Tell Soreen what your go-to car journey snacks are for the chance to win a £300 voucher! NOW CLOSED

[EmmaMumsnet]

It’s the season of holidays and day trips, and that means long car journeys where we have to keep the DC happy. One of the best ways to keep the DC as well as ourselves cheery on a long journey is to make sure we are armed with plenty of snacks. Whether you go for snacks that make the least mess or those that keep the little ones quiet for a while, Soreen would like to know your top snacks for long car journeys.

Here's what Soreen has to say: “Our Lunchbox Loaves - or ‘Glovebox Loaves’ - are individually wrapped, healthy and best of all they don’t make crumbs! So are ideal for in-car snacking whether you’re heading to the countryside or the zoo. Available in Malt and Banana flavour with a satisfyingly squidgy texture, Lunchbox Loaves are individually wrapped, low in fat, contain only 95 calories and provide a source of fibre.”

So what are your tips for the snacks you take on car journeys? Do you chop up fruit and veg into small pots? Perhaps you have special treats just for car journeys? Or purely go for convenience? Whatever snacks you take with you, share them below and one Mumsnetter will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck.

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs

For the car I generally stick to three rules -
Not crumbly
Not sticky / wet
Dry

I don't want something that is going to go everywhere, or leave them with sticky hands which go all over the car before I can get a wet wipe out. I anticipate crumbs but I want as few as possible and nothing that can't just be hoovered up (fruit etc which will squidge in to the car, rot if not noticed, be wet or sticky...)

Individually wrapped cupboard items are good to be kept in the car so we don't have to remember to take something, or we have something if traffic is bad/plans change and we are out longer than expected

I usually just take a packed lunch full of snacks and two sandwiches that they can nibble throughout the car journey. My daughters favourite is usually the chocolate bar so we tend to hide that until she's managed to finish her sandwiches! :-)

I pack breadsticks, dry biscuits or rice cakes and preprepared rolls with cheese or ham as we have driven to hungary and back twice which took 28 hours each way so we neded plenty of snacks, soreen mini loaves are definately something that makes it into our travelling cool bag

chocolate buttons

Breadsticks, rice cakes and oatcakes are good for nibbling if unexpected delays mean we are hungry - none of them are so tempting that we graze on them for the fun of it.

But for a planned meal on a trip, I like a proper packed lunch and on long trips do often let the children have them while we are driving. Non crumbly Doreen sounds a great idea but we also like homemade rolls with cheese or ham, fruit cake, apples, crisps and boiled sweets. And we always have a pot of chewing gum - freshens you up especially if you are getting tired

I normally take something convenient - but often will make some mini sandwiches to take. Otherwise, Mini cheese, Banana, mini soreen loaves or little bags of biscuits. Little tubes or pouches of yogurt and lots of water, because they always want drinks. I use those little containers of squash to squeeze a few drops in mineral water.

We always have variety of chewy sweets for long journeys so we dont have so many toilet breaks by drinking lots. We dont eat food in the car we have snack breaks along to give us all a break

Got to be chopped fruit in Tupperware for us. So refreshing

Mostly chopped up apple, which is what they'd normally be eating.

We always used to give bread sticks as snacks when the kids were littler. Nowadays is usually, sandwiches, crisps or biscuits and vimto to drink.
My son and I love malt loaf though so might put some in when we have the 9 hour+ drive to Cornwall soon. The others with have to stick to sandwiches.

Corned beef sandwiches are a family tradition, usually consumed within 10 minutes of setting off, if the kids have their way!

i give my kids dried mango or dried banana chips! Quick and easy....and most importantly not messy!!!

weve found wrapping toast in foil is a great one.its eases hunger but it also a comforting gentle way on the tummy especialy wen we have car sickness.
cobs are great for long journeys.
bacon rolls
fruit.
crips
dry biscuits like rich teas.
nothing that melts!!
grapes.
chopp melon or fruit salad into a tub and stick it in freezer.then you keep it contained and it deforst as you travel
snack bars

I have to pack for 3 kids and will pack what i know each of my kids would like avoids unnecessary tantrums and refusals not to mention less mess and clutter. I will pack their fave crisps, make some sandwiches and cut some fruit up. Water and drinks are given in moderation as dont want any accidents. Sweets are also there but as a last resort. I pack wafers for the little one however the big kids tend to eat them too, the healthy alternative so it suits me ;)

I just take bottles of water, sometimes some fruit or flapjack, but we tend to get something to eat when we get there.

Raisins, fruit bars, bananas, home baking, crisps and lots of water. Definitely no sugary stuff as it turns the boys into monsters.

No food in the car because the driver can't have any

Always bottles of water, sandwiches, fruit and little treat snacks!

So happy I have just come across this thread because after the horrendous journey I had on Friday on the M4 behind a burning lorry I was extremely happy I took the time out to pack "snacks" for my agitated, bored and hungry five children!!"
The key is to provide all snacks "bite size" this is because it is easy for the little ones to handle and prevents my Husband having an absolute hissy fit on my return to see the state of the car with the crumbs etc
I cut lots of fruit up and put them in air tight small containers, I read somewhere that if you added a tiny bit of lemon juice it prevented the apples going brown and it actually worked so great little tip there. I cut up some pitta breads, carrots and cucumber and bought those individual hummus pots from Tesco's. They had small bottled water with caps on The Children loved all the different foods, mess was kept down to a minimum (I had a spare plastic bag to collect all of the empties). I didn't want them munching on unhealthy foods during the road trip as this reduces energy level, I felt for the first time I had prepared and I was so pleased I did because what should have been a few hours in the car turned into a much longer trip. Now don't get me started on the whole toilet issue - I would love to see a thread on advice for that one with small children travelling!!!!

Cheesy oatcakes here. Love them and kids love them but they are so crumbly! I would love not to be able to have snacks in car but have one very strong willed and tricky 2 year old and sometimes a snack avoids a massive tantrum which would otherwise potentially make it harder to concentrate on driving. Agree that care needs to be taken however to make sure it is safe.

Breadsticks, crisps, cereal bars and bananas are our usual snacks.

I try to avoid eating snacks in the car as I don't want the mess (3 year old and 1 year old) and want to avoid choking risk if I'm driving and can't tend to them. But if we're going on a long journey I'll plan breaks where we'll stop somewhere to eat and I'll tend to take prepacked things for convenience, like small bags of mini breadsticks, organix snack bars (carrot cake one is popular), babybels/cheese sticks, raisin boxes. I sometimes make up tubs of low sugar Cheerios and raisins too.

Oh and bananas too - they come in their own packaging and are more filling than some other fruits! Perfect snack for out and about.

I always pack up snacks of fruit and tomatoes and water and then stop during the journey so that we can all stretch our legs, eat and then carry on with our journey.

I do love Soreen and will be looking out for the individual wrapped packets for my lunchbox at work :)

My kids all get terrible car sickness, think it might be as we have never had a car of our own, so when we do go on long car journeys with family (dad bought a people carrier so he could take my five children on holidays bless him!) my lot don't really eat in the car, instead, they sip water, and have toast for breakfast before we set off on the journey! However, thinking back to my childhood, myself and my brother would always have a lunchbox made up for us, we'd have peanut butter & strawberry jam sarnies, orange juice, pizza flavoured crisps, and an apple!
I feel bad that my kids only get to sip water, but believe me, five kids puking in the car all at once? It makes horror films look like an episode of The Care Bears!