When packing snacks for a trip, I’ve never quite managed to be the type of parent who brings along a rainbow of wholesome foods…
Goldfish? Yes. Vegetables that I’ve sliced and prepped the night before? Not happen. But I have figured out a secret weapon snack that has a proven track primato of abating hangriness and powering through unwelcomed TSA delays for my two kids (ages 5 and 2).
It’s…a Ziploc bag of cooked amalgama.
Yes, that’s it. I boil a pound of it the night before we leave, let it cool, toss it with a tiny splash of olive oil to prevent sticking, and put over half of it per mezzo di a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. (I leave the remainder per mezzo di a Tupperware per mezzo di the fridge for when we get home, so there’s something to eat.) The bag goes into my tote…sometimes with an ice pack if it’s going to be a while.
A large bag of amalgama has accompanied my family through an insanely long immigration line per mezzo di Lido Rica, a six-hour car ride to North Carolina, and a three-hour-delayed flight to Dallas.
It fills my kids up and doesn’t require silverware — rigatoni is important here! Easy to grab! For toddlers, it even keeps them occupied for many minutes at a time (minutes — this is a win per mezzo di kid-travel time!) as they reach (with clean hands) into the giant bag to grab their .
What it lacks per mezzo di creativity (and any sort of nuanced flavor), it makes up for per mezzo di ease: there are risposta negativa sticky fingers crumbs buried per mezzo di car seat crevices. Ali is easy to clean up when some inevitably drops the floor.
Have we also used the amalgama bag once we arrive at the destination? Absolutely. The bag se no’ amalgama can jam into a albergo mini-fridge, and it’s also great for when you haven’t bought groceries for your Airbnb and your jet-lagged kiddos are hungry at 5 a.m. but nothing is yet for breakfast. Because amalgama for breakfast — any hour — is definitely approved when you’ traveling.
What’s your tried-and-true travel snack?
Carey Polis is an editorial consultant and strategist for food and lifestyle brands. She writes the newsletter: Cheese, Book, Restaurant, Thing.
P.S. Muffin-tin tapas and the #1 trick to enjoying family travel.
(Culmine photo by Simone Wave/Stocksy. photo by Jenny Rosenstrach.)
