Food for thought...

[shmuggee]

The wife and I are having a discussion about this subject and were wondering how everyone else deals with this:

The scenario:

Every TS salesperson/selling point relates the idea that NOW because you are able to stay in a TS when you are on vacation, you can load up the fridge and save tons of $$$ (or conversely have that convienient 'home' feeling and cook) while on vacation.

It just so happens that we are on an extended vacation and that having a full kitchen is the cat's meow for us, right now.

BUT...

We have been moving about the Fort lauderdale and Orlando areas - longest stay of 3 weeks at the same TS, and each time we empty the fridge, put it in the cooler, take to new TS, unload, go to grocery store...etc etc.

But we also throw out a few things here and there along the way (leftovers, few ounces of milk in a jug, bottom of the bottle) that might have been used in the next couple of days...had we stayed in the same place.

ALL THIS TO SAY WHAT: :zzz:

If you are flying into a destination and staying at a TS - what do you do with all of your leftovers (like ketchup, sauces, salt pepper etc) that you do not use? How about any (God forbid) alcohol you didn't drink? Does that 6 pack go back with you on the plane? How about those frozen steaks you didn't cook because you went to Sizzler/Ponderosa/Golden Corral instead?

Are you afraid to really take FULL advantage of the kitchen, because you might end up leaving tons behind? Is having a kitchen a major part of your TS ownership? Or would a smaller kitchen and perhaps a bigger bedroom/bathroom be more of an advantage?

 

[Jaybee]

I guess I'm not sure I understand the question. Am I afraid to take full advantage of a kitchen? A kitchen is one of the reasons I love timeshares. When we go to a place we can drive to, I take tons of stuff along.
If we fly, I always manage to pack coffee and a few of my favorite spices. When we get to our destination, we buy whatever we need, always knowing it's going to cost us less than eating out, which we also do on occasion. When we leave, if we haven't met someone there who can use what we have left, we leave it for the housekeepers. We still feel ahead of the game.
...and, btw, I've never had a salesperson try to sell us by promoting a kitchen as a big advantage.

 

[DeniseM]

Use the search function and search for "leftover food" and you will find several threads on this topic. Here are a couple:

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=68083&highlight=leftover+food

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60656&highlight=leftover+food

 

[Timeshare Von]

ALL THIS TO SAY WHAT: :zzz:

If you are flying into a destination and staying at a TS - what do you do with all of your leftovers (like ketchup, sauces, salt pepper etc) that you do not use? How about any (God forbid) alcohol you didn't drink? Does that 6 pack go back with you on the plane? How about those frozen steaks you didn't cook because you went to Sizzler/Ponderosa/Golden Corral instead?

Are you afraid to really take FULL advantage of the kitchen, because you might end up leaving tons behind? Is having a kitchen a major part of your TS ownership? Or would a smaller kitchen and perhaps a bigger bedroom/bathroom be more of an advantage?

We rarely plan on using the kitchen for dinners for a few reasons . . . but first, let me talk about breakfast. We do buy stuff for breakfast for the week when we are in TS's with kitchens. Ordinarily, this is the only meal that makes sense for us to plan on doing in the unit. This week as an example, we're in Ft Lauderdale and what we spent in groceries for the week is less than a breakfast (or two) out.

Lunch is generally on the run, wherever we happen to be for the day.

Dinner, however, is frequently less expensive to eat out using restaurant.com or some other similar type program. Additionally, there are nights that we are simply too beat to want to cook and do the clean-up afterwards, so carryout or delivery works well for us. We would never buy (and freeze) steaks as an example, with the plan to cook them sometime during the week. If for one night we decided we wanted to cook in, we would stop and buy what we needed for that night's meal and not over buy.

Generally speaking we avoid meal plans that include a lot of stuff that would be wasted if we had to pitch it - - condiments falls into this category. We have left behind the remainder of a six/twelve pack of sodas or beer, generally giving to the housekeeping staff, etc. Our way of thinking about it is that if we had been out at $2/can for soda or $4/bottle for beer, if we consume approximately half, we are still ahead if we give (or throw) away the rest.

