My family of 5 put our heads together to come up with some of our favorite and most creative meals that we have enjoyed in
our hotel room. We live in Ohio and drive the 16+ hours to Disney with our cooler and many of the foods listed below. Some of
these we pick up at the store once we arrive in Florida. With such a large family, including one teenager and one pre-teen,
we have since found that it is VERY worth our while to also rent an in-room refrigerator. Enjoy!
10. Cold cereal and milk kept in cooler or in-room refrigerator. Cereal bars, nutrigrain bars.
9. Iced tea. Tea bags and hot water from in-room coffe maker add ice and sweetener.
8. Instant oatmeal packets w/ hot water from in-room coffee maker.
7. Jello made w/ hot water from in-room coffee maker and using in-room refrigerator. Bring canned fruit with can can opener
to add to jello for refreshing twist.
6. Instant pudding can be made just as easily. Cold milk and pudding mix. Keep in the cooler or in-room refrigerator.
5. Cold meat sandwiches, with condiments. Lettuce leaves are a nice addition, but won't last as long in the coolers. We
found that a lettuce salad made quick use of the remaining lettuce head (remember to bring small bottle of salad dressing).
4. Peanut butter and jelly. If not used for sandwiches it makes a great snack on crackers and can be easily packed in
baggies to take into the parks. Also can be put on celery.
3. Fresh fruit and vegetables. Apples, pears, oranges (florida, of course), grapefruit, grapes all last relatively long in
a cooler. Raw vegetables such as carrot sticks, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. use salad dressing from above
as a dip.
2. Juice pouches and bottled water are easy and less messy. Although a little more expensive than bringing a gallon jug
of juice or water, but less cumbersome to lug to your room. Plus, the pouches and water bottles can be frozen in the in-room
refrigerator and carried to the park. Water bottles can be refilled at a drinking fountain easily too.
1. Toasted cheese sandwiches. How? Make them up like you do at home and wrap in aluminum foil. Take the clothes iron provided
in most rooms and set on top of the aluminum foil until done. VOILA! A warm meal!
Snack Ideas For the Trip
By Kathie - April 12, 2002
1. Make Your own trail mix! Make it with stuff that's on sale: mix dried fruit, nuts, M&M's, cereal,
goldfish crackers, etc./ together. Put servings into small sandwich bags to be passed out at the appropriate times. Cereal
mix: Mix ALL different kinds of cereal and package in individual zippy bags. Or just package individual kinds of cereal in
bags. Pass them out for breakfast in the car.
2. Pack a picnic for lunch/dinner! Eat in the car, or at a roadside stop. This saves a lot of time over eating at a restaurant.
It's also less expensive, and often times a lot cleaner than some of the Interstate fast food places I've seen.
3. Apple slices: dipped in Sprite (keeps them from turning brown)
4. String cheese
5. Bottles of water: This is the only drink my kids are allowed to have in the back of our van. It's healthy and makes cleaning
up spills a lot easier than juice or soft drinks. All that sugar just gets them too hyper in the car anyway.
6. Juice boxes: If you freeze these first, they help keep other stuff in the cooler cold on the road. Drink them as
they thaw. We only get these out if we are having a picnic at a roadside rest stop. Otherwise, it's only water in the car.
7. Fruit roll ups: now they even have tattoo roll ups. Oh the fun you can have with food!
