Road Trip Foods with a Week 3 Recap Thrown in: No-Spend Challenge

Week 3 was a doozy, lemme tell you! 

Monday

We visited Indianapolis for our annual MLK Jr. Field Trip day!  I love doing this because each place has activities to talk about equality and black history...with things that would be really hard for me to show the kids at home like drum shows and Rosa Parks speeches. 

We packed our food for the day and vowed that we were not going to spend any money during the day. 

Okay, so actually I had to promise Nick that we wouldn't spend any money because that was the only way that he agreed we could go.  He had a good point because we always think it's going to be cheap because all of the museums are free but after you factored in the trips to the gift shops and teacher stores I had to go to because we don't have them at home...well all that shopping and then meals and we were out a couple hundred dollars each time we went.  Yikes. 

So this time we packed foods.  I know that for me when I am thirsty is when I start to feel whiney and justified in purchasing a drink.  So I made sure to pack tons of drinks for the grown ups and for the kids. 

I packed two larg-ish coolers of food: one for cold foods and one for anything else. 

So the first one I packed up the night before with all of the cold items.  For drinks I took Fruit Shoots, Chocolate Milks, Waters, and Perriers.  My current obsession has been green apple Perrier.  Yum! I also packed yogurt tubes and cheese sticks.  Snacks with some protein tend to fill the tummy for a longer period of time when you are on the road.  Instead of the kids constantly eating, they tend to not eat as much when it is a protein. 

In the other cooler I packed our breakfast, lunch, and other snacks.  So I was a terrible mother and purchased pop-tarts for breakfast.  They were on sale for $1.50 for a box, it fed all of us, and the kids were tickled because they hardly ever, or never, get pop-tarts. 

For lunch I packed us all pb&j.  I know that's kind of a lame sandwich but we all loved it and I used these amazing cherry preserves from Costco that has whole Michigan cherries in it.  So yummy!  I also packed some chips, fruits, granola bars, and some Nutella snack cups.  We ended up having more than enough snacks for the day and had a very full lunch. 

All in all it was a yummy day and we went through the day without feeling deprived.  As an added lesson I had the kids browse the prices of food when we went by a food-court kind of place in one of the museums and I felt like they got it!  They were commenting on how expensive the foods were and how unhealthy everything was.  It was what we could call a teachable moment. 

Tuesday & Wednesday

We were home and not spending any money.  Except for I contacted my best friend and we decided to meet Thursday for drinks and chips at our local Mexican restaurant. Nick and I also started a conversation on if running shoes are a need or a want.  (They are for me).  I said they are a want and I could probably wait it out...Nick looked at my shoes and warranted that clearly this is a need.  We'll probably come back to this but at least we got the convo started. 

Thursday

So we were supposed to meet for a drink and chips but when Nick and I were driving there we were starving.  I didn't want to just throw our no-spend project out completely, so we shared a meal.  We felt like we each had enough to eat but we saved money by splitting.  I was happy, he was happy, the whole world was happy.

Friday

We did nothing.  It was nice.  We had frozen pizzas, watched the original Parent Trap, and just hung out.  I love spending time with our family.  Nothing makes me feel richer than that.

Saturday

We had a birthday party for our nephew and so we didn't have to spend a thing!  Well we purchased his gift but other than that we were there for lunch and dinner.  It was so great to be with family and to watch all of the kids playing together.  I will also say that I was proud of myself because I just bought him one gift, a tricycle. I tend to go overboard and get a small gift to attach or I buy a few gifts but this time I just got one gift. 

Sunday

We had a new pastor come to our church to preach and after we had a carry in dinner to welcome him.  It was nice to not cook and all of the foods were super yummy!  We made cheesy potatoes for a dish to take and all of the ingredients we had so it was easy-peasy!  

So as you can see this week seemed to have a lot of eating with friends and we loved it!  It was nice.  Sometimes, even though it's not a true "need", I do feel it is needed to have that connection.  Especially being a housewife, sometimes it can be a lonely world.  Carry in meals or potlucks are great ways to get together with friends and they are super cheap!

So after this week I wanted to share a run down of tips to make taking food on a road trip super simple:

Pack the Protein

Protein fills us up.  Good sources of fiber fill us up.  Be sure to stock protein as that is what fuels our muscles and helps for proper brain function (ever heard of brain drain?)

Hard boiled eggs, apples with peanut butter, trail mix with nuts, string cheese, yogurts, all things that can help curb your appetite and help you feel fuller longer when on the go. 

