How to Eat Well {& Cheap} on Vacation–Bonus!

Thanks for your great feedback and encouragement on this series.  I hope you have learned a little bit from my experiences about how to eat well {& cheap} on vacation. 

When I started this series I shared that we ended up eating for about $25/person during the trip, and estimated savings of over $110 per person. 

Some of you have asked to see our grocery lists for what we bought here vs. there, so here they are:

What we bought and brought with us (total $140):

• 3 batches of pancake mix
• 3 batches of baked oatmeal mix
• 2.5 C applesauce
• 2 dozen eggs (Costco)
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2, 30-oz bags of shredded potatoes (frozen)
• 4 lbs. frozen broccoli (Costco)
• 2 lbs Colby Jack Cheese (Costco), a brick that we shredded ahead of time
• 2 lbs. organic strawberries (Costco)
• 2.5 lbs. blueberries (Costco)
• 4 C frozen raspberries (Costco)
• Greek Yogurt (Costco)
• Bacon
• Sugar/cornstarch mix
• Tortillas (Costco)
• Smokehouse Maple Seasoning
• Beans (black, great white northern), 3 cans total
• 10 red bell peppers (Costco)
• 6 colored bell peppers (Costco)
• 1 green bell pepper
• Chips (Costco)
• Salsa (Costco)
• 1 can of corn
• 3 sweet onions
• 5 lbs. of potatoes
• 2x Wild Rice mix for stuffed peppers
• 2 cans of tomatoes (Costco)
• 3 lbs. organic spinach (Costco)
• Marshmallows
• Chocolate
• Graham Crackers (Costco)
• Cheez-Its (Costco) **vacation splurge**
• 3 lbs. carrots (Costco)
• 2 batches Pound Cake

What we purchased when we arrived (total $110)

• Butter (1 lb)
• Eggs (1 dozen)
• 2 gallons of milk
• 1 gallon of OJ
• 4 lbs. ground beef
• 4 pkgs. chicken tenders (about 16 oz each)
• 1 pkg. locally made brats (onion and cheddar); 5 links
• 1 lb. asparagus
• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 large sweet potato
• 16 oz. baby bella mushrooms
• 1 butternut squash
• 4 tomatoes
• 2 avocados
• 12 ears sweet corn
• 6 apricots
• Whole wheat buns
• 2, 5-quart pails of ice cream

I hope that is helpful!  This fed 10 adults (minus lunch items, each family brought their own) for 4 full days.  You can find our menu plan for that week here.

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Eating Well {& Cheap} on Vacation–Part 5

If you are just joining us, we are wrapping up our series on how to eat well {& cheap} on vacation. 

• Part 1 raised 5 essential questions to ask before your trip
• Part 2 shared 30+ recipe ideas that work well for the road
• Part 3 discussed what to bring from home vs. buy when you arrive
• Part 4 helped you determine how not to bring “the kitchen sink”

Today, we’re talking about how you can actually enjoy your vacation, despite cooking!

Some might say, a vacation isn’t a vacation if you are doing all the cooking.  I’m here to say, you don’t have to do all the cooking, and by choosing the right meals, you can make cooking on vacation stress free. 

The Top 5 Ways to Make Cooking on Vacation Stress Free & {dare I say it, fun}!

• If you’ve done your work ahead of time, the most time consuming part of making meals on vacation will be chopping and slicing fresh produce.  Remember that cutting board I recommended you bring?  Put it to good use by asking others to slice and dice. 
  
• Do double duty.  That is, if you are slicing bell peppers one night for fajitas, slice enough that same night for breakfast and/or dinner the following night.  Cutting produce 1-2 days ahead of time will help reduce the time needed to bring a meal together. 
  
• Rely on meals that use leftovers, and prep the next meal when you’re putting away the first!  This tip is especially important from dinner to breakfast.  When you are done, toss those leftovers into your breakfast egg bake or crockpot breakfast for tomorrow’s meal. 

See this dinner (above)… the leftovers went right into this breakfast (below):

• Take a morning to sleep in.  On a morning with an egg bake or crockpot breakfast casserole, you can easily ask the first person up to add the milk and egg mixture and set the breakfast in the oven. 
  
