Nibbles for long drive through France

[YDdraigGoch]

What nibbley (sp?) treats can I make to keep us going during a long drive through France next weekend? I've already thought of flapjack. Anything else?
Nothing with chocolate in obvs, because it will just melt.

[Yonihadtoask]

Ooh, we have done this for the past few years now.

I always make up a bunch of sandwiches. Non messy fillings, such as marmite, cheese, ham etc.

the night before I freeze about 10 small bottles of water - and use them as ice blocks to go in the cool bag. They keep the sandwiches cool for longer, and defrost as you go. So hopefully by the time everyne wants a drink of water there will be some ready to drink.

I take cereal bars - they go well with a coffee at service stations. I guess adults only. Our DSs are teens though and like a cup of tea with theirs.

Apples are good. Not too messy and can be refreshing.

Crisps - but I always insist on these being eaten outside the car.

Nuts are non messy.

How about a fruit cake or banana loaf?

[UptoapointLordCopper]

Bread sticks.

Second banana loaf, or any dense cakes. (So it doesn't fall apart.)

Bananas.

Bread with things baked into it. We've done this with hotdogs. Like the stuff you get in chinese bakeries.

[goodbyeyellowbrickroad]

When we drove back from France last year I made a big frittata with what we had left in the fridge - think it was peppers, onion, courgette, ham, potato and eggs. Cooked it up the night before and sliced it up.

Yes to bottles of water (and we do Capri Suns) in the freezer to act as ice blocks.

[MarianForrester]

I agree with the suggestions so far!

Also do cold veggie sausages in rolls with salsa or ketchup.

Dried fruit and nut mix. Packet of plain biscuits to go with delicious machine coffee from French services.

Apples, crisps, jelly sweets, muffins, cold pizza slices,.

Mints too.

And make sure to take roll of cheapie bin bags, kitchen roll and wipes. I also take paper plates and cups and plastic cutlery.

Take loads more food than you think you'll need, is my advice

[Yonihadtoask]

Ooh some good tips here.

Car sweeties of course.

And yes to taking more than you think you'll need. That way you can stop off at the small services, just for toilets. The ones which serve food areoften the busiest so you can avoid that.

Looking forward tothis year's trip.

[zipzap]

I take a small tray that doubles as a cutting board and a knife with a cover, then take washed cucumber, carrots, pepper (also seeded), etc etc and chop and dish out as we drive (obviously I am not the driver at this point!). Likwise fruit - deseeded melon, pre-cored apples and pears etc although oranges can be messy.

If it's hot, melon and cucumber work well to help keep hydrated without lots of actual juice sloshing around.

I also take a packet of cheap White plastic disposable beakers (you can get a huge pack for a pound in the supermarket, you know the sort of thing that you get weak squash or lukewarm tea in at the school fete). I use them rather than plates if I'm handing snacks back to the dc to eat in the back of the car. Much easier for them to hold and less likely to get spilt. Then top up with food as required. I tend to cut things like sandwiches into soldiers rather than squares so they fit into the cups well, the kids love it as it's a silly thing to do (they're currently 8&5 - only happens on long journeys usually on holiday, so good associations) and then at the end I can just throw the cups away so no worrying about washing things clean. Not very environmentally friendly but it doesn't happen very often and you don't actually use that many.

Twiglets are good too.

I also make sure I have a teatowel with me (mostly used as a cloth across my lap to protect it), some kitchen roll and some water (topped up with tap water as necessary) so that I can dampen kitchen roll to wipe the knife clean (cover invaluable to keep it safe when not using, they have them in tk maxx for a couple of pounds usually). And also good for wiping grubby mouths and sticky fingers.

Also make sure I have a pack of smarties/minstrels/fruit pastilles/gums/etc that are exclusively used for playing 'how long can you make this sweetie last in your mouth?' game - essential for a few moments of peace amd quiet . Luckily the dc haven't cottoned on to this yet and still try to make it last as long as possible, they're happy with the sweetie and I'm happy with the peace, a win:win game!

