Large family, small budget... driving... food ideas for room or dining?

[gunner2010]

I completely agree about hotel owners - their properties, their rules. My only point is I don't think it's against any fire code or law, and that is what the no-cooking folks point to every single time, along with the wiring thing.

I DO have something funny to add - I work in a rather staid office (by necessity, it's staid), in an old historic building, on the 3rd floor. Last Friday someone on the 2nd floor decided it was a fabulous idea to bring "shrimp from the Dollar Tree" for lunch. Canned shrimp, I guess? Who does that???? You cannot imagine how stinky the whole building was. That smell came wafting up the staircase with a vengeance.

There are many reasons in my hotel (been a hotel GM for almost 18 years) for the cooking restrictions..

Basic one is to drive revenue to your hotel. But beyond that there are things like smells and more important safety. Talking normal rooms and not suites with stove tops and/or ovens.

Anything else we do restrict. That includes your george forman grill or anything like that. I got 350+ sleeping in my hotels and counting on it to be safe. I am not risking that for unapproved cooking devices. And yes we have the RIGHT to enter your room and we can ask you to remove it or leave..

Really that simple

 

[happygirl]

I wish hotels would ban all cooking equipment besides microwaves.

 

[Kat77]

Those fridges are small and you have a lot of kids. I'll suggest the obvious.
1) Baskets of muffins, bagels and fruit for breakfast. None of those items require refrigeration. (bring an apple/pear slicer)
2) Use a cooler. Keep cream cheese, juice and milk on ice.
3) Save fridge space for lunches and dinners. Order several deli trays from Publix or Costco and avoid cooking.


ETA: We are eligible for interline rates but prefer Bonnet Creek. BC just works better for large families. Definitely keep it in mind for the future.

 

[burnurcomputer]

I recently stayed on site for the first time, and I hated it. Like couldn't pay me to do it again, I hated it that much.

I have stayed off-site for all our other trips and enjoyed the space (4 kids, DH and I, my Mom also). We cook on our first day and make a loose meal plan. We prep vegetables, cook chicken breasts, have a pasta dinner planned. We will take some food to the park, egg salad, tuna salad, or chicken salad in a kids lunch box. We take a few plastic containers and fill it with the salad of the day (and the freezer packs) to keep it cold. Pack bread in a separate container so it doesn't get smushed! The when we are hungry we will sit down and get some fries or other foods to round it out a bit and eat! We take Mio or other water inhancers to add to the tap water offered or we will get a cola. It doesn't make the trip super budget (where we would bring everything, if we had t) but it does make it much more reasonable for the pocket, and we can sit down and eat at the restaurant and be a paying patron without feeling like we are taking up seating.

 

[njmom47]

Well at my krogers it is in a stand (non refrig) right next to the meat cases.. I have not bought one bellow.. but I have tried 2 different kinds and VERY happy with both! zero mess.. my grocery store has a small pack of line 12 pieces for 5.99 ish and a big pack of I think 30 ish for 7.99


I found a link at walmart below..

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hormel-Fully-Cooked-Bacon-7.56-oz/22259067

If you have an Aldi nearby, I pay $2.99 for the pre-cooked bacon which is perfectly delicious.