I'm excited that this week is the Fourth of July! We're heading to Kansas City for a few days for a family vacation and very much looking forward to that.
Since our family is still small and eating out is still fairly economical, we usually "splurge" on vacations and bring very little of our own food. Instead, we eat out or get quick-fix foods at the grocery store while we're gone. It makes it much more relaxing for me to not have to worry about planning, packing, and fixing food for a few days and it truly makes it more of a vacation for me!
Because of this, I'm only planning four days' worth of meals for this week:
Breakfasts
Strawberry smoothies, toast
Waffles, cantaloupe, yogurt
Banana bread, scrambled eggs, fresh carrot/apple juice
Oatmeal, fruit
Lunches
Homemade pigs in a blanket, cucumber slices, apple slices
Homemade Pita Pockets with melted cheese, peas, fruit
PB&J, carrots
Tossed salad with hard-boiled eggs, crackers and cheese
Dinners
French Toast with fresh-whipped cream and homemade strawberry syrup, cantaloupe
Chicken Tetrazinni, homemade bread, green beans, grapefruit
Meatballs, homemade bread, sliced cucumbers, baked potatoes, green beans
Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza, fruit
Snacks
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Crackers and cheese
Apples
Carrot sticks
Granola bars
For those who may have missed it, you can see what we purchased at the store this past week here. However, do remember that that is not all we're using to make the above food and meals since we shop using the "Buy-Ahead Principle".
Do you bring your own food when you go on vacation or do you splurge and eat out/buy quick-fix foods or a little of both? If you bring your own food, I'd love to hear what you bring and how you pull it off. It seems like a lot of work to me, but I'm guessing that as our children grow older, eating out is going to be much less feasible and much more expensive so I'd love to hear your ideas and suggestions!
Jenifer says
I am pretty frugal, but we eat out on vacations. We usually stay at a Comfort Inn or some place with free breakfast. We load up there, then eat a light picnic cheese and crackers and fruit type lunch or go to a local hot dog stand. For dinner, we eat out. Mommy cooking, even if it’s a simple crock pot style dish, is no vacation for me! I also like getting out of the room.
Julie Lender says
I hope you enjoyed your weekend in Kansas! The menu looked delicious.
Quintana says
Hi,
Just getting used to the site and saw this. We recently returned from an 8-day trip from IL to SC and home through TN.
Before we left, I vowed not to spend $12-$15 everytime we stopped at a gas station for gas in just snacks. I spent about $60 in drinks and snacks before leaving and packed a cooler. We supplemented ice from the hotel when we stopped.
We would eat the continental breakfast at the hotel, eat a “big/fancy” late lunch and then snack later at the hotel. This worked so well!
I spent $1.20 on laffy taffy in the gas station the whole time we were gone! Another plus was I packed the cooler and snack bag in the trunk, so if we wanted anything we had to wait till our next stop. This kept everyone from mindless snacking in the car.
Elizabeth says
I meant to post this on your last question about meals while on vacation. I am leaving next week for a week and have made all the meals for my family while we are at the beach. I started about a month ago and began cooking in double batches. I have made lasagna, enchiladas, chicken & rice and a few other dishes. I use the same glass pan and line it w/ heavy duty reynolds wrap. I then freeze the meal w/ a label describing it and its cooking requirements. The next day I pop the meal out of the pyrex and put it into a large ziploc bag. The night before serving the meal I simply pull it out of the freezer, remove it from the reynolds wrap and then defrost it in the pyrex. So this way I have the meals ready and only have to bring 1 glass pan. In years past this has worked great and w/ a family of 6 (3 hungry boys) it has saved a ton of money and tantrums at restaurants.
Allyson says
We normally take or purchase cereal and milk for breakfast and bread and sandwich items for lunch. Then we splurge by going out to eat most nights.
Allison says
If we are staying in a hotel, my husband usually tries to find one that serves a decent breakfast, free of charge (Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield Inn, Springhill Suites). Our family of 5 just returned from a trip to Florida and I packed dry cereal in smaller bags for us to eat in the car on the way down, so we would not have to stop for breakfast (we left at 5:00 am) and I also packed some individual applesauces, pudding cups and juice boxes so that at lunch all we had to buy was chicken, instead of fries and drinks as well. We did eat out most of the time while in Florida, but having some snacks in the car and free breakfast did make it more economical.
Rebecca says
When we go on vacation, we rent a house or get a motel with a kitchen, and then scope out the cheap grocery stores in the area. When we went to Niagara Falls, we found a great store, the Canadian equivalent of Aldi (but even better). We bought all of our food cheaper than back home, way cheaper than eating out, and came home with the leftover non-perishables. Plus, my family is picky because I am a good cook, so we are often disappointed by eating out (plus the huge cost). I actually find it more relaxing to cook in “our” room/rented house than having to eat out with kids.
becky t says
I try to cook as much of the food I take ahead of time and freeze it then reheat in the microwave which is usually there because we get a suite for our family to fit:) We eat breakfast at the hotel and bring lots of veggies & dip and fruit and muffins and some junk food to keep the teenage boys happy. One thing we like to do is order out pizza. We did this when kids were younger and they were thrilled to be able to eat pizza AND watch tv at the same time! We try to eat out once during our trips someplace nice and buy food at the grocery in between.
