I'm an avid traveler who shops for 2 at Trader Joe's. Here are 16 things I love to buy.

As a full-time food and travel writer, I'm on the road a lot and I like to make every trip as budget-friendly and efficient as possible.

Whether I'm traveling solo or with my husband and our dogs, I always pack the car with snacks and quick meal options for the road. Over the years we've perfected what snacks work great for traveling, and which don't hold up as well.

Here are 15 things I pick up from Trader Joe's for every road trip.

Trader Joe's has the best frozen mac and cheese I've ever had, and it's my go-to meal before a trip.

If we're going to be gone for a few days, the last thing we want to do is cook the night before we leave. This delicious and easy-to-prep meal helps us avoid washing dishes or worrying about leftovers that'll spoil while we're gone.

Plus, it's a steal at $2.99 a box.

Iced coffee is a necessity for me — especially if we're camping and I can't get to a cafe in the morning. The cold brew from Trader Joe's always goes in the cooler for our trips.

At $4.99 for a quart, it feels like a better deal than a cup from any of the coffee chains.

I always love looking through the bakery section at Trader Joe's and I try to mix it up for every trip. For my most recent trip, I chose the cinnamon coffee-cake muffins and they were perfect for breakfast on the road.

The gluten-free muffins cost just $4.99 for a four-pack.

Perfectly light and cheesy, we go through these puffs much faster than we care to admit.

But at roughly $2 per bag, I don't feel guilty about it. It's the first thing we buy when we pack for a trip. Sometimes puffs are the first two things.

I love that Trader Joe's offers a wide variety of trail mixes. Many of them have just the right combination of salty and sweet with the protein boost we need after chasing waterfalls.

My favorite is the Trek Mix with almonds, cranberries, and cashews. A 16-ounce bag is $5.99.

Fresh fruit can have a short shelf life, especially when it's being packed in a car for a road trip. These fruit-sauce pouches are our heroes — they're pretty healthy, easy to eat, and easy to pack.

I also love that Trader Joe's fruit-sauce crushers come in unique flavor combinations, like apple-carrot, apple-strawberry, and apple-mango.

We pay just $2.69 for a pack of four.

Because these bananas are so cheap, we don't get mad if one of them goes bad or gets squished in our cooler.

Plus, these are easy to eat in the car without making a mess. A bunch of bananas is always on our shopping list.

Iced tea is one of my favorite drinks on the road. It's got just the sweet kick to keep me going on the longer stretches of road.

That's why I pick up a four-pack of Sparkling Green Tea with Pineapple Juice for just $3.99. The other flavors, Black Tea with Peach and White Tea with Pomegranate are also great options.

There are lots of jerky options to choose from — teriyaki, hickory, beef, turkey, and more.

They're a nice protein-filled pick-me-up to keep us going on the road so we don't have to make too many stops to refuel.

Our most common choice is the original beef jerky for $5.99.

Nothing beats eating meat and cheese on a blanket in a park we've never visited before.

Luckily, Trader Joe's has all of the fixings that we need. First, we grab a brick of the Unexpected Cheddar, a delicious cheese that is reminiscent of Parmesan.

The award-winning cheese costs $3.99.

There's always a great selection of salame and other cured meats to choose from, so we mix it up each time.

The above Calabrese salame costs $3.29 per package.

Brioche toasts are our favorite way to complete the charcuterie board.

A box of the toasts is just $1.99, making the cost of our entire board under $10.

I love that Trader Joe's has a craft-beer section where you can create your own six-pack.

We always grab a few favorites (including Josephsbrau Bavarian-style Hefeweizen) and some new ones. The cans are individually priced and tend to cost between $1.50 and $2 each.

If the pups are coming along on our road trip, we bring them some goodies for the car, too.

Trader Joe's Chew-cuterie dog treats are one of their favorites. A box of treats is $3.29.

Peanut-butter cups are my all-time favorite candy, and the dark-chocolate ones from Trader Joe's are my must-pack snack.

You can buy a small bag for about $1 or pay extra for a tub.

My favorite bag is its insulated bag, which is the perfect size to hold all our cold foods on a road trip. But if those aren't available, the canvas bags are also wonderful.

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