You’ve decided where you want to go. You’ve purchased the tickets and booked a hotel. And now for the most important part... what are you going to eat? And where will you find the best stuff?

The first meals alone in a foreign country are always intimidating. When I moved to a small city in central Japan to teach English for two years, onigiri was the first food I clung to. Like a life raft, these seaweed-wrapped rice balls — sort of the sandwiches of Japanese cuisine — kept me afloat in a sea of unfamiliar foods labeled in a language I could just barely read. 

Made with short-grain rice, toasted nori and a small amount of flavorful seafood, meat or pickles, onigiri combine some of the elements of sushi, but in a more homey, comforting form. These are not the elegant creations of highly-trained chefs, but the familiar, filling foods of school lunches and train trips, providing a little taste of home while on the road.

Are you planning a getaway this summer? I just moved, alas, so my summer will probably be spent setting up my new place. Since I won't be escaping to the country anytime soon, I went searching for a little vacation inspiration — a little cabin inspiration, to be exact. 

Portable, nutritious and tasty at room temperature, hard-boiled eggs are pretty much the perfect travel food. It is hard to imagine improving on them — but I think you can. All it takes is a quick roll in a soy sauce mixture to make shoyu tamago (soy sauce eggs), a flavorful Japanese bento snack I like to eat on the road or at home.

Miso soup made from scratch will always be the best, but when I'm traveling, I have no shame about sipping the instant stuff. It's a tasty, energy-boosting alternative to all the fatty and sugary foods you usually find on the road, plus it's super light to pack! 

Living on the West Coast means some really really long plane rides back to visit family in Minnesota and Massachusetts. A package of pretzels is not going to cut it, and I've struggled with ideas for packable, airplane-approved meals that will also satisfy my hunger pangs. As unlikely as it may seem, Asian dumplings have become my favorite mid-flight meal.

School is out, the sun is shining, and it is time to take to the open road! Whether your travels take you near or far this summer, we want to make sure your backpack is stocked with a good supply of nibbles and snacks. Here are fifteen of our favorites — from granola bars and kale chips to homemade Cracker Jacks and more.

Road trips are fun, especially when I don't have to take the kids. Just me, my iPod (filled with hip hop, R&B, rap and the show tunes nobody else wants to hear) and my favorite car snacks. Junk food for the road! I love a cold diet soda and a bag of spicy chips. Like Pavlov's dog, my mouth starts to water for that combination as soon as I pull into the first gas station. But when I was younger, we had fire balls.

A forceful kick from behind you sends the chair launching forward. Another blow immediately follows, and somewhere a child starts to scream. You feel the anger swelling inside of you as you start to plot your revenge. The hunger is taking control...

This may sound like the beginning of a horror movie, but in reality it's just another day on a plane. Travel can do a number on anyone's diet: airports are littered with fast food, pubs, and ice cream stores. On the plane it is even worse. Complimentary peanuts are little more than a joke, and $20 "snack packs" featuring processed cheese spread and Oreos are just plain offensive.

Before you leave on a trip, you probably remember to take out the trash, do the dishes and clean out the refrigerator. But there is one more thing you could be doing to make your return a whole lot happier.