This morning I read a story about a bear destroying a car because of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/24/bearjacking-sandwich.html

Obviously, PB&J's are bad luck.

Dried fruit, crackers, pretzels, tamari almonds - also the trader joe freezer padded shopper keeps things cool for about 3 hours so that's good for some drinks or other perishables until you get to the next good stop with a store, cafe or deli.
As for eating in my car, feel free to go wild unless you are someone who spills a lot or gets sick in cars.

Nuts, string cheese, fruit (dried and fresh), jerky, crackers, branston pickle and cheddar sandwiches, some good chocolate, and lots of water gets us through many road trips.

I also try to bake up a few treats for the trip too...scones (sweet and savory) for the a.m. and tea time, cookies or bars for later, and maybe some mini coffeecakes or chinese roast pork buns for whenever. And always a thermos filled with hot tea.

Packing tasty food helps to mute the siren song of all that enticing junk at truck stops and gas stations. But not always completely. Sometime those Cheetos just have my name on them. And then I can't very well eat Cheetos without a Coke, can I?

Pressed sandwich on ciabatta.

Homemade granola bars and cookies.
Wraps always work well and can be made with ingredients that dont suffer too much when not refrigerated for shorter jaunts (shredded carrots, sprouts, avocado) I also often pack veggies and dips like hummus or muhammara bento style. Cured meats and cheeses like gruyere, babybel. Fruit for dessert and always something to drink either in a sigg bottle or a thermos.

dried fruit and nuts, pretzels, carrots, apples, oranges, and pb and j sandwiches!

All the above ideas seem like good ones. Minty hearts are a slightly sweetish whole wheat cracker--easy to make and they use fresh mint, so very tasty.

All the above ideas seem like good ones. Minty hearts are a slightly sweetish whole wheat cracker--easy to make and they use fresh mint, so very tasty.

Cold Asian peanut noodles.

it may not be the healthiest thing, but for us:
road trip = haribo

it's about the only time we eat them.

Quinoa-bean salads. Filling, healthy, and when made with vinaigrette, you really don't have to worry about spoilage, even if it's at room temp for a few hours.

Also-cut up fruit (so much easier than dribbling peach juice down the front of you), hummus and veggies, crunchy crackers of some sort, and water bottles to refill so you're not buying all that plastic over and over again.

At Target, they have Archer Farms snack mixes, and they have a couple that are fantastic, and actually healthy! My favorites are the Zen Party Mix, and the Tex Mex mix.

I've also made my own trail mixes, with Gold Fish crackers, dried cranberries, and roasted peanuts.

We try to give ourselves one "junk food" meal on the road, because...welll...diner food is amazing!!! But we try to pick up Subway, or make turkey roll-ups for the other meals, just to keep a good balance.

Every fall I freeze a bunch of pumpkin and make pumpkin soup. I save all the seeds (and even collect unwanted ones from family and friends) and roast them with a little salt. I keep them in small sealed containers to grab on the go. They are great to munch in the car or mix into trail mix.

For road trips we make sure to have one sweet/snack food on hand so we don't feel the need to stop and splurge for the gas station extras along the way.

We are usually eating while driving, so easy portable food is a must. We use protein bars, jerky, trail mix and baked goods. High protein goodies also keep us from snaking as much. Lots of water and homemade ice-tea keeps us hydrated in the hot car. Rice-milk is also refreshing in the heat and holds up really well in the car.

As for eating rules, trash the car but clean up at every stop. Make sure all the trash is collected and thrown out and all re-usable containers get thrown in a bag for later wash-up. The car get vacuumed when we get home. The exception is liquids that might spoil and stink up the car, so extra careful with anything with milk!

Grapes are my favourite to eat on a journey - wash a whole load and put them in a tupperware box. They're easy to pick at while you're driving, it's not going to get messy if one falls in the floor, are juicy and hydrating, and they taste great - the perfect travel food!