If you’ve ever traveled any fair bit of distance, whether by plane, train or automobile you know that what you have to snack can make the difference between joy and misery.  Having the right snack on a 26 hour car ride to Disney or a 14 hour flight to Hawaii can be that little bit of happiness in an otherwise miserable travel experience.

We’re not here to tell you what you like.  No one knows your tastes better than you… obviously.  But what we’d like to do is help you follow some of the rules of convenience and comfort helping you make the best snack choices that for your travel experience.

1.  CONVENIENCE IS KEY

There are few foods in this world that I enjoy more than St. Louis style BBQ Ribs.  The succulent pork drenched in bbq sauce practically falling off the bone.  I can almost taste them right now.  But as much as I might love Ribs, it doesn’t change the fact that they do not make for a good travel snack.  I know that this example might be guilty of being too obvious but I feel that it helps me illustrate the point.  When choosing your travel snack, convenience is key.  There is nothing more frustrating than making it a process to enjoy a snack while traveling.  You’re frustrated enough as you make your connections or hold your bladder until the next rest stop, why make it worse by having to fumble around your snack?  Bring along things that are pre-wrapped, easy to open and dispose of and are handy sized.   If you really want your ribs, then shave the pork off the bone dice it into bite sized pieces and put it in a tupperware container.   Just a thought…

2.  STAY AWAY FROM TOO MANY DRINKS

There is nothing, and I mean nothing more irritating that having a bad case of the wee-wee’s whiel you’re traveling.  If you’re in a car it’s tantamount to hell having to wait 45 minutes for the next rest stop.  That kind of agony can make a minute last a lifetime. It’s not only a discomfort to you but also a significant waste of time.  Each restroom stop tacks on an additional 15 minutes to your travel time.  4 stops alone adds a full hour to your trip.  And there are few things less comfortable or convenient than an airplane bathroom.  Having to get up and get by a number of seats and passengers to use an airplane bathroom can make for a long flight.  With that being said make sure that while you’re bringing yourself a drink to wash down your treats be certain not to overdo it.  This is especially important when dealing with the lemon sized bladders of children.

3.  FILL ‘ER UP

When choosing your snacks it’s a good idea to think of snacks that are both satisfying to your taste buds and will hold you over for a while.  While chocolate and candy bars make for a wonderful treat, they don’t really do much for satisfying hunger.  At least not in the long run.  Not to say you can’t enjoy a good Snickers bar, but be sure to supplement your snacking situation with something substantial.  Sandwiches are convenient and filling.  The idea with noshing is to get yourself from point A to B without being hungry the entire time.  Bringing something with you that helps you feel full is a great way to do that.

4. SALTY AND SWEET

Sometimes you might feel that you could really go for a bag of potato chips while the idea of a Reese’s Cup does absolutely nothing for you.  Transversely, there are times when all you want is a 3 Musketeers and you have no interest in Frito’s.  The idea is that basically there are two driving and predominant food groups for noshing; salty and sweet.  It’s best to have both your bases covered here because you never know when your particular hankering might call for.   Having representation for both the houses of Salty and Sweet in your repertoire will make sure that you’ve got your noshing whims can be satiated.

5.  DONT OVERDO IT

I can recall onetime on a trip from upstate New York  to Virginia, a friend and I decided to stop at a Roy Rogers on the way down.  We were starving and it was very late.  The guy manning the cashier told us that the register was closed but was extra gracious with us.  Instead of throwing out all the chicken he basically made us a smorgus borg on the spot.  We went on a 20 minute binge of fried chicken, biscuits and macaroni.  It was wonderful.  What was not wonderful were the noises and cramping created by our collective stomachs on the road about 35 minutes due South.  We had come to the realization that we over did it.  As hungry as we were, we should have made the realization that due to the car ride we shouldn’t have gone to town as whole-heartedly as we did.  When snacking during travel it’s always best to make sure to keep your noshing to a minimum.  Just enough to satisfy your hunger but not so much as to gorge yourself.