Meals during Summer Vacation

Stressing about meals is the worst. But meal prep can be fun and easy, especially in the summertime.

Free Summer Lunch in Rexburg, Idaho

Breakfast

Making Crepes with the Velata Crepe Maker

You don't have to hurry the kids off to school in the summer! If you don't have something planned early in the day, you can take time to make those longer breakfasts that you never have a chance to make during the school year. Let the kids make their own crepes. Make a big batch of muffins together and freeze some for a morning then you are in a hurry to get out and have an adventure. 

Lunch

Free Summer Lunch in Gilbert, AZ

This is where my kids get most of their pre-packaged/ less nutritious food. We are rarely home for lunch during the summer so I throw together some PB&J's, put some cuties, apple sauce pouches, fruit leather, and carrot sticks in a cooler bag, and bring them with us on our day's adventure. If we are staying at a hotel that offers free breakfast, I usually snag some extras to throw in our lunch bag.

Another great lunch option is the free lunch program offered through many school districts. Free lunch is available for children ages 1-18 years at some schools and parks. Adults are able to purchase a lunch for a small fee (ours is $2.75). The little ones who aren't in school yet think it's really fun to go through the lunch line and get their food. Do an internet search or check with your local school district to find a free lunch location near you.

Dinner

Crock pots are my favorite kitchen gadget in the summer. I can get dinner ready in the morning and have it ready and waiting when we are home from our day's adventure. There is the added benefit of not heating up the kitchen with the oven. And crock pot meals usually freeze well, so if you make extra, you have a meal for another day, too.

Make-Your-Own-Pizza Night

On the subject of making extra, we usually have a big, meaty meal on Sunday (like a whole marinated chicken or a roast). This provides lots of extra meat to use for meals during the week. I love turning Sunday's pot roast into Tuesday's beef burritos. Or we just eat the leftovers without the transformation. Either way, it makes for a quick meal.

The other great option for dinner is to make it your fun activity of the day. Our kids love "Make-Your-Own-Pizza Night." They've recently enjoyed making creative burritos as well. 

Tips

Involve the kids as much as possible - during the school year they learn facts from their teachers. During they summer, they learn practical skills from you. Now is a great time to teach the fundamentals off cooking.

Make extras and freeze them - if you are making a meal that freezes well, double it, then freeze what you don't eat for another day. Freezer meals are real time savers for busy days and keep you from buying fast food.

80/20 rule - My amazing friend and neighbor has a philosophy when it comes to feeding your family. You feed them healthy, real food 80% of the time, and 20% of the time you allow prepacked, full of sugar & preservative food. We all want our kids to eat healthy, but having Little Caesars for dinner once a week won't hurt anybody.

Finding Family-Friendly Activities on Vacation

Woo-hoo! Time to explore someplace new. I love traveling to new places, but traveling with kids is a whole different kind of adventure. What places are best to explore and dine at with families? Yelp reviews are great but don't always mention if the top restaurant is good for kids. And although everyone suggests you visit the art museum, you need to if you are going to be given rotten looks for bringing your children. Read on to find out how to find the best family-friendly activities and restaurants on vacation.

Lake Tahoe-Summer 2014

There are some great websites for family travel. My favorite, and the top family-travel community in the US, is Trekaroo.com. Here you can read parent-written reviews about activities, events, restaurants, and hotels. You can also ask for advice from traveling experts and read tips and blog articles specific to your traveling destination. Be sure to write your own reviews after visiting places so other parents can benefit for your experience.

Green Acres Dairy Farm in Ogden, Utah

Use the tips for finding field trips and local events, specifically the following:

• Do an internet search for factory tours & field trips near your destination. 
• Check your destination's tourism website for family-friendly events going on during your stay
• Find the local Macaroni Kid community online and see what events they're promoting

You know those displays with all the brochures in hotel lobbies? Besides being collectors items and souvenirs for my kids, these brochures are a great source of information. Sometimes an activity looks much more enjoyable than it sounded once you add pictures. These pamphlets also sometimes contain coupons, so don't ignore the ones for locations you were planning to visit already. Also, be on the lookout for free recreation magazines when you visit children's museums or local libraries. 

Eastmark Great Park in Mesa, Arizona

Talk to the locals and hotel employees. They live there. They know the town's secret hot spots. Most of the time, they love to share the best places for families, especially when they've seen your cute kids. If you have someplace you want to try but aren't sure if it's family-friendly, these are the people to ask. I've found some unique parks and restaurants on the advice of other parents. 

Preparing for Fun at Home

Don't you love those days when you just stay at home in your pajamas? It's one of the best things about summer! Some days it's great to lounge around and watch TV, but my kids tend to get grouchy after sitting in front of a screen for too long. When we are home I like to do some crafts or cooking. The only problem is, if you find a great recipe or fun art project and don't have all the supplies, you'll have to change out of those pajamas to run to the store. What a bummer! Read on to find out how to make sure your fun-at-home supplies are well stocked.

Sugar Cube Castles 2014

Crafting

• Load up on the essentials: construction paper, glue, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, googly eyes, etc. You'll love having these things handy for spontaneous craft time. If you remember to buy extra when back-to-school sales are on, you can get a pretty good price on most of these things. The dollar store carries lots of craft supplies, but most of the time, Walmart is cheaper.
• Make a list and buy specific items for projects from your Pinterest board. Some items are hard to find and you may even need to buy them online. Again, if you plan ahead, you can get better deals. I'm planning on doing bleach print shirts this year. Did you know Dollar Tree carries T-Shirts? You'll have to be on the lookout throughout the year if you want a specific size or color. 
• Buy clearance crafts. If you find a cool craft kit on sale, buy it to keep in your craft stash. There are usually holiday specific crafts on clearance after the holiday. Most of these can be easily tweaked to use year round. I bought a 90% off Halloween Tie-dye kit one year that had yellow, purple, & green dyes, along with Halloween stickers we didn't use. 

Cooking

• Load up on the essentials: all purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, chocolate chips. Also, keep your fridge stocked with butter and eggs. If you have these essentials, you can always make cookies or brownies without having to run to the store. 
• Make a list and buy specific items for recipes from your Pinterest board. You will love having some specialty items around for new recipes. I don't usually have marshmallows around during the school year, but they are in a few of my dessert recipes (and crafts!) so I keep them in stock for summer. Is there are great mint cookie recipe you've been wanting to try? Make sure you have mint extract in your pantry this summer.
• Buy non-food cooking essentials, too: Wooden skewers, toothpicks, cupcake liners, foil, plastic wrap, wax paper, food coloring, etc. These things also double up for crafts.