Making food off-site

jnkrim

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
I posted this in another forum, but since this is the budget board, thought someone might have some good tips!

We are staying off-site with a full kitchen and are planning to make most of our meals due to 2 things: we now have 7 in our family and just spent a huge amount on APs. More importantly, we have 2 kids with food allergies, and one had a severe reaction at a Disney restaurant 4 years ago requiring 2 epipens, paramedics at the restaurant, ambulance ride and a lost park day at the hospital.

Our plan is to eat a quick breakfast, RD the parks, leave noon to 1:00ish, eat a cooler lunch waiting for us in the van, take a break back at the resort, make a quick dinner, then head back to the parks for the evening.

We will probably vary this and bring in lunches some days and stay longer and skip evening parks.

I am wondering if anyone has some good meal type ideas? We're planning to crockpot some, some frozen foods.
 
I posted this in another forum, but since this is the budget board, thought someone might have some good tips!

We are staying off-site with a full kitchen and are planning to make most of our meals due to 2 things: we now have 7 in our family and just spent a huge amount on APs. More importantly, we have 2 kids with food allergies, and one had a severe reaction at a Disney restaurant 4 years ago requiring 2 epipens, paramedics at the restaurant, ambulance ride and a lost park day at the hospital.

Our plan is to eat a quick breakfast, RD the parks, leave noon to 1:00ish, eat a cooler lunch waiting for us in the van, take a break back at the resort, make a quick dinner, then head back to the parks for the evening.

We will probably vary this and bring in lunches some days and stay longer and skip evening parks.

I am wondering if anyone has some good meal type ideas? We're planning to crockpot some, some frozen foods.
You don't need to leave the cooler in a hot van. Rent a locker and keep it there. The lockers are in a shaded location and you will not have to leave the park to retrieve it. If you have a stroller, you can leave the cooler in the stroller instead of a locker.
 
I posted this in another forum, but since this is the budget board, thought someone might have some good tips!

We are staying off-site with a full kitchen and are planning to make most of our meals due to 2 things: we now have 7 in our family and just spent a huge amount on APs. More importantly, we have 2 kids with food allergies, and one had a severe reaction at a Disney restaurant 4 years ago requiring 2 epipens, paramedics at the restaurant, ambulance ride and a lost park day at the hospital.

Our plan is to eat a quick breakfast, RD the parks, leave noon to 1:00ish, eat a cooler lunch waiting for us in the van, take a break back at the resort, make a quick dinner, then head back to the parks for the evening.

We will probably vary this and bring in lunches some days and stay longer and skip evening parks.

I am wondering if anyone has some good meal type ideas? We're planning to crockpot some, some frozen foods.

If you could tell us the allergies, we can help:)...
 
I hadn't thought of a locker- that would be great on days we eat lunch in the park!

Allergies- Dairy, tree nuts, peanuts

Here at home we make a cheeseless pizza with dough from our bread machine - but I don't think I will be bringing that! Pillsbury Crescent rolls are safe, so I'm thinking we can use that for a base- maybe pizza roll ups?

We have a good recipe for shredded chicken tacos-made in the crockpot.

The other thing I am trying to figure out is all the cross contamination aspects - using the cookware, utensils of the resort vs bringing our own. Cleaning the oven when we get there vs limiting allergic children's cooking to store bought microwave?
 


<---- Raises hand. Oooh, oooh, I can help. We always stay off site and almost never eat in WDW restaurants. It's not a food allergy thing for us. It's a combination of budget and that DW and I are into health and nutrition and WDW wouldn't be able to support that. We bring all of our food in, including drinks. We're a family of 5, so if we're going to be in the parks for dinner, you can imagine how large our bag that we bring in is. It's massive. It's a soft sided cooler bag.

I can't help a ton with the allergy aspect of it, that's something best left for you to decide how to avoid. The utensils in all the places we have stayed at are always quite clean. Or we'll just get plastic utensils from the QS restaurants and use those.

