Meal Planning for Vacation

I have several packing lists including meal planning for different types of traveling. We like staying in resorts when we travel because they give more room for our family. When we stay in a hotel room we feel like we are all on top of each other. The other advantage to resorts is that they have a full kitchen. This saves a lot of money when we travel. We still eat out sometimes but we don’t have to eat out every meal. When you are feeding 5 at adult prices, it adds up very quickly. I have a food travel list that makes purchasing and packing the items we need to prepare meals when on vacation easier.

The resorts have a refrigerator/freezer combination, stove, microwave, coffee maker, blender and basic cookware. While it is possible to cook with the supplies provided, I have found that there are some items that really do make cooking on the trip much easier. I have a large plastic latching tote that I only use on our trips. I have purchased certain items that I just leave in the tote year around, so it is less for me to pack for each trip. I have an oven glove, spatula, serving spoons, measuring cups and spoons, silicone coated tongs and whisk, zipper bags, storage bowls, salt/pepper, sweetener, coffee, tea bags, and condiment packages. I just refill or replace my supply as needed. I also take a large non-stick skillet with me since the one provided is not large enough to make gravy.

The first thing that needs to be decided is how many meals and what kind of meals you plan to cook while on vacation. We always eat breakfast in our rooms, so I plan for breakfast for all the mornings we will be at the resort. Then decide how many meals other meals you need. We usually eat a large breakfast kind of late, so we usually just do one more meal in the late afternoon. We fill in with some leftovers, snacks or treats if needed or wanted.

For a 4 day, 3 night vacation, we might make this plan:

Breakfast

1. Bacon, Eggs, Gravy, Biscuits
2. Sausage, Eggs, Chocolate Gravy, Biscuits
3. Cinnamon Rolls

Supper

1. Taco salad – Taco meat, Rice, Refried beans, Salsa, Cheese dip, Chips, Lettuce, Shredded cheese
2. Chili Dogs – Hot dogs, Buns, Chili, Corn chips, Shredded cheese, Macaroni and cheese

In this example we have 3 mornings, but the last morning we have to be checked out by 10 am so we do something quick and simple like the cinnamon rolls. I am only planning 2 evening meals because we will likely eat out the other 2 meals because we will be traveling or will want to eat somewhere special. I also tend to plan very simple and quick meals so that they are easy to get on the table in case we are tired or it is late by the time we get back to the resort.

I usually have the meats in my freezer so I take it frozen in a cooler and even if we stay in a hotel on our way to the resort the cooler keeps the meats well overnight because everything is frozen to begin with and I place large hunks ice in the cooler as well. I would cook the taco meat and freeze it in a zipper bag for the trip. I measure out the dry ingredients for the gravies in zipper bags, so that I don’t have to take the bag of flour or box of cocoa with me.

I like to take as much of the food with me as I can because it is usually more expensive to purchase food in a tourist location, but some items like milk, canned biscuits, lettuce and cheese are just easier to purchase once you arrive at your destination. Find a grocery store right away, don’t wait until you are in the process of cooking breakfast and realize you need milk, my husband once paid $5 for a half gallon of milk at a resort. Now we try to make a grocery run on the afternoon when we first arrive.

A lot of this has been learned from trial and error. Whenever we realized there was something we needed, I made a note or we just went and bought it. All the non-food items in my tote were purchased at various stores while we were on vacation when we decided we needed another spatula or a larger skillet. I have a standard list of items that I usually need to take such as creamer, sugar, honey, oil or butter. I also have individual meal plans where I have listed all the ingredients for a particular meal.

Example: Hamburgers

1. Ground meat
2. Cheese
3. Buns
4. Pickles
5. Mustard
6. BBQ sauce
7. Ketchup
8. Onion soup mix
9. Potatoes

I use the onion soup mix to season the hamburgers and the potatoes. I know I need a bottle of BBQ sauce because everyone but me eat it, but I would probably only take a couple packages of mustard that were left from a visit to a fast food restaurant, because I am the only one who will eat it. When you think through what you will actually use during each meal, then you don’t end up with too much or missing a critical item.

The condiment packages are a newer addition to our supply, we realized that sometimes we might like to have a little mustard, ketchup, or taco sauce for a meal or snack. It is easy to take with us in the tote, but once opened we had to worry about keeping it cool on the way home. We were constantly getting too much mustard or ketchup given to us when we picked up food, so I started saving the excess for our trips. It is a great way to use something that would otherwise be thrown out.

A lot of these ideas could be used for camping, staying at a cabin, beach house or even a vacation home. My parents have a hunting cabin so I was used to thinking through what we needed for each meal while we were there. Meal planning for the resort adds a few extra things since Mom usually had the basics there. Leave a comment and let me know how you prepare for meals while on vacation. Do you try to save money like me or is it all splurge?

You might enjoy my other travel articles – Creative Family Vacations and Spring Break Without the Crowds.

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