Food Prep for an Easy Weekend
I think it’s safe to say that all moms work hard on vacation- especially when RVing, camping, or staying in a cabin where they are cooking and cleaning for the family as usual. Except on vacation, you’re also hiking, sightseeing, and generally a lot more active. Aren’t vacations supposed to be a break from normal life? So make it easy on yourself by taking out the stress of at least one of those “mom” tasks- cooking!
I love cooking, but sometimes (especially when I’m on vacation) I just don’t feel like doing it. I start off all gung ho
Chicken thighs, carrots, sweet potatoes, onion, and garlic in a foil packet.
about healthy eating and making it all myself, but my enthusiasm can quickly fizzle out. If you’re out at a secluded campsite, you have no choice but to cook what you brought. If you’re close to a town, then going out can be pricy and unhealthy. And if you have family with allergies or special dietary needs, going out may simply not be an option. Instead of opting out of homemade meals, do all the meal prep at home before you head out on vacation. It can make cooking faster and reduce the number of dishes you have to wash- a win-win!
Here’s an example of this past three day weekend’s menu and how I did all the prep work at home. It’s not rocket science, and it’s not a breakthrough concept either, but it may give you a few ideas or motivation to help make dinner time easier.
Friday- Dinner: Chicken and vegetables prepped and packed in foil packets, then cooked over coals on grill for about 20 minutes- $3.90
Cabbage, potatoes, and ham; onions and garlic in separate baggie on top.
Saturday-
Breakfast: Eggs, toast, and brown and serve turkey sausage- $3.20; Lunch (Cheat Meal): Taco Bell and Lunchables- $18.38; Dinner: Ham, Cabbage, and potato soup with Rolls; 30 minute cook time- $7.50
Sunday-Breakfast: Homefries, peppers/onions, and eggs with toast- $5.20; Lunch: PB&J sandwiches, left over soup- $2.00; Dinner: Butternut squash soup with rolls- $3.50
Monday- Breakfast: Oatmeal- $0.83; Lunch: PB&J sandwiches with carrots- $2.00
This entire weekend’s food cost was only $60.30- and that includes the unplanned Taco Bell treat. It also includes the cost of our coffee, tea, juice, snacks, Mio water enhancer, and other odds and ends.
To prepare for this weekend, I cut up all our food ahead of time and put them in gallon bags (as you can see, I 
changed which days we were eating each meal based on the weather). I also made a couple batches of bread and rolls as well as apple raisin fruit bars (my grandma’s recipe and one of the kids’ favorite snacks). Don’t forget to bring along olive oil, chicken bouillon, salt and pepper, and any other spices you’ll need to add to the meals you prepped. I was able to cook up the soups by cooking the onions and garlic in oil in the soup pot. Then adding the rest of the ingredients and water and cooking for 20-30 more minutes. Meanwhile, the bread would be warming in the oven at 350 degrees until the soup was ready.
These dinners were perfect for this rainy weekend- they were warm, filling, the kids actually ate them, and they were budget friendly. It’s Autumn and chilly here now, so soups and stews are my favorite.
Please leave a comment with your favorite go-to meals on vacation. What do you do to make cooking in a small space easier? Any tips on easy clean up?
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