 

[dougp26364]

I buy smaller versions of what we'll need/use and throw out what's left over at the end of our stay. Yes it's wastefull but, my mother always told me to eat everything on my plate because there were starving people somewhere in the world. What did that get me? I'm overweight and those starving people are still starving. I'm learning to thow out what I can't use and what others won't take.

 

[BevL]

We hugely use our kitchen. We go on vacation to relax on the beach, not to get dressed up to go out to dinner somewhere. So a salad, a steak or some grilled chicken or fish and some rice or potatoe and we're good to go.

How to deal with leftovers? We rarely go for less than two weeks, so about day 10, we start with the "what's in the fridge equals what's for dinner" scenario.

As for leftovers, anything unopened, we leave for the staff. If we have other stuff that might be considered useful, especially liquor, which is hard to take on a plane since you can't carry it on anymore, we find some nice people at the pool and ask them if they want it. Never had a problem getting rid of it, and we rarely have very much left over - definitely the first thing to be planned to use!!

It is a pain to move stuff in coolers, I'll grant you that. We're so looking forward to our trip in March - we'll be at the same resort for two weeks - no mid-trip move!!

 

[davidvel]

What is a left-over beer/bottle of wine?:ignore:

 

[Jbart74]

We cook a bunch in our unit. Almost every dinner, and most or every breakfast. Lunches seem to happen at random so I'll leave them out here. I also am usually in the Caribbean, and that makes a financial difference. Our dollar is worth 80 cents there....

I wish that we could hook up with people who are leaving to take their ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc.... I do belong to a few web groups where that might be possible, but so far, (pre-web groups) we've always been on our own when we arrived. Here's hoping that things will be different now!

 

[Stressy]

How to deal with leftovers? We rarely go for less than two weeks, so about day 10, we start with the "what's in the fridge equals what's for dinner" scenario.

I had to chuckle at this...because....during our last t/s stay-my daughter, 13, asked with a spoon full of peanut butter in her mouth-if there was anything else she needed to eat before we checked out. We did take some non-perishables home-but mostly-if we have anything left over-we leave it for staff.

I do a have a t/s box for drive to locations. I have things like spices, sandwich baggies, paper towels, etc. Trouble is, I find myself dipping in at home if I haven't been to the store in a while. C'est la vie.

 

[andrea t]

I always stock up on breakfast foods; boxes of creal, milk, oj, pop tarts. Whats left gets thrown out. Lunch is also at the pool or wherever we may be that afternoon. Dinner...well, I'm on vacation. No cooking for me! We go out every night. :whoopie:

 

[laura1957]

We cook breakfast in, and are too much on the run to deal with planning any other meals in our room. (That is what I am on vacation FROM.) We do stop at the grocery store and buy some things that are very quick/instant - cold cuts/snacks/canned soup - that are good for midnight snacking, or when we are just too worn out to run around anymore!!

When we are driving and have any of the kids/grandkids with us we usually do hotdogs/hamburgers/chicken a couple of times during the week, and pack a lot of lunches/snacks for driving around sightseeing.

 

[summervaca]

We have gotten very good at eyeballing exactly how much we will need for a week. Also, my husband, for some strange reason, enjoys running errands so if we decide we need a little extra, he'll run out to publix or albertsons or target or super valu etc. etc. It work great!

 

[rsnash]

It helps to plan out your menus for dinners, especially around the amount of proteins. Our last dinner is usually some sort of left-over use up dinner. But this still tends to be a better quality than at home left overs dinner. For example, our last day in the Bahamas, we had some "leftover" cooked crab, lobster tail, various vegetables, 1/2 a pound of (already cooked) spaghetti, and a purposefully bought can of tomato... Seafood Primavera Pasta.

Also, we had made friends with some "locals" (boaters who stay at the resort most of the winter), brought one back to our unit after hot tubbing on the last afternoon and he got a grocery bag full of our leftovers: condiments, beer, cheese, cooked ground turkey, a few limes. Otherwise, stuff gets left for the housekeepers.

I always wonder if the housekeepers just throw stuff out or if they have a big leftovers swap/pantry on check out day?

