Cheeseburger in Paradise

I would rather have a cheeseburger in paradise that a filet mignon at home. Or at least that is the basic philosophy that I employ when travelling. Don't get me wrong, I'm not meaning a literal "CHEESEBURGER" because as many of you know, I live on and with cheeseburgers, but what I am trying to say in my own cutesy - Jimmy Buffet-style, is that I will cut costs on meals while on vacation, just as long as I still get to travel.

I love going to the Caribbean, but lets face it, the Caribbean is kind of expensive. So I wait and wait, and save, and when the air and hotel prices come within range, I jump at the chance to go to the Caribbean. And since many of the resorts are NOT all-inclusive, and I choose not to go all-inclusive with my children in tow, food is the single most costly budget line on the vacation. (After air and hotel.)

A quick side note here, it's not that I don't think all-inclusive packages are great for adult travellers, I just choose not to expose my kids to the over-indulgence of alcohol that plagues many adults on vacation. And secondly, as a person with a wealth of restaurant experience, I choose NOT to eat at buffets. I especially choose not to eat at buffets where food quality issues and mass crowds intersect. I much much much prefer single-serving, made to order meals, where food is not made in mass quantity and stored on a table for hours in tropical heat.

I digress. Sorry. But as a restauranteur, I do carry my strong feelings about food quality with me 24/7.

So, my point is even on vacation, we try to make some of our own meals, pack snacks and choose carefully. Whether it's at Disneyworld, or Alaska or anywhere in between, it also makes economic sense to pack a few snacks from home. I take Sunrype 100% fruit strips. They are very compact, a box of 48 takes up 2 inches, by 5 inches by 5 inches. Easily packed in a suitcase or carry on. I also bring granola bars. They are great "stomach fillers' when the kids' tummies are growling. A granola bar, high in protein, fibre and nutrition can definitely fill the in-between meal gaps. I like Kashi bars.

You can't pack anything liquid in your carry on bag, but you can certainly bring pre-packaged trail mix, granola bars or the like. There have been many occasions where the snacks in my purse have saved the day on a long flight, a delay, a cab ride or in the moment when someone is all of a sudden "starving" and there is no store in sight.

I also pack a big ziploc bag with dry soup packets (Knorr or Lipton Chicken Noodle), instant oatmeal packages, instant hot chocolate and of course, instant VIA packets by Starbucks.  Now of course none of the above mention snacks are glamourous, but they are popular with my kids and sometimes I have found myself in situations where there is absolutely nothing on the menu the kids will eat or even try. That's when Lipton Chicken Noodle saves the day back in the hotel room.

Little kids especially can get "homesick" on vacation, even right next to their parents. I think they get overwhelmed by the new things and the different culture and surroundings and just cry out for anything that they know as "normal." Hot chocolate can be very comforting on a cool evening and you aren't always able to leave the hotel room or find a coffee shop or WANT to spend $5 on a hot chocolate.

So I am absolutely content to pick up some grocery store sushi, or eat instant oatmeal for breakfast on my  vacation as long as I get to go on vacation!  If fact, I know my kids think it's fantastic when they get to eat those little tiny boxes of cereal on vacation. It's a highlight. At home, we don't buy those tiny boxes and I never buy fruitloops - so they consider it their vacation treat. Use the bar fridge in the hotel room! Buy a litre of milk (even at hotel gift shop prices!) and use the plastic spoons you brought from home. My kids don't see this as mom being cheap. They see it as mom (finally) being awesome and buying those tiny boxes of cereal they always want.

What I DO budget for, and always insist upon is (at least one) lunch and one dinner at a local restaurant during our week. We skip the chain, franchise-type places and go somewhere recommended by the locals or the fabulous people of Trip Advisor. I have never been screwed over by Trip Advisor recommendations.

So, if my food budget is $400 for the week, we probably spend $250 of it on eating out and the rest on "eating in." Less money on food equals more money for the next vacation. I do have a one track mind, don't I?