Food at Timeshare

[nmanning19]

First time renting a timeshare and will picking up food for the week that I am there, does anyone have a list or suggestions of what I would need for the week. Looking for the experts out there!

 

[CajunDixie]

I think we would need more information:
How many adults/children
How many days exactly
Maybe even break it down to how many breakfasts, lunches & dinners.
Any picky eaters?
Any allergies?
Grill or no grill?
Crockpot?
Are you snackers....for example popcorn or ice cream at night?
Driving or flying?

 

[Disneybuckeye]

When we stay at a timeshare I always plan my week out and decide what meals I am cooking. I then decide what I want to make for my meals and that determines my shopping list. You need to plan so you have what you need, but now too much extra.

 

[Jill in Chicago]

Do you mean things like:
zip lock bags
toilet paper
paper towels
individual dishwasher packets (we bring from home one per day)
washing machine soap (we also bring powdered from home for each day)
drier sheets
paper plates
kleenex
shampoo, toothpaste...

If you mean menus/food I also plan this all in advance, think out what spices we would need and which pans. Most places have a large and small saucepan, but will not have any kind of baking/roasting pan, so if you want to make a casserole, buy a tin foil one that you can throw away.

They also rarely have cookie sheets, which we often use to back appetizers. AGain the tin foil pans work.

 

[erincon23]

If you like to grill, you can call the timeshare place and ask if they have grills available -- many do. Remember that you're on vacation, and don't plan to spend a whole lot of time cooking! If you're driving, bring a crockpot -- you can do a lot with that, and you won't have to do anything during the day. I'd rely on easy things -- burgers, steaks, sandwiches, pizza. Don't bring your kitchen with you! Most timeshares we've stayed at already have dishwashing detergent, salt, pepper, plates, bowls, etc. Use the fresh pre-made section of the local grocery store. Unless you're planning to spend a lot of time using the facilities at the timeshare, you probably won't be there much. Milk, cereal, coffee, sandwich fixings, fruit -- easy stuff, easy to pack snacks, and easy to cook meals are all you're really going to want.

 

[smokeyblue]

My biggest peice of advice is don't get overboard. You'll always end up with tons of stuff left over.

Second peice of advice is that there are so many extremely cheap take-out options that make good even exellent food at a price you never could at your timeshare. I cant believe what excellent inexpensive asain food and pizza we've got from strip-malls near our villa. Leftovers are great!

Just get the staples and add as needed, bread, butter, milk, cereal, eggs, snacks and go from there.

 

[jsmla]

We use a lot of spices so I always pack mine, even when we fly. They're soooo expensive in those little jars and you probably won't be able to use them up before you leave. I just put the amount of each spice I'll need (usually cayenne, garlic powder, basil, red pepper flakes, black pepper, chili powder and kosher salt) into a baggie and then put all of the baggies into a Ziploc and pack it. They take up almost no room and weigh next to nothing. Sometimes I'll pack dishwasher detergent for the same reason although it's a bit bulkier. We tend to run the dishwasher every night and there's usually not enough supplied with the condo.

If you'll be doing any real cooking the knives in the condos are usually pretty bad. I sometimes bring my small chef's knife with me (in my checked luggage!) but I'm picky about my knives.

If we drive I'll cook ahead and pack an ice chest with frozen homemade meals that are easy to reheat.

Jennifer

 

[Disney Doll]

Are you planning on cooking meals, just breakfast, having just snacks????

When we stay at the DVC,wejsut do breakfast. Canadian bacon and egg and cheese sandwiches. We get fresh fruit to cut up for fruit salad, chips & dip, some cookies, beverages.

If we do do a meal in the room, we usually get take out from Olive Garden or fried chicken from Publix, which is delicious. Macaroni Grill and Carrabbas also do well with takeout. No one in our group really wants to cook...too much like home and then it's not vacation.

We just got back and one night we did Olive Garden ziti with meatballs and sausage and breadsticks and salad that cost $7/person. Another night we did Publix fried chicken with a couple of sides that was about $10/person.

 

[aprilfoolwed]

Menu plan and don't overbuy.

We try to be frugal all year, but on vacation, we buy the little tiny variety packs of cereal - because it's a waste to buy more than 1 big box of cereal. So buy the smaller portions and have nothing wasted.

Plan simple meals that don't require a lot of ingrediants or spices. Spaghetti is simple. Tacos. Hot dogs & burgers. Frozen pasta meals or chinese would be cheaper than take-out.

It is better to have to run to the store twice than to waste a bunch of money buying stuff you can't eat.

Breakfast is easy - grab small boxes of cereal, donuts, eggs/bacon, bagels etc.

Lunches - either overplan dinner (for leftovers) or pick up some deli meats. Or heat-n-eat soups or something.

Dinner - plan plan plan! And rotisserie chicken from the grocery store with salad and bread makes a fast, easy and affordable meal!