(and if you don't want to use throwaway cups, the cheap beakers from ikea work well too with the added bonus that the plastic lids from Pringles tubes work as lids - well they did on the old ones, haven't tried them on the ones that have been around for the last few months).

Sorry this is a bit disjointed I've been doing it on the phone with lots of interruptions.

Have a lovely time in France!!

[looseleaf]

When organised enough (rare) I take homemade muffins, carrot sticks , pistachio nuts, apples, cold sausages and bread. And a plastic bag for rubbish and bottles of water. You're right to think about what you want as being prepared is so much nicer.

Love the idea of the knife and chopping board- now that's really good for fresh, healthy snacks and I may adopt that!

[MarianForrester]

Oh, those ideas are great- knife and chopping board great plan. It's nice to have some actual fresh things rather than just rubbish, and round also mean could buy yummy French cheese for way home

[YDdraigGoch]

Frittata great idea! As is freezing bottles of water instead of ice packs. Why have I never thought if that?

We do the journey regularly - just fancy ringing the changes a bit this year. You've come up with lots of good ideas, thank you.

[thereistheball]

A massive bag of crudites - chopped carrot, cucumber, red pepper - to dish out en route, or you will get to the end of the day and realise you've eaten nothing but bread.

Waitrose do mini-breadsticks which mean fewer crumbs. You can do dips to go with if you want - maybe individual tubs of humous? Or Nutella for pudding.

Apples are the least messy fruit. Otherwise I'd go with apricots or something small that doesn't drip juice everywhere.

Homemade savoury muffins - spinach, feta, red pesto? I always doa frittata for our last meal before we leave to use up everything in the fridge, so we don't want to eat it again in the car.

The fruit pastille game is a good one.

Don't forget the wipes and a roll of kitchen towel.

[thereistheball]

Oh, and yes to nuts and also a big pack of Babybels. I like the idea of the cold sausages but they wouldn't last two minutes in our car.

[Vibbe]

When we drive to my parents', we usually take a cooling bag with loads of drinks, as well as bread, lettuce, cheese and ham. Loads of fruit and some sweets/biscuits. We make sandwiches on the way, as we prefer them freshly made.
We bring plastic cups, paper plates and plastic knives. And kitchen roll/napkins and wet wipes, and a couple of bags to use as a bin.

Usually I don't have time to bake loads before going, but if I did, I'd bring pizza swirls, sausage rolls (I make them with hot dog sausages and a plain yeast dough), maybe muffins/cupcakes/cookies or anything else that's easy to eat. Mini quiches could also work.

When my parents come down here, they do the same - bring bread and whatever they want on it, as well as loads of drinks and fruit.

[ThemeNights]

Please stop all of you, this thread is making me hungry, and want to go to France for a holiday, just for the in car snacks!

[Alwaysbloodyhungry]

My goodness I want to go on a long drive now just to try out some of these fab ideas! Bottles of water as ice packs...genius! And zip zap what a good idea about the cheap plastic cups! Have jotted a few bits down thanks!

[ArabellaBeaumaris]

These ideas are great.

We do 8hr drive from the north to Cornwall, & I normally buy loads of Organix stuff (my DC are 4 & 1) to throw at them but it's a bit rubbish & makes a massive mess. Will do prep for the next trip!

[ArabellaBeaumaris]

I don't get angst about it but I do think about it as part of my general planning, I don't think that is weird? Dunno about the drive to France but we can be on the road for 2 meal times & we don't always want to stop. Plus dd2 doesn't really eat sandwiches.

[Chopstheduck]

I usually make a few treats. Get some puff pasty, roll it out and either top with slices of tomato, pesto and cheese, or sausage egg and bacon for breakfast puffs! Corn muffins are good for breakfast too.


Service station offerings in France are far nicer than UK though.

[confusedofengland]

Whatever you pack, take a leaf out of the French motorists' book and stop at a picnic area for your lunch. The French themselves often have a tablecloth to go on the picnic table, along with proper baguettes, cheese & salad. So sophisticated compared to our usual warm squashed sandwiches in a sandwich bag