Eating out

[sac89]

So we just went on our first week long camping trip with the family to a new camping "resort" in the area. Loved it, the place was magnificent!

We packed our travel trailer full of food and snacks, yet we ended up buying food at either the grill at the resort, or at the pool, or at a local establishment. We ended up bringing back home a ton of food that we simply did not use. I cooked breakfast every morning, which we all sat down to eat, but after that, it was literally like eat when and where you want!

Best practices question: what is the best way to plan meals and cook while on the road? Pre cook meals at home and take along? Go to the store every day and purchase groceries to cook as you go along? Cook all the meals at the campground when you are ready? Give in to the fact that eating out while on vacation is a normal human response?

What are easy to make meals while on the road? I have a 29' travel trailer with a full kitchen, RV size fridge, and an external gas grill. Thoughts?

[Strabo]

fla-gypsy wrote:
When I'm vacationing I do whatever strikes me as fun or relaxing. Who wants to be tied to cooking chores every day if you don't have to be?

I agree.

[Skelshy]

I have limited space for meal prep and I don't really like cooking elaborate meals in a trailer (or anywhere else really but especially in a trailer!)

We usually don't have electric so no crock pots or microwaves.

Lunch often doesn't have a formal meal as we are often out and about. That means more food that's easy to carry and somewhat robust. Think bagels instead of toast, fruit, cheese, granola bars.

I have a set of nonperishable supplies at hand usually: pasta and a jar of sauce, 5 minute rice, ramen, various soups, beans, diced tomatoes, corn, carrots/peas, coconut milk. Spices. I haven't found a canned protein that I like, however I usually have some sort of precooked meat like the huge turkey breast hunks sold at costco. They don't expire as quickly as fresh meat and there is less worry about insufficient cooling.

Then it just depends what I have at home, and what I feel like making. By keeping nonperishable supplies in the trailer, I can fall back on a number of things like a beans curry, pasta with sauce, turkey casserole,

We usually carry salad kits. More expensive, but ideal for camping. Precut veggies are also great for stir frys and the like.

Not recommended are items with long cooking times, like boiling whole tomatoes. Also consider you have less heat available so getting a pan really hot might be a challenge. (at least for me - I don't want to boil my meat)

[woody0331]

Some trips we cook a lot. Other trips when we know we'll be busy, we anticipate we'll cook some and eat out more. We like to precook foods at home and put them in the freezer. We freeze them flat so it doesn't take long to thaw. We'll also throw some frozen hamburger patties in the freezer as a back up. I like to use the smoker at home and always cook enough to stock the freezer. Pulled pork or pulled beef is a good base for dinner. Thaw it in the morning and you can make bbq sandwiches, nachos,taco, etc.
Some times we bring enough leftovers home to get us through for a couple of days so while we're recovering from the weekend, we don't have to worry about dinner.

I say cook as much or as little as you want. Eat out as much or as little as you like.

[KKWilliams]

For us it depends on the trip. Usually we have meals but don't designate a day to eat it. That gives us some flexibility. On busy days we cook something fast or reheat something we cooked at home, and hang out by the fire. On less busy days where we hang out by the campsite we usually will do something elaborate. If a restaraunt catches our eye we may eat out as a treat, but we rarely plan on eating out.

[Passin_Thru]

We pack breakfast and Steak with trimmings, the rest we buy at a grocery.

[kennyd63]

sac89 wrote:
So we just went on our first week long camping trip with the family to a new camping "resort" in the area. Loved it, the place was magnificent!

We packed our travel trailer full of food and snacks, yet we ended up buying food at either the grill at the resort, or at the pool, or at a local establishment. We ended up bringing back home a ton of food that we simply did not use. I cooked breakfast every morning, which we all sat down to eat, but after that, it was literally like eat when and where you want!

Best practices question: what is the best way to plan meals and cook while on the road? Pre cook meals at home and take along? Go to the store every day and purchase groceries to cook as you go along? Cook all the meals at the campground when you are ready? Give in to the fact that eating out while on vacation is a normal human response?

What are easy to make meals while on the road? I have a 29' travel trailer with a full kitchen, RV size fridge, and an external gas grill. Thoughts?