Lisa A says
When traveling, a loaf of bread, a jar of p.b. and a jar of jam are essentials for our family. We eat out a bit also. I recommend Wendy’s $1 menu and water for everyone. My growing family of 5 can enjoy a hearty meal and dessert for under $20. We also visit Little Caesars for their $5 Hot and Ready pizzas. Don’t forget to ask for paper plates and napkins! They will provide them for you. When my kids were young, I would buy $ .99 double cheeseburgers from various locations and give my oldest the sandwich minus one burger patty which I would cut up for my middle child. We would all share a side salad and a drink. Enjoy your trip!
Erica says
We’ve done quite a bit of traveling and a lot of it in Europe, so eating out every meal isn’t really an option for us. We try to budget for eating out one meal a day and try to eat a late lunch, so that we can get by on snacks for lunch and later that evening. Since we usually travel by train or air we tend to find a grocery store where we go. Breakfasts usually consist of bread and jam, or cereal, crackers, fruit, cheese, and yogurt make great snacks on the go. We try to get a room with a refridgerator and if we do our possiblities have increased. When we’ve traveled during the winter months and stayed at places with no refridgerators we just put things that needed to stay cold in a plastic bag and put it on the balcony or hang it out the window. It’s helped to stay in non touristy areas but close the the metro lines. It seems like there are more grocery stores/fruit stands available.
amy myers says
We usually pack things for breakfast and lunches and we splurge on dinner. All those free samples of cereal come in handy on vacation. I usually buy some lunchn’meat, a loaf of bread, mustard,etc , a bag of chips,some fruit and you have lunch. It doesn’t take up to much space in the car and you always have a snack handy if the kids want something. Stopping at the gas stations for a quick snack can add up. Happy 4th !!!!
Kim S. says
For me it’s not a vacation unless I’m in a hotel and all my meals are in a restaurant. I meal plan and cook myself the other 50 weeks out of the year, I want a vacation too.
Chiara Ko says
Hi! We usually try to bring as much of our own food as possible, like previous commenters have said. We have a TimeShare and normally we try to buy seasonings to take with us (I got a great deal on those 3 spices in one container type things) and oil (Nalgene containers are great for liquids).
If the vacation place is within driving distance, we take a cooler and pack it with mostly breakfast items (eggs that have been cracked, mixed and frozen, sausage, etc.) Once we get to the location, we try to find a grocery store and get fruits, some snacks.
If the place is not within driving distance, we take the spices, oil, and most of the snacks. When we get to the location, we then get breakfast stuff and fruits. Occasionally we’ll get something easy to make and just use the dishwasher.
I find it easier while we’re away to find the energy to cook and clean up after cooking, because we don’t have anything else to distract us. I also bring all my coupons when we travel (I just use a small accordion binder intended for used checks) and most places will take manufacturer’s coupon as long as the product matches.
Have fun!!! 😀
heather hadley says
We almost always stay at a suite that has a kitchen. We plan meals that require little to no cooking, and bring lots of fresh fruits and veggies for sides. We also make lunch our big meal of the day. Just got back from Disneyland for a week, and spent very little on food. Our usual routine was simple breakfast, then load our mini backpacks with string cheese, granola bars and water bottles to snack on in the park. Then we head back to the hotel for our main meal (at 3pm, when the park is busiest and the hottest). Then we resupply our backpacks and go until the park closes.
Suz says
We often bring the crockpot and do chicken or roast and can make 1-3 meals out of it… see my post for examples. http://familycents.blogspot.com/2009/03/making-meat-stretch.html
Anah says
When we travel, I’ll either bring my brita filter and reusable bottles, or buy a case of water when we get to our destination. We’re always doing car trips, though, and I keep several bottles of water in a cooler for just that. If you’re staying in a hotel, then having a brita filter is invaluable! Water is one of those things that has a huge markup, and most hotels have less-than-desirable tap water.
I also bring snacks- usually the stuff that is “special” for long road trips- like the cereal that the kids see but never get at the store!
We always have a big, semi-late breakfast, and a light, late lunch when we’re on the road. I prefer to sit in a restaurant for breakfast rather than sit in traffic!
Another great tip is in restaurants- order off the adult menu for the kids. My kids are 7, 2, and 1, and I just order one adult meal to split among the three of them (well, plus they all want to try what I’m having!). Kids’ meals (x2 or 3 kiddos) are generally more expensive than a single adult’s meal.
still*learning says
We bring food with us when we vacation. We eat dinner out at a restaurant and eat breakfast and lunch in. We keep it simple. Muffins, bagels or cereal for breakfast with fruit. Mostly pb&j and fruit and snack type food for lunch. Simple, easy and then we are ready for a nice dinner that evening.
Bringing a small cooler can keep everything you need (we are a family of 4) for a smaller family. I buy smaller sizes of milk and put the fruit, cream cheese etc. in the cooler. All other drinks, we don’t refrigerate until we need to.
I can’t imagine how much it would cost us if we were to eat all meals out! It is not the optimum of health but it does cut down on expenses and we are on vacation so it is a time to splurge.
Meg says
We do a little of both. For my family, part of the fun of traveling is trying new foods so we eat out at least once a day, usually at dinnertime.
