Vacation Snacks

MsCzar

Planning a quick 4 day summer getaway in the U.S. What are some good suggestions for foods to keep in the car, a backpack and at the hotel? There will be some hiking and sailing along with much walking.
I plan to fly in and immediately hit a grocery or superstore between airport and hotel.
A case of water for sure... and then? I am looking for volume munchies rather than something like a protein bar that will be gone in four bites and cost me ~200 calories.

edited to add: I chose a property with a full kitchenette, so I will be able to make breakfast each day and prep some to-go foods.

Idontcareyoupick

I love taking jerky

AnnPT77

If it's a good sized grocery, some options would include mini Kind bars (90-100 calories), crispy chickpeas or lentils (most stores have them in larger bags you can portion into your own small carry-along container), dry roasted soybeans, dried fruit. Some of those are not "volume" but are - for me - quite filling for their physical size, especially with water alongside.

YMMV, but personally I like a refillable water bottle with a shoulder strap for a lot of outdoor activities. I clip one of those (non-climbing) inexpensive carabiners on the strap, can use that to secure the bottle to packs or whatever, plus around any convenient post/pole/thwart/etc. on watercraft. Good for the plane, too: I put it in my carry on, take it through security empty, fill it inside the airport's secure zone.

ldaltonbishop

Trail mix in individual packages.
For low-calorie volume, baggies of sliced cucumbers or carrots. If I eat a whole medium carrot I'm satisfied for awhile. (I wash but don't peel them).
Air-popped popcorn or bags of Skinny Pop. You can't go crazy but two cups is about a hundred calories.
Jars of peanuts or other nuts to share. These are calorie dense so you can't eat a lot at a time, but the nutrition is good and nuts keep well, and an ounce of peanuts, eaten individually, makes lots of bites.

MsCzar

I will fly with only a backpack and don't know if there will be room for a reusable water bottle. Maybe. Refill opportunities are not as abundant as they were before Covid and touristy areas might not offer water fountains if money can be made from selling water at $3+ a bottle. Plus, I will be able to freeze water bottles and use them as chillers.

Before I go, I may try that brown paper bag method of popping corn in the microwave. If it doesn't burst into flames, that might be a good option. I will definitely buy nuts, carrots and celery. Thanks!

ldaltonbishop

MsCzar wrote: »

Before I go, I may try that brown paper bag method of popping corn in the microwave. If it doesn't burst into flames, that might be a good option. I will definitely buy nuts, carrots and celery. Thanks!

That's a little terrifying. I see a collapsible silicon microwave popcorn popper on Amazon that might travel well -- a safer alternative. I might get one, myself, as the air popper is so loud!

AnnPT77

ldaltonbishop wrote: »

MsCzar wrote: »

Before I go, I may try that brown paper bag method of popping corn in the microwave. If it doesn't burst into flames, that might be a good option. I will definitely buy nuts, carrots and celery. Thanks!

That's a little terrifying. I see a collapsible silicon microwave popcorn popper on Amazon that might travel well -- a safer alternative. I might get one, myself, as the air popper is so loud!

For home use, a plain pyrex (or other tempered glass) covered dish works fine in the microwave. You can tell when the popcorn's ready from the pop rate. Even a microwave-safe bowl with a plate on top would probably work.

This is probably not a great solution on vacation, not very packable.

MsCzar

Love my Pyrex glass microwave popper with the silicone lid. But yeah - not for travel. While convenient, I'm not too crazy about all the chemicals in the microwave pre-packaged stuff.