Six Tips for Planning Food for a Week's Vacation

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So you've finally done it: you have broken down and decided that this year you are going to rent that house for the week. Whether you are in Hilton Head, Martha's Vineyard or Aspen, here are some tips for what to bring along and what to buy there. With the large amount of gear that you need to survive a whole week with the family, you are probably driving instead of flying to your destination. We will go with that assumption but some of this still holds true even if you do fly.

What should be there

Almost every place that you are going to rent from is going to provide you with the kitchen staples for cooking. Kitchen gadgets, utensils, plates and pots and pans are pretty standard. Inquire with your rental agency if you are looking for something a bit more specific. This information is critical if you are planning to make Grandma's tator-tot breakfast hot dish. The same holds true for outdoor cooking: if there is a grill, the utensils will be there. Keep that rental company's number close by because if you need something; they might have it to loan you.

What you do need to worry about is if you need something specific. If you have a special whisk that you absolutely need or a cast iron pot that the beans have to be cooked in, you are going to have to bring it. And if you are driving and you have the room, do it! This is supposed to be about vacation and eating things that you don't normally eat. If that means that you need a Bundt pan for that sausage ring that you make only on special occasions, bring it. There will be no time more special than your vacation.

Be a planner

Making a menu before you go is essential if you are interested in spending less time and money on food and more time enjoying your vacation. If you really want to be inspired and buy local, especially if you are in a culinary destination, make yourself a compromise and say that you will leave two meals for the week open to local flavors. Plan the rest.

Think also about small quantities. It may be easier to by a whole gallon of milk, but when you have more than half left at the end of the week, it was a waste. Buy the half gallon and worst comes to worst, you have to go buy another.

Buy expensive stuff at home

Most proteins that you are going to cook with are going to cost more at a destination than they will at your local grocery store. It is totally worth your time and effort to fill a cooler with your meat, poultry and fish and keep them on ice. Even if you have a multi-day drive, there are hardly any hotels that don't have ice machines to keep the food fresh. This holds true for as much as you have room for. Snacks, breads, fruits, vegetables, and canned/boxed good pack easy and make for that much less you have to buy when you get there.

The shopping experience

You have a plan! You have a menu! Use them! At most destinations, where you're not the only person checking in to your rental that day, shopping at a grocery store on turnover day is a disaster. Know what your shopping list is before you walk in the door and stick to it. Bring a maximum of one other person with you to help carry bags. Remember: you are in a store where you know where nothing is, everyone has their entire family of ten people with them and no one knows what they want for breakfast that week.

And don't think that just ordering a pizza that night is going to get you through so that you can avoid the crowds on day two. Everyone else is doing the same thing and unless you wake up at the crack of dawn, the store will still be a nightmare. Plus, with everyone else ordering, how long are you going to have to wait for that pizza?

Incidentals add up fast

Think about that menu and pack the little things. You will so surprised when you find yourself buying three different spices, condiments, and salt and pepper because you didn't think of them at home. The most left behind item found by cleaning crews who turn over weekly rentals? Condiments; and all they do is throw them out. Nothing "gets left for the next renters." If you are flying, a set of travel salt and pepper shakers and snack-sized Ziplocs for seasonings work great.

Don't leave it behind

Although unopened beer, wine and soda will be taken home by the cleaning crew, everything else will not. So if you plan properly, you can load that protein cooler up with the leftovers.Oh! You didn't pack Tupperware containers for the leftovers? Put it on the list. Quart-size freezer Ziploc bags work like a charm for take-homes, too.

Don't worry about skunking that beer, wine or soda either. Just take it out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter the night before you leave and let it come up to temperature. You can then dry storage it in the car and not worry about if it gets warm. Beer only skunks when you take it from the back of the fridge and put it directly into a 106-degree temperature car.

So heed this advice and go forward, my traveling friends! You will have more time to spend relaxing, better food to eat while vacationing and less to leave behind. What other tips do you have for preparing for the week of travel? Let me know in the comments below!

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