I usually reserve a hotel room with a refrigerator and microwave. I pack a toaster either pack or buy at my destination lots of fresh fruit and veggies, frozen waffles, muffins, cereal, milk, juice, bread, peanut butter and jelly, sandwich meat, crackers, and cheese. We have breakfast of cereal and fruit, waffles and fruit, etc in the room (if breakfast isn’t included). Lunchtime we have leftovers from the prior day’s dinner or sandwiches and veggies (easily portable). Cheese and crackers, peanut butter crackers, fruit, and muffins are taken with us as an easy, very portable snack options which also helps keep costs down.
Have a nice trip!
Anna says
I would prefer to eat out more on vacation, but we are eating out less as our kids get older, because the fast food and new/different/greasy/sweet foods make them sick. Not nice when you are traveling.
We pack a box with:
paper towels (for napkins or plates),
cutting board (I have a small one)
sharp knife (for bread, cheese, sausage, veggies, etc.)
paper plates
silverware.
Everyone has their own water bottle or sippy cup.
One thing that’s fun is to stop at produce markets along the way and get fresh, local fruit and veggies (GA peaches, anyone?? :))
April says
We take cooler in the car that fits between the front seat and the back seat. We then stock it with snack foods, juice boxes and pop. That way we don’t ever buy snacks on the trip. It actually works out because I know what my girls like and buy it on sale a few weeks before.
Denise says
When we travel, we usually stay in a timeshare for a week. Most of the time they have a full kitchen. We almost always eat breakfast in. We bring cereal (from our “stock”, bought when they were on sale). They also have a place to BBQ, so we do hamburgers, hot dogs, and/or chicken. We bring small amounts of condiments with us so that we don’t have to buy (or lug home) a whole bottle of ketchup, mustard, pickles, etc. We always bring snacks too. It’s a little easier if you’re driving rather than flying. We make menus ahead of time for the whole week (which you already do anyway) and do a grocery shopping trip the day we arrive in town for things we didn’t bring with us like meat, bread and milk. If we are around the timeshare for lunch, we will make sandwiches or something simple. Sometimes we also pack them so we can have them for wherever we are for the day. We save so much money by planning ahead and bringing some things with us. Have a great trip.
Amy Stricklin says
We normally stay at a hotel with breakfast also, and eat out for dinners. I do love bringing loads of snacks for the day though. With 3 kids someone is always hungry and the kids meal choices are not always there favorites. Here is our favorite snacks to get us through the day- Couple sleeves of Ritz, pepperoni, and a block of cheese presliced and put back in the bag. PB sandwiches, Premade caramel popcorn, capri suns or kool aide bursts. Bag of Ring Pops (from CVS). Grapes- This way we have enough variety for protein and good snacks, but also fun junk when you are staring at all these treats going by. This really saves us during the time when we could be spending alot of money on food, and we can find something cheaper at night. Have a great vacation!
Mary Ann says
The place where we usually go for our anniversary has a kitchen so this past year, I planned out a few meals to make instead of eating out each meal. We planned to eat out once a day and breakfast was provided for the first 2 days. I planned a few meals/snacks using what I had on hand then stopped at a grocery store there to buy the rest. We got a rotisserie chicken, salad fixings and some rolls. The chicken stretched for several meals for the 2 of us–plain chicken the first day, then a simple chicken casserole that took canned soup and sour cream which was easy to pack, then chicken salad the last day. I prepped some of the foods I took from home like dicing celery,chopping tomatoes and such so that it was really easy to throw meals together.
This is the first time we’ve eaten in more than just sandwiches or breakfast and we loved it! Very cost effective, too! We definitely will do this again!
Rhonda says
Thanks. I’ve enjoyed this thread!
My husband and 13yo son are off on a 10-day adventure to the east coast (we live in IN). When I talked to my son last night he said he misses my food and put in his order for what I should cook the first night he’s home! We rarely eat out (and almost never fast food) and I’m grateful that it didn’t take long for them to be “over it.” They spent the first 5 days in a condo with extended family (who sort of cook) so it’s only been the past 3 days eating at restaurants.
I’ll certainly include some of these ideas when the entire family goes on vacation next year.
Kelly says
Just got back from vacation. We rented a house on Lake Michigan and brought food to grill out every night. We only ate at a restaurant once!
jennifer says
I only brings snacks for us and the kids for mid morning and late afternoon. Half the fun of a vacation is not having to cook! It is a great time to splurge – after all, why do we bother saving money on groceries…to have extra cash for the fun things in life!!
Woman Interrupted says
With a small child, we find it easier to eat breakfast (and usually dinner) in the room. We try to get a room with a microwave and fridge, and bring an electric skillet, if needed, for toast/eggs/bacon.
We usually eat lunch out while we enjoy vacation activities.
Dinners are easy enough: sandwiches & chips, quesadillas, lunch time leftovers, Easy Mac for my son. Vacations are the perfect time to enjoy packaged convenience foods!
I also make sure to have plenty of snacks and treats like fruit and ice cream in the fridge.
Jessica says
I usually fill a bag or plastic tote with some items from my stockpile to help fill in the gaps (cereal, snacks, pasta, sauce, PB&J, etc), then we purchase food at our destination and eat out some, too. I figure whatever I can bring from our stockpile will save some money since I bought it on sale.