• Enlist others to clean up.  The trade off can be, you’ll cook, others will do the dishes.  It’s wonderful.  Try it. 

I can’t guarantee a stress free trip, but these tips should help you feel like you get a vacation too. 

Join us on Saturday for a bonus to this series.  Many of you have asked to see a list of what we brought vs. what we bought, and Part 6 will show you our packing list.  Stay tuned. 

Do you have any stress-free tips for us?

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Eating Well {& Cheap} on Vacation–Part 4

Now you know where you’re going and staying, what kinds of meals you’ll need, and what to buy when you arrive vs. bring from home.  You are well on your way to eating well and cheap on vacation! 

Today’s topic is all about what you bring from home. 

Bringing food items made at home a head of time allows you to determine the kinds of ingredients and types of foods your family and/or friends will mostly eat on vacation.  I say mostly because you are on vacation!!  Splurge a little bit.  For example, I did not make homemade tortillas, but purchased them instead. 

But, how do you not bring along “the kitchen sink”!

Here are my tips:

1) Make & Bring Dry Mixes. 

Rather than bring along a sack of flour, baking powder, soda, salt, etc. make up dry mixes of items you will cook there.  This reduces what you need to bring! 

For example, we decided our group would enjoy homemade pancakes for breakfast on Saturday.  Rather than buy a box of pancake mix, I made my own whole wheat and oatmeal pancake mix.  I tripled the batch and tossed it all in a Ziploc bag. 

Some recipes that work wonderfully as a dry baking mix:

• Pancakes
• Waffles
• Baked Oatmeal

2) Don’t Bring Along Recipes. 

Remember that meals should be easy to prepare, for me, this means no complicated recipes and even easy recipes get written down on the very bag the ingredients come in! Don’t forget to include baking temp and time. It can’t get any easier than that. 

Bonus tip: Write the day of the meal on the bag too, that way you won’t even have to think about the menu plan. 

If you must bring a recipe, don’t bring your only copy or a giant cook book.  Write out the recipe on a sheet of paper that you don’t care if you never see again, or you can easily send home with a family member or friend that just loved that meal. 

3) Bring some wet ingredients all ready measured out; freeze for extra ice packs. 

Applesauce, a baking staple in our house, went into two of the breakfasts during our trip.  Rather than bring a whole jar of applesauce, I parsed out each serving into smaller bags.  These bags were frozen, which was great because they doubled as ice packs! 

4) Any meal items that can be made ahead of time and frozen should be!

This one will help you save major prep time on your vacation! You don’t want to be in the kitchen the entire time.   Any meal item you can make ahead of time you should.  Freeze the meal component in a bag and again, write necessary info and the rest of the recipe right on the bag. 

For example, on our trip we made ahead and froze:

• Greek Yogurt Pound Cake for Strawberry Shortcake
• Wild Rice Filling for Stuffed Bell Peppers
• Wheat Bread for Sandwiches

5) Check with the place you are staying re: kitchen essentials.

Making pancakes for breakfast?  Might be a good idea to check with the location you are staying to see if they have a griddle.  Need a crockpot?  You might also want to check on that.  Be sure to also ask about containers; we’ve been in places with no containers for leftovers.  However, there is no need to bring along these items if they will supply these items for you. 

My tips for bringing a few essentials from home:

• An extra cutting board; this will help you with what we are going to talk about in part 5!
• A spatula.  I often find rental places to have pretty beat up spatulas, which can make it hard to cook!  I suggest bringing you own. 
• Olive oil spray.  We bring our Misto. 

These tips should help you from feeling like you have to bring everything in your kitchen plus the kitchen sink in order to cook well for your family on vacation. 

Join us on Thursday for the last part of the series – Part 5.  How to actually enjoy your vacation even though you are doing most of the cooking!

What are your tips for not bringing the kitchen sink? 

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Eating Well {& Cheap} on Vacation–Part 3

Taking a summer vacation doesn’t have to be expensive, when you plan ahead, choose the meals carefully and decide what to bring vs. what to buy you are well on your way to eating well {& cheap} on vacation.

