I have paid way too much money for way too many airport sandwiches.

Whether we’re road-tripping, flying, or heading somewhere for a week, I pack our food now — real food, not just a bag of goldfish and a prayer. It’s one of those things that sounds like more effort than it is, and once you have a system, it becomes automatic.

Here’s what works for us.

1. Pack actual food, not just snacks

The snack trap is real. You fill a bag with crackers, fruit pouches, and granola bars, the kids graze all day, and then nobody wants dinner — which sounds fine until dinner is the only real meal option and it’s 7pm and everyone’s overtired.

Pack food that can function as a meal. Sandwiches, wraps, cheese and protein, cut veggies with a dip. Treat snacks as the backup, not the plan.

2. Use containers your bag won’t hate

Travel is when I’m most grateful for the SoftShell. The attached lid means I’m not rummaging through a backpack for a lost lid at TSA. It doesn’t leak on our stuff. It opens flat so Marlo can eat her sandwich without a plate. And when we get wherever we’re going, it goes straight in the dishwasher — I’m not scrubbing silicone corners in a vacation rental sink.

Whatever containers you travel with, they should close securely, be easy to clean, and be something you’re not afraid to throw in a bag.

3. Build a travel food kit and repack it every trip

We keep a small set of containers and a soft cooler bag designated for travel — not our everyday ones, a dedicated kit that lives in the closet and comes out when we’re going somewhere. At the start of any trip, I fill it fresh.

This sounds fancier than it is. It’s a tote, a few containers, and an ice pack. But having the same setup every time means I’m not hunting for lids the morning we leave.

4. Think in two categories: cooler and shelf-stable

Cooler food: sandwiches, cut fruit, cheese, yogurt pouches — anything that needs to stay cold. Shelf-stable: nuts, dried fruit, crackers, granola bars — the stuff that just lives in the bag.

Pack your cooler items to last the first half of the trip. Shelf-stable covers the second half. It stops you from either over-packing cold food or running out of real options somewhere in the middle.

5. Give everyone one pick

Kids are significantly easier to travel with — food-wise, anyway — when they have something they chose. Before we leave, Marlo picks one treat or snack she wants in the bag. One thing, her choice. She’s invested in it, she knows it’s coming, and the airport vending machine loses most of its appeal.

Works on adults too, honestly.

If you’re looking for containers that actually hold up to travel, the SoftShell is our go-to — and the Luncher version is perfect for keeping a sandwich separate from snacks in the same box.