TJ says
We spend a week at Lincoln City, Oregon each summer in a rented house. So we cook 100% of our breakfasts, 90% of lunches, and about 75% of our dinners. We like do make use of the charcoal grill that most of the homes have. We do burgers and dogs or fancy sausages. Then one night we always go buy fresh caught and cooked Dungeness crab and serve that with grilled steaks, fresh corn on the cob and salad. I cannot wait until August!
Jaime G says
Ooooh! I know of a GREAT restuarant near KC in Overland Park, if you guys like indian food… it’s called Korma Sutra…. it’s my fave in the world!!!! We live near Chicago, and I would be willing to travel all the way back to KC just to eat there again!!!!
Christina says
What we bring when we travel varies, but usually I will make macaroni salad and pick blueberries (when in season of course) to snack on.
sarah p. says
And to counter-balance my own previous comment…we’re going camping for 4th of July with another couple. With these friends, we usually plan combined meals, then split the grocery list. The half of the list I volunteered for is all items I’ve purchased on sale, with coupons, etc, meaning we’ll spend next to nothing on food for a wonderful 3 day weekend of camping!
And our friends aren’t spending any more money than they would have otherwise.
sarah p. says
In a family of foodies, I’d argue that sometimes a great meal out is just as memorable as a lot of events/activities. At least it is in our family. Our last vacation had more pictures of/with food at fancy restaurants than anything else.
That said, we usually do eat out quite a few meals while on vacations, but attempt to keep them intentional. By that, I mean planned meals at restaurants that have meaning and not mindlessly stopping because we didn’t plan. We do usually pack snacks and some breakfast and lunch food. (Exception: road trips to California where we can get In n Out Burger…yum!)
Basically, same advice that others are saying and Crystal advocates: Spend at (or under!) your budget, and spend where it is important to you. For us, that means meals out on vaca may take on a larger portion of the budget than others and that we skimp in other areas.
Michele says
We tend to eat breakfast and lunch with stuff we buy and eat dinner out. As others have said, it’s more of a vacation for me to not have to cook and wash dishes. Breakfasts are easy though – cereal, English muffins, bagles, etc. Lunches are generally lunchmeats. We just got back from Cape May, NJ (a beach resort) and I blogged about saving money on eating out on vacation if anyone is interested:
http://savingmoneyirl.blogspot.com/2009/06/save-on-your-beach-vacation-part-2.html
http://savingmoneyirl.blogspot.com/2009/06/our-familys-vacation-weekly-wrap-up.html
Kim61973 says
We do both. We budget for dinner out – even if it’s quick – and we always look for coupon books and other deals – and usually try to stay in places that have a continental breakfast, fridge and microwave. I pack crackers, string cheese, small packages of tuna fish with condiments I save from fast food restaurants, picklepaks, blueberries and beverages in our cooler (if it’s a road trip). And I usually take an of extra carton of milk/juice and pieces of fruit from the continental breakfast – for snacks.
Kelly S. says
Depends on the vacation. But usually we will bring drinks and water bottles to refill. Also, snacks, b/c you get hungry when you’re out and about and it gets really expensive to stop everytime you get a little munchie. As for meals, I try to pick places with the breakfast included otherwise i try for a room with a fridge and bring cereal or something like that along. If I’m staying put in a single place for a week, we will rent a place with a kitchen and often make our lunches to take with and will sometimes pick-up local style foods to cook for dinner. I don’t like to spend my whole vacation eating. If you eat every meal out you spend your whole vacation in restaruants. Sometimes you just need food to go…I;ll bring along staples and buy the fresh thing on location.
Beth says
We see vacation time as our splurge time. I’m the sole cooker/shopper – and I really do enjoy it most of the time. I love bargain hunting and seeing how much I can get for how little. But b/c it’s one of my main jobs, when we go on vacation Dh and I see it as a chance for BOTH of us to get away from the everyday grind, and shopping/cooking is part of that for me. So, we go out to eat more often than not when we’re vacationing. We have a monthly vacation fund that we consistantly put money in, so our vacations are totally cash-paid.
I do search high and low for restaurant coupons/deals, though, and we do our best to eat cheaply in restaurants, with maybe one true splurge night where we go someplace nicer. We like to have a room/rental home with a fridge and microwave, and we do go shopping when we arrive for breakfast items, snack foods, and easy lunches – we probably do breakfast out and lunch out once while we’re away, and the rest of the time we eat from our room stash. Dinners are usually out, nice and early b/c it helps us get the kiddos to bed on time (which gives dh and I some alone time), and also so we can take advantage of early bird specials. Our little ones are about the same ages as yours (4, 2, and one due in two months) – so we find as long as we’ve got snack stuff and drinks available at all times, we’re good.
We leave tomorrow for our 4th vacation – and while we’re staying with family and won’t really need to worry about the meals while we’re there, I just went out today and bought all of our travel snacks/drinks. I went to Publix and stocked up on some of the kids favorites, including Capri Suns (a real treat, which we get b/c they’re so easy in the car) – and by using lots of coupons and shopping the sales we got over $26 worth of goodies for $6. Should be plenty to last us the 6 hour trip there and back, as well as give us some snacks while we’re there.
Hope you have a great time on vacation – you deserve some down time!