Once you have your menu determined, then you can make decisions about what you will bring from home vs. what you will buy when you arrive. 

Tip 1: Buy things ahead of time that are easy to pack

• Dry items are easy to pack; bring things like tortillas, chips, mixes for pancakes or baked oatmeal, graham crackers for s’mores, crackers, pretzels, etc. 
• Meal items that will save prep when you arrive; freeze these and they can double as ice packs!  If you only need 2 C of applesauce, don’t pack the whole jar.  Pre-measure them and place in a ziplock; then freeze.  We froze applesauce, wild rice, bread and pound cake on our last trip. 
• Cold items that pack well; bring things like cheese, lunch meat, carrots or other hard veggies (e.g., bell peppers). 
• Know what you need & watch for sales!  Grab onions, potatoes, tortillas, etc., ahead of time when you know that you will need them on your trip.

Tip 2: Buy most* produce (see tip #4) when you arrive

• Visit the farmer’s market in the town that you are staying in, if possible, or stop at fruit/vegetable stands on your way!  This is a great way to support local farmers and eat in season on your vacation. 
• If no farmer’s markets are available, visit the local grocer for softer fruits and veggies that won’t travel as well.   This could include bananas, zucchini, tomatoes and avocado.

Tip 3: Buy meat and dairy when you arrive

• This will be your biggest expense, but also make the traveling a lot easier.  No need to mess with raw meat in a cooler for 8-10+ hours!
• Choose wisely, buying meat in bulk (e.g., 4lb of ground beef vs. 1 lb) to use over multiple days.  This will reduce the cost. 
• Check the deli or meat department for specials; often locally made sausages or brats will be cheaper (& more fun) than brand name ones. 
• Find eggs locally – support the farmers!

Tip 4: Buy in bulk before you leave

• If you have a Costco or Sam’s (or equivalent) membership, or know someone who does, now is the time to use it, especially if you are feeding a crowd! 
• Costco allowed us to buy *fruits (organic strawberries & blueberries), *veggies (bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, spinach), chips, salsa, tortillas, cheese, graham crackers, lunch meat and more before we left; had we bought these when we arrived we would have spent much, much more!
• Choose carefully what you will buy at Costco – buy items that will be harder to find where you are going, items that you need a lot of (for us, that was bell peppers – we went through 20 of them!), and items that you know are your best price purchase as Costco.  Skip the other items.  

What do you bring from home?  What do you buy when you arrive? 

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Eating Well {& Cheap} on Vacation–Part 2

If you are just joining us, we are in part 2 of our series about eating well {& cheap} on vacation.  In part 1 we talked about planning ahead, asking 5 questions that will help us determine our food needs for the trip. 

Today, we’re starting to think about meals that work well on the road.  After determining answers to the first 5 questions, it’s time to think about your menu plan.  Here are the top three things to consider when choosing recipes:

1. Recipes should fit well together.  Choose recipes that use a similar set of ingredients in different ways, allowing you to maximize and stretch your ingredients.  This includes planning to use leftovers well!
2. Recipes should be easy to prepare & clean up. This is not the time for elaborate ingredient lists, complicated preparation instructions or trying something new.  Stick to recipes that you can almost make without a recipe. 
3. Recipes should include in-season ingredients. This will help you be able to purchase ingredients at your destination and keep costs low. 

Easy Breakfast Ideas

For the cook to have a lazy morning, you’ll want easy breakfasts.  Crockpot ones work really well, as do those that you can make up ahead of time and just add fresh ingredients.  Egg bakes are particularly wonderful because they make great use of leftovers from dinner the night before!

