Traveling Food

I have mentioned that we have been traveling a lot.  I had been losing some weight, but with all our traveling and eating out, I stalled. I haven't gained any thankfully, but I haven't lost any either.  

Here are some things I am doing to help with food while traveling as eating out every meal costs quite a bit as well as not being very healthy.  When we travel, I always pack a cooler. We almost always stay in a hotel that has a mini-fridge too which always is a great asset when traveling. But even if we don't get one we have the cooler. I have those ice bricks and love them as they keep the food colder longer than ice cubes. I like that I can put those bricks into the mini-fridge - freezer section to have frozen and ready for our return trip.

So this is what I pack when traveling....

I pack small snack size ziplocks with grapes, sliced/cubed cheese or string cheese, pickles, baby carrots, baby peppers, or sliced peppers. I then take those little bags and put in a bigger ziplock, so that I just don't have lots of little bags floating around the ice. I put little containers of ranch dressing or bean dip to dunk veggies.  I bring other fruit with us - bananas and apples with us too.  Make sure you wash all fruits and veggies before you go so you can eat in the car easily.

Other traveling snacks I pack at times are trail mix or crackers that I put in snack size ziplocks for portion control as welly as just easier to have a little bag then a box or bigger bag. For something sweet, I will make cookies or bars so that we aren't picking up candy bar or other sweet treats.  Sometimes of course we indulge as our area doesn't have Dunkin Donuts so when in a town that has one we usually do part take in the puffy pillows of goodness. 

For breakfasts, I add some containers of yogurt to the cooler and bake some muffins. I also try to make at least the first day of travel meals - lunch and dinner - if not a couple of lunches. Such as packing sandwich/wrap makings - bread/tortilla shells and lunch meat, slices of tomato, spinach or lettuce.  If  I am just planning for one lunch/dinner then I will make up sandwiches for us knowing they will be ate that day.  I sometimes make a pasta salad or garden salad with some shredded chicken to top it as alternative.  (Extra little tip - if I bring wrap ingredients a quick easy lunch or snack is also using some bean dip/hummus, sliced peppers, tomatoes and spinach on a tortillas. Yums!)

When packing, I also remember to pack silverware including a knife that will cut apples or bread if needed, paper plates, paper towels, baby wipes for sticky fingers, and condiments. I try to keep it down to one salad dressing we both like and one condiment such as Dijon so that I am not having the cooler overloaded with things we will use so little of on the trip.   (Extra tip: We have a Sprouts here, but I am pretty sure Whole Foods has them too, but they sell the little almond and healthy Nutella spread in little condiment size packages like you get ketchup in when eating fast food - really nice for apples or crackers on the road.)

We always buy a case of bottled water - to keep hydrated during this hot hot summer and to discourage us from stopping from soda as much. When you pack your silverware, you might throw in a corkscrew also. Sometimes picking up a bottle of wine on the road especially an area that has local wineries is always a nice treat while in a hotel room after a long day of being on the road. 

Really, I know that has to be other stuff that could be easily packed and used for trips....please feel free to share your tips!

Friday Favorites

Kitchen 101 - Cooking Methods: a chart plus blog entry on all sorts of cooking methods
Chicken Chirizo "No Potato" Hash - looks delicious and a good way to add veggies in and not use carbs
Microfiber Information - a blog post about why to use microfiber and where to use it
18 Things to Get Rid of Now - just as the title says
Freezing Strawberries - tip on why/how to freeze strawberries now when the price is lower

Friday Favorites

Weekly Menus - it not only is weekly menus, but shopping list and recipes to go with the menus
Fast Customer - This is only available for United States and Canada - no more waiting on hold for Customer Service...this app will connect you to customer service reps without waiting on the line. I am not sure if it is available for anything other then iPhone but felt it was too good to not post.
Southwest Turkey Meatballs with Cilantro Dipping Sauce
Decals on Canisters - step by step instructions on how to make them and apply them and even make the decals dishwasher safe.
Couponing for Beginners - from Frugal Girls - they have a coupon database on their website.

Friday Favorites

Declutter Calendar 2012 - I could just link to the calendar. I have signed up for it and got the link but this person wants you to sign up so real easy - email and name. And if you haven't already create an email for things like that you sign up for that you don't necessarily want to spam your regular email account.  I have an account that I give whenever a store or restaurant wants an email address to get coupons.  I use it for these kind of things too. Anyway - the calendar is great each day it just has one thing like January 10th is "Clear off the top of a nightstand",  April 13th is declutter cookbooks and each day has tasks like those.