Jane says
We usually take bread and have a cooler filled with sandwich meat, cheese, condiments, fruit for lunches. For breakfast we take a box of cereal and keep milk in the cooler, or we stay at a hotel that has a free breakfast. For dinner we go out some nights and eat in some nights. For eating in we have taken spaghetti and spaghetti sauce (cooked in a microwavable bowl if we don’t have a stove) and the Tyson beef tips and Bob Evans refrigerated mashed potatoes. We just eat raw carrots with these for the veggie, though you could also bring bagged salad or even canned veggies to heat up if you wanted.
Jennifer says
We always vacation at the beach, and eat the fish and shrimp we catch. You can’t beat free! Also, we buy local seafood like crabs and cook it ourselves– a little splurge, but a nice treat and still cheaper than a restaraunt.
Lyn says
We have a cooler that plugs in — both to the car outlet, and to a regular electrical outlet in the hotel room (if needed. So many have a refrigerator these days!). We pack fresh produce and yogurt, individual packs of cheese and water bottles. For meals on the road, we add some of those little drink mixes to water and pull through for burgers and other main dishes off the value meal. With the veggies and dairy, some pretzels from the snack container we carry, everyone is full and we’re eating realatively heathly meals without a ton of work. We leave Wednesday for a month!
Becky says
What a great idea, taking a crockpot!! I would have never thought of that.
ADollarSaved says
I absolutely splurge when I go on vacation. We rarely ever go on vacation, so when we actually do, we just have to do it up!
Trixie says
Hello!
I hope you have a fun vacation. We don’t usually take longer trips from home. When we do, it is to visit family and we end up eating most of our meals at their home, but we always end the trip by treating our hosts to a meal out.
We take several day trips a year and we always bring our own food. It’s not much work to pack a day’s worth of food, plus I love a picnic style lunch. You can get ideas about the types of food we pack for our outings here.
http://farmhomelife.blogspot.com/2007/08/planning-day-out.html
http://farmhomelife.blogspot.com/2007/07/menu-plan-monday-includes-picnic.html
Take Care,
Trixie
Lady of Perpetual Chaos says
We usually go camping when we travel so I bring most of the food. We have lots of snacks available as well. I like to cook a roast ahead of time, shred and freeze it, and the we use it for french dip sandwiches. We’ve also done taco meat, frozen, and then make tacos or taco salads. It’s nice to take them frozen because that’s less ice you need and it requires very little preparation.
Celia says
I have hypoglycemia, so I have taken to packing a cooler when we go anywhere. It’s a drag for everyone else to worry about feeding me a snack every two hours.
I pack cheese sticks, bags of single serving nuts, and grapes. I also pack a treat- like a mini chocolate bar. I always pack twice as much as I need, because usually someone else gets hungry or we stay out longer than planned.
It really helps keep down costs, and the cooler is a lunch bag with a strap so it is no more trouble to carry along than a handbag.
I also pack a travel bottle of hand sanitizer.
Melissa says
We take a lot of food with us. Our last vacation, we ate out once a day and look to save at the restaurants (share, use coupons, etc). We pack lots of snacks, fruit, veggies, sandwiches, drinks, etc to last for the vacation.
We also try to stay in hotels that offer free breakfast- I’m amazed at how many do that now and it isn’t just continental breakfasts either.
Andrea says
Vacation…Yay! We were able to go on our first vacation in over 5 years (thanks to all the money we’ve saved with couponing this last year. 🙂
I knew we really needed to budget…so I packed a lot of food & snacks for us to eat at the hotel. We stopped at the grocery when we arrived to our location to get cold items like milk, frozen waffles, cheese, ice cream, etc.I took a couple of boxes of cereal for breakfast each morning. Sandwiches and wraps for lunch most of the week. I also took a box of noodles and a can of sauce for dinner one night. I used half of the noodles for a pasta bake & the other half for pasta salad for lunch with our sammies & wraps.
All in all we only eat dinner out 2 nights during the week.
And with my 2 boys that is always a good thing!
Hope you guys have a safe & great vacation!
I’ve linked to my post of “Vacationing on a Dime.”
Zsera says
Our family of 4 went on vacation in April and I expected to spend alot more on meals than we did. I made sure to bring a box of Capri Suns so we could at least save money on drinks for the kids. A whole box is what you would pay for one drink at a fast food place. I also packed snacks like crackers and then brought a box of cereal for them.
Jennifer says
Growing up, we would take our lunches and eat out for dinner. Lunch foods were easy to store and more portable than dinners. So we saved at lunch and splurged a bit at dinner. We didn’t eat out anywhere fancy, but we would be sure to reserve one evening for a nice meal out together. The other evenings were more informal.
Kathy @ (In My Mothers Garden) says
Hi Crystal,
I saw your pumpkin muffin recipe and I just wanted to tell you and your readers about a very easy and low fat, calorie muffin recipe that uses pumpkin too.
all you need is
1 Cake mix ( any kind you would like)
1 cup of pumpkin
1 1/4 cup of water.
mix and scoop into muffin tins.
We have used chocolate cake mix or vanilla cake mix and added either chocolate chips or blue berries and these are moist and very tasty. My little ones love them. My mother and brother are on weight watchers and these would only count as one pt. It satisfies that chocolate urge as well.
