Why are kid friendly travel snacks so important? Why not the general snacks that everyone consumes? Well, when you travel with the family, particularly when you travel with kids, it is very important to be prepared to travel efficiently. And one of the major aspect of traveling efficiently with kids is to keep them well fed. You don’t want a hungry and cranky kid to ruin your travel moments. Also, you have to take care of their health while you travel.
It may look natural to fall back on processed snacks and takeout foods. However, relying on unhealthy meals and snacks during a long journey can not just decrease the energy levels of your kids but also make them feel exhausted once you reach the destination. So, the key is to bring nutritious snacks that can help keep your kids fit, happy, and energized throughout the journey. Therefore, the best way to choose kid friendly snacks is to check if you are not just stuffing lots of pre-packaged and processed food.
So, for your next trip, try to make some delicious kid friendly travel snacks at home and purchase a few nutritious pre-packaged items for effortless and good-for-kids snacking.
Speaking from experience
Even Abhishek & Neha put a lot of thought into the snacks for their kid when traveling. And that is how it has been possible for their kid to travel to so many destinations at such a small age. Including a 2 weeks trip to Europe during winter spending 6 days in Italy across Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice & then 4 days in Switzerland covering Bern, snow filled Mount Titlis, Lucerne, Grindelwald, Interlaken. Then 3 days in Paris, including Disneyland. Finally Amsterdam & Keukenhof Tulip Gardens. In fact, some of these days were hectic & long.
The kid has also traveled extensively in India. She has been to the Himalayas visiting Shimla & Manali at age 1.5 years. And then to Palampur in heavy winter of Februrary. She has explored the coastline of India across Mahabalipuram, Goa & Andaman Islands and also been to the arid and extreme climate of Rajasthan covering Jaipur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer & Jodhpur. All this won’t have been possible without good planning of meals when they travel & a great emphasis of healthy meals & snacks for the kid.
Homemade Snacks
You might think that taking healthier kid friendly travel snacks on a journey needs a lot of preparation in advance. As a result, you might opt for some tempting processed snacks like candy, tinned vegetables, or some chips. However, making and packing homemade items for your tour can be much more comfortable than you imagine.You hardly need a few essentials such as a tiny cooler with ice packets, a collection of picnic utensils, and a handful of simple ingredients. Thus, contrary to the belief, you don’t need to spend much time doing the preparations. Let’s take a look at some of these affordable, wholesome, and delicious on-the-go snacks ideas for kids.
#1 Fresh Fruits
Fresh fruits contain many essential nutrients including antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals; which makes them a perfect travel snack for kids. Apples, oranges and berries can provide an adequate amount of energy. Make a list of fruits that you want to take on a trip and cut them into smaller pieces as required. Make sure you pack them correctly, preferably in a food container. You should prefer taking fruits like plums, blueberries, apricots, grapes and cranberries. Moreover, it is necessary to avoid fruits that leave waste behind, such as watermelon or orange. Basically, fruits that can be eaten as a whole will be a perfect choice for your kid friendly travel snacks list.
#2 Trail Mix
Carrying a mixture of nuts and dried fruits as one of the kid friendly travel snacks is a good idea. You might think that trail mix is ideal only for the adventurous tours or hikers. It is a pure myth. In fact, you can carry trail mix during any regular trip. Trail mix provides everything that any traveler wants in a snack: simple to carry, high in protein, and crunchy. You can make this snack slightly salty or slightly sweet; however, it depends on the variety of nuts and dry fruits you choose. You just need to make sure that the mixture doesn’t turn too high in sodium or sugar. Salted cashews and pistachios can be made at home easily. And they are a favorite amongst kids. So are walnuts and raisins.
You can make small portions of such trail mixes or dry fruit mixes and grab one on your travel. They can be eaten anywhere. be it on a road trip, or a plane, or while even standing in queues while at entrance to museums and parks. And they are like the best healthy instant energy sources that your kid can have. Thus they make for one of the best kid friendly travel snacks.
#3 Granola and Yogurt
Taking ready-to-eat healthy foods can help you adhere to a nutritious diet during the journey. It is because you can reach for them quickly when you are hungry; thereby keeping you away from unhealthy snacks and fast foods. Granola and yogurt provide calcium and vitamin D. Therefore; it is preferable to add them to your list of travel snacks. Your kids will enjoy this treat as it tastes like a dessert. Prefer Greek yogurt. To get the kids interested one can also try various flavored yogurt which come mixed with fruit extracts and flavors. You can pick the organic varieties for the best results.