• French Toast – Use this Cinnamon Raisin Bread and whip up some homemade French Toast.  You can even bake it in the oven if no griddle is available. 
• Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes – Our favorite pancake mix -- Just be sure you have a griddle.  Serve with Berry Sauce. 
• Blueberry Breakfast Cake – Like a muffin, but better because you don’t have to clean the muffin tin!  
• Granola Bar – Make up a batch or two of granola, serve with Berry Sauce, fresh berries, milk and/or yogurt. 
• Berry Baked Oatmeal – A great way to start a busy day, this baked oatmeal can make good use of whatever fresh produce is in season!
• Crockpot Breakfast Casserole – Makes breakfast in the morning a pinch. 
• Leftover Egg Bake – Cleans out the refrigerator!
• Breakfast Potatoes & Scrambled Eggs – You can even toss this inside a tortilla for a wrap.  

 

Simple Eat In or Out Lunches

When it comes to lunches, simple is key.  You’ll want to spend your time with family and/or friends, and not in the kitchen!  A few ideas for eat in or for a picnic lunch include:

• Sandwich Bar – Make your favorite loaves of bread, bring a bunch of fixings and have everyone build their own sandwiches.  Try this moist Carrot Bread or Wheat Buttermilk Bread.  Switch things up by using a bun – Italian Herb or Whole Wheat. 
• Grilled Cheese – If you are eating in, take your favorite bread and make a grilled cheese. 
• Toasted Sandwiches – Have a campfire?  Wrap up a sandwich and toast.  Yum-o. 
• Fun Fillings for Sandwiches or Wraps – Use egg salad, chicken salad, roasted vegetable spread, or roasted red pepper spread for a fun lunch. 
• Cheese & Crackers with Veggies & Fruit
• Hummus & Veggies or Pitas
• Chips & Salsa
• Popcorn
• Yogurt with fruit (& granola)

 

Fast & Filling Dinners

Some vacation days involve being busy outdoors all day long.  Your crew comes back hungry and tired, so dinners need to be quick to prepare and filling to replenish all that energy expended all day. 

• Crockpot Baked Potato Bar – Nothing beats coming back to dinner waiting for you!
• Fajitas – Grab some tortillas, grill up your favorite meat, sauté onions and peppers, top with avocado, tomato and your favorite salsa.  Serve with chips.   
• Crockpot Chicken Cheesesteaks – Serve on your favorite bun. 
• Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken Legs – Serves a bunch and chicken legs are cheap! Leftovers go well in wraps for lunch, or will be used as a topping for baked potatoes.
• Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches – Heck, you’re on vacation.  Grab a bottle of BBQ sauce and pour it over a pork roast that has been cooking in your crockpot.  If you want, you can make your own BBQ – or better yet, find a locally made BBQ to try. 
• BBQ - Toss your favorite meat or fish onto the BBQ, boil up some corn and sauté up or roast up some veggies. Or, use potato packets. 
• Build your own pasta or rice bar – Top some whole wheat pasta (or brown rice), with grilled meat (leftovers from BBQ night work well), beans, cheese, leftover roasted or cooked veggies, tomatoes, etc.  Great for a clean-out-the-fridge night. 
• Spaghetti – Quick, filling and a family favorite.  Use leftover tortillas topped with cheese for an easy cheesy flatbread. 

 

Fun Desserts & Snacks

Desserts and snacks make vacation fun, right? 

• S’mores – Make a campfire and enjoy!  You can also easily make these in the oven if you don’t have a campfire.  Try the blonde version for fun. 
• Shortcake – Some pound cake topped with a berry sauce of your choosing and whipped cream. 
• Ice Cream – Find a good local source, or buy a flavor or two from your local grocery store.  Keep it in the freezer at your rental and enjoy. 
• Granola Bars – Chewy or crunchy, take your pick. 
• Chex-Mix – Easy snack for game playing!
• Cookies – Choose your favorite; we love this Great Harvest Bakery Oatmeal Cookie Recipe and Frog Prince’s Excellent Cookies. 
• Parfaits – Yogurt or ice cream with fruit and granola
• Smoothies – If you have a blender!  Use that yogurt & fruit in a fun treat.

