Question:
What Foods can I take on the road that would last 10 hours?
Stats Girl
2016-03-20 09:23:26 UTC
My Job is very unpredictable. I travel for work, sometimes to small towns, and sometimes there aren't any accessible places to eat. Further, fast food is becoming very costly and detrimental to my health. I'm usually away from home for at least 10 hours. I'm usually too tired to do any prep work, but my motivation to eat better will hopefully compel me to prep food the day before. I need to plan for 2 lunches as well.

Any Ideas of foods that I can take with me that can last? I'm allowed to take a small cooler with me, but most of the time it won't last to the 7 hour mark.
49 answers:
C.M. C
2016-03-20 14:15:51 UTC
At times, I'm on the road for long hours, specially driving from Ottawa or Montreal to Halifax. I have a medium size cooler, and I have fruit, cheese, crackers, that sort of stuff.



I also prepare wraps with different fillings, easy to handle while driving. In the winter, I have the wide mouth thermos and have soup, or stews. That way I can pull over at a road side rest area and have a break.
baerchen80
2016-03-22 08:22:23 UTC
Mayo and any refrigerated lunch meat will spoil very quickly, if not cooled properly, and coolers mostly cannot hold appropriate temperatures for very long. If you cut canned or dried meat for sandwiches (e.g. canned ham), it will spoil as well. Cheese might be suitable, depending on its moisture content, i.e. hard cheese lasts much longer than soft or cream cheese.



Basically, anything that is stored at room temperature in your supermarket is suitable. However, beware that many canned or jarred items must be refrigerated after opening, even mayo.



If you use your cooler and plan your first lunch after five or six hours, you can make cheese or veggie sandwiches in advance with butter or a spread that is usually stored at room temperature. Salads or cooked veggies (e.g. with rice) are also good, if you keep the sauce / dressing separate. I personally don't like ready-made dressings, but do not use perishable food such as yoghurt, when you make your own dressing. You can experiment with cooked meat or other items / meals, but keeping these in a hot car in summer is risky, even with a cooler.



For the second lunch:

- canned / jarred products like fish, meat, vegetables, dips or sauces, with a couple of bagels or other bread and a fork and spoon

- whole fresh veggies (not cut) combined with "summer sausages" and or a canned / jarred dip

- whole fresh fruit (not cut) combined with nuts, seeds, dried fruit and / or granola

- some cereals and oatmeal can be made without cooking, and you can prepare it with juice instead of milk or use UHT milk. Use a plastic container for a portion of cereal, maybe with nuts and dried fruit and pour some juice on it whenever you're ready - no long prep needed.
Rli R
2016-03-27 15:07:50 UTC
You can bring a can of tuna fish, bread, hard boiled egg, and a container of that mayonnaise that squirts out the mayo and does not require refrigeration (it has a kind of slot that squirts out the mayo onto your bread. Bring a bowl. Drain the tuna, peel and chop the egg into the tuna, squirt in some of the mayo, mix well, and put on your bread. BINGO! You can bring a can of chicken also if you want something other than fish for the second meal. Both cans are small so you won't have leftovers to worry with.



You can bring fruit (like grapes or mandarin oranges) to go with that along with a bag of chips.



Just don't forget the can opener.



Hope that helps.
Karen L
2016-03-20 12:16:39 UTC
Fruit, cheese, crackers, bread, vegetables, juices, hard boiled eggs, yogurt or cottage cheese, butter, salami-type sliced meats cuts which are dry enough not to spoil quickly, salad dressing made of oil and vinegar. All those will last all day without refrigeration as long as they are not being kept at 85F all day which will make some of them melt. Try soup or things like chili or mac and cheese if they are kept in a thermos which should keep them hot enough for at least four hours. You could take anything that needs refrigeration or to be kept hot, and all you do is eat those things before they warm up or cool down. Later in the day you eat the things that will keep safely without refrigeration or a thermos.

I took sandwiches(usually cheese) with mayo in them to work for years and ate them at lunchtime (the 6 hour mark in a 12 hour day) and never had a problem. I wouldn't do that if the place I had to keep them was over 60F, but you can use a cooler so there is no reason a sandwich wouldn't last until lunchtime in almost any ambient temperature. Get juice in juice boxes, freeze them, put them in the cooler and while they thaw they'll keep everything else cool without wasting space with ice or non-edible freezer packs.

If you plan, buy the right things and maybe do some of the prep on weekends--no reason you can't put portions of things into ziploc bags ahead of time and keep them in the fridge--it doesn't need to take long to throw together the food in the morning before you leave. You can buy things such as canned fruit in portion size containers which need no prep. You just have to remember to bring them with you. Let's not use the "too tired" excuse for not eating reasonably well. My 12 hour days of physical work came with a 1 to 2 hour commute at each end. I still managed to make dinner every night.
lakegal
2016-03-22 20:19:13 UTC
Take good wholemeal bread. Peanut butter, raisins and celery is lovely on a sandwich.

