The 10 Best Foods To Keep In Your Car In Case Of Winter Weather Emergencies

When there's inclement weather predicted in the winter, it's generally a good idea to stay home and off the roads. Even if you live in a place where winter roads are well-salted, maintained, and plowed, concerns about visibility and ice can make driving tricky and sometimes downright dangerous. However, there may be times during winter storms when you can't stay home. If you are going to brave the storm, make sure that you're prepared, since in many cases, it may be difficult for help to reach you right away.

There are several things you'll want to keep in your car for winter emergencies, including a first aid kit, blankets, jumper cables, and even an emergency radio. But what about food? You don't want to be sitting there for hours, hungry and freezing cold, with nothing to eat. We talked to a few safety experts, including Dr. Jason Schroder, medical director and co-founder of Craft Body Scan; Angela D'Amico, founder of Ready For Unsteady; Mark McShane, chef and food safety expert at Food Hygiene Certificate; and Philip Farina, founder and chief security and safety advisor of Risky Business, to learn about the best foods to keep in your car in case of a winter weather emergency. Even if you don't ever use them, having these foods on hand will give you the peace of mind you need for safer winter travels.

There are a few different factors you're looking for in a good winter car emergency snack. "When choosing food for a winter car emergency kit, the goal is calories, stability, and ease of eating in cold conditions," says Angela D'Amico of Ready For Unsteady. She says that you want to look for foods that are non-perishable, since you're keeping them in the car for months at a time. Additionally, it's important to choose higher-calorie options, since you'll want food that can sustain you for a longer period of time, as well as items that won't freeze easily in cold conditions.

Protein and energy bars, per D'Amico, fit the bill here. Luckily, there are a ton of different protein bar brands to choose from, but Fulfil is one of our favorites. Just make sure you choose a variety that's not going to become too hard and brittle after sitting out in the cold.

If you're planning for an emergency where you'll be stuck at home, you have a lot of options for what you can eat, even if you worry about losing the ability to cook. There are plenty of canned goods you can keep on hand, and you can also stock frozen foods for cooking emergencies if you're not worried about the power going out. But if you're concerned about getting stuck in your car during the winter months, there are fewer options from which to choose. According to Philip Farina of Risky Business, since you don't have the luxury of eating cooked foods, you should keep things simple with basic staples.

That's why Farina suggests having crackers on hand in case of winter weather emergencies. Saltines can work well, and they're a great budget option if you don't want to spend too much cash setting up your emergency winter weather car stash. But check out other cracker brands if you want to find options with more flavor and variety. Just be sure to change them out after about six to nine months, after which time they can become stale.

Your body needs more calories when it's cold out, since it takes so much energy to keep you warm. This is particularly true in especially cold environments, like when you're stuck in a winter storm waiting for help to arrive. That's why we suggest opting for higher-calorie foods. Dried fruits, which Mark McShane of Food Hygiene Certificate suggests as a solid snack option for stocking for winter weather car emergencies, are one of those foods.

He says that dried fruits are ideal for these types of situations because, first of all, they don't go bad easily. Unopened dried fruit will last for about a year if kept in a cool, dark place, like your trunk. That means you can keep a bag of dried fruit in your car for months without worrying about it spoiling. Additionally, they provide you with plenty of energy, thanks to their relatively high calorie count. Of course, pairing dried fruit with other ingredients, like nuts, can make for a more balanced snack. Looking for the best place to snag dried fruit? Try Trader Joe's dried fruit selection for a surprisingly wide variety.

There are few better shelf-stable foods to keep in your car than nuts and seeds. After all, they're high in calories, and they're quite dense, meaning that you don't need to eat a lot to help you feel full and satisfied. That's one reason why Dr. Jason Schroder of Craft Body Scan suggests keeping some varieties — specifically walnuts and macadamia nuts — in your car for winter weather emergencies. "Survival in a frozen vehicle is dependent upon maintaining a high level of lipid density to fuel the shivering response and to maintain core temperature," he explains. 

Of course, you can also stock any other types of nuts that you like. Peanuts are a good option, and almonds come in so many different flavors to appeal to your taste. If you want to bulk up your emergency stores even more, look for seeds as well. "Sunflower seeds are a great addition to every winter kit as they are high-calorie dense but do not take up much space," Schroder says.

