Summertime Travel and Road Trips

This month we are taking a vacation during which we are responsible for a couple dinners along with snacks, breakfasts, and lunches.  Here are some quick tips to cut costs and be prepared, while making great meals for your family and friends:

-Prep:  menu plan for your trip, and include all three meals, snacks, and desserts (if you want it), and the number of people who will be eating with you for each.  Being able to see what you'll consume each day and prepare your grocery list this way will cut out extra spending, impulse purchases, and bringing WAY too much food, and it will allow you to utilize what you already have in your kitchen.

Make your meals easy, and preferably one-pot:  don't plan elaborate meals.  If you can even pre-make a meal and freeze it (pot pie or marinara sauce, to name a couple),  you'll have to spend less time in the kitchen and more time with family.  Simple meals that you can grill are wonderful too- grilling adds so much flavor.  Or make a one-pot stew with some fresh garnishes on top and maybe some homemade bread or cornbread.

Pre-measure and prep your ingredients:  measure out your ingredients and put them in small jars.  That means less work on vacation, and less to have to tow along with you.  Would you rather bring all the spice jars  the recipe calls for or one jar with the pre-measured amounts you need?  I even made a bread mix so all I had to do was add water.  Cut your veggies ahead of time and put them in food saver jars- this is great for salads and/or potato or taco bar meals. 

-Homemake whatever you can in the days before you leave.  For our trip, I made all of our breakfast items, including scones, jam, and a big batch of granola. I also made bread, dry beans, and salad dressing for lunches and dinners.  Make whatever you can from what you already have in your cupboards.  It will save you money, as well as feed your family and friends wholesome foods without preservatives.  And they will appreciate that you took the time to make special things for them, too.

-Pack for the road: pack lunches, snacks, and drinks for the road so you aren't tempted to stop along the way.  This step alone will save you at least $15.

-Carpool if you can: it's a great way to offset some of the money you're spending on food, and to lessen your effects on the environment...plus, it's more fun to have company on those long drives.

This may seem like a lot of work, especially if you have kids and/or a job.  But you can do it with a little planning, and when you're relaxing and enjoying your vacation, you will be so glad that you did.  Thank you for reading, and enjoy your summer vacations.