 

Our Vacation Menu

On our last trip, this was our menu:

Breakfasts
Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes with Berry Sauce
Breakfast Casserole using leftover fajita fillings
Berry Baked Oatmeal
Clean Out the Fridge Egg Bake using leftover potato bar fixings

Lunches
Sandwich Bar with fresh fruit & veggies

Dinners
Smokehouse Maple Chicken Fajitas, Chips & Salsa
BBQ – Burgers, Corn on the Cob, Grilled Veggies (carrots, peppers, asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, etc)
Crockpot Baked Potato Bar 
Wild Rice Stuffed Peppers, Grilled Chicken or Fish

Desserts
S’mores, Ice Cream & Shortcake

What are your favorite vacation meals? 

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Eating Well {& Cheap} on Vacation–Part 1

The key to eating well {& cheap} on vacation is to plan ahead.  That’s what we’re talking about during Part 1 of our series. 

Question 1: Are you driving or flying?

This question, obviously, has big implications on your vacation.  If you are flying, much of your vacation food planning will need to be done from afar, but it can be done!  Driving (and this will be the focus of our series) allows for increased flexibility to help you save money on food. 

Question 2: Where to stay?

If possible, find a place to stay that has a full kitchen, or at least a kitchenette.  This will enable you to make most of your meals at “home”.  Renting a cabin has worked well for our group over the last two years, we’ve found excellent deals through Vacation Rental By Owner.  

Question 3: How Many Days?

This question will help you to know how many breakfasts, lunches & dinners you will need to plan and prepare for; 1-2 days requires different prep than 6-7 days!  As you make this decision, think about how many meals you’ll want to eat “out” vs. “in”. 

Question 4: Who’s Coming & What are their Dietary Needs? 

How many people will be on your vacation?  Do any have dietary needs?  In our group, we had a nut allergy (that would be me), a vegetarian and plenty of omnivores.  Plus 2 babies.  This influences your menu planning and may require thinking outside the box for meal ideas. 

Question 5: What are we Doing? 

Even if you are a go-with-the-flow vacation family, it’s helpful to think about your vacation style.  Will there be days when you’ll be away from “home” all day long?  If so, take note!  You’ll want to plan for picnic lunch items if you have all-day excursions. 

How do you plan ahead?  Is there anything that you take into consideration that really helps when it comes to food – eating well and eating cheaply?  Do tell! 

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How to Eat Well {& Cheap} on Vacation

Frog Prince and I just returned from a 6 day vacation, and it was wonderful.  I had a little guessing game over on my Facebook Page to see who could figure out where we went! 

In case you missed it:

Clue #1 – {taken at Seney National Wildlife Refuge, Seney, Michigan}

Clue #2 – {taken at Whitefish Point, Lake Superior; Michigan}

Clue #3 – {taken at Tahquamenon Falls, near Paradise, Michigan}

Clue #4  - {taken at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, near Munising, Michigan}

I loved hearing your guesses – everything from Alaska & Washington to Louisiana & California!  Of course, a few of you narrowed it down to the Great Lakes … and you were right. 

The trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (the “U.P.”) was fantastic!  The weather was perfect and the company was even better. 

We met up with 3 of our closest couple friends from grad school.  We’ve grown a bit since then, and have started our “big people jobs”, but we picked up just like it was yesterday. 

Being away for 6 days can become quite expensive:

• Breakfast for 6 days, at a minimum of $3 per person = $18
• Lunch for 6 days, at a minimum of $5 per person = $30
• Dinner for 6 days, at a minimum of $10 per person = $60
• Desserts/snacks/drinks for 6 days, at a minimum of $5 per person = $30
• Total: $138 per person

This would have cost Frog Prince and I $276.00 at a minimum for a 6 day vacation. 

Yikes. 

But, we did it for $25 per person! 

And I’m going to tell you how. 

Join us for the “How to Eat Well {& Cheap} on Vacation” Series!

In this 5-part series, we’ll cover:

Part 1 – Planning Ahead
Part 2 – Meals that Work Well on the Road
Part 3 – Buying Here vs. Buying There
Part 4 – Make & Bake Ahead
Part 5 – Stress Free Cooking (so you can enjoy vacation!)

What are your tips for eating well {& cheap} on vacation?  I’d love to hear what you’ve learned from experience; leave a comment below, or post your insights on my Facebook page. 

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