Pack lots of good fruit. Some nuts (not too many). Cheese. Boiled eggs, tins of tuna.

Salads which no dressing would last well in a cooler, just dress before you eat.



Easy to make an egg, tuna, lettuce greens, celery, cucumber, tomato, olive salad. Or any option you like. Gherkins are good too and last well in their jar.



All this is much more affordable and far healthier for you. Just drink - water, tea or coffee, nothing else.
anonymous
2016-03-21 06:03:39 UTC
You can take some trail mix, some mcdonalds food, get some mcdonalds food on the way over! I am going to go to Washington DC over April break and I think I might do the same thing, you can pack some freeze dried food too! It will help you fill up! Also pack some Carnation Instant breakfast powdered drink mix it'll fill you right up!
?
2016-03-20 11:26:29 UTC
you need to get a better cooler. that will help a LOT. from there, you can prep pretty much any meal you like. I had a friend who drove a taxi and he would keep some leftover dinner in his cooler, then just pop into a gas station to microwave it and grab a drink (as long as you pay for something, they don't care if you use the microwave). he worked 12 hour shifts, and would eat lunch at about the 6 hour mark, and then he had a few snacks like cheese and meat sticks, or something light like that to munch on as well
anonymous
2016-03-20 11:03:36 UTC
Small cooler - is all you need - I make all kinds of sandwiches, leftover foods from the night before dinner etc and it sits in my desk for 5 to 6 hours before I have lunch (no cooler) after working 40 years this has never been a problem.
ckngbbbls
2016-03-20 12:17:33 UTC
If your cooler isn't lasting the 7 hour mark, you need a better one. Look for Coleman brand. A cheap way to add chill packs is freeze water in an empty 20 oz soda bottle or 2 and use them to keep things colder and you can drink the water if you run out.

The food in a cooler must be cold when you put it in there. If you store your cooler, open, inside the freezer, and then put cold food in there with either commercial chill packs or homemade soda bottle ones, the food WILL stay cold longer. My son in law packs all sorts of supper left overs in his, pint jars of milk(he uses glass canning jars) sandwiches, fruits, fresh veggies, etc. His cooler has a compartment outside of the chilled part for things like bags of chips, protein bars, etc.
?
2016-03-20 17:50:43 UTC
What you need first of all is a hot food thermos (they have a wide mouth to put the food in easily and a cup to eat it from) for the cold weather, & an esky for the hot weather food.You can take soup,stew,spaghetti & meatballs etc in the thermos and cold cuts,chicken,salad or sandwiches in the esky.An esky is a portable ice chest which goes in the car boot/trunk.You can also buy a car fridge which plugs into the cigarette lighter to keep it cold.
riversconfluence
2016-03-20 11:20:24 UTC
Fill a wide mouth thermos with hearty soup, chili, pasta, stew, chicken ala king, you get the idea.

Put some sandwiches in your cooler, pick healthy ones with lots of veggies on them. Turkey with lettuce and tomato and a bit of diet mayo [skip the margarine] would be good.

Carry cottage cheese and fruit in your cooler.

Cold salads that are hearty, like pea salad, 7 layer salad, carrot salad would be good.

Egg salad, tuna salad, chicken or ham salad, all better for you than fast food, use the mayo sparingly. Macaroni salad can be made with a protein. Go to allrecipes.com for ideas.
anonymous
2016-03-21 14:21:37 UTC
If you put gogurt in the freezer it will thaw by lunch time, of course fruits are durable. PBJ sandwiches don't need to be cool. If you have access to a microwave you can pack soups and canned spaghetti. Also if you're having problems with things not surviving in your cooler I suggest putting them in frozen. Ex. If you're packing a ham and cheese sandwich prep it and put it in the freezer the night before and then pack it in the cooler. May last longer
Salt and Peppy
2016-03-20 12:34:56 UTC
You need a better cooler if it won't last 7 hours. A cooler should keep ice frozen, as long as it is not opened, for a couple of days. So, there is no reason it shouldn't last 7 hours.
marwa
2016-03-21 13:22:15 UTC
Sandwiches
anonymous
2016-03-20 10:47:47 UTC
Instant noodles, instant cooked rice, canned food and canned vegetables. Preferable a small rice cooker or a plug in boiling pot. Just plug in and boil some water, drop in the dried noodles or rice till soften, drain the water off add your canned stuff mix well and enjoy a hot meal
kid12
2016-03-22 15:38:22 UTC
Trail Mix, well just anything that's not perishable. Cereal included. I wouldn't take any fruits or veggies since they all require a cool environment even air conditioning or ice will make them stay fresh too long.
Innocent Man
2016-03-20 09:24:24 UTC
Beef Jerky
Edward
2016-03-23 21:06:42 UTC
Pizza
?
2016-03-21 12:55:52 UTC
Figs, Dates, Raisins, Haldiram's snacks, fresh fruit, pickled herring, any type of canned meat or fish, nuts, hardboiled eggs, just about anything from the deli, the list goes on and on...
Chiralty
2016-03-20 18:09:38 UTC
Trail mix will make a great snack! Either buy it pre-made, or just mix together your favorite nuts, dried fruit, and other things that you like (pretzels, chocolate chips, M&Ms, mini crackers, Gardettos, etc)

