My friend and I are planning a week long road trip/hiking extravaganza, however we don't want to spend a ton of money. As a result, we are going to stock a cooler to prevent unneccesary costs and calories.

She is a vegetarian and I am vegetarian-want-a-be and we are both watching our weight. I'm having a hard time thinking of foods that will keep in a cooler for days at a time, as I know we will not be anywhere near grocery stores for much of the trip.

Other than gorp variations (nuts, raisins, m&ms), pb&j, and lots of fruits/veggies, does anyone have any other suggestions?

Thank you!

I bring the following with me: hummus, soy jerky, tofu egg salad (freeze it the night before you go and it will be good to eat the second day of travel!), whole grain crackers or wraps/tortillas, dry high fiber cereal with the sealed containers of soy/nut/rice milk (you can freeze 2 of them and keep in the cooler to save space and keep things cool) and the basics (baby carrots, celery, apples, oranges, reduced fat peanut butter or "Better n' Peanut Butter", all fruit jam and so on).

Have a blast!

When we travel I like to bring along Cliff Nectar bars (approx 150 cals and made from fruits & nuts with no added sugars~ there are alot of flavors too.) You could take soy jerky, individual soy milk in the box containers (no refridgeration needed), baked goods (I like to make muffins before we go places with ww flour, flaxseed, etc.)... really anything that you find on the store shelves that are in small enough containers for you to finish the container in a day or so.

You could prep a GIANT salad (no tomatoes) that will give you salads for several meals and store the prepped veggies in a big tupperware container. If you dress the salad each time you eat it, the prepped veggies should stay good for at least 4 days. Having salad to round out your meals helps to give you leeway with some of your other food choices.

Thanks for the ideas! I don't know why I didn't think of some of these.

My standard travel foods are energy bars, nuts (I also pack a 1/4 cup measuring cup to portion out the nuts), bananas, apples, sugar-free candy, sugar-free vitamin C drops, and gum.

Breakfast cereal might be another good choice. If you live near a Trader Joe's, they sell 2% milk in single serving pouches that do not require refridgeration. Trader Joe's also sells pre-cooked polenta in tubes that do no require refrigeration (although once you open the tube, it probaby needs to to in the cooler). You could by a small jar of bruschetta sauce (also at Trader Joe's in various flavors) to eat with it.

Hard boiled eggs should keep for several days, maybe longer, in your cooler. I'm not sure hard-boiled eggs even require refridgeration.

Are you going to be camping or will you have access to a stovetop or microwave? If so, there's always pasta sauce and pasta (whole wheat, or course). Once opened, the pasta sauce should keep in the cooler (or you might be able to find small two-serving jars). Also there are a ton of pre-cooked Indian meals (all vegetarian) in pouches that do not require refridgeration (buy I'm not sure they'd be good cold, so this option probably only works if you have a way to heat them up). Look in the ethnic section of your grocery store. Nowaways you can even find pre-cooked rice in vacuum sealed pouches that don't require refrigeration (to go with your Indian meal).

If you have access to a stove, canned soup or fat free vegetarian chili would be another good option.

You also might look for food at an outdoor store (like REI). They often stock food that does not require refridgeration and that can be prepared easily (for people who camp).

Great suggestions, especially the Trader Joe's stuff. Those Indian meals from Trader Joe's are good at room temperature. I took some with me on my recent trip to Canada and ate them with a spoon right out of the package! I also eat the vegetarian chili right out of the can at room temperature and it is good too!

Oh, and hard boiled eggs do need to be refrigerated within 2 hours of cooking and should be eaten within 2 weeks of cooking.