#4 Whole Grain Biscuits and Crackers
You should also keep the snacks that contain carbohydrates. They can instantly make your kid’s stomach feel full. For this, whole grain biscuits or crackers seem to be an excellent option. When buying the best snack crackers for your kids, make sure you check the list of ingredients or the panel of nutritional facts. There should be written “100% whole grain” or something alike. Also, it shouldn’t contain a high amount of added sugar. The whole grain snacks also keep your kids away from the sugary snacks such as cakes or pre-packaged cookies.
#5 Banana Quesadillas and Peanut Butter
Tortilla filled with tasty ingredients, cheese, or peanut butter is more tempting than regular bread. Also, these are thinner and softer to cut into small pieces which makes them perfect for little hands. Put corn tortillas in a toaster oven and let it warm lightly so that it will get a crispy feel. After that, spread some peanut butter, cheese, or any other form of nut butter on each piece. Place sliced bananas within, and that’s it!
#6 Fresh Vegetables
Fresh vegetables are perfect for both the short and long trips. Travel-friendly veggies include snap peas, roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli florets, celery sticks, carrots, and cherry tomatoes. The veggies are perishable so make sure you keep them in an insulated cooler so that you can enjoy their freshness throughout the journey. But they make for an extremely healthy option during the beginning of your trip. Particularly for road trips of up to half day or short flights, vegetables make for a perfect kid friendly travel snacks option.
Final Words
Whether you’re traveling within the state or going abroad, these nutritious snacks are all easy to carry. You can add own favorites to this list. Just think a little bit and make use of ingredients that you already have around the kitchen. You can make simple finger foods, potato chips, bagel chips, mango popcorn balls, or something else that can make your kids happy. What type of snacks do you prefer while traveling? We are always on the hunt for new ideas. Share your travel snacks ideas and tips in the comment box below.
Author Bio
This is a guest post by James and the team at SmileTutor. They run a tuition in Singapore. They provide necessary tips and guidance to motivate kids and their parents in all aspects of education. You can also find them on Facebook.
Some other kid friendly travel resources that you might be interested in:
Traveling to Europe with a kid
Kids friendly things to do in Sydney
Travel friendly products for your kids
PS: Some of our links are affiliated, this means we will earn a commission when you buy a service or product by clicking those links. However, this will have no extra cost for you.
Haha even though I am not a mum I most definitely will prepare some off these thank you for the tips the food looks bomb 🙂
Thank you Lorena. Definitely it works for the adults as well
These 6 kid friendly travel snacks are really healthy and looks really luscious. I’m not a kiddo anymore, but from time to time I still love eating these snacks, and even sometimes, it is what I eat for dinner, especially the Granola and Yogurt. Anyway, the trail mix is what we eat whenever we trek to the mountains, sometimes we add some more nuts. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Thank you! The snacks are good for kids as well as adults
Great tips on snacking options. Dont have any kids travelling with me but I’m sure going to pack these for myself hahah ;).
It sure will work for you too 🙂
As a long-term traveler, I bring most of the things you mention. Because I want to stay within my limited daily budget, I am able to save by eating out only 2-3 times per week. Every time I go out, I bring with me some fresh fruits, whole grain sandwiches with lots of vegetables, and nuts and dried fruits. Not only does doing so make extend my dollar, but it also keeps me healthy by helping me avoid fast-food products. 🙂
Thats a totally great way to travel around the world. Do you always stay in apartments, since you are able to cook most of your meals?
A very interesting post on travel snacks. With a spurt in family vacations, this post gains a lot of importance. I think yogurt plays a very important role in improving digestion after a long flight.
Thanks Ambuj. Yes, you are absolutely right.
I’m not a mum so haven’t really had to prepare for this yet, but it’s a great post with lots of really cool ideas. I always keep some homemade mix in my bag – dried fruit and nuts and often with some seeds because they give me energy for travelling – I can see that they would be really useful for kids too!