52 Weeks to an Organized Home - another of the same vain as above.  You can sign up to have it delivered to your email but if you scroll beyond that there is the link to the post for each week. 

31 Days to a Better Grocery Budget - just as the title says. Posts help you to a better grocery budget.

Creating the Perfect Plans by TinyBuddha -  Just a good life lesson on things not always working out and being perfect.

Granola Bars - looks like a good recipe for Granola Bars

Stretching a budget for the holidays...

This month, we are celebrating the Christmas holidays, as well as three birthdays and hosting family for New Year's Eve. So I've been charged with the task of making sure that the grocery budget stretches as far as we can. Considering the amount of social activities and extra shopping/visitors we'd be hosting this month, I wanted to see how far I could get with smart planning and cooking in bulk.

First, I checked with the Boss about his preferences for the holiday meals and then asked for preferences of those celebrating their birthday. Those would be the cornerstones I had to work around.

Then I raided the pantry to see what we had on hand. With a list of basic ingredients in hand, I planned out meals where I could make once, eat twice... basically, make a double batch and cook one immediately, then freeze one for use at the end of the month. Lasagne, casseroles, soups, chilis all made that list.

Then I looked for similarities in the recipes where I could buy in bulk and split up the items. Italian sausage is a great multitasker: I planned to use it for lasagne, migas, and roasted polanos with sausage. Rotisserie chicken was planned for chicken cheesy nachos, a spicy chicken tortilla soup (turkey leftovers work awesome with this recipe, too), and homemade chicken stock. I have three recipes to use with butternut squash- including a sweet roasted squash, a savory casserole, and a soup with roasted apples.

I don't use tomato based sauces often, so when I used a marinara sauce for a dipping sauce for pepperoni monkey bread, I planned on making the lasagne shortly after so I could use the remainder of the sauce. I made a note of what type of shredded cheeses I'd need to buy in bulk.

I consolidated all the recipes into a master grocery list, looked for coupons and sales, bought in bulk where I could. With the exception of milk, eggs, ice cream for the birthdays and fresh salad greens, I believe we are done for the month and we've only used half the normal budget. When all is said and done, I expect to spend about 70% of what we'd normally spend, despite the various special occasion meals we'll be having this month.

I have casseroles tucked away in the freezer, a loaf of pumpkin bread, several soups and chilis frozen in smaller portions, frozen cookie dough waiting to pop into the oven, ingredients for 2 types of lasagne and scones ready to be prepped this week. I also have ingredients for candy and other holiday treats ready to go.

On top of this, a lot of pressure off me is gone. I don't have to worry about unexpected guests dropping in or spending my time in the kitchen cooking the entire time while we have visitors... I can pull out something I prepped earlier. Best of all, when we go to potlucks or have a work event, I always have homemade cookies I can bake in less than 15 minutes.

Friday Favorites

Table Runner Window Treatment - I have looked for a window treatment for 2 windows but haven't found them or even affordable fabric I like to make anything.  But this I can see might work.  Kohl's has really good clearance section and I have seen table runners there that I like and that would work.


Buyer's Guide to 50 Ways to get a Greener Home - It has products and links to those products to buy but I think the tips and ideas for products to keep in mind when buying are good. 


Boxes, Bins, Baskets and More Storage - This is a post on where to get the storage containers she has but what I love is the photos of how she organizes because it is amazing and inspiring. 


Freezer Meals on the Cheap - She spends $95 and has 46 meals in the freezer.  All sorts of good ideas. But what amazes me more is the prices she gets on meat. She has a package of organic ground beef for $1.  That same brand here on clearance is $2.89 to $3.89  - again on clearance. Just regular ground beef here you can't get for anything less then $2.20.  So I am just amazed at all the meat deals she gets and I want to move to where she lives!  Also I didn't know you could freeze baked potatoes - does anyone do this?


Recipes for Powdered Cream of "Something" Soup Mix and Chicken Bacon Casserole - really posting for the cream of something soup mix.  I think that they mean bullion granules instead of bullion cubes. Not sure the cubes would work in a mix unless you ground them up. 

