Help me with good in-the-midst-of-chaos food

[sunnylady303]

Please! We are heading to Denver from KY and taking 4 days for the drive. My 3YO DD has serious health problems and we (me, my 5YO DD and my sick child, and my dad) are going to be spending three weeks at the Ronald McDonald House while she has tests, treatment, and likely surgery. I am trying to budget and plan for the trip. I know that RMH has a kitchen where we can cook stuff - but prob'ly not big stuff. I am at a blank with how to organize our food so that we are not eating out all the time. Also I will have to eat at the hospital a lot - they have a microwave and a refrigerator. I am so tired I can't think through what to take with us to eat on the long drive, what to bring, what kind of food to plan on cooking, what to eat at the hospital...all that. I would love ideas. We can't afford (financially or health and energy wise) to eat out much.

We are omni's but organic, with lots of veggies. I think there is a farmer's market in Denver where we can get fresh food. I am just at a loss. Help with this please, if any one has ideas!

[sunnylady303]

Please? Any one with ideas? I really need some help jump starting my tired brain...

[Chinese Pistache]

On our recent road trip, we took cereal, (rice)milk, hardboiled eggs, deli meat, bread, hummus, carrots, etc. Quick food, that could be stored in an ice chest. For 4 days, that would be more difficult. Will you be stopping at all? If you do, and if you have a microwave and refrigerator, you could do hot cereal for breakfast, heat up hot dogs for lunches (don't know if you eat them; we buy Applegate Farms), maybe prepare some meals in advance in portion size containers and freeze before the trip?

Do you have a rice cooker? I'd take it to RMH. Prepare beans (even canned) to go with rice or make a cold bean/rice salad for lunch. Pasta and sauce with ground beef. Burritos, sandwiches. I would take several different containers that you could pack at RMH to eat at the hospital.

If you can do a bigger cooking day when you get there, you could make some things in advance, like chili or spaghetti. Then, you could just eat it throughout the week. You could put chili over rice one day or a potato the next (potatoes are cheap; you could bake up a whole bunch when you get there to have on hand). If you find some good vegetables on your way, you make stir-fry or hash with rice and eggs or meat.

[junipermuse]

Is there a trader joe's nearby or in Denver, they have a large variety of some-what healthy, fairly inexpensive ready made and frozen foods. You could take them in a cooler or buy them there. I like to stock up on shepard's pie, lasagne, enchiladas, frozen burritos. It's more expensive then cooking from scratch, but definitely cheaper than eating out. As far as traveling I would just bring a cooler with fruits and vegetables that are easy to snack on (grapes, carrot sticks, blueberries,) Bring some good bread and butter and some lunch meats (Whole foods has fairly natural ones without nitrates or nitrites). Pack some cheese and some yogurts in a cooler. I also like to bring some snacky things like snap pea crisps and Newman's organic pretzels (much higher in protein and fiber than regular pretzel's). For me the goal wouldn't be to be perfectly healthy or totally cheap, just cheaper and healthier than eating out or fast food constantly. I'm so sorry that you all have to be in this situation and I hope your daughter does well with the tests and surgery. Good luck.

[katiesk]

i would pack things like whole wheat tortillas, which you can use with lunch meat, salad greens, and cream cheese for nice wraps, or with cheese and beans and spinach for quesadillas, or burritos, enchiladas, breakfast burritos, etc. very versatile! a carton of hard boiled eggs would be good for snacking, or egg salad. cut up veggies with hummus, maybe some nice crackers and cheese and salami, whole wheat pasta with pesto, (you could add chicken or other veggies),

good luck...this sounds like a tough time. i hope everything goes well!