salad
Sliced Turkey with Avocado Dip and Swiss Cheese
Crumbled Bacon mixed with Mayo, Lettuce & Tomatoes

Prepare your fillings before leaving home and preparation will be easy. Make sure you have a way to keep cold food like mayonnaise cold.

Fruit and cookies make great sides.

A word of caution if you are driving it is best to stop and find a place to enjoy your meal instead of eating in the car. It is safer, more fun, and creates less of a mess in your vehicle. With a little advanced planning or perhaps some questions at a gas station you may be able to find a park to stop and play at for awhile. This will help burn off energy, keep the blood circulating in your legs and help the driver stay alert.

Hotel Room Dining

Sometimes we do it to save money. Sometimes we do it because taking overly tired children into a restaurant does not sound like the way to have an enjoyable vacation. And sometimes we do it because if we have to eat another burger with fries we may just go on a hunger strike instead! J Whatever the reason, it seems that eating meals in a hotel room can only lead to a mess. You may not have a refrigerator or a microwave and the only place to wash dishes is usually the bathtub. Here are a few suggestions to help you to minimize motel room meal messes.

Serve wraps instead of sandwiches. Using a tortilla instead of bread not only saves packing space, but it also minimizes crumbs. And tortillas aren’t as likely to get squished as a loaf of bread is.
Everything from bowls to knives can be bought in a disposable form nowadays. While you may not choose to use these items at home they may be the perfect solution to washing your dishes in a bathtub that has been used by many different people.
For a fun treat serve breakfast cereal in plastic bags with a cup of milk to drink. You might even splurge on the sugar kind.
If you have a microwave you could just serve TV Dinners to everyone, but keep in mind that you will probably be limited to only warming one at a time. This could make dinner time last an hour or longer. Here are some alternatives:

Baked Potatoes complete with butter, sour cream, chives & bacon bits
Fry some bacon for BLT’s
A Family Pack Frozen Meal. These come in a variety of microwaveable choices.
Quesadillas served with chopped lettuce, sliced tomato, sour cream, guacamole, chopped green onions & sliced olives

For a list of a ten motel meal menus (some with recipes!) subscribe to our travel tips newsletter.

While eating on the run may be convenient make sure you do it safely! This article will give you some additional tips on staying safe while on the road.

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Mesa, AZ 85201
Paula @ StressFreeFamilyTravel.com