Enjoy God Bless, Kathy
Teresa says
Try the local grocery stores, most have a roasted chicken for about $5-7. Then I bring snacks, drinks, and we make at least one meal like this. Some stores even have fish fries. This is about $7-9, but with a few snacks we can feed our family of 6 for less than we would pay for one persons meal out. Pack napkins, plates, cups, wet naps, silverware. When you are out anywhere this week, ask for ketcup and other packs and stock up before your trip.
Yogurt cups are great with these two meals, as they are cheap and filling. Get some apples, take carrots, grapes, or what every fresh fruit or veg. you like to snack on. We try to limit eating out to a dinner every other night, unless we are camping, then we very rarely eat out as I can pack several coolers in the boat and we have more room to pack things.
Have fun.
julie says
I never thought to bring along a crock pot. I’ll have to give that a try.
For me, it’s much more stressful to take small children to restaurants at the resort town we usually visit. There’s always a long wait to be seated and then another long wait to be served. I find it much easier to eat in our hotel room.
I usually cook and freeze meatballs and plain ground beef. The frozen things help keep our cooler cold. I also take fixings for meals like pasta, tacos or chili to use up the ground beef.
We always take our own breakfasts and snacks. Lunch is usually sandwiches.
We typically treat ourselves to one breakfast out and one dinner out.
This year, though, I’ve very excited to be traveling abroad, so aside from snack bars, we’ll be eating out all the time.
Cheri says
We don’t go out to eat much when we’re on vacation because all my kids have food allergies, so it’s difficult for me to enjoy eating out. If we don’t stay at a place with a kitchen, we’ll look for a hotel with a fridge and a microwave. I can go to the store and get ham, turkey, bread, fresh fruit, steamer bag veggies and potatoes or sweet potatoes, hot dogs, ramen, veggie burger patties, etc. and we eat pretty well. Not to sure about the crock pot in the hotel, although I think the crock pot idea is brilliant! I just wouldn’t want anything to happen while I was away (my crockpot is set for kill, for some reason).
miri says
i noticed you serve alot of sliced cucumbers and was interested in how you serve them. do you add seasonings, dressing, or pickle them?
Roshni says
Right now, since my kids are still toddlers, I opt for the eating out option. Not only does it make the kids feel happy coz it seems like a proper holidays with lot of the restrictions removed (icecream, soda, chips!!), but I don’t have to worry about portions and leftovers and whether the food will stay fresh after a long drive or hike.
Sara K says
I tend to bring quick breakfast things-yogurt, homemade muffins, juice and then we pack tons of snacks (usually things the kids don’t get at home so they’re interested in them in the car). We had always stopped at fast food places that have a play area just to let our boys (5 & 2) get out and play, but since we live somewhere warm, we’ve decided to try and stop at parks instead. Otherwise, we pack sandwich meat and make sandwiches for dinner when we have the chance. It ends up costing more money up front, but I think we’re saving in the end.
Michelle says
We prepare and pack food for most of our outings ~ our girls are always hungry and don’t fill up on the kid’s menu anymore!
Lynne says
We take a cooler, which we fill with ice from home and supplement through our stay with ice from the hotel. We bring milk, juice, fruit, etc, and keep in the cooler in our room. We usually do cereal and fruit for breakfast.
I also pack a small cooler bag, which is also filled with ice, and then pack snacks, juice boxes, water bottles, and fruit, to take with us during the day as we are out & about doing activities.
Just last week, we took our 5 kids to an amusement park for 4 days. We ate breakfast at the hotel, took the “snack bag” with us and had a late morning snack from that, and then splurged on an “all you can eat” buffet at the park at 3 pm. (The kids were thrilled with the never-ending ice cream cups!) We supplemented with a light snack back at the hotel before going to bed for the night. This way, we really only splurged for one meal out…which helps with so many kids!
I agree with Krissy, who said the kids won’t remember the meals, but WILL remember the extra activities. We use the money saved on meals out to do some additional fun activities that wouldn’t fit into the budget otherwise.
Have a great vacation!
Lacey says
This is a perfect topic b/c we are leaving for Montana from TX this week as well. We always take food with us (food for while we are driving and food to eat when we get there).
For the road, lunchmeat and homemade chicken salad for sandwiches. We always take fruit and plenty of snacks. I just bought milk at CVS which is good through 7/8. If we have any left, we will stick it in the cooler for cereal in the car.
We try to get a hotel room (thanks Marriott points for when hubby travels for work…been saving for years) with a kitchen. I make food ahead of time and freeze. We are taking porcupine balls in rice (meatballs…Paula Deen), Lasagna, and the stuff to make White Chili (Chicken type of soup) or possibly buy eggs there and have breakfast for dinner one night when we get there. I always take my own meat b/c it is always cheaper to buy around here than in other towns. I will take all of our sides as well.
We will take 2 larger coolers. One for regular stuff to keep cold and one for frozen stuff. We buy dry ice along the way. Most of the grocery stores carry dry ice. It is perfect! We have done this a few times now. I have a 3 1/2 year old and 17 month old, and we can’t stand going out to eat. About the time we almost get our food, my husband and I look at one another and say, “What were we thinking? And, we are actually paying for this! They should be paying us to eat here!” So, this also saves us hours of time not having to really cook or go out to eat. I just thaw my casserole pans and cook. I plan on every seasoning we use. It really is easy to do. We would rather spend more time out exploring and seeing stuff than being stuck in the kitchen or a restaurant.