Granola bars, breakfast cookies, or muffins would also be good.
?
2016-03-20 23:38:44 UTC
I always keep these tiny pouches of peanut butter with me and Chia seed bars to keep up my calories throughout the day. Food wise:



-Wheat thins

-Nutrition shake (Orgain has a great one that doesn't need to be refrigerated and comes in Vegan option).

-Fruit. Dried or fresh.

-Kind bars or granola bars.

-Instant Oatmeal.

-Trail Mix.

-Sandwichs
anonymous
2016-03-20 13:31:12 UTC
Pretty much anything that has been cooked and properly stored. When something has been cooked it is effectively sterile. Nothing is going to go from sterile to "Oh my god I have food poisoning" in 10 hours.
Julie
2016-03-23 20:39:27 UTC
rice
Joyce
2016-03-20 19:09:46 UTC
A sandwich, cut veggies, and fruit, and cold drinks surrounded with ice packs in a small cooler.
Ian
2016-03-24 01:01:08 UTC
Oatcakes. bombay mix. You can make your own roast chickpeas and lentils by soaking them a few hours and then roasting them in an oven, add some salt and spices to taste
Gerry G
2016-03-21 07:50:15 UTC
When on a long road trip, we take fruit, veggies, cheese, healthy bagged snacks, nuts, etc.
?
2016-03-22 05:33:18 UTC
Subs sandwich fruit any kind of dried meat (jerky slim Jim etc) any kind of snack (Twinkie Swiss roll etc) chips, pretty much anything except raw meat
?
2016-03-21 20:30:00 UTC
Fruits.
Patricia Hollins
2016-03-21 11:26:06 UTC
You should take some nuts, grapes, apples, cheese, and deli meats like slices of chicken, turkey, and roast beef with rolls.
Valerie
2016-03-22 09:13:21 UTC
Dont be like Chris Mcandless and eat wild potato plants!
?
2016-03-20 09:42:57 UTC
When i am in a journey snacks like nachos and light breakfast like veggie sandwitch helps!
denise
2016-03-21 17:31:52 UTC
get an eski box; fill it with sausage rolls, pasta salad, cous cous salad, veggie tortilla roll wraps, lift lemon tea drinks, flapjacks/cereal bars, fresh fruit, cheesestrings.
?
2016-03-21 08:39:01 UTC
loaf of bread condiments and deli meat of your choice make you a sandwich when you're Hungry cheap and easy simple
anonymous
2016-03-20 09:24:24 UTC
Two onions
anonymous
2016-03-21 13:56:14 UTC
egg salad sandwich. with a lot of mayo
mariete
2016-03-20 19:37:07 UTC
-Potato salad

-sandwhiches

-frozen sandiches

-cold soups ie progresso canned you dont realy need to microwave it
anonymous
2016-03-22 16:04:06 UTC
turkey jerkey. avocados, tomatoes, fruits, nuts, canned sardines.
?
2016-03-22 01:19:25 UTC
Sandwiches of course.



Why, what else is there?
Sharon S
2016-03-20 16:02:45 UTC
fruit, veggies, beef jerky, candy, snacks
anonymous
2016-03-21 01:45:37 UTC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R_1g3wjP98
Clifford B
2016-03-21 05:30:58 UTC
Whatever you like.
Rita
2016-03-22 19:30:43 UTC
pizza
The Photo Kid
2016-03-23 17:36:29 UTC
CANNED ITEMS....CRACKERS...SANDWICHES...THERMOS WITH HOT WATER TO MAKE RAMEN....BREAD...FRUIT...
Benjamin
2016-03-21 22:03:59 UTC
pizza
anonymous
2016-03-20 09:29:48 UTC
huy
Clarence
2016-03-23 21:21:41 UTC
hotdog
Val
2016-03-24 04:30:29 UTC
maybe pasta
?
2016-03-22 05:40:28 UTC
i don't know
anonymous
2016-03-20 10:55:04 UTC
picnic food!!!???!!!


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