saving money on food while on vacation?

[Startastic]

We'll be taking our first family trip that is double duty since DH is going to interview with a company he wants to work for.

I am a cheapskate and the though of the cost of our room and the gas to get there is freaking me out. we are thinking of ways to cut costs since we have a room with a microwave and bar fridge. I was given a gift card for a major supermarket chain that's about $100 I want to use that money and have some left over for our food budget.

Our hotel has a continental breakfasts so that's covered. would it be bad if we snagged a couple extra pieces of whole fruit for later?

Lunch we are thinking of packing peanut butter sandwiches or going to the market to grab something from the deli. Alex is so picky we will end up getting him fries from a fast food place.

Our hotel is a bit of a distance from where we will be and we plan on taking shuttles and public transport when we are out and about most of day so we can't go back to the hotel for lunch

Dinner DH was thinking of buying a hotplate and bringing along a couple pans to cook with. I was thinking maybe a crockpot. Ours has a digital timer and will automatically switch to warm when it's done cooking so I would feel safe leaving it on if we are out longer than we expect. I would use those liner bags for less clean up! If we make a large portion we'll have left overs that we can reheat.

I am not sure if it is worth doing a hot meal every night in the crock pot. the Hotplate will give us more options. DH wants to saute veggies like we do at home.

I was thinking of using some of our small containers to bring condiments that we like to avoid having to buy the over priced small container ones at the market. even filling a mini water bottle with olive oil and one with dish soap with enough to get us by and we can just toss it in the recycling when we are done the only problem is that we are planing a trip to the zoo the day we have to check in so the stuff might be in the car a little longer so we will have to add more Ice during the day. It's a 3 hour drive to get where we are going.



any other idea on saving money?

[Kerri]

I don't have any ideas, but you've given ME lots!

[Sandi]

If you're staying in a hotel, you can't usually use a crockpot or hot plate, just fyi.

[countrygal]

We plan on eating out a nice dinner and making lunch and breakfast. I would not go to the trouble of a hot plate or crockpot. I don't think they are allowed anyway in a hotel.

You will be saving a bunch by taking the measures you already listed.

[xt]

if you need to stay in for dinner, too, there's a fair amount you can do with a microwave, though it would probably involve some convenience foods. We've done mac and cheese at hotels, frozen burritos, nachos, etc (w/salad and veggies). Still cheaper than eating out.

[herc]

yeah usually hotels don't allow-- it is a fire hazard and they will unplug it for sure. Check to see if the one you are staying in has a mini kitchen, and if so, plan around the micro. Deli may or may not be cheaper than a lunch out-- depends on how you plan it. DO your research on the restaurants in the area-- know who does kids eat free, and who has cheap lunches. Chowhound is an awesome resource for finding out about local far.

Where are you going> and are you veggie?

[heythereheather]

You coudl get a microwave veggie steamer, and even a microwave rice cooker. I have used both before in a hotel, and managed to eat decently.

[brayg]

We've just taken 2 trips recently where we basically ate out of our cooler the entire trip.

Buy buns or hoagie rolls. Get some squeeze mayo. Buy presliced lunchmeat and cheese. You can easily assemble sandwiches that way.

Have bags of chips, baby carrots, sugar snap peas, etc.

We also brought a hibachi (small charcoal grill) and some charcoal/lighter fluid so we could stop at a park and grill smoked brats (they are precooked, so all you have to do is heat them) or pre-pattied hamburgers.

Oh, sliced summer sausage and cheese with crackers makes a great easy meal, too. String cheese. Peanut butter.

As far as keeping things cold, buy a couple gallon jugs of water and freeze them solid. Also buy some regular small bottles of water and freeze them, too. Then, as the ice melts, you can drink the water.

[Sandi]

Oh - and many hotels have a barbecue setup outside. It's usually listed on the amenities.

[Sandi]

...and at WDW we go to Sam's and buy a veggie tray (then break it down into ziplocks), a case of water (their water sucks off-site) and cereal bars/oatmeal bars.

Bagels and cream cheese, too - especially if the bagels are shelf-stable and the cream cheese just needs to go in the fridge.

[amyquilt]

Sounds like the vacations we take. Squeeky budget, but make it work anyway. We do alot of things with the microwave or eat sandwiches. It works, but when we get home, I'm always glad to have a good hot dinner.

Have Fun!

[tinyterror'sma]

What if you precooked & froze your dinners at home and just microwaved them at the hotel. The frozen dinners would last through a full day. Just package them small enough to fit into a small microwave.