The "It" Bag

Perfect for Kosher travelers

The internet broke a few months ago when Racheli Lttmn posted the ultimate stocked kosher travel bag to the Facebook Group, "Jewish Women Talk About Anything." Racheli later posted the same info to "Jewish Women Travel." Both groups went predictably insane, yours truly included. 

Racheli made this duffle-sized bag to organize all the kosher cooking accessories she takes while traveling. Anyone who has packed for family kosher travel knows how useful this is. 

Racheli writes, 

Behold, my travel kitchen. The large green bag is for when we drive to our destination. It has milchig and fleishig kitchen basics, a panini press/grill (meat) and griddle (dairy), dishwashing stuff, foil and Saran Wrap, and a few other odds and ends. It has enough collapsible silicone cups for my whole family, camping utensils, and napkins. There are two removable small coolers inside. One has a microwave/oven/dishwasher safe collapsible container, Stasher bag, immersion heater, collapsible coffee mug, cup, and tiny can opener and is all carry on friendly and can be used to carry snacks or food on the plane itself. The other is a slightly larger cooler that has a mini dash griddle, tiny cutting board and knife, tiny spatula, spoon, tongs, and whisk, and small dishwashing items.

This is such a great idea. I told Racheli she should sell these bags or put up links for all the products. She was on vacation at the time (using her bag and killer organizational skills, clearly!), but as soon as she returned, she began posting to Youtube and Instagram. So far she has a series of three videos that share the products and ideas about the bag in snippets. Subscribe to her channel, It's In the Bag, and check back — she will continue to make her way through the bags in future videos.

From Bag to Blog - Video 1 - introduction to the idea (skip if you're pressed for time)

Meet the Bags - Video 2 - bags Racheli uses for carry on vs checked luggage and more

Carry on Kitchen - Video 3 - everything inside the small carry on bag with information.

In upcoming videos, Racheli promises to show us what's in the large bag and also perhaps to show us simple recipes she makes with these items and with raw ingredients /groceries that can be found everywhere (think eggs, flour, etc).

After many long road trips with my family, I have been itching to upgrade our food-travel situation. We like to travel to places off the beaten path, often with fewer kosher options, so we mostly do our own cooking. Cooking for six people can sometimes feel like a lot even in my own kitchen, but when we travel, we don’t have the same amenities. Packing to travel is often a drag too, with me throwing pots and electric burners and knives and cutting boards into five different reusable Aldi bags, then packing perishables and non-perishables and car snacks all in different separate Aldi bags. When we were in South Dakota in the summer, I reached into a bag to grab granola bars and cut my hand on a butcher knife. So, in preparation for a winter break trip, I am finally doing it. I used Racheli’s list for many things (those spice baggies! mini cooking utensils, liquid storage, silicone containers, etc), and found a few different items - some were more cost-effective (like a $50 duffle with dividers) and others will just work better for our family (we use a portable burner so I got a few new pots and pans and a 4-waffle machine). I’m really looking forward to pulling it all together and using it in December on our next big road trip!

You can shop all Racheli’s Travel Kitchen items and suggestions in one place. Check all of this out and check back for more videos and links as Racheli continues to update her kosher travel kitchen. If you buy any of these products, use her affiliate links - she gets a small portion of everything bought, and it does not impact consumer price.

Thanks Racheli! Safe, happy, and kosher travels!

________

Are you as excited about this bag as I am???

Are you wondering why a self-proclaimed minimalist (I’d say I’m minimalist-lite) who recently wrote about the racket of baby stuff is writing a very consumerist post?

I’d love to hear from you. Write to theintentionaljewishfamily@gmail.com. I reply to every email I receive.

Help get the word out and share this newsletter with someone you know who is interested in discussions about building intentional Jewish families.

You can also connect with The Intentional Jewish Family on Instagram, X, FaceBook, and LinkedIn.

Looking forward to continuing the conversation.