Feeding Your Family on Road Trips

We drove two vehicles to Florida from Michigan with a total of seven people. We didn't want to eat out every meal for a lot of reasons including money and not wanting to gain a lot of weight while on vacation. We decided to pack a cooler and bring everything we needed for two days of picnic lunches to start us off.

The Cooler:

Salami

Bologna

Roasted Turkey Breast

Ham

3 kinds of cheese

Soda and Bottled Water

Mustard

Mayonnaise

Tote Bags:

Paper Plates

Napkins

Plastic Knives

Chips & Snacks

Sandwich Rolls

Loaf of Italian Bread

This worked pretty well on the way there. We did end up eating at Steak and Shake for a late lunch one of the days.

When we got to our hotel we tried to plan for the next week. We had a suite with a refrigerator and stove in between two rooms. I don't know how you all plan your vacation, but I really did not want to cook after spending all day at Disney. We did figure out a compromise though when we visited a Super Target near the hotel. We picked up STOUFFER'S® lasagna and two boxes of garlic toast for one dinner. We also bought the store brand of enchiladas and sauce over rice plus a bag of tortilla chips. The other nights we picked up two premade pizzas at Walmart and baked those, then splurged on KFC takeout another night. We always kept cheese and snacks like granola bars, mixed nuts and animal crackers on hand for the kids, who never seem to fill up.

Another place we ate at twice which was a big hit with the kids was CiCi's Pizza Buffet, which is a chain in the U.S. Last summer we ate at one in Pennsylvania, and I know we have them in Michigan too. For a family they are a good deal, and the employees were really nice.

Eating at Disney cost us between $53.00 and $58.00 each meal. This was the inexpensive places to eat at the park. Some of the nicer restaurants cost up to $35.00 for each person. That simply wasn't in our budget, but no one seemed to mind, and we had a good time. Let me say that ten year olds NEVER tire of chicken nuggets, and teens never get sick of cheeseburgers.

Overall, I was pretty happy with how we did, considering there were seven of us, and we had to find something everyone would enjoy. If anyone has recommendations of places they visited or meals they made away from home either email me, or leave your suggestions in the comments. I'd love to know what your family did while on the road.

~Brenda