If we are staying a week camping we usually treat or self to go out twice for dinner during our stay to a nice local restaurant or diner. This will give the wife a break from cooking since I don't ( Believe it or not, do not have the patience to cook or grill):o

[K-9_HANDLER]

Most trips when my daughters were young it was just me and them as my wife gets less vacation time then myself.. I planned all my meals for the week ahead and packed what I needed. The girls came shopping with me to help. We also got snacks, fruit etc. for between meals. After preparing three meals a day we ate out for one diner to give myself a break. I did do some on the fly experementing and kitchen improv which lead to some fun meals that they still enjoy.

[rbpru]

Our approach is simple. We keep the pantry full, my wife makes and freezes meals for the road. If we eat out more then planed, we empty the frig and eat it when we get home. The pantry stays full for the next trip, except for stuff that will go stale.

It makes no different if the food stays in the pantry at home or the pantry in the TT till we need it.

When we winterize, we empty the pantry till the next season. No sense feeding the mice all winter.

[Gdetrailer]

Gdetrailer wrote:
We rarely "eat out".

Fast food restaurants are not "fast" nor have good quality food..

Over the years we have weaned off the fast food thing and now when we camp we make our own meals at our pace using better quality ingredients and no worries about how poorly the restaurant cleans/maintains the facility or if the hired help has really sent badly made food out..

We save money, time and get better service..

Before leaving home we make a meal plan of what we want to eat, buy the pack that food and take with us.

At the campground, we buy things that do not keep like milk bread and buns as needed.. Once in a great while we may venture out to a restaurant but paying $50 for two adults and one teenager for one meal is far too expensive to do more than once.

We grill chicken, burgers, dogs, steaks.. Make our own sloppy Joe, chipped ham BBQ, baked potatoes, rice, fries, boxed mac and cheese (not my favorite but DD loves it) and most any other sides we can think of like we do at home. Sometimes we will fill in with some cold cuts sandwiches and bagged chips.

Some things like burgers, dogs, chicken, steak we make extra as leftovers for the next days lunch! Makes for a very quick inexpensive meal that warms up in the micro!

[Gdetrailer]

We rarely "eat out".

Fast food restaurants are not "fast" nor have good quality food..

Over the years we have weaned off the fast food thing and now when we camp we make our own meals at our pace using better quality ingredients and no worries about how poorly the restaurant cleans/maintains the facility or if the hired help has really sent badly made food out..

We save money, time and get better service..

Before leaving home we make a meal plan of what we want to eat, buy the pack that food and take with us.

At the campground, we buy things that do not keep like milk bread and buns as needed.. Once in a great while we may venture out to a restaurant but paying $50 for two adults and one teenager for one meal is far too expensive to do more than once.

We grill chicken, burgers, dogs, steaks.. Make our own sloppy Joe, chipped ham BBQ, baked potatoes, rice, fries, boxed mac and cheese (not my favorite but DD loves it) and most any other sides we can think of like we do at home. Sometimes we will fill in with some cold cuts sandwiches and bagged chips.

[allen8106]

This summer we took a 3 week trip and ate out twice. Once at McDonald's for a breakfast sandwich and once at Red Lobster only because we had two gift cards given to us by our daughter. Otherwise all meals for the remainder of the 21 days we cooked in the camper. Everyone is different in their approach so one scenario won't fit everyone. We would rather spend our money on seeing the sites rather than eating out. I can eat out anywhere, any time but when I'm on a trip I prefer to be conservative in my spending so we don't eat out much. And frankly I usually prefer my cooking over the restaurants.

[JIMNLIN]

Hmmm we don't camp where eating out is handy so the wife cooks in the camper just like home.

Now if were making a traveling vacation we may eat out a couple of times a week.

Either way we plan for meals each day and take food to prepare accordingly.

Like Lantley says eating out is a treat around here.

[badercubed]

One of the nicest parts about camping is the fact that you can cook at your site and the cost is the same as making a home cooked meal. I believe the only time we won't eat at the campground is if its lunch because we are gone doing something for the day.

Get one of these, you will WANT to cook on it.

https://www.amazon.com/Blackstone-Outdoor-Propane-Griddle-Cooking/dp/B00DYN0438

[trail-explorer]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Don't make this complicated......
Pack food for trip
Bring uneaten food back
Simple

Best advice yet. LOL