 

[MSSANDRA]

I also remind you of how busy your park days will be and how tired you may be at the end of the day. Consider how early you might want to leave the house in the am and how early you are willing to get up to cook. Is it just as cheap to go through the drive through for a biscuit or will you enjoy sitting down for a big breakfast? How late do you plan to stay in the evening?? Consider travel time. Crock-Pots are a GREAT idea. When we rented a house with friends we did enjoy grilling together but it made for some late nights....

Also as someone mentioned unless you are looking to cook to be healthier, take out can be just as cheap. Have paper products, drinks, desserts etc at the condo and grab pizza or whatever on the way back!

 

[nmanning19]

Thanks for the tips, just planning on breakfast and a couple of dinners. I will just start writing down easy breakfast items and maybe bacon, eggs and toast one day when we are just hanging at the pool. I will probably only cook dinner twice so start thinking of 2 easy meals to make.

 

[Darcy03231]

We found our villa wasn't really well eqiupped with anything. I would get there first and see what you need as far as paper towels, trash bag, zip locks, etc.

Food wise, we did a big breakfast each morning before leaving the parks so that meant coffee, milk, juice, eggs, bacon, pancake mix, frozen waffles, cereal, fruit, bread, etc. (there were 9 of us for 2 weeks).

We also bought bottled water to take to the parks with us each day and some snacks (granola bars, individual trail mix pouches, individual gummies pouches, etc.)

The first night there we went grocery shopping and kept our meals simple. We bought the disposable foil pans and made up a couple of casseroles. We also planned crock pot meals and the house had a grill, so we grilled. We made up a big batch of potatoe salad, pasta salad and tossed salad and had that will grilled chicken, steak, pork chops, etc. This allowed us to get dinner on the table quickly after getting back without much work or fuss. We actually found this was quicker than trying to go out to eat. Kids were happy to swim in the pool while we were getting dinner together and there was no whining or fussing.

 

[simonsmom]

I always bring an extra roll of toilet paper or 2 and a big hunk of foil folded up in the suitcase.those are both expensive to buy and you will never need a whole "package"

 

[nmanning19]

You have to supply your own toilet paper?

 

[sticker231]

They will supply you with toilet paper.

As others have said, don't over buy. It is better to make an extra trip if needed. We keep it simple with our food. Breakfast is cereal, pop tarts, and donuts. We usually only snack for lunch in the parks. So we buy bottled water, single serve drink mixes, and snack food, which we bring in with us. We don't cook dinner on vacation. Either pizza or take out from somewhere local. Super Walmart also does hot foods which the kids enjoy.

 

[nmanning19]

I will remind my husband that we can always go back if we need more, I don't want to have lots of food left over and then have to throw away, maybe I will just go to the supermaket, otherwise, we will walk out of there with food for 2 weeks.

 

[AmandaNied]

Paper products, salt and pepper are things the timeshare should stock- if you don't have enought, CALL the front desk and they'll bring you extra garbage bags, toilet paper, paper towels and more dishwashing powder.

Last year, when we stayed in a time-share, we brought breakfast stuff and some dinner items as we planned to eat lunch at the parks. We ended up with some leftover foods that had not even been opened. We were checking out and asked another family who was checking in if they'd like the unopened packages of chicken and some veggies and the lady looked at us and said "Do I look like i'm poor or something? I don't need your handouts"

So they were left in the fridge with hopes the housekeeping would take them?

 

[pixieprincessmom]

We usually do a frozen lasagna for one dinner. Take it out early and let it defrost though. Takes to long to cook if frozen.

 

[jodifla]

We've definitely overbought in the past....here's my pared-down list: (I try to buy things that can be used for multiple things:

Breakfast -- always eat in the room
Coffee
milk & sugar
cereal
eggs, bacon, toast
omelets
peanut butter toast
Juice

Lunch
Sandwich and chips
Lemonade or Juice or Iced Tea

Dinners
Grilled meat, bagged salad, french bread
Pasta and salad

Things I buy at the store:
Milk
eggs
butter
bacon
Bread
French bread (for garlic toast or French toast)
cheese (for omelets and sandwiches and salads)
bag of salads
Veggie tray and dip (for snacks, to add to salads, to cook as side veggie)
chips and dips
Chicken fingers for son
Beer and wine
Juice
Meat for grilling


I have an Owner's Locker stocked with oil and vinegar, spaghettii sauce, pasta, spices, peanut butter, Tuna, Tuna Helper, and Jambalaya Mix with a cans of shrimp and chicken. I grab a few ketchup and mayo packets when we are out to eat.


Hope this helps!

 

[fakereadhed]

I make really quick easy dinners on vacation. Here are some we had last vacation.

Spaghetti and meatballs(jar sauce,bagged meatballs), frozen garlic bread, romaine salad

Grilled salmon with lemon, steam fresh veggies, packaged dry noodle side dish

Tostadas, rice and beans, fruit salad

Pizza and salad

Steak on the grill, baked potatoes(microwave), steam fresh veggies

For breakfast, bagels with cream cheese, cereal and OJ were the winners. We also had ready cook bacon and eggs.