Before heading out of town last week I stopped by Costco to pick the boys up a few treats to munch while I was away. When I leave on any trip I always make sure there are a few meals already plated up so all they need to do is pop them in the microwave {usually chicken, pasta and soup}. Sometimes they heat it up, and sometimes they eat their food cold like a bunch of savages.
Anything goes when I’m gone, so all I can do is offer a few grab and go options and hope for the best.
When we travel we use money from our vacation budget to buy food so I don’t include that in our monthly grocery talley. It keeps things simple for me and let’s us splurge a little while on the road.
Costco $41.85
Maybe Haggen Daz bars, Naked Juice and croissants are the norm at your house but these are seriously luxury items at ours. When I got home all the juice, croissants and haggen bars were gone {except for the 3 bars I hid}.
The bananas turned brown {I tossed them in the freezer to make banana bread later} and they didn’t touch a single burrito. My guess is having to unwrap the burrito, put it on a plate, then in the microwave and having to wait 2 minutes and 30 seconds for the thing to heat up was just too much to ask of them. 😉
Here are some of the foods The Girl and I ate while on vacation {minus snacks}:
Monday
Breakfast – Bagel with cream cheese and yogurt {free breakfast with hotel stay}
Lunch – Coffee and Tea at Bard Coffee in Portland, Maine
Dinner – Pad Thai, zucchini cake, garlic beans, pasta salad, pickled beet and quinoa cake from the Whole Foods Salad bar {I used the gift card my parents gave us last Christmas}
Tuesday
Breakfast – The best berry tart on the planet and tea at Chase’s Daily in Belfast, Maine
Lunch – Panera
Dinner – I have no idea
Wednesday
Breakfast – Tea and donut at Lil’s cafe in Kittery
Lunch – Ham and swiss sandwhich at JFK Presidential library
Dinner – Take out pizza on Cape Cod
Thursday
Breakfast – 1 slice cold pizza, tea
Lunch – Larabar, 2 bananas
Dinner – Chicken, mashed potatoes, corn and brussels sprouts at Heather’s
Friday
Breakfast – Dunkin Donuts and tea at BOS airport
Lunch – Almonds, 2 bananas
Dinner – Chipotle chicken bowl
Saturday
Breakfast – Slept in til 11 am {Yes!!!!}
Lunch – Giant smoothie
Dinner – Business dinner date with the HH
Sunday
Breakfast – Bacon, potatoes and homemade bread
Lunch – Smoothie
Dinner – Bean and cheese burrito
It was a great week of trying new cafes and eating lot’s of treats but I’m ready to get back to my regular routine. How about you, what’s your favorite food splurge when you’re on vacation?
~Mavis
Total Spent This Week $41.85
- Total Spent in March $64.29
- Total Spent in February $106.85
- Total Spent in Janaury $105.36
Freebies we’ve been gifted or were earned in 2016: $200
- $100 gift card to Whole Foods {Christmas gift from my parents}
- $100 gift card to Trader Joe’s {Christmas gift from my parents}
- 22 packets of vegetable seeds
Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.
Julie says
I can never get Costco bananas to ripen. They go from green to brown.
mh says
Me too. I won’t buy them there anymore.
Tina says
Same with BJ’s bananas!! Sometimes they are green and brown at the same time with no hint of yellow 🙁
Lauralli says
It’s because they refrigerate them. Happens at one of my grocery stores, too.
Deanna says
Do you put the bananas in a brown paper bag?? the gases they give off help ripen them
Dawn says
I am glad I am not the only one who hides treats. Don’t tell my husband, but I keep a Larabar box just so I can hide things in it from him. Most recently it held a bag of M&Ms.
Mavis says
Haha! That’s genius!
Brianna says
My husband is the one who hides food. It drives my nuts, especially when he forgets about it and it goes bad. I am constantly checking inside my tea cups and behind things for his hidden stuff. There is no reason or need for it and it has been a source of many arguments between us. He grew up with an empty belly and hungry to bed from neglectful parents and that is part of why he does it. I finally trained him to stop putting the empty milk jug back in the fridge and now I am working on trying to stop his squirrel behavior with hiding food.
Dianne says
Glad you made to our lovely part of Maine. Thought you’d like to know that Chase’s Daily is in Belfast, not Searsport. I love eating there, even when it means waiting in a long line.
Janet says
I was told once when you buy bananas, even if they are green, make sure there is some yellow on them and they will continue to turn yellow. If there is no yellow, don’t buy them.
Mavis says
Hmmm, I’ll have to test that out. Thanks!
Marcia says
I’m always impressed with your budget. I think it’s great that you get snacks and treats for the boys when you are gone. But it’s hilarious that they wouldn’t heat up the burritos. And also hilarious that they wouldn’t peel the bananas.
My boys (10 and 3) eat all my bananas! I keep Costco frozen blueberries for my “back up” for my smoothies – because I run out of bananas.
I enjoyed reading about your vacation treats. I have a tendency to include vacation food in my grocery budget – but only the stuff I buy at grocery stores. If we eat out, that’s the vacation budget. I try to avoid eating out on vacation though – it’s generally not terribly healthy. I have problems with eating salads “out” (preservatives? I dunno.) It’s expensive. And, the biggest reason – my 3 year old is a PITA. Seriously, aged 2 to 4 they can’t sit still, and it’s terrible. So we stay at condos or houses when possible so we can cook. And when not? Often it’s takeout pizza in the hotel room.
For my 10 year old, vacation treats are McDonald’s (the only time he gets it). For me? I don’t really know, because the kind of food I’d like to get (Panera, for example, or slightly higher-end fast food that is on the healthy side) – my kids don’t like. I guess maybe I splurge for prepared food, like roast chicken, or potato salad from the deli, or chicken fingers.
However I admit the Whole Foods hot bar is my own personal kryptonite. I would have no problem buying dinner from there on vacation – but it would easily be $40 for my crew.
It sounds like you had a fun trip back East though!
Jen says
I love reading about your adventures in New England and I am so curious to know what state your second home is in- even though I understand why you dont share it! I just moved from DC to NH (back to NH really- I grew up here) and I love hearing about why you love it here 🙂
Amy says
I think that sweet face of Lucy Puggle Princess would make a darling “rustic rug” subject. She’s so darned cute!
Sue says
Second this idea!