Just a well stocked fruit bowl on the breakfast bar - Burger King is a short 5 mile walk up the road. #DCUMburgerkinglady

Anonymous wrote:When you have visitors staying at your house from out of town, what do you stock up on so that there are breakfast, lunch and snack options?

I ask them what they typically eat for breakfast/lunch and then discuss dinners when they are here.

So, for example, for our houseguests this week, they said they typically make smoothies and coffee for breakfast. I asked them to bring/order their special protein powder, and I bought the almond milk they requested and lots of fruits and veggies., yogurts. They said they usually do soup for lunch, so I asked them what kind, and made a big pot of minestrone and bought some good cheese and bread, olives, smoked fish so they could have a quick sandwich. For dinner we will get takeout or grill or do a couple special dinners at restaurants with patio dining. Plenty of seltzer, good coffee, fresh veggies, and we will walk to a wine garden one of these nights. We work from home, so basically the stuff we normally have on hand, with a treats upgrade for guests.

Anonymous wrote:I get the corn flakes and chicken noodle soup.

That is breakfast and lunch.

For dinner, they can pay for takeout.

You don’t want guests, do you?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Breakfast and lunch are self-serve in my house, so I ask ahead of time what my guests would like me to stock, and if I get a "whatever/we're not picky" kind of response, I have:

Bagels and cream cheese
Bread and jam
Cereal
Coffee cake or muffins
Eggs (raw and hard boiled)
Greek yogurt
Variety of fresh fruit
Coffee, tea, milk, OJ
Bacon and pancake mix (I usually do one big hot breakfast)

Sandwich fixings (cold cuts/lettuce/tomato)
Peanut butter
Chips/dips (hummus, salsa, etc.)
Cheese and crackers
Cut veggies

Ice cream
Brownies or cookies (homemade)

+1 on all of this (most of my family are super early risers — I am not — and I’m not getting up every day in the dark to cook breakfast). I’ll do one big breakfast & other than that they are welcome to help themselves.

My family is the opposite - kids and I are early risers while most of our houseguests like to sleep until 10. I’ll happily scramble you some eggs if you’re up when I’m making my kids breakfast at 7, otherwise, help yourself and clean up after yourself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:coffee
half and half
milk
cereal
eng muffins/bagels
cold cuts
fruit
veggies
dip
salsa and chips
cheese and crackers
wine and beer
sparkling water
i usually make a cake or cookies

Perfect list. I’d stay at your house

+1 I also like to plan for a cooked breakfast like bacon and eggs for weekend guests, but I definitely keep serve-yourself breakfast items on hand in case people wake up early or everyone ends up too hungover to cook 😂 If I’m going the extra mile, I’ll have a covered dome of pastries on the counter and set out a basket of grab and go snacks like granola bars, single serve nuts, etc. Small touches that are easy but look like you put thought into having guests. I think it’s important to make things easy to find for guests and make sure they know they should feel comfortable grabbing whatever they want. Keep a stocked bar with stuff for basic cocktails and garnishes.

+1

I get the corn flakes and chicken noodle soup.

That is breakfast and lunch.

For dinner, they can pay for takeout.

Anonymous wrote:Breakfast and lunch are self-serve in my house, so I ask ahead of time what my guests would like me to stock, and if I get a "whatever/we're not picky" kind of response, I have:

Bagels and cream cheese
Bread and jam
Cereal
Coffee cake or muffins
Eggs (raw and hard boiled)
Greek yogurt
Variety of fresh fruit
Coffee, tea, milk, OJ
Bacon and pancake mix (I usually do one big hot breakfast)

Sandwich fixings (cold cuts/lettuce/tomato)
Peanut butter
Chips/dips (hummus, salsa, etc.)
Cheese and crackers
Cut veggies

Ice cream
Brownies or cookies (homemade)

+1 on all of this (most of my family are super early risers — I am not — and I’m not getting up every day in the dark to cook breakfast). I’ll do one big breakfast & other than that they are welcome to help themselves.