spicingupmylife: Healthy eats on vacation...my "how to"

Tom and I just got back from vacationing at Wisconsin Dells. We've been doing really well with eating right and making good choices so I didn't want that to stop just because we were going away from home. I did end up eating some goodies and I'll tell you about that in my next post. But this is all about my meal planning. We stayed in a cabin with a fridge, fire pit and a microwave. We brought a toaster with us. So I planned out all of our meals except for one dinner, which we decided would be a nice dining out experience :)

Here's my valient attempt at a stress-free healthy eating vacation...it worked too, because we only ate out once and it was planned! Go us!! :) Here's how we did it...

Step #1: Plan out breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners (remember drinks too!)

Step #2: Be choosey on what, when and where you want to eat out. Make sure it is something you will enjoy, you don't get often, keep it special so you won't feel like you are being deprived of eating out on vacation.

Step #3: Avoid typical camping food like premade salads (pasta salad, potato salad, coleslaw, etc.) They are full of mayo and won't fill you up. Plan for lots of fresh fruits, veggies, hummus, string cheese and whole wheat crackers instead...think picnic at a rest stop instead of McDonald's drive-thru.

Step #3: Write down every single necessary food item to make those meals (don't forget condiments!)

Step #4: Write down every appliance, dish and utensil needed to make (and serve) the meals.

Step #5: Write down everything you will need to clean up or wrap up leftover food (think foil, cling wrap, zippy bags, paper towels, clorox wipes, etc.)

Step #6: Make a grocery list of everything you don't already have on hand. Go shopping!

Step #7: Prepackage, prewash and precook anything you can.

Step #8: Pack wisely. Utilize all those reusable grocery bags you get for free. Put all snacks in one bag. Put all appliances in another. Pack all paper goods together, etc. Take a small cooler for picnics or for day trips (to waterparks, theme parks, etc.) Pack a big rolling cooler with ice for all of your refridgerated or frozen items.

Step #9: Fill up milk jugs with water ahead of time and put them in the freezer. Then pack the cooler with them so you don't need as much ice and then you have drinking water at the end of the trip and you won't have to resort to that gas station soda!

Step #10: Enjoy, have fun and eat great food without guilt!

Here's a few photos of my food prep...

My shopping trip for some of our snacks and sides for the week.

We got a good deal on a meat bundle at HyVee...pork chops, brats (for Tom), chicken sausage (for me), chicken breast (I cut it up and precooked it).

I divided up the Pirate's Booty into individual servings. Otherwise, I would eat half the bag in one sitting. I also did this with my oatmeal so I wouldn't have to bring the huge container of oats or a measuring cup.