We’re off to a wedding, a birthday party, my in-laws, and then to visit my grammy (Adriana gets to meet her Great-Grammy!) over the long weekend. This means we’re going to clock a ton of hours on the road, so I am coming prepared! Even though a lot of our meals will be made for us (such as dinner Saturday and Sunday night), I like to fill in the blanks by packing some light meals and healthy snack options to have on hand.
After I made the recipes Eric said, “Whoa, that didn’t take you long at all!” – and he was right, it took me just over 1 hour to prepare 4 recipes. Granted, I was going turbo mode, but still. I purposely selected quick and easy recipes (many are from the 2-day meal plan) which I also tend to have most of the ingredients for in my fridge and pantry. And if I don’t have all the ingredients I just improvise! So when Eric commented on how quickly the packed foods came together it struck me that this would be fun to share on the blog. I hope you’ll enjoy this glimpse into what I’m packing for a weekend away. (Keep in mind this isn’t intended to cover all of your meals – just to supplement when necessary. Feel free to tweak it as you see fit.)
What I made (click the links to the brought to the recipe!):
- Chickpea Salad with butter lettuce “wraps”
- Gazpacho (amazing for summer – no cook and super refreshing)
- Energy bites – I’m still perfecting the recipe in the photo above so rather than sharing it before it’s ready, I recommend you try these amazing Dark Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites! <—a fav!
- Vegan Overnight Oats (note: I doubled this recipe, plus added 2 extra tbsp chia seeds, and 2 small chopped bananas for more volume. If the mixture gets too thick, you can thin it with a bit of almond or coconut milk)
Not shown: I’m also packing a few of my Coconut-Cardamom Overnight Oat Parfaits for the car! If I had more time I would’ve also made a batch of my Lightened Up Summer Granola.
What else I packed:
Hummus, portable fruit, homemade maple cinnamon almond butter (or store-bought), my favourite crackers, food for Adriana. Eric says he’s bringing the Vitamix to make green monsters at his parent’s house. Who is this guy? I don’t know how we’re going to fit everything in the car…especially with a stroller, baby stuff, and my shoes for every terrain (rustic, outdoor wedding!). Should be interesting…
Tips:
– These are my go-to glass storage containers. Mason jars also work lovely!
– Pack several ice packs to ensure the food stays cool and fresh. You don’t want to arrive at your destination with room temperature food.
– Pack the energy bites on top so they don’t get squished.
– You can improvise with these recipes a lot. I make all kinds of versions of Gazpacho, the energy bites, and the chickpea salad. For this chickpea salad I didn’t have any celery so I just used a whole red bell pepper (diced) instead. It’s pretty forgiving so don’t worry!
– Pack the gazpacho in a thermos if you want to save room in the cooler. Otherwise a large 2-quart mason jar will hold the batch.
Ok, now I’m turning it over to you. Which foods do you like to pack for trips? Share your favs below!
Well guys…I seriously cannot believe it’s August 1st. *still in a 2015 time warp* I hope you are enjoying the dog days of summer. Soak it up and have a fun + safe weekend!!
How long will the Dark Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites stay fresh? Can I make a batch that will last a couple of weeks?
Hi Angela…
thanks for these helpful tips, i was planning for holidays next month. And the food is well presented , nice job. i just read your recipe of vegan oats . goona try that one first, seems delicious. Keep sharing these kind of post with us .
Hi Angela…
thanks for these helpful tips, i was planning for holidays next month. goona try vegan oats recipe first , seems delicious. keep sharing these kind of post with us. Nice Job.
Hi Scott, I’m glad you found this post helpful. Enjoy the vegan oats (and anything else you might try!), and have a great holiday!
Knowing what food to bring when traveling as a vegan has definitely been difficult for me so far but hopefully it’ll get easier over time! I went on 2 ski trips last month and both times I brought your delicious caesar dressing (HUGE hit), mac & cheese, curry lentils, black bean soup, etc. This post gave me some good ideas for my next trip!
Love the ideas! Any suggestions of what foods to pack when flying?
Thank you, Angela, for this post. This will work well especially for kids too because I find too many restaurants still use too much salt (despite at times asking for reduced salt). As for myself, I will still need to have my coffee and I use organic whole bean. Luckily, there are small coffee travel kits that would work great with this away meal plan!
We live in Europe and travel often. I pack some of the things you do along with your chickpea flour pancakes. Those are great to travel with, especially on the plane or train. I pack my lunch or travel food without cooling devices. If it’s vegan, I’m never worried about issues with food being room temp and much prefer the taste of eating room temp food vs food from the fridge or ice chest. Hummus is great at room temp as well. We just came back from a Germany to England drive with my 4 year old and lots of great vegan food, and are going to Berlin next week. Will be sure to make your bars to take along. Would love to take protein/healthy muffins too – do you have a recipe?
Awesome collection. i am going to try all this on my weekend. thanks a lots to share
Gotta say I’m impressed by this article! It has a lot of valuable information, and I’ll make sure to try those wraps. It seems like you focused on medium-budget food.
It would be great if you could spin out a cheaper version of this. I’ve tried the energy bites before, and I’m definitely gonna keep on making them!