Trade in boring chips and questionable granola bars for healthier, homemade road trip snacks guaranteed to cure the “are we there yet?” travel woes. 

Summer makes us think of sunshine, which makes us think of the beach, which makes us think of road trips, which makes us think of grumpy (read: hungry) passengers. But just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean you have to resort to questionable take-out or vending machine snacks. With a little pre-road trip food prep, you can set off on your summer 2017 adventures well equipped to deal with stomach rumblings, traffic jams, and grumpy children.

Just remember to pack the sunscreen, and let us take care of the rest.

1. Trail Mix

There’s no right or wrong way to compose your own nutty, seedy, and slightly sweet trail mix. But if it were up to us, we’d opt for the following:

Nuts (3/4 Cup Each):  Roasted walnuts and roasted almonds

Seeds (1/2 Cup Each): Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds

Dried Fruit (3/4 Cup Total): Dried cranberries, cherries, or raisins

Extra Something Sweet (1/2 Cup Each): Coconut flakes and dark chocolate chunks

Not only is it easy to create your own trail mix at home (literally just toss everything in a bag), but it’s far less expensive than buying the store bought kind. Oh — and if you do decide to toss in some chocolate, be sure not to leave the trail mix in a hot car. (Don’t say we didn’t warn you!)

2. Three-Ingredient Cookies

Other cookie recipes may claim to be easy, but they pale in comparison to these 3-ingredient, 15-minute treats. With natural sweetness from the bananas and a punch of protein from the nut butter, this healthy snack goes the extra mile to keep hunger at bay while you travel.

Ingredients:

• 2 Ripe Bananas
• 2 Cups Quick Cooking Oats
• 1/2 Cup Natural Nut Butter (Peanut Butter, Almond Butter, or Cashew Butter)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Mash bananas in a bowl with a fork.
3. Add oats and nut butter. Mix well.
4. Drop spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Press down gently with a fork.
6. Bake until cookies are slightly browned and firm, about 15 minutes.

3. Baked Veggie Chips

There’s nothing quite like the crunch of a salty potato chip en route to the beach. To elevate your plain old chips from meh to marvelous, try using sweet potatoes or beets instead. Get the super simple recipe here.

4. Cashew Bliss Balls

Hungry summer road trippers, meet bliss balls. Bliss balls, meet hungry summer road trippers. We think you two will get along just fine.

This no-bake, 4-ingredient snack contains all the wholesome, naturally sweet ingredients we love without the long ingredient list we don’t. But the best part about it all that they’ll give you a boost of energy without the dreaded sugar crash two hours later.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Pitted Dates
• 2 Cups Raw Cashews
• 1.5 Cups Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
• Toppings (Shredded Coconut, Cacao Powder, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Chopped Pistachios)

Instructions:

1. Soak pitted dates for 10 minutes until softened.
2. Blend all ingredients until it reaches a dough-like consistency.
3. Shape into balls.
4. Roll balls in whatever toppings you’d like.
5. Store in an airtight container.

5. Flavored Popcorn

Your favorite movie night snack is officially going on a summer road trip. Whip up some popcorn in advance, toss it with your favorite sweet or salty toppings, and bask in the knowledge that there’s something oh-so-delicious hiding in the glove compartment. Get the recipes here.

Now, if you want to bring HelloFresh on your road trip, we’ve made it ridiculously easy to change your delivery address — two minutes max-kinda easy. Here’s how:

• Log in to your account.
• Hover over your name in the upper right-hand corner and select Settings. 
• Select Manage next to your active plan.
• Go to Delivery and payment, then click Edit next to Delivery address. 
• Make necessary changes, then click Save. 

Just be sure to change it back to your home address when you return, otherwise some very lucky vacationers will be receiving the following delivery.

Opting for a staycation instead? Invite some friends and family over for dinner! Serve any of these five quick and easy appetizers or potluck recipes for guaranteed entertaining success.