It's Works-For-Me Wednesday:  The Car Edition at Rocks In My Dryer.   Check out Shannon's site for lots of great tips!

When we go on a short road trip, eating out is a huge cost.  Therefore, we don't do it at every meal.  Following are some of the things we do in order to curb that expense.

1.  Sandwiches on the Road:    I make peanut butter and jelly or cheese sandwiches, using a whole loaf.  Sandwiches are cut in half, re-loaded into the bread bag, and ready for lunch or snack.  The little ones may only eat a half, while bigger kids may eat 3 or 4 halves.  Dh handles half sandwiches better while driving, also.

2.  Burritos:  Sometimes a simple bean burrito makes a nice filling snack or mini-meal.  I make enough for everyone to have 2 or 3.  Sometimes I do peanut butter on flour tortillas, which are also well-liked.  Dh enjoys plain tortillas, also, so a pack of those is great.

3.  Sliced Fruit:  Healthier than chips and such, although we might do those as well .  Sliced oranges or apples are easier for both little ones and hubby to handle, not too messy, and great for little (and big) appetites.

4.  String Cheese:  Great snack on the road!

5.  Granola bars, breakfast bars, pop-tarts:  the sugary snacks...well, maybe the breakfast we pack.  I usually pick up a couple of boxes to use as breakfast, and if we stay near a mini-market, we'll get a gallon of milk and eat in our room.

6.  If we plan in advance, we'll look for a motel with a continental breakfast.  Compared with eating out, a nice continental breakfast is worth the convenience and extra price sometimes.

7.  Our toddlers get really cranky after a couple of hours on the road, so by dinner time they are very ready to get out and stretch their legs.  We try to travel at night when we go somewhere in order to let them sleep, but if dinner is part of that time, we'll stop at Mickey D's or someplace with a playground so the tots can play.

8.  Given our penchant to drive at night, we often make our main eating out a mid-afternoon meal, and hungry kids can snack on healthy stuff in the evening. 

9.  Liquids:  Lots of water bottles, some juice boxes or packets, but limited. 

These are just some of the things that allow us not to go nutty on the road!  Works for me!