Now we know that nuts are a great option to keep on hand for emergencies, but what if you're not a big fan of crunching on a handful of nuts? Well, you might want to turn to nut butter instead. You won't want to haul around a whole jar of peanut butter, which is why nut butter packets can be such a great option. Angela D'Amico suggests opting for nut butter packets like peanut butter, almond butter, and even sunflower butter (particularly if you're allergic to nuts).

The company Justin's sells nut butter packets, which are great for keeping stashed in your car for emergencies. You can also often find nut butter packets at stores like REI, which specialize in portable foods that you don't need to cook to enjoy. If you don't mind keeping a whole jar of nut butter in your car, there are delicious options at Trader Joe's, but make sure you have a spoon or something else to scoop the nut butter out of the jar if you decide to go this route.

Hopefully, if you ever find yourself stuck in your car during a winter weather emergency, you can get someone out to assist you as soon as possible. However, if you're dealing with a particularly bad weather situation or if you live in a rural area, you could be waiting for quite some time to get assistance. That's why you may want to have foods that offer more of a complete meal. "I also suggest you keep some canned goods with pull-tab lids, like soups or chili that can be eaten cold if necessary, but can also be heated if you have a way of doing so safely," says Mark McShane.

Canned chilis and soups are generally fully cooked, so all you have to do is open them and dig in. Just be sure to keep a can opener on hand if you're not exclusively choosing soup cans with a pull top.

In an emergency — particularly when you're dealing with cold temperatures during the winter months — you want to make sure that you have the supplies you need to stay healthy and safe while you're waiting for help. That's why Dr. Jason Schroder suggests keeping shelf-stable protein on hand. Specifically, he suggests keeping 3,500 calories of protein in your car (although you should increase that figure by the number of people you expect to have in your car in case of an emergency).

These days, there are so many shelf-stable proteins to choose from. One of the easiest to get your hands on is beef or other kinds of meat jerky. Choose a flavor that you like, or stock a few different options in case you need them. Canned beans are a solid pick if you don't eat meat, but, again, remember to keep a can opener on hand, along with a spoon or fork to get the contents out of the can.

Another great protein option to keep stocked in your car in case of winter weather emergencies? Philip Farina suggests canned fish. This is a super healthy option to have on hand, as it provides protein and fat, helping to keep you feeling your best during difficult times. Plus, canned tuna is probably your best bet to keep things as cheap as possible. You can also find pouches of tuna if you'd prefer a lighter, less bulky option, which is ideal when you have a smaller car without a lot of storage space.

However, you don't have to stick to tuna if you like other types of canned fish better. Farina says that canned sardines and smoked oysters are also good options. Make sure you have a fork on hand to get them out of their cans, though. They can either be eaten all on their own or paired with crackers for a surprisingly luxe-feeling emergency snack.

In addition to ensuring that you have plenty of food in your vehicle in the case of a winter weather emergency, it's also a smart idea to keep water on hand. After all, no matter what the conditions are outside, you need to stay hydrated to feel your best. In fact, according to Dr. Jason Schroder, hydration is one of the most important factors to consider when it comes to surviving in a cold environment. "Dehydration thickens the blood and increases the workload of the heart, which increases the risk of cardiac events in a freezing environment," he says. So, not only should you keep bottled water in your car, but, according to Schroder, you should also stock packets of portable electrolytes in your vehicle. Liquid I.V. is one of our go-to powdered electrolyte brands.

Obviously, in the best-case scenario, you'll have a few bottles of water in the car. If not, though, you may be able to use freshly fallen snow on the ground to use with your powdered electrolytes. "Make sure you have a portable water filter or water purification tablets and waterproof matches for the snow," says Schroder.

We've already discussed the importance of having high-calorie food on hand, but for the most part, we've stuck to healthier ways to up your calorie intake in the event of a winter weather emergency. But, according to Angela D'Amico, keeping your morale up is also important. That's why she also suggests keeping chocolate or candy in your car, which can help with both morale and calories.

If you're looking for especially high-calorie options, there are several popular candy bars to choose from. We particularly like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, especially considering that they contain nuts, another one of our recommended emergency foods. KitKat bars or Twix are also solid choices. Generally speaking, candy bars that contain nuts are great to have on hand because not only do you get calories from the sugar in the chocolate, but you're also getting healthy fats from the nuts at the same time.