We just returned from a two-week road trip, and I’ll admit—I hesitated to share that. I know vacations can feel enviable if you haven’t been able to take one in a while. For many years, we hardly left the farm, and those times are still fresh in my mind.
However, one of our family goals is to give our children the opportunity to experience all that our great country has to offer. We’ve committed to trying to visit all 50 states before our oldest moves out. (He may have to live at home for a long time to make that work—haha!)
To make these trips feasible for our big family (all 10 of us!), we stick to a tight budget, and one of the biggest ways we save is by bringing almost all of our own food. On this past trip, we were gone for 14 days and only ate at a buffet restaurant twice, fast food once, and had one free hotel breakfast. Everything else? We packed it ourselves.
✅ Packing Homegrown Meats – We bring our own farm-raised meats, some of which I can ahead of time. If you don’t can, frozen meat works great too!
✅ Using a High-Quality Cooler – We take a Yeti-style cooler that keeps everything cold between stops. If you’re tent camping and won’t have access to a fridge, a good cooler will still keep everything cold if you replenish the ice as needed.
✅ Packing for One Week at a Time – Instead of packing food for all 14 days, I only pack for the first week. Midway through, we restock at a grocery store and repeat basically the same meal plan for the second week. This keeps things manageable and cuts down on packing space. (You can also adjust the template for any trip length!)
✅ Choosing Budget-Friendly Lodging – While we aren’t quite brave enough to tent camp, we stay in cabins at state parks or KOAs. This time, we tried an Airbnb for the first time. It was nice, but pricier, so we’ll probably stick to cabins.
✅ Bringing Essential Kitchen Tools – Most places we stay have basic kitchen supplies, but I always bring a large cookie sheet—it’s great for baking, serving big meals, or even prepping sandwiches.
⭐ Squeeze Bottle PB&J for the Win – I’m a big fan of peanut butter and jelly in squeeze bottles. If I have homemade jelly that didn’t set firmly, I just pour it into a squeeze bottle. I keep sandwich-making supplies near me in the car so I can pass back 30,000 PB&Js while Brian is driving. It’s tiring, but worth the savings!
⭐ The Special “Junk” Snack Bag – We take a cooler bag full of snacks, and before we leave, I make a trip to Aldi. I load up on all the things my kids never get any other time—snack-size bags of cookies, crackers, muffins, individually wrapped meat sticks, fruit snacks, oatmeal crème pies, and more. The cashier probably thinks I’m crazy, but the kids look forward to it once a year! It may not be the healthiest, but Aldi does pretty well with their ingredients, and this trick saves us a ton on fast food and whining. We just pass the snack bag around when the kids get antsy, and it buys us more miles before the next stop.
Since meal planning plays a huge role in making our trips possible, I’m sharing our actual menu plan from this past trip. It’s scaled for our family of 10, but I’ve also included blank templates so you can easily adjust it for your own family. Plus, you’ll find a grocery list with everything you need—including the kitchen tools I recommend bringing.
Whether you’re planning a spring vacation, a weekend getaway, or just want budget-friendly meal ideas, I hope this helps make your next adventure even smoother!
Have you ever packed your own food for a trip? Do you have favorite road-trip meals? I’d love to hear your ideas!
