Vacation Eats And Treats

We had the absolute pleasure of going on a family vacation this past week.  I hope you didn't notice my absence too much, as I tried to schedule ahead.  I even scheduled the weekly newsletter to go out.  Ahead of time.  I was super blogger. ;-)

Trying to pack, organize, purchase and arrange for our vacation was challenging enough.  We are a growing family of 6.  Our oldest is now 13 so a couple of years ago, I could easily fit all four children's clothes into a suitcase.  I still did this time, but it took a little more effort.

Our van was also bursting.  So was the trailer that we pulled behind the van. Ahem.

One thing I greatly considered before hand (besides how many life vests to bring!) was how was this family going to eat for a week.  I knew I needed to plan well, if I didn't want to spend all of our garage sale money on food.  Which, I enjoy eating out like the next person, but spending $30-$40 a time for our family to eat is not my idea of spending wisely.

We would need food on the road, breakfast, lunches and supper while on vacation and food while at the water park. (More on that story later!  Amazing what is charged for food at a water park!)

See Also: Why I refuse to pay $8 for food at a waterpark

How can I go about feeding this family for a fraction of the cost of eating out without spending a lot of time in the kitchen in the condo? I mean, I like to cook for my family, but who wants to spend all of vacation cooking?  Not this mom.  Though I do want to point out, my new teenager in the house wanted me to make beef and noodles with mashed potatoes while on vacation.

I don't think so.

{Have a teenager in the house? Read how to feed a teenager without going broke.}

I rounded up some of my favorite easy recipes and some of the tips and tricks we used to eat wisely on a budget.

:: I planned ahead.

I knew what I wanted to make, when I wanted to make it and what things I needed to buy to make the meal work. A little time of planning saved me money while on vacation from either eating out or buying costly ingredients down there at their stores.

:: I packed accordingly.

I brought my crock pot.  I worked out the packing plan with my husband (who is the ultimate packer!) on whether to bring a large cooler or small one.  I used the crock pot to store canned goods, brown sugar and honey.  I knew there wasn't an Aldi's down there so I made sure to buy my Aldi goods up here.

:: We stopped at a Walmart for breakfast on the road, not a fast food place.

This is one of my favorite ones.  On our way home, we left very early in the morning.  Our food supplies were depleted because we didn't want to have to carry a lot of food back with us.  So on the way home, we had a choice.  We could spend $30+ dollars on breakfast food or we could swing by a Walmart and pick up a few things for a fraction of the cost.  So that is what we did.

I ran into the store and bought a package of bagels, bananas and 100% fruit juice boxes for just over $6.00 and we ate in the car while traveling.  Saved us a lot of money and it was healthier.  It was also just as fast.

The same thing happened at suppertime.  We had already eaten at a fast food place for lunch, so we did not want to spend the money (or have something as unhealthy) for supper.  Again, we stopped by a Walmart and bought a few things to eat on the road. Delicious and cost effective.

Fort Morgan

:: I made easy meals.

I am a busy mom.  I typically make easy meals, but of course I have other meals that are a little more complex.  For vacation, the only choice was easy crock pot or throw together meals.  I didn't think they felt like a chore then.  We ate out a few times, but the meals I made were so easy, they were a piece of cake to prepare.

We made taco soup, pizza bake, (we had originally planned pizza burger) and mostaccioli. I also had frozen Tyson Grilled Chicken Breasts and Walmart pizza.

I am going to write another post on Vacation Eats And Treats.  I will talk about our water park eating and why planning ahead saving us a lot of money.

What about you?  What are your favorite ways to cut costs on vacation food? Let us know in the comments!