As for what we cook, it's easy. People think "cooking" on vacation is work, etc...we don't think it is. Crock pot is definitely good. We'll cook 8lbs of boneless skinless chicken in it. Or just put that same amount of chicken in the oven and bake it. It cooks while we're showering, relaxing, hanging out at home. No real work involved. For the kids...we still have them eat healthy but not quite to the same standards when on vacation...if they don't eat the meat we cook, we'll do things like hot pockets or chicken nuggets. Sides will be things like frozen veggies microwaved and put into soup size Thermoses, or some pasta, or cold veggies such as baby carrots. We use a lot of Tupperware and/or Thermoses. Pizza roll ups are a great idea. If you can't have cheese, then just add some store bought pizza sauce, bake it in the oven and you're good to go. Wrap it in aluminum foil or something like that.

No need to leave it in your van, bring it in the park with you. We have a small umbrella stroller that we use to carry our bag. It fits right in the seat, it's perfect. We'll often just leave it in stroller parking somewhere while we go do our thing. When we're ready to eat, we come back for it and eat (we usually park it somewhere near where we know we'll eat).
 
Get a ten pound bag of potatoes. Baked potatoes are cheap, filling, and safe
 
So, dairy and nut-free lunch options for the park and quick dinner/breakfast options? And it needs to feed 7? That's doable:)...

Lunch ideas for the cooler...
- Chicken Caesar Wraps - Purchase a Rotisserie Chicken and strip it...use Kale or Romaine to stand up to the time with the dressing on it...
- Pizza Wraps - Tomato Sauce, Pepperoni, Veg (Bell Pepper, Red Onion, Spinach...whatever is liked) - this one can be above fridge temp if you buy the shelf-stable pepperoni
- Make your own "cold" nachos...Bring a bag of tostitos and some paper bowls...make or buy a nice black bean salsa or corn salsa or mango salsa (whatever your fam likes), bring some chopped lettuce, and some of the rotisserie chicken (whatever wasn't eaten on the wraps)...this can also be done into individual frito bags as a version of those tacos people serve...
- Cold Fried Chicken purchased from the store - just that easy
- Pasta Salad - sometimes kids eat this, sometimes they don't...but if you have a go to recipe, I'd make this one for lunch...
- Quinoa fruit salad - so great after heat - https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/quinoa-fruit-salad-with-honey-lime-dressing/ - I'd avoid strawberries, since they'll degrade one you add dressing, so I'd go for pineapple and mango...or grapes and kiwi...I like this better than just fruit salad b/c you are getting a huge protein push and it comes without nuts or yogurt...again, I'd try this before you leave...this also won't really matter what temp it gets to...

Unless you're making the fruit salad, I'd always bring fruit to go with the main dish...and I'd have a treat (salty or sweet depending what the main dish tilts toward...I'd do the opposite:)...
 


If you get a rough idea of your vacation meals you can bring some of the staples from home. Like I knew I wanted to make a big pitcher of sweet tea to keep in our resort fridge. Instead of buying a 4 lb. bag of sugar (or more expensive smaller packets) and tea bags in Orlando, I just brought two large tea bags and some sugar in double Ziplocs.

Same for my cilantro lime chicken; instead of buying the needed red pepper flakes, I brought a small portion from home.

When we shopped in Orlando we just had to buy the fresh ingredients.
 
One of my favorite tips is to get a divided bead case--found in craft stores, Walmart, dollar store, etc. Put some of your favorite spices in small zip-locs, then put a different spice in each compartment. This allows you to make chili, spaghetti sauce, lemon-pepper chicken, whatever your family likes--and the spices are familiar (and safe, for your allergy people).

If we're driving, we always bring a gallon pitcher and lemonade mix, but that's more for the room, not the parks. We're a big lemonade family, so it's a nice treat. You could always get those individual drink mixes to add to water bottles. Although this might be considered a splurge to some--you could just drink water--I find it adds to the festive vacation feel, and also helps the kids to drink enough fluids while schlepping around the parks.
 