Drinks are the Way

Dehydration is not fun.  In warm areas and when you are wearing a coat you get parched faster than you normally would.  Be sure to pack lots of drinks and store them in a cooler so when you crack one open you will feel quenched by an ice cold beverage and not something tepid. 

Be sure to pack lots of drinks for your kiddos as that helps them (and this goes for you too!) to not feel hungry all of the time and those kiddos need have lots of liquids. 

When in Doubt Pack it Out

Pack more than you think you need.  It stinks to be starving and thinking of buying food but not really wanting to buy food but at the same time starving.  Just pack oodles of snacks and if even if you don't eat them you will have offered yourself more variety and you will feel like you had choices.  When you get home you can put the extra snacks away on the shelf and there will be nothing lossed but everything gained because you didn't have to stop for something to eat.

Everybody have fun tonight

I'm just going to come out and say it...when I am sitting at the museum surrounded by everyone with their soft pretzels and nacho cheese, I feel pretty darn sorry for my PB&J self. 

So with that sob story of mine I say pack fun foods.  Pop tarts, chocolate milk, Nutella cups, whatever.  It is so fun to have foods you don't always get to eat and a little bit of junk food will be okay for you and your kids.  Promise!  I know my kids seriously geek out when they get to have junk food so then it lessens the blow a bit to have to eat nothing but things brought from home. 

No-Spend Challenge, Week 2 with a Lesson in Using What You Have

Last week went by in a whirl. 

Our church is looking for a new pastor and it was a crazy week of preparing for a new one to come for a visit.  I apologize this is coming to you so late in the game but as I've always said, better late than never! 

This past week as I mentioned was crazy and so I don't remember what days I did what.  I do remember though that there seemed to be a presounding theme throughout our week and that was to use what we have. 

The one thing I've been so amazed with by staying home is how much time I have to get things done. 

Before I was doing mindless errands to get things I thought I needed which in fact, upon a long, hard look turned out to simply be wants.  Oh, maybe not wants in the way of saying I really want that carton of yogurt tubes but more of an issue of mindlessly keeping up with the Joneses. 

I didn't even realize I was doing it but it was in my head that the kids wanted go-gurt tubes because all of their friends had them at snack time and by golly, they had wanted them too!  But when I realized it I put a stop to it.  If we have yogurt in cups at home then by-golly they can grab themselves a spoon and take a good old-fashioned cup of yogurt.  Ta-da!  Mindless shopping and spending minimized. 

This week by being home I've also noticed two things happening:

1) I am going to the gym a lot more! 

Weird that I said by being home I am going somewhere but shut up, it's my blog and I can write weird things.  ha! 

It's true though.  As I mentioned before we did not cancel our gym membership but instead challenged ourselves to make the most of it's value.  As a result I've gone every single day.  I am sore in parts of me that I didn't know existed but it is also a rewarding feeling to know that I am doing something good for myself, burning stress off, and using that gym membership to it's fullest.  Our gym also has daycare, swimming, a waterpark area, a big gym for the kids, a video game room, an art center, and a rock climbing wall.  So our gym is something we go to a lot and do a lot of different things at. 

2) I am cleaning this house up! 

This past week was the first time in I don't know how long that I actually got caught up on the laundry.  It was a great feeling!  Being caught up on the laundry also brought out some feelings of overindulgence when I discovered that both of our kids have so many clothes that I can't put all of them away when they are all clean. 

So for each drawer we stood in front of it and weeded and sorted, and hemmed and hawed over everything until we had gotten rid of enough that everything fit.  It is definitely a weird feeling to get rid of things that still fit and are still perfectly good but I will be donating them so I feel good about that at least. 

So both of those things (massive time at the gym and laundry) I had not had time for before when I was running everywhere and getting things we simply didn't need. 

Can I get an amen about no more trips to Hobby Lobby?

The other thing we've been doing is actually USING what we have!  I've pulled out blocks and cards and books that had been buried because we have too much.  I've noticed the quiet as they rediscover simple things that we already have. 

I've also done my nails with nail polish I already own.  I mean, I already have it, why not use it up?  Anyone else guilty of buying things and then never even getting around to using them?  What is up with that?

When Emma and I would have girl time together previously we would go buy something or go out to eat.  Now we are doing our nails together and it is so much fun!

I could go on forever with examples, yo, but in short, we're using what we have, cleaning what we have, and moving what we have (at the gym!) 

I hope you all are having a great week! 

Comment below with what you want me to talk about relating to our no-spend challenge!  Next week I'm talking about how I pack food for road trips.