Do you bring food when staying at a resort?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would definitely bring food if you have a real fridge. I would also consider bringing a small appliance. My choices would be my ninja bullet to make smoothie for the kids and frozen cocktails for me. I might also bring our george Forman grill. A melt grilled cheese makes a bowl of soup or a salad into a meal!

I would also make some things ahead like pasta salad, cut up fruit, sausage biscuits and cookies. I would prep like I do for a party at home. Spend a bit more for things like lots of berries instead of just apples and bananas. Make some dishes that we don't have often like Buffalo chicken dip or spinach artichoke dip. These can be made at home and then warmed in the microwave. So you feel like it is special because you splurge on items you don't have all of the time, but you are spending way less than eating at the resort restaurant.

This goes a little too far. Why do all this crap while on "vacation"? This sounds terrible.

[Anonymous]

My son is an incredibly picky eater, so I bring things such as those Mac n cheese cups (add water, microwave, add cheese), a thing of peanut butter and ritz crackers. Honestly, that’s basically a dinner for him (don’t judge the lack of veggies, it’s vacation). I’d also probably bring happy hour snacks. That way, when you do go to get dinner, you don’t need to order appetizers, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would definitely bring food if you have a real fridge. I would also consider bringing a small appliance. My choices would be my ninja bullet to make smoothie for the kids and frozen cocktails for me. I might also bring our george Forman grill. A melt grilled cheese makes a bowl of soup or a salad into a meal!

I would also make some things ahead like pasta salad, cut up fruit, sausage biscuits and cookies. I would prep like I do for a party at home. Spend a bit more for things like lots of berries instead of just apples and bananas. Make some dishes that we don't have often like Buffalo chicken dip or spinach artichoke dip. These can be made at home and then warmed in the microwave. So you feel like it is special because you splurge on items you don't have all of the time, but you are spending way less than eating at the resort restaurant.

This goes a little too far. Why do all this crap while on "vacation"? This sounds terrible.

+1. Ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

We don’t all have insane budgets for travel. Something has to give…sometimes you go cheaper on the food in order to stay in a more desirable location. Let’s stop crapping on the op and give actual advice if you have any.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don’t all have insane budgets for travel. Something has to give…sometimes you go cheaper on the food in order to stay in a more desirable location. Let’s stop crapping on the op and give actual advice if you have any.

Thank you. It’s sort of embarrassing enough already. I appreciate all the actual advice. I think I have a plan now!

[Anonymous]

If breakfast is not included bring all the breakfast items. I’d bring cold cuts. Another option is those bagged salads and great idea on Mac n cheese cups I will keep that in mind for my kids: I bring apples, bananas, granola bars, etc; for dinner I’d go out but for breakfast and lunch room stuff is fine.
Oh and you may get a frozen pizza if you want and heat up:

[Anonymous]

We bring food, but more because we want to eat healthier than to save money, although spending less is a nice benefit.

[Anonymous]

We bring the AllBranBuds cereal we eat, bagged in portions to add to our room service yogurt at breakfast.
Sometimes if there is a fridge we bring paper bowls, spoons, the cereal and buy milk, yogurt, OJ, bananas and make breakfast. Mostly to save calories and not have to stress over ordering.
We spend $200 and up pp at dinner so it's not a budget thing really. We skip lunch to save time.

[Anonymous]

I pack food all the time. It's not even always for the cost, but my kids are picky and it's nice to have their favorites AND it's way healthier for us as adults. We usually eat out once and then just bring stuff for wraps.

[Anonymous]

When we were on a budget we'd bring some food but we weren't trying to replicate full meals.

We'd try to book hotels with free breakfast. If not we'd bring stuff like fruit (apples, clementines, bananas, firm berries or grapes), cereal, a small container of shelf stable milk for the room fridge (almond milk for us, a few milk boxes for the kid), and some nuts. Maybe some mini muffins. That's plenty for breakfast.

For snacks we'd eat the fruit and nuts, bring some road trip snacks like candy and chips, and have PB crackers and string cheese.

Our philosophy was to eat a regular breakfast, eat out for dinner, and figure out lunch as we went. Sometimes we'd get something small, other times we'd just eat the snacks. Other times we'd get the kid something and split a decadent brownie and have some apples and nuts and call it until 5pm dinner.

[Anonymous]

This is why if we choose an upscale resort, we make sure there are convenient offsite options for eating. I refuse to be a captive to the hotel.

[Anonymous]

I may buy snacks or a bottle of wine at a grocery store if it is right next to where we are staying to save a few dollars, but mostly I live for eating by the pool, walking to dinner at the resort, etc etc, especially if it is only 2-3 days.

[Anonymous]

Cereal for breakfast (unless it's included) & some drinks/snack bars. Middle DC wakes up at 6 while the others have to be dragged out of bed at 8:30. It's a bonus that it saves on cost but the real reason is convenience -- also a big help the day we're leaving so we can pack up while they eat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have a microwave I usually bring Mac n cheese cups for the kids. Mine eat a ton on vacation because they are often expending more energy than usual - so I bring packets of oatmeal, Mac n cheese, bananas and apples, sometimes a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter even if it’s just for snacks or a second dinner. Lots of hungry boys in my household.

This! I hate spending $30 a kid for lunch or dinner, but really bring food because going out to eat with hangry kids can just take more time and effort than I want to deal with on vacation.

Good list above for quick breakfast, snack, lunch or even kid dinner in a pinch.

[Anonymous]

I'm envious of all the people with families who happily eat cereal for breakfast. My husband and kids need something heartier/protein-filled in the morning or they are all cranky and headache-y within an hour. So we either go to hotels that have hot breakfast (either free or paid) or we find a diner.

I don't usually eat breakfast (just coffee) and prefer an earlyish lunch.