 

[Carol C]

I had to chuckle at this...because....during our last t/s stay-my daughter, 13, asked with a spoon full of peanut butter in her mouth-if there was anything else she needed to eat before we checked out.

:whoopie: A mouth full of peanut butter is a great way to keep them quiet on the long drive back home! Give the jar and some plastic spoons to the kids in the back seat, and enjoy your quiet drive! :rofl:

 

[donnaval]

I buy lots of salad makings and ingredients for a big pot of chili and soup. Depending on what type of cookware and storage bowls are available I make one or both the same night we check in. We eat all our breakfasts in the unit, and then depending on what we are doing that day we might eat lunch out and have a quick bowl of chili or soup and a big salad that evening, or vice-versa. I have lots of really good chili and soup recipes so we don't fall into the "if it's wedding soup it must be Orlando" habit lol. We too take advantage of restaurant.com and entertainment book coupons in the area we're visiting. We try not to spend a lot on restaurant meals because we do a lot of timeshare traveling--the less we spend on food, the more we can travel

 

[LynnW]

We have gotten very good at eyeballing exactly how much we will need for a week. Also, my husband, for some strange reason, enjoys running errands so if we decide we need a little extra, he'll run out to publix or albertsons or target or super valu etc. etc. It work great!

And here I thought I was the only one with a husband like that! He loves grocery shopping. We usually eat breakfast in but lunch we're usually off somewhere. Sometimes we'll cook steaks but I find it just as easy if we don't feel like going out for dinner to pick something up at the deli or a take out place.

Lynn

 

[stmartinfan]

We're generally pretty good at buying just what we need. Of course, there are always a few leftovers like the partial bottles of ketchup. mayo and salad dressing, but I still figure we spend less on the meals we eat in than when we go a restaurant, even if we have to throw some items. We usually buy groceries for a week's breakfasts and a few lunches knowing we'll do some lunches out. If we decide to cook in for dinner, we'll pick up the ingredients that day.

We enjoy cooking, are pretty good at ad libbing based on the utensils and ingredients available, and think it's fun to check out grocery stores in other places. (I used to work in the food industry, so maybe that's the reason.) There are also so many nice deli meals available now, like the whole roast chickens, that you can also eat-in without having to do lots of cooking and order just enough for your family.

 

[shmuggee]

I buy lots of salad makings and ingredients for a big pot of chili and soup. Depending on what type of cookware and storage bowls are available I make one or both the same night we check in. We eat all our breakfasts in the unit, and then depending on what we are doing that day we might eat lunch out and have a quick bowl of chili or soup and a big salad that evening, or vice-versa. I have lots of really good chili and soup recipes so we don't fall into the "if it's wedding soup it must be Orlando" habit lol. We too take advantage of restaurant.com and entertainment book coupons in the area we're visiting. We try not to spend a lot on restaurant meals because we do a lot of timeshare traveling--the less we spend on food, the more we can travel

:hysterical:

I thought I was the only one!!!

I just bought 3 lbs of ground chuck, tomato sauce, kidney bean and my favorite '2 Alarm Chili Kit'. We have 4 or 5 tupperware containers which will get frozen and pulled out for those "What do I feel like eating ?" times. I was going to cook it up this afternoon/evening - but the Wildcard games won out...

Love the stuff!!

 

[irish]

condiments and paper goods(wrappers,gal. and sandwich bags) are purchased at THE DOLLAR TREE. that way when i have to leave them behind i don't care.
we eat breakfast in the room and generally pack sandwiches, chips and soda in a cooler for the beach or pool. saves money that way. dinner is eaten out 3 0r 4x's and i always make a pot of speg. sauce and purchase bbq chix., chop meat and possible steaks(for the bbq) for the nights we eat in. we generally are away for st. patties day so a corned beef is a must.
in the beggining, we purchsed to much stuff but now, after 11 years of t/s we are pretty good at getting the right amount of stuff for the week.however, if we need more the supermarkets are just a short drive away.
i absolutely LOVE having a kitchen for our vacations. just could NOT do a hotel room again.