If you get a rough idea of your vacation meals you can bring some of the staples from home. Like I knew I wanted to make a big pitcher of sweet tea to keep in our resort fridge. Instead of buying a 4 lb. bag of sugar (or more expensive smaller packets) and tea bags in Orlando, I just brought two large tea bags and some sugar in double Ziplocs.

Same for my cilantro lime chicken; instead of buying the needed red pepper flakes, I brought a small portion from home.

When we shopped in Orlando we just had to buy the fresh ingredients.
Great points.

Bringing some staples from home can really save a lot You can spend a lot on groceries you may just throw away otherwise, etc. Sometimes if you are flying due to baggage restrictions, how much you want to bring, etc. you are limited to some degree on this. But even doing this to a limited degree can really save you a lot.

Like other posters have said though, cooking in is not just for budget reasons, though. You can cook healthier meals. It just (especially with kid), but even without kids gets really old eating every meal out (fun to do some, but so nice not to have to do all).
 
We usually eat breakfast in the condo before RD, lunch in the parks and dinner at the condo. This year, we're doing all lunches in the parks with the exception of a BOG breakfast and a 1900 Park dinner. The type of dinner we "cook" depends on the plans for that day.

Some days we'll leave the park for a few hours and return at night. Those dinners will be easy and fast (quesadilla, open face tuna melt, soup and sandwich). Other days we'll do a longer morning/afternoon in the parks and not return for the night. Those dinners are a little more involved but still pretty fast (baked potato bar, ham slices w/ mac 'n cheese, steaks on the grill).

Our favorite breakfasts are: avocado & scrambled egg on toast, sausage on biscuits, cream cheese bagels w/salmon, banana bread w/peanut butter.

Anything that can be prepared ahead of time is made on arrival day, wrapped up and stored in the fridge so we can just grab and heat up.
We don't do parks on arrival day. We relax and get settled in.
 
I posted this in another forum, but since this is the budget board, thought someone might have some good tips!

We are staying off-site with a full kitchen and are planning to make most of our meals due to 2 things: we now have 7 in our family and just spent a huge amount on APs. More importantly, we have 2 kids with food allergies, and one had a severe reaction at a Disney restaurant 4 years ago requiring 2 epipens, paramedics at the restaurant, ambulance ride and a lost park day at the hospital.

Our plan is to eat a quick breakfast, RD the parks, leave noon to 1:00ish, eat a cooler lunch waiting for us in the van, take a break back at the resort, make a quick dinner, then head back to the parks for the evening.

We will probably vary this and bring in lunches some days and stay longer and skip evening parks.

I am wondering if anyone has some good meal type ideas? We're planning to crockpot some, some frozen foods.
Why not make what you eat at home
 
I posted this in another forum, but since this is the budget board, thought someone might have some good tips!

We are staying off-site with a full kitchen and are planning to make most of our meals due to 2 things: we now have 7 in our family and just spent a huge amount on APs. More importantly, we have 2 kids with food allergies, and one had a severe reaction at a Disney restaurant 4 years ago requiring 2 epipens, paramedics at the restaurant, ambulance ride and a lost park day at the hospital.

Our plan is to eat a quick breakfast, RD the parks, leave noon to 1:00ish, eat a cooler lunch waiting for us in the van, take a break back at the resort, make a quick dinner, then head back to the parks for the evening.

We will probably vary this and bring in lunches some days and stay longer and skip evening parks.

I am wondering if anyone has some good meal type ideas? We're planning to crockpot some, some frozen foods.

Do you mind sharing what happened with the allergen in the restaurant? Disney is one of the best places in the world when dealing with allergies....
 
