Bringing our own food never works

[Momto2boys973]

Since I keep kosher, I always have to take my own food for road trips. Those are all very good tips.
I don’t know if OP is planning for the road trip alone or to have meals throughout the whole trip. I plan to take dishes that freeze well, so that most of the stuff I pack in the cooler helps to keep it cool.

Use block ice as the main source use cubes to fill and add frozen water bottles. They are way better than ice and they last longer. Also when you pack put the containers inside a freezer bag and seal. Keeps the water out. Remember cold air also will drop to the bottom of the cooler so you want the items you need to keep the coldest on the bottom. So for me I do a layer of the block ice (usually I freeze ice in a rectangular container and place the whole thing in the bottom), then the items I want to keep the coldest. Followed by the frozen water bottles, then the cubes to fill the cooler, and foldable ice bags on top (or sandwich bags with frozen water - not the best option but will work) Try to limit the amount of air. I am not a camper but we take coolers to highland games and at the end of the day everything is still really cold, and the ice, and water bottles are still frozen for the most part.

[Quorra2.0]

I think all our coolers have been either igloo or Coleman. Never really had a problem. Dh usually starts “cooling” the coolers a day or 2 early with ice packs and ice blocks he makes with my sheet cake pans. We double seal everything. We also use a few ice chests a smallish one for fruit/vegetables that only have ice packs and frozen water bottles. A smallish one for beverages that anything that doesn’t have to be kept cold is added to as needed. Then a large one for all other cold items. I leave anything like meats that’ll be used later frozen, put containers in large freezer bags or put items into a freezer bag then into a plastic container.

[Pjmm]

I brought a cooler with me. But mainly I didn’t buy a lot of food until I got to the cabin I was staying at. I do like the suggestions the ladies had here. We just have an inexpensive cooler. We put ice in zip lock bags and brought deli meat, peanut butter, easy to carry food, all also in zip lock bags. It was helpful because one hotel we were at had horrible restaurants around. So we just ate sandwiches. But again we didn’t buy the bulk of our groceries until we were near the cabin. Then we didn’t have to transport them far.

[KendallsMom]

Our road trips always include stopping at restaurants along the way! That's DD'S favorite part!

No advice but have fun!

[Anonymous 3]

We have a power inverter for dh's truck. We take our vaccum sealer with us & reseal the bags of food.

[RIZZY]

Y'all are the best! I'm leaning towards getting a Yeti for the main cooler and using ice packs or dry ice in the coolers we already have.

[MonarchMom]

I use a soft cooler and bring most items already cooked and frozen. We've done great bringing chili and pre-cooked rice, frozen pesto and tomato sauce (just boil up the pasta) hard boiled eggs, baked ziti, frozen burgers, and cheeses. I usually bring oatmeal portioned out to cook at the rental, pasta, potatoes to microwave and serve with canned refried beans and cheese, and lot's of homemade cookies. We just pick up fresh fruit, salad and dairy when we get to the destination.

[Anonymous 1]

Y'all are the best! I'm leaning towards getting a Yeti for the main cooler and using ice packs or dry ice in the coolers we already have.

Careful with dry ice you need a dry ice ready cooler and it can freeze your food my parents learned that one the hard way.

[madfoodie]

Does anyone else have this experience?

When I plan road trips, we try to save money by bringing food and snacks with us. Or, we'll go grocery shopping once we get there. With the exception of snacks and fresh fruit, my plans never feel like they work out. Last time, I didn't pack the cooler right and the chicken salad mix got flooded with water. The time before that, we had a poor quality cooler and a lot of the food spoiled. Another part of the problem is that I can't eat carb-rich foods and I have to have a lot of fresh veggies but I get tired of celery and carrots.


I'm planning a two month road trip for next summer. What are your best tips and tricks? What is the best cooler??

I reduced carbs for health reasons and am on a Whole Foods diet. I found some really good vegetarian and Whole Foods recipes. That being said igloo.

[Inmybizz]

Does anyone else have this experience?

When I plan road trips, we try to save money by bringing food and snacks with us. Or, we'll go grocery shopping once we get there. With the exception of snacks and fresh fruit, my plans never feel like they work out. Last time, I didn't pack the cooler right and the chicken salad mix got flooded with water. The time before that, we had a poor quality cooler and a lot of the food spoiled. Another part of the problem is that I can't eat carb-rich foods and I have to have a lot of fresh veggies but I get tired of celery and carrots.


I'm planning a two month road trip for next summer. What are your best tips and tricks? What is the best cooler??

I reduced carbs for health reasons and am on a Whole Foods diet. I found some really good vegetarian and Whole Foods recipes. That being said igloo.

I trying to change my diet.. Can you post the recipes or website?