Today's Munchkin Meals is an unofficial one, as the link-up host, A Healthy Slice of Life, is a bit overwhelmed at the moment. It will be back in two weeks with a picnic theme! I can't wait!
As if traveling with a 9-month-old (and all of their necessary gear) wasn't stressful enough, adding a long road trip with enough baby food to last a week nearly sent me over the edge.
We were facing a 350-mile road trip, which takes approximately 7 hours, without factoring in traffic and rest stops. I debated bringing bottles of pumped breastmilk to cut down on rest stops, but in the end, never got around to pumping the extra milk (I work from home part-time, and aside from a small stash in my freezer for emergencies, I only pump when needed).
We only ended up making 3 rest stops for nursing, bathroom breaks and refueling the car. We got down there in about 8 ½ hours. Liam did much better than I thought he would, napping at his regular times, and aside from one mishap with a pouch of mango puree, eating well in his car seat.
During the week, Liam amazed his Grandmom and Pop-Pop with how much food he could put away. Breakfasts included fruit: either a 4.22-ounce pouch of Plum Organics fruit puree, or a whole banana (sliced, of course), half a peach, a whole plum, a whole kiwi, or a mix of blueberries and strawberries, etc., and either two scrambled eggs, or a pancake, a slice of French toast, or a Trader Joe's multi-grain waffle.
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| Do I have something on my face? |
Most days, he would have a snack of Greek yogurt with diced fruit, or graham crackers and Cheddar cheese.
Lunch would include chickpeas and cut-up roasted bell peppers; fingers of whole wheat toast with slices of cheese and shredded turkey; my dad's fruit salad, cut into baby-size pieces (watermelon, canteloupe, honeydew, and pineapple); or penne pasta with Parmesan cheese.
Dinner was tiny meatballs of ground chicken, turkey or lean beef or about two ounces of baked salmon, with steamed cut-up vegetables (green beans, peas and carrots, chopped broccoli or cauliflower, or squash).
How did I transport all of this food on an 8 ½-hour road trip? The non-perishables (dried pasta, graham crackers, Plum Organics Puffs, Happy Tot yogurt melts, etc.) were packed in a paper Trader Joe's bag.
I insist on buying some products organic (mostly items from the Dirty Dozen list), and I bought those ahead of time at Trader Joe's, along with their frozen multi-grain waffles. For those perishables, I bought an insulated tote cooler (to be re-used when we get home for multi-store grocery trips) and ice packs. I also bought a few frozen 10-ounce packages of vegetables (it's easy to use a fork or butter knife to chip away about 2 ounces of frozen veggies without thawing and cooking the whole package at ounce, then I just re-wrap in the original packaging and seal with plastic wrap), and those acted as additional freezer packs.
I bought the remaining fresh fruits once we got down there. There are several Food Lions and Harris Teeters down at the Outer Banks.
Liam really seemed to enjoy his first vacation, and though his sleep suffered, he ate quite well while we were down there.