Our plan is to eat a quick breakfast, RD the parks, leave noon to 1:00ish, eat a cooler lunch waiting for us in the van, take a break back at the resort, make a quick dinner, then head back to the parks for the evening.
Wait, wait, wait ... why would you pack your lunch into a cooler (or tote it into the parks and store it in a locker), then go back to the resort for a break? With this plan, you're going to the trouble to haul food around, you're eating either in a parking lot (no thanks) or perched on a bench somewhere in the parks. Since you're going back to the resort to rest anyway, why not eat lunch back at your resort? You'll have cold drinks from your refrigerator, a table at which to sit, air conditioning, and a clean bathroom nearby. Depending upon when you plan to take the break, you may need to bring snacks for the kids, but that's considerably easier than packing in a whole lunch.

Things I do when I'm bringing food for the family to a condo-type kitchen:

- Bring a plastic bin of some sort that will fit well in the refrigerator. Keep all sandwich stuff in this bin so the kids can bring it to the table, and everything they need (except bread) is right there: Sandwich meat, cheese, mayo ... and we eat some oddities on our sandwiches; for example Peppadews, sprouts, hummus. Peanut butter and sprouts (especially large, crunchy sprouts) is a great combination. The bin just makes sandwiches easy and fast.
- Similarly, prepare another plastic bin of snacks-to-go ... so the kids can help themselves.
- Bring your crock pot ... and prepare your meals ahead of time in your own kitchen /store them in ziplocks so all you have to do is dump the bag into the crock pot. OR put your meals in baking bags (you know, some people bake turkeys in them), and when you're ready to cook, just poke holes in the bag and bake.
- Enchiladas are easy to make up ahead of time. Pack them in a throw-away aluminum pan, freeze them, and you have a ready-to-bake meal. Since they'd bake covered in foil, I don't think you'd even need to concern yourself with cleaning the oven as described above.
- Prepare sauces ahead of time so you can just brown some meat and pour in your prepared sauce -- actually, we do that all the time at home anyway. For example, we love Bourbon Chicken, and the sauce requires about a dozen ingredients (several of which we don't typically keep in the house on a regular basis) ... so we lay out ziplock bags and make up about a dozen sauce recipes at once ... makes a very fast dinner.
- Stir fry is healthy and quick ... if you do the chopping of vegetables at home and have a bag ready just to toss into the pan.
- If I buy fruit, it just sits in a bowl. If I cut up fruit, my kids devour a big bowl in 2-3 days.
- Do you ever make Mason Jar meals? We love them, and you can find lots of examples online. If you make a Mason Jar salad, put half a paper napkin in the top ... it'll absorb condensation, and the salad will stay good a week.
- If you're looking for a half-way point between cooking and eating out, consider picking up prepared items at the grocery store deli. Publix is good for this.
- Bring paper plates to cut down on your clean-up.

You could always get those individual drink mixes to add to water bottles. Although this might be considered a splurge to some--you could just drink water--I find it adds to the festive vacation feel, and also helps the kids to drink enough fluids while schlepping around the parks.
Everyone probably knows this, but no need to carry drinks around the park. You can ask for free ice water at any restaurant or even a cart.
 
Same for my cilantro lime chicken; instead of buying the needed red pepper flakes, I brought a small portion from home.
If you need a batch of spices mixed up (for example, fajita spices), fold them up in a bit of aluminum foil, being sure to double-fold the edges.

If you need a bit of spices to sprinkle (for example, if you like to sprinkle rosemary on your scrambled eggs), pack what you like in a SuMTuWThFSa medicine container.
 
Wait, wait, wait ... why would you pack your lunch into a cooler (or tote it into the parks and store it in a locker), then go back to the resort for a break? With this plan, you're going to the trouble to haul food around, you're eating either in a parking lot (no thanks) or perched on a bench somewhere in the parks. Since you're going back to the resort to rest anyway, why not eat lunch back at your resort? You'll have cold drinks from your refrigerator, a table at which to sit, air conditioning, and a clean bathroom nearby. Depending upon when you plan to take the break, you may need to bring snacks for the kids, but that's considerably easier than packing in a whole lunch.

I wondered about that too!
 

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