Whenever our family travels on long road trips, our go to road snacks, or padkos as most of our South Africans call it, is a container of sandwiches and 2 litre bottles of soft drink.
There is something about tucking into a home cooked meal that makes it all so thrilling.
With the number of innovative ideas that are created almost everyday, you can say no to boring sandwiches and fizzy drinks. What I love about padkos is that it is cost effective. Take a family of five who stop to refuel at a pitstop. Many of them spend hundreds of rands to buy take out food that is not very healthy. By the time they are done, they are left feeling miserable, tired and lethargic, which are not good signs when you have a long journey ahead.
I used to do the same when I went on long solo journeys until I realised that the junk food I put into my body made me feel terrible after I ate it.So now I pack a little lunch box on my trips. With padkos you can have it anywhere you like. Did you see a beautiful patch of land overlooking a dam or maybe a popular garden along the route that offers picnic sites that would be nice to share some snacks? The sceneries you choose to take a bite of your food will help lighten your mood and leave you feeling refreshed.
To top it all, it is another way to create those fun family memories. At first when I started packing my own padkos, I struggled as I did not know where to start. Questions like, would this be enough? Is this a lot? What if I do not eat it? popped into my mind. Then I realised that I should pack food that I love and that will give me the added boost I need when conquering the road before me. The first step is to make a list of how many stops there would be and how long you want to spend at that spot.
That will determine the amount of food to take with. I usually pack a some soup in colder weather or a salad in summer months. Sandwiches can be transformed with the number of nifty ideas online, besides who doesn't like a bit of adventure on their food. Fruit and water are essential as it can help as a snack while on the journey.
Add a packet of nuts as the brain food is divine to snack on.
Try not to pack your bag with copious amounts of junk food or energy drinks. Not only is it unhealthy, but dangerous for your health too. When packing padkos, remember to have fun with your food. You can have a three course meal if you want to, it's all up to you.All this padkos makes me want to plan a road trip.