Definitely. I guess we can also do with such snacks
The trail mix is an evergreen in my case. Even I use it every now and then. Gets enough protein, fibre and energy into the system. Also, is light on the stomach. The peanut butter for the kids somehow always becomes gooey when traveling. Love the other ideas.
These snacks definitely fit for us adults as well. Do you have an alternative to peanut butter?
Exactly how I love to eat.
I love these snack ideas (and I don’t even have kids)! I’ll definitely be giving these a try …. whether I’m on a trip or at home, especially the banana quesadillas and peanut butter 🙂
Definitely. These will be as good for us adults as well.
These are so simple but easily forgotten. I’m guessing it’s so easy to eat unhealthily when travelling with kids. Good tips
Yes, when traveling, it’s so easy to get all those packaged junk foods and feed yourself with that. While it becomes challenging to eat healthy
Great selection for adults too on the road. Also it is a very good variety to hopefully have something for everyone to squash their hunger.
Thank you Sherrie
Dry fruits mix and chocolates always comes to our rescue. As Indians, we also carry foods like Thepla and Khakra which makes life for vegetarians very easy. The Thepla lasts for about 3-5 days depending on the conditions we travel. Trust me this post works for every adult too 🙂
Thats great to know Preethika. I would love to try some Thepla recipe. My kid actually likes khakhra. She eats it with dips on our travel
You couldn’t have written this post less. I’ve come across parents who find it difficult to tag their children along because they just don’t feel the aspect of catering for their feeding expenses. Here we have homemade recipe for snacks and traveling with kids is made easy. On a different note, we need Adult-friendly travel snacks post too. Thanks for this guide.
Thanks a bunch Lydia. I guess almost all of these snacks are adult friendly as well. And it’s really good to keep our bags ready with some handy snacks. As I write this reply to your comment, we are on an airport, with our flight delayed by hours. Good that I had packed a bunch of snacks with me on this journey and I don’t have to worry about what to feed my family while we wait for the flight.
This is a lovely post! These food are not only great for kids, but for grown ups as well. it is so important to stay healthy while travelling. I usually pack dry fruits during the travel. Now I would like to try the others too!
You are right. It is so very important to keep healthy while we travel, and the more we travel, the more important it becomes to keep healthy since we are going to spend more and more time outdoors.
This article is really good that have a uniqueness. A mom should read this article to understand a Mom should know Snacks for Travel.
Thanks Sophia!
These snacks are good not only for children but also for adults. In fact some of these have been our saviours, especially when we are travelling overseas. A favourite is of course a dry fruits mixture and chocolates that stand us in good stead.
Agree. We also used almost all of these for ourselves between meals or when getting delayed for meals, particularly on our trip abroad
This will be very handy soon when we start traveling with my daughter! I’d really admit that often when I am traveling, I usually buy unhealthy food as it seems more convenient. But that’s so far from the truth! Glad to have read your blog! Definitely stacking up some yogurt, fresh fruits and crackers!
Thanks Marvi. We also used to do the same in the beginning, but as the frequency of our travel increased, we also realized it’s not going to work this way. We will loose our health in the long run. So, snacking on fruits, dry fruits, whole grain bars and home made snacks is becoming the trend for us
i love that the ingredients in this list are accessible from the grocery shops around our area, also very healthy! i’d pack any of these in a heart beat!! and I did one last saturday by the way!!
Wow..great to know that! Way to go
I’m not a mom, but the photo of the fruit bowls, that lured me in haha… I just finished a pack of instant noodles then I read this and now I feel guilty. I really should be minimizing my exposure on processed food, it’s unhealthy. I think your post is applicable to people of all ages so definitely, I’d be taking note of your tips, especially for me. When I travel I tend to forget about healthy diet because I’m all about sampling the local cuisine. I think I should be more careful about what I eat from now on, even when I travel, so I am not wasting all of my effort into trying to live a healthy life.
Thats great that it is on the top of your mind and you resolve for a healthier life with healthier eating habits. Actually, in today’s world, we are so surrounded by these unhealthy yet tempting options of food that it is really not easy to keep a resolve towards healthier food. But we have got to do that to be able to maintain good health
These dishes look so pretty and healthy. But how do you convince kids to eat them?
It’s about developing the taste in them from the beginning. If they eat these kid of homemade foods at home, it won’t be difficult for them to eat them while on the way