"If I eat one more PB&J sandwich I'll scream!"

[SandraC]

Hi, we will be staying at CSR April 20 -30, THRILLED! Last year we spent too much time and money in restaurants. This trip we are economizing, yet still have a few great meals planned! We will be eating lots of breakfasts in room and picnic lunches. We aren't getting a fridge this trip, didn't use last years fridge. But we'll buy a stryofoam cooler and keep ice in it, in the room. So we can buy cold cuts, cheese, milk etc.,. What types of breakfast and lunch foods can I make that won't bore us! THANKS! SaNdRa

 

[TaraPA]

If you're getting a coffee maker in your room then take along foods that you just need to add hot water...like instant oatmeal (Quaker now makes them in single serve styrofoam bowls so there's no dish needed) or those Cup-O-Soups. You can try it with Kraft Easy Mac, not sure if the water will be hot enough. Since I don't usually buy pre-packaged foods at home, the kids were THRILLED with those Lunchables packs Oscar Meyer, maybe Kraft?)...and individual servings of applesauce (no need to refridgerate), yogurt & pudding.

 

[momoftwins]

I know that Starkist make tuna available in pouches that do not need to be refrigerated. They are located right on the same shelf as the cans. Maybe save some pouches of mayo and bring it with you.

This is good on crackers. Yummy.

 

[LKS]

I had to laugh at the PB&J comment. We spent a week in Williamsburg last summer and on our last morning we were out of cereal, but still had, yep, PB&J. My husband and kids ate them - I went hungry - really hungry, but I just could not face another one.

 

[SandraC]

dh likes PB&J's because he doesn't feel bad if we toss them out and buy restaurant food instead. He doesn't get the point of a picnic lunch to save $$$$.

My kids aren't sandwich eaters, so I have to be inventive with lunches. dd really likes apples with pb and celery, she loves granola bars, but again, last trip we had granola bars ALL THE TIME! I'll eat anything, but don't think I can face too many pb&j's. dh will eat anything too. ds is hard. Sometimes we eats lunch, sometimes only a good breakky and dinner. Snacky food would be Cheerios for him (he's only 2).

Any help you can give would be GREAT! THX S

 

[CdnDisneyFan]

I don't know if it's available in the US, but here in Canada, they have Tuna and Salmon snackers made by Oceans. It's just little tins of tuna and tins of salmon with the mayo already mixed in, a small pack of crackers, and a plastic spoon.

Jules

 

[crusoe2]

We're planning to do the same thing - we'll do a couple of special meals and some snacks in the parks but I plan to take our own food for breakfast and several picnics. It does get old to fight the crowds at every meal, not to mention the expense. We're driving down and staying at ASMo so some of my ideas may not work for everyone. But here's what I've thought of so far:

Take "It's Pasta Anytime" spaghetti dinners to heat in the food court micro, bring a bagged salad and have with breadsticks from the food court.

Instant mac & cheese (either made in the food court micro or with hot pot brought from home) and mix in a can of peas and some ham for a one dish meal.

To round out a meal of sandwiches, I will take a few extras like olives, pineapple chunks, cherry tomatoes & baby carrots.

Just before the trip, (if I have time) whip up some homemade treats like fried chicken, potato salad, brownies, pound cake - things that we don't have often and that travel well.

This isn't a meal idea, but something we did last trip that worked well for us - we all went to the grocery store together and each of us picked a few treats (like a favorite candy, snack paks of cookies, etc.). I bagged each persons stuff in a big ziplock bag so that each of us had our own bag of goodies to delve into whenever the munchies hit. The only stipulation was that your treats had to last the entire trip. We felt like we were getting a real treat (especially our ds) and it seemed to cut down on the urge to buy so many snacks in the parks.

Oh, and we all ended up sharing our treats and even had some leftover at the end of the trip.

 

[Spinning]

I tried to post ideas yesterday! Thought it went through but it didn't! Lets see I can remember I was on a roll too~!
freeze yougurt sticks and cheese sticks they will be thawed by the time you want them
dried soup with hot water, in the gourma section we have some really neat soaps
things to do with Peanutbutter:
spread it on apples, bannana, celery or crackers
buy a jar of Fluff and have fluffernutter sandwhiches
cream cheese on celery or on crackers
lunchables, don't think I could eat one but I am sure the kids would love it!
different cereal bars
pop tarts
tuna in the pouches! Yummy! I will never buy canned again! Then just pick up some mayo pouches spread it on bread or cracker

the bagged salad is a great idea. Bring your own dressing and then you could either use tuna or buy a chicken sandwhich and use the meat to put on it.

 

[smarro]

Our favorite sandwiches for the car trip are chicken patties because they hold up well. The kids just like them on a bun with ketchup and DH likes them with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. I keep the patties in a ziplock in the cooler and lettuce and tomatoe in a tupperware and buy squeeze mayo. This way I can put together fresh sandwhiches quickly on the road. I have also wrapped the sandwiches on the buns with the lettuce and tomato but not the mayo or ketchup and they still hold up well. One idea for the hotel would be to buy cooked chicken breast, lettuce, tomatoe, mayo or dressing, and fajita wraps to make wrap sandwhiches. I can't see why you couldn't use the the chicken that comes in a can like tuna to make chicken wraps. Dh also loves deviled ham on sandwiches or crackers. Try chunks of cheese and lunchmeats with lots of fruits, pickles, and breadsticks that come in a box. I am finding breadsticks to be a great alternative to chips, etc. I just found good ones yesterday at the dollar store, and the kids love them. I plan to pick up a bunch for the car ride.

