One of the easiest ways to make traveling much more affordable is
to prepare your own meals and snacks
while traveling. We were gone for
nine days so it was pretty important to me that we have plenty of healthy meals
and snacks to enjoy. So I started out by
making a list of the meals we would like to have and went from there.
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| This little electric skillet turned out to be the best thing I could've brought We cooked everything in it |
We ended up preparing two meals a day plus snacks which for us was
more than enough food to get us through our days. I kept it mainly Keto with a few carbs here
and there for the girls. For breakfast I
packed eggs, sausage links, bacon, cheese and fruit. We were able to prepare bacon and eggs,
sausage and eggs, omelets, breakfast burritos and scrambled eggs with cheese
and salsa.
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| Our first vacation breakfast |
For supper I packed a variety of meats, all frozen to help them
last longer. We prepared steaks, angus
beef patties, taco meat, sausages and paired them with salad or sautéed veggies. One evening we made chicken alfredo with
broccoli florets in it and ate that as a one pot meal.. And of course, egg roll in a bowl made an appearance one night with leftovers for
the next day as well. I packed
condiments in mason jars and some olive oil along with a few of our favorite
spices to cook with.
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| Our hotel kitchen, crowed and cluttered but it got the job done |
For snacks I packed almonds and cashews, black olives, pork rinds,
tortilla chips, leftover cookies from the graduation party, cheese sticks, pepperoni, salami, beef jerky, fresh fruit and
veggies. Each day we put a variety of
items into sandwich sized bags to take with us on our adventures.
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| My bunless hamburger one night |
Bottled water can really add up (especially inside Disneyland at
$3.99 a piece) and we are really big water drinkers. We took our Brita pitcher with us and some
refillable water bottles so we had plenty of water to keep us hydrated while we
were out and about. We also took plastic
tumblers with lids and straws I'd bought at the dollar store a couple years ago
to keep in our Go Bags and had those
in the car and hotel to use.
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| It worked out very well for us |
I took dishes, silverware, a can opener and utensils from our
camping supplies to use to eat with. An
electric skillet was all we needed to cook with and an electric kettle to heat
water and make coffee each day. I used a
coffee cone and filters with my insulated travel mug. We washed our dishes in the hotel sink with
dish soap and a sponge with a scour pad on it for easy clean up. It was really pretty simple to keep it all up
and didn't feel like a chore either.
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| Broccoli & chicken alfredo |
Along with the savings over eating out we really appreciated all
of the healthy and good quality meals we enjoyed. We enjoy eating out on occasion, but every
day, several times a day just would not work well for us. Healthy whole foods and a nice variety of
them kept us going throughout our trip.
Nice! You made a lot of great meals & planned well for the trip. I'm going to Hawaii next week,and while we don't plan to make all our meals, our plan is breakfast & lunch in the room, with only dinners out (happy hours). We'll be doing that with just a microwave, so salads factor in quite a bit for us.
ReplyDeleteJust making those 2 meals each day will save you a ton. Have a great time!
DeleteWow, way to go! what a wonderful job. Inspires me to do better at home!
ReplyDeleteI love getting meal ideas from others. Glad this helps. :)
DeleteYou did very well with your meals, lots of variety and good food. Did you have any issues with the hotels in bringing in your own appliances? I do know there are some that won't permit those items.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Our last hotel on the way home was that way, but the others we stayed in were just fine. I made sure when I booked that we'd be okay.
DeleteAwesome! My mom and I like to travel together. We take snacks and pack foods to take even on the airplane. We take a set each of heavy duty plastic silverware and plastic bowl each. We try to get a room with a microwave and mini fridge when possible. Snacks are usually shelf stable like cliff bars, lara bars, Jerky, nuts, mini pretzels, a little chocolate if it's not hot out or a favorite candy are nice and you miss the cost of airport snacks, etc... We hit a local grocery store for a few things like yogurt, fruit , veggies or main dish things we can microwave. If the hotel has a breakfast for free all the better. We take extra coffee either ground with a cone drip thing I have for a cup and a few filters or instant "sticks" and tea bags too. We can pick up a package of cocoa mix at breakfast for a break in the evening in our room. We save so much money this way and just eat out once or twice during the trip. I have severe food allergies so this is the best and most frugal way to do it. Oh, and always a water bottle each! We get very creative and a lot of the snacks are purchased on sale in small packages while at home so I always have a stash for travel or car day trips. Save your mini packages of salt and pepper, sugar, creamer and ketchup, mustard or mayo. They have always let us take these through even at an airport. I just make sure they are in their own baggie inside my gallon or two gallon ziplock freezer bag with the other foods. Once I was questioned at an airport and told them I have severe food allergies so I bring a lot of my own stuff to eat. Oh, that reminds me throw a couple extra zip top baggies in your luggage. They come in handy. Take care. I sure enjoy reading your blog and seeing the girls grow up. So many memories you are making with them and teaching them to have fun yet still be frugal and healthy. Take care. Sorry to hear about your kitty. It's hard to lose a member of your family.
ReplyDeleteI actually had a whole box of baggies. LOL You have a lot of great ideas here Crystal. Thank you for sharing and thank you for the kind comments about our kitty. We sure do miss him.
DeleteAlmost forgot one time when we were driving we took our own small microwave with us. Came in handy as the room didn't have one.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good idea too :)
DeleteWe just spent a long weekend in northern New England, and these tips would have made our time there much more comfortable. I am bookmarking this post and your great ideas for our next trip! Electric skillet, here I come!
ReplyDeleteThat electric skillet was perfect for all the meals I had planned. I heartily recommend it.
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