Spill the beans... self-catering on holiday tips

lutzi1

GlynD wrote: »

All of this sounds like too much trouble. It's a holiday for goodness sake. Travel light and only buy basics when you're there. There is a line which it seems some have crossed here when it ceases to be a holiday and starts to be a job of work. If you can't afford to go then stay at home - like us!

For some of us it's a medical necessity. Lucky you that you don't have to think about such things.

prudent_princess

I take a tin of baked beans, a tin of Bacon grill (99p from the 99p store), eggs and bread.
Also take tea-bags, coffee and sugar...last thing I want to do is hnt around for those things when you arrive, as camp-site shops are usually expensive.
Packets of rice or pasta meals are good for camping/caravanning hols too.

i dont have a camping fridge, so I only take packets, tins etc.

Have had some great main meals camping:

Batchelors savoury rice, with bacon grill and mushrooms.

Macoroni cheese (packet mix) with garlic bread

Fried eggs, spaghetti with sausages (tinned) with toast

Meatballs (tinned) with savoury rice.

Savoury rice mixed with tuna flakes and a can of condensed soup, add grated cheese and grill. Yummy!

Corned beef pie (tin of corned beef mixed with onions (heat in a saucepan)place in a heatproof dish, top with mash potatoes and grilled until golden brown).

Crispbreads spread with cream cheese, topped with tinned salmon (99p from the 99p store) served with salad. Great for a warm summers evening!

Tinned stew served with sliced saute potatoes.

prudent_princess

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

When we go away in the UK SC I always pack stuff to take as it makes its easier for us once we get there. We usually go to the same place which is about 2.5hrs away and due to my disabilities I just don't have the energy to shop when we get there and OH has been driving and looking after me.

We generally take beans, cereal mini boxes (buy on special and keep in the holiday box), sugar, coffee, tea, sachets of couscous and savoury rice (Approved food 10p each), tinned sweetcorn, tuna, bread, wraps, bananas, apples, crackers, biscuits, crisps, soup, custard sachets (value 7p), gravy, potatoes, few carrots, tinned peas. Then we take a cool box with yogurts, ham, salad bag, cucumber, cheese, milk, eggs, butter, gammon joint and a chicken. Then I collect sachets of Ketchup, HP, mini pots of jam/marmalade and take the last of the marmite in jar so we can throw it.

Sounds like a lot but we've mastered it to a cool box or cool bag and an Ikea bag which we also put in loo rolls, kitchen roll, wine, t-towels, clean spray, cloth, toiletries and anything else we can fit in.

I take the chicken frozen to keep everything cool and cook the next day. So we have enough for main meals for 3-4 days for the 3 of us.

PP
xx

I have a large tin full of sachets too...salt, pepper, ketchup etc etc which I take away with us when we go camping! Takes up less room than having bottles etc

reformedspender

Further to the comments about doing an online shop before you arrive, it is always a good idea to throw a couple of instant meals into your order for the first night so you can just flop in front of the TV rather than trawling around unknown territory, kids in tow, looking for a child-friendly pub.

It's also a good idea to have an online order ready for your return so you don't have to dash out to the shops for essentials when you get back home.

We tend to cook lots of spag bol, chilli, curry and so on beforehand, freeze it and take it down frozen in the cool bag. Depending on how far you travel it is usually still frozen solid by the time you arrive. That way we only have to take dry foods like rice and pasta that are easy to carry.

Oh, also, don't forget salt, pepper, vinegar, ketchup and the like. Our first self-catering holiday to Devon we forgot all these and ended up spending unnecessarily.

GlynD

lutzi1 wrote: »

For some of us it's a medical necessity. Lucky you that you don't have to think about such things.

That's the problem on this website - too many people assume wrongly.

Cake4brains

For the last few holidays in the UK, I have cooked a large dish of something like lasagna and bunged it in the freezer and made a huge pan of chicken curry/chilli the night before we left. As long as you store them in a coolbox with plenty of ice packs for travelling and put straight into the fridge when you arrive, thats at least 4 nights meals sorted.

jinkssick

Cereal for breakfast. For lunch we buy a long french baguette, a head of lettuce, 3-4 tomatoes and slices of meat and a sauce of your choice, mayo, picalilly etc. Makes a humongous meal for 4 for under 6 euro. You can get all these from local supermakets, preferably lild or aldi.

Multipack juices are great for carrying around (93cents in lidl 6 carton juices). Same can be said for candy, etc. Great for the kids on your trips or supplementing a meal at a fast food joint where some meals are cheaper without drinks.

Dinner is in a restaurant. Looking out for deals. Some menu choices have very large potions (for example soup, rice and meat and chicken, starter for 20euro). We would get this and ask for separate plate and devide the meal between me and a partner. Saves the pocket, saves the waistline. Even in fast food places, individual meals are 5e but they will have a very large 8euro meal for one, that can feasibly feed two people.

Drinks are incredibly expensive in nearly any restaurant, we always share one between two. If thirsty have a drink back at the car/hotel room. And that observation is very true, if you see a restaurant filled with locals, thats the place to eat.

Youd be surprised that most holiday spending is a 2e coke here, a bag of 3e nuts there, etc.

smithcvs

Really good advice. Anyone going for the first time will save a fortune if you ask at the store for a Winn-Dixie card (discount card) free of charge. Can usually be used on the first and any subsequent shops. Go for it !!!!

Augustus_the_Strong

We are usually camping, so cooking needs to be kept to a minimum. I find getting a roast chicken from a rotisserie or supermarket does us well for a few meals (hot & cold), with some flavoured cous-cous and salad. Good for sandwiches too.
My main concern when on holiday is getting enough tea to drink - makes you think twice when it's 4 euros a cup! I bought an element in Italy with which I can boil up water in a small wide-necked thermos flask - makes sure I get my regular 'fix' without spending a fortune.

prudent_princess

GlynD wrote: »

That's the problem on this website - too many people assume wrongly.

I would rather have to do do all this (its no trouble actually - in fact I enjoy it!) than stay at home!

Most of the items we have to take are already in our trailer tent any-way..it's just a case of thowing in some tins and packets before we go.