 

[Disneydenise]

A word of caution on the syrafoam cooler. They leak. We keept ours in the tub after we came back to a soggy rug one afternoon. Ziplock bags keep the soggies to a minimum. It is also easier to fill the baggie with ice. I am the queen of the room snacks because I have two teens who like to eat at the strangest times.

 

[SandraC]

THANKS ALL!

Thanks for the tip on leaky cooler, I just made a note to bring garbage bags to line the cooler. All your tips are great! I was reading another post about 'scrimping' and I was amazed at how many folks don't want to prepare picnics. I find picnics fun! Not only does it save money, it saves a ton of time. Last trip we eat at so many restaurants and char meals, I felt we wasted our WDW in restaurants! A couple mornings we ate in the room and went straight to the parks and I felt a couple hours BONUS time, what a treat!

It's almost like a game too. Planning meals and all! I love it! I love cup of soups, but my family doesn't really like them. I am considering packing a toaster if I have room (flying, limited space).

THX ALL! I will think of you all with every bite of my picnic lunch!

 

[Coll0610]

Buy the Ceasar salad kit that comes in a bag with the other bagged salads and some tortillas. Add chicken, maybe from a can or the frozen strips heated up in a microwave and you have chicken ceasar wraps.

 

[Tense]

When we stay at a resort without a kitchen, we try to bring food that is easily contained. I'll buy 2 different cereals and remove them from the boxes and place them in zip lock baggies( you'd be surprised.. they fit) I also bring Pringles or a Planters Peanut snack ie. Cheese balls or pretzel in the hard recoverable containers in my carry on. They may get eaten on the plane and what left we have for the room. Even if you don't want to hit a grocery store while you're there, you can usually buy a box of donuts and Entemanns cakes and milk,bread and yes peanut butter. We would have coffee in the morning with either cereal or donuts. The kids would eat cereal for snacks and for breakfast. It was sooo much cheaper to buy a box of donuts for 3.59 for 12 than to buy breakfast out every morning and lose time too. I'd also pack Capri sun juices and if there was a mini frig in the room I'd freeze a few to take to the parks, or just put them on ice. Just a few ideas... hope it helps.

 

[tink2dw]

Chedder and Bacon Spray cheese[it is REAL cheese] on Chicken In A Basket crackers is a great fast protien snack. But watch out the whole box and can will disappear in a flash!!

 

[PoTC_Junkie]

Hello - we didn't want to spend all our money (and time) in restaurants eating either - especially breakfast.

What we did was send some stuff on ahead (FedEx - my husband works there) like cereal boxes (the individual ones), bagels, snacks etc. I bought a set of 4 plastic bowls for $1.00 at one of our dollar stores back home and figured for that - we could let Disney have them to recycle them. We made sure that the box would get there the day after we got there.

We stayed a CBR so on the mornings we did go down to the food court the kids really thought the Mickey waffles were neat!

One thing that people don't always consider to cut costs is PIZZA. The first time we went to WDW (and stayed at CBR) my husband refused to pay $16 for a pizza.(you get spoiled by 2 for 1 deals back home). Well this time, we did try the food court's pizza and it was really good! And large - I believe it was bigger than your normal large back home. They would have a basic pizza and a "special" (differed each night I guess). The bill came to $18 something with tax but to feed a family of 4? Not bad. Of course I would not do this every night either but the family loves pizza so it worked out and let us spend our money on mickey bars and a couple of character meals and some special other things.

Oh, we also shipped our laundry detergeant ahead. We stayed for 9 nights so we wanted to pack lighter and do some laundry (and we brough HOME clean laundry!!) While we did the laundry, the kids swam in one of the smaller pools so we did not really "lose" any time. Laundry soap there is a $1.00 a crack and we knew we would have 2-3 loads twice so it made sense to take our own (and dryer sheets too).

One suggestion for a variation on PB&J is to use PB (and jelly if you want) in a tortilla and sprinkle cinnamon in it - pretty good and it is different enough the kids may get into it.

Have fun!!

 

[disneyfan551]

PB&J in a tortilla sounds pretty good! Think I'll have to try it!

Tiffany
WDW College Program 1990

 

[SandraC]

Your posts are so helpful THANKS! ds is 2 and gets to eat free at most places. However, there are a few places where I looked over the menus and couldn't find things he'll eat, so I plan to bring several individual small cans of beans and Chef BOYARDEE pastas, at room temp, he'll eat them easily and they are easy to open. At home I can get them for about 50 cents each, does anyone know the cost in stores around Disney. dh says they are too heavy to pack. ThAnKs! Sandra

 

[TaraPA]

Something else I always forget to remind myself of...I go nuts trying to find healthy foods for us to eat on a budget but it's only for a week (or whatever length)...why waste a ton of time being super healthy when the family will be just as happy (or happier in my case) eating not-so-good-for-you quick foods like Pop Tarts for lunch and microwave popcorn for dinner. It's only a week...and it IS vacation!

 

[SandraC]

We found lots of healthy things at WDW. At all the counter services we ate at, there was always an option of a small bag of baby carrots instead of chips. We found the meals to be filling and saved the carrots for later in the day. We ate at many buffets where veggies were a must. I find we end up craving veggies after a few days of junk. I don't mind junk on vacation either, we're there for a great time.

 

[cottontail]

Hi:
This question is about the starkist tuna in the packages, can you buy the white tuna? Also do you just seal the package up with the leftovers and put it near the ice in the cooler to keep it good?

How do you guys keep your ice in the cooler, do you put it in several large zip lock bags? Small puddings and yogurts (yogurts go in to cooler) are also good for the room.

Deb.