Friday Favorites

5 Ways to Get Yourself Motivated to Clean - I will say that I have used a few of these before.

How I cut my Grocery Bill by 75% - I think it has some really good ideas. And good ideas that don't do everything at once. The planning your menu backwards - I have done many times. It is a good one when trying to save money because buying a deal and then cooking from it instead of planning a menu that doesn't use anything that is one sale.

Gardening Guides - now that spring is upon us - I know many are starting to garden. I thought this site had a lot of good info.

65 Cheap Healthy One Dish Meals - She has a list of links to some a variety of one dish meals.

Low-Cost Kitchen Crafts Ebook for FREE - I haven't had a chance to look at it but a FREE ebook is always worth a look to me


I am going out of town and won't be back until after Easter. I hope to have the spring cleaning lists ready to go and post while I am gone. (Crossing my fingers I have time to get those ready.) If not, then I will get to them as soon as I get home. If you have any questions, please leave a comment on a post and one of the other wonderful ladies will be happy to help you.

What can I do with five bucks?

A link given to me by a friend. There's an entire list of meal ideas for under five dollars.

$5.00 Dinners

I can't wait to explore this one!

Friday Favorites

Best Summer Appetizers - I know there isn't much summer left but I think many of these recipes would be good year around.

Ice Cream Cake and Sandwich Recipes - and just because I have been on an ice cream kick lately for dessert. These are a few steps up from just ice cream in a dish. Yums!

How to make a No-Sew Jersey Scarf - just think it is pretty and easy. Would make a nice gift too.

Tweeto - just a very basic online to-do list that allows you to add and then check off items when they are done. It allows you to view it by rss feed and also email it to yourself or others.

The Grocery Cart Challenge - This blogger finds great deals and makes the most of her weekly grocery budget. I don't have these kind of stores in my area but some of you might. I though look through all our ads to figure out what I need is the cheapest and also just to see what deals are out there. Such as recently Safeway had a HUGE pork loin for $1.88lb. And here that is a really good price. I was able to cut it up into 4 packages of 3 and 4 pork chops, I cubed about a pound and a half that I put into 2 containers to use in stir fry and then the rest I packaged up as a roast.

Fabric Storage Boxes - Never have enough storage.

Bulk Breakfast Burritos

Last week when I was looking at Tipnut.com, I came across a link to an article about making "cheap" bulk breakfast burritos for quick morning breakfast. But their cheap - although might be cheap by some standards weren't by mine. The burritos on that site came to .72 cents a piece. I made 20 burritos that ended up being .37 cents a piece.


$2.00 - 20 tortillas - I get tortillas from Sam's Club in a 36 pack (2 packs of 18)
$1.20 - 10 eggs (was going to use a dozen but only had 10 left in that carton)
$1.66 - 2 cups cheese - That is approximate that was in the bag. But I didn't use it all but just using the price for the bag. The cheese is again a Sam's Club purchase where I divide up a 5 lb package into smaller packages and freeze
$1.16 pinto beans - 2 cans - these were what I had on hand but of course doing dried beans in the crockpot would be easy and also much cheaper
.78 Rotel- 1 can - Sam's Club 8 cans in a pack (Rotel is just diced tomatoes with chilies)
.62 green chilies - 1 can - these aren't in the package in the photo because I just needed a spoonful the other day for something so these weren't a full can but I would normally use a full can

Total = $7.42

So 20 burritos would be .37 cents a piece.



I cracked all the eggs into a bowl and mixed well. I then added the can of Rotel and green chilies. I poured into a pan coated with cooking spray. And cooked over medium heat.


Just before the eggs were fully cooked, I added the beans.



Place a good sized spoonful of egg mixture on a tortilla and top with some cheese.



Fold over the sides of the burrito so that they mostly cover the egg mixture


Fold over one end.


And roll up the rest of the way.


On a tray to flash freeze before putting into ziplocks.

To Microwave: I took straight from the freezer and microwaved for 1 minute. I am sure it will vary from microwave to microwave so that might be up to 2 minutes. In the other link it suggested defrosting in the microwave and then cooking. But the ones I made tasted good without defrosting and just microwaving for 1 minute on a plate.

Of course like stated at the link at the beginning there are many variations you could do to these. Add more veggies, different beans such as black beans or add some meat such as ground turkey and sausage.


Edit: 4/9/09 - I made another batch tonight but added a full dozen eggs and got 24 burritos out of it. Kept everything else the same.

Clara Cooking

So I found this YouTube link via someones blog....It is a sweet old lady named Clara teaching people how to teach like they did back in the depression.