Then, we take one of those larger plastic tubs with a lids. All of our snacks, plates, spoons, seasonings, whatever go in it. We put the lid on so stuff can easily be stacked on top of it.
Lisa in Shawnee says
Not sure where your going to live in Kansas City but we live in the Kansas city area and we love Culvers. If you have not ate there before, google Culvers locations and see if there is one close to you.
Amanda says
We pack a cooler along with us . I always seem to spend less at my “usual” grocery store. It isn’t a hassle at all for me. This past year for vacation, I decided to prepare our breakfasts and lunches and eat out for dinners. I packed quick fix lunch items like lunch meat and pb and chips. For breakfasts, you could bring along a bunch of bananas to go with cereal….or do toast. Also, I would pack a small cooler (most hotels and resorts have ice machines to fill it) for our lunch and snack items and just leave it in the car….so when lunch time came around we would have our lunch close….not back in the hotel room. I also stock up on stuff throughout the year when I can get it dirt cheap. For example, I always seem to be able to get granola/snack bars cheap…..these aren’t nutritional ideal for everyday home use but are perfect for vacation.
Jamie says
The way we save is to bring lunch meat, stuff to make PB&J, hot dogs, etc. Basically, we bring stuff to make lunches! Then I dont feel so bad spluring and eating out for dinner.
sarah says
I am much better with snacks. We rarely vacation so eating out is part of the “splurge” and we really enjoy it.
I am currently stocking up on Kashi cereal bars, Dannon crush cups, and other “snack food” it makes it so muich easier to not stop between meals or load up on junk.
Mandy says
When on vacation, we generally try to stay in a hotel that provides a breakfast of some sort. We eat a lot of homemade “lunchables” for lunch (bring our own crackers, cheese, lunchmeat”) and fruit for lunches. We then splurge on dinner out. Eating out while on vacation is a great treat, and is a great way to experience your destination’s local culture.
Ann B says
Kansas City is my neck of the woods. Have a good time. We will be traveling this weekend as well.
Here is how we are handling the food situation this weekend. We are going to be sharing a house (a large one) with 3 other families. Most of our meals are eaten in. Someone is designated to go to Sams Club and shop. They will be buying items for tacos, sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs (and a few other items that I can’t remember). We have already planned to order pizza for one meal. We just divide up the total and each family pays their share. It isn’t as economical as my usual eating and shopping, but not too bad for a vacation weekend. This will be the 3rd year we have done this and there has never been a lack of food.
pamela says
We usually splurge on dinners out while on vacation, but bring food for lunches and breakfasts. We also try and stay in hotels with free breakfast!!! We just recently returned from a trip to North Carolina and did very well eating out of the cooler for lunch and eating hotel breakfast (boy those southern people really know how to fix breakfast, even in a hotel…biscuts and gravy, eggs, cereal). I made up egg salad, chicken salad and sliced cheese ahead of time for our cooler. We fit two coolers in our van, one for drinks and one for food. We bought tortillas, string cheese, pudding, applesauce in individual containers. We also packed granola bars and cheese cracker packets. For our family of 6 this has worked not only on short vacations (Florida to North Carolina) but also worked great on our cross country move last summer (Oregon to Florida). Stopping at rest stops to use the restroom and make up wraps to go really works well. Hope this helps. Have a great time with family!! This is our first 4th of July in Florida…still not sure what we will do. Whatever it is, I’m sure it will be hot!!! 🙂
God Bless!!
Letty Casey says
We don’t eat alot of sandwiches as a rule. So on vacations we pack a small ice chest with all kinds of different meats,bread, condiments. We let the kids make the sandwiches and we do picnics for lunch or dinner. They enjoy “cooking” for mom and dad. And everything should fit in a mini fridge, or a ziploc bag of ice will hold it for the day.We also eat dinner/lunch late in the afternoon, because we can generally get the lunch prices and it’s enought to fill us up for the evening. We also keep snacks on hand for on the go. pretzels, apples, oranges are always staples and can travel resonably well.
Tiffany says
The crockpot is a great idea..
I was going to suggest ways to eat out less expensively. Look up restaurants that are close to where you are staying and sign up for whatever email list they have if they offer incentives to do so! I know Noodles.com offers a BOGO for signing up and one each year on the anniversary of your registration as well as a meal for your bday. If you have 2 kids that need meals, then both parents sign up and get the BOGO and pay separately when you get to the store…You order 4 meals and pay for 2! TGI Fridays is good for this, too! There are lots of others and if you can find local restaurants (BBQ joints and whatnot) you can often call ahead and find out if there is a night that kids eat free!..
I also tend to pack one cold pack with cheese sticks and then lots of granola bars and nuts for snacks. We either purchase food when we arrive or just eat out!
Alison Armstrong says
With more kids we need a suite room. Lately it hasn’t been any more exp for this kind of room when we have stayed. They usually come with a fridge and microwave. So we bring sandwich stuff, chips, veg & dip ect. We can eat the continental b-fast then come back to the room for lunch and nap time. Then we just have to eat out for supper. I always pack cereal, animal crackers, ect for snacks.
