On this vacation, we packed enough food for every conceivable craving. That’s how we roll.

I took a trip to the mountains with two women friends recently. The three of us stayed in a lovely house for three nights and two full days.

Naturally, we packed enough food to sustain six starving lumberjacks for a week.

This is how women roll.

Running out of anything that you might possibly ever want to eat at any time of the day or night just is not an option.

Here’s a partial list of what we unloaded after the trunk-heavy car dragged itself up the mountain: cashews, Oreos, chips, pears, croissants, crabmeat, salmon, yogurt, raisin bran, asparagus, green onions, broccoli, tomatoes, bacon, lettuce, a box of risotto, popcorn, fresh basil, red bell peppers, homemade blueberry bread, a jar of pickled okra, bagels, cream cheese, celery and pimento cheese, coffee, kombucha, Diet Coke, beer and wine.

I’m omitting condiments. I’ve probably forgotten something, but I’m sure my friends will remind me when they read this.

In case you’re wondering, some suitcases containing actual clothing went in the back seat.

Then we went to the nearest grocery store for half-and-half (a pint was vetoed in favor of a quart), butter, bottled iced tea, eggs and blue cheese vinaigrette salad dressing.

We considered this load perfectly reasonable. We did the math.

It’s the same equation used whenever planning food for a group. Simply answer the following question: If the casserole recipe says it makes eight servings and there will be six people at the potluck, how many casseroles do you prepare?

A: One is good, got it covered.

B: Casserole? I’m picking up a bag of tortilla chips and a jar of salsa.

C: I’d better double it. What if there aren’t enough vegetable/meat/hot/cold/cheesy noodle dishes at the potluck? Everyone else might bring desserts and this might be the only real food.

It could happen, because there wasn’t a signup list. And there’s that one person who always wimps out with chips and salsa, which doesn’t even count as a potluck dish, if you ask me, but, bless her heart, she tries. On second thought, maybe 2 1/2 recipes, just in case the hostess would like to keep some for lunch the next day.

The answer, obviously, is C. It covers every eventuality short of global societal collapse, and even then, if planned carefully, the potluck attendees could survive for at least a month. Although the wine might run out.

Here’s proof that our approach to food pays off. Six women friends and I planned a day of shopping for pottery in the Seagrove area. Since we didn’t need to leave room for suitcases, we loaded the back of an SUV with a picnic that likely would have amply fed at least 15 people.

After breaking for lunch, which made little discernible dent in the spread, we were involved in a little fender-bender on our way to the next pottery.

What else to do while waiting for the Highway Patrol but open the coolers? Without our supplies, we would have sat moping in the car and in quite the foul mood when the officer arrived. As it was, we could have offered him a little something if he was feeling peckish.

Also, it’s important to consider what foods are needed to match different situations.

On the mountain trip, there was talk of renting movies in the evenings, and that activity required the right snacks. Popcorn is traditional, but I like an Oreo or three now and then.

That was when I found out that one of my friends hates Oreos.

You think you know someone, trusted her with your biggest secrets, stood up with her at her wedding on the hottest day imaginable in a place with no air conditioning, for goodness sake. Then you find out, after all these years, she hates possibly the most perfect cookie next to Girl Scout Thin Mints.

Fortunately, there were cashews.