Have a great vacation!
krissy says
If we are going anywhere for vacation I insist on staying somewhere with a kitchen. It doesn’t ususally cost that much more and it saves a ton of money. I use rubbermaid containers for packing our dry groceries and a giant cooler for our perishables. If you have a couple of frozen casseroles it will keep your entire cooler cold enough to make it a full day of driving. I try to get more snacks than I would normally have at home so the kids feel like they are getting treats. If you scour the sales a few weeks ahead of time you can put things back especially for vacation. Food is not something I enjoy blowing money on. I would rather scrimp and save on our food and go somewhere really fun amd memorable for our kids. They won’t remember going out to dinner but they will remember going horseback riding or water rafting!
Claudia F. says
We do a little of both, depending upon how long we are on vacation and where. We’ve even asked the produce person in the store to wash some grapes for us so that we could take them to the beach and eat them right away, they were great about it. If the hotel has breakfast included in the price there are usually things you can grab that work for later in the day as a snack.
Alison says
Hi Crystal! Hope you enjoy your vacation!!! With two teenage girls, we find that vacations can get quick expensive. Here’s a few ways we have saved. Instead of a hotel room at our destination, we use VRBO.com to book a rental home. We have negotiated them down to $100 per night for a 4 bedroom with it’s own rec room and pool only 5 mins. outside of Disney when we’ve gone. Of course, this comes with it’s own kitchen, so I bring the coupon box along and shop their sales! With all this room, this also allows us to have the girls bring friends so when they go on rides, they have someone to share it with. Typically then enjoy spending the day at the house so we’re not going to the parks everyday and saving lots there too.
For the tournament weekends out of state, we pack sandwiches without the mayo and mustard…we bring that along separate so the sandwiches don’t get soggy, and we always request a room with a refrigerator. This helps with what we bring and when we do go out to treat ourselves, we can bring ‘home’ the leftovers.
There are many other ways in which we have learned to save over the years, but I didn’t want to take up too much of your comment space! Email me if you want some more ideas for an article you might chose to do! I’ve been working on one myself after this tournament weekend.
Christen says
we eat out on vacations but I scour the internet for coupons. http://www.restaurant.com/ is a good place to start. I also so google searches with phrases like “cheap food in….” there are whole websites out there dedicated to eating cheaply in various city’s, they’ll list local favorites and deals you might not know about if you didn’t live there. One of our favorite cheap meals is to grab subs from subway or publix and some fresh fruit and drinks from the grocery and have a picnic at a local park. I can usually do this for about $20 but I have a couple teenagers in tow…..
Elle Crawford says
In the past we’ve bought bagged lettuce with extra carrots and Tyson (already cooked-refrigerated) chicken and taken it to make a quick salad and serve with baked potato and ready to serve rolls.
We have also bought a one-time use/disposable grill (basically an aluminum pan-charcoal included with a rack) and taken hot/dogs.
jessica says
The rare time we take a trip, we do bring our own food. We try to get accomodations with a stove, microwave and refrigerator. This way, you can purchase a frozen skillet meal such as a stir fry at the grocery store, or make grilled cheese. Breakfasts of course, are so much more economical to do yourself. a bag of bagels and pb &j can do it, along with a bag of apples. Granola bars are great to, as are instant oatmeal packets.
Fran says
For the most part all our snacks come from home. I just fill a bag with anything I have in the pantry or store room and off we go. Meals are generally purchased.
Growing up, however, my parents always did a big breakfast when we were on the road. They either brought it along or we ate at the hotel. Then we snacked most of the day (treats brought from home) and ended with a nice big early dinner at a restaurant.
When camping with our extended family every family is in charge of a meal for the whole group. It’s nice to be able to plan, bring and only cook one meal. Plus it’s fun to sample everyone else’s cooking.
Melissa says
Crock pots…do you use them in hotel rooms?
maria says
For us it depends on where we are going and staying.
If we rent a cabin, then we’re cooking most of the time. If we are in a hotel, we make sure it has continental breakfast, and maybe bring something like a sandwich maker since we will have little room in a hotel. I would buy ham and cheese etc, and make sandwiches for a quick lunch if we are in the hotel around that time and maybe go out to eat for dinner.
We generally try and do something fash foodish if we are eating out for dinner and not in the hotel around lunchtime.
Your family is younger than mine so your right, my family of older kids are more $$ esp since 1 of them doesn’t eat from the kids menu
Lori says
I pack our food when we go on vacation, or most anywhere. We have made some major lifestyle changes within the last year and I am very commited to seeing that we stay on track. I make a menu for the time we are gone and prepare as much as I can before we leave. Especially chopping veggies and salads, making spaghetti sauce, etc…then take my slow cooker and blender and get to work when we arrive. It is alot more work than eating out, but we all feel better!!
Rachel says
We try to take foods with on vacation that are easy to make. Take what you can and buy things that can spoil when you get there. A crock pot is great with all the things you can make with it – takes up little room – and you don’t need a kitchen to make a meal.
We would take the seasonings and maybe potatoes (depending on what you are making) and buy the meat when we get there. The when you get back in you don’t have to really cook at all! Roasts and chicken meals are really easy and still really good.
Breakfast is another easy one to do in the room with cereals, fruit, pop tarts, granola bars, etc.
Teresa says
We usually bring a crockpot and i pick up something up from freezer section at local grocery store to throw in and let it cook while we are out doing the day. Works good! Plus it is nice to go back for dinner and relax in our room for an hour or so.