Self catering - what's for dinner?

[Hibernatalie]

We normally go for supermarket ready to cook type foods. Do you normally have what you have at home or different?

Gosh no. We usually have lunch out on holiday and have salads, meze, jacket potatoes or maybe a slice of pizza for supper.

We're having lunch out most days too

We always self cater on holiday but can't afford to eat out every night. So, whatever's easiest.

In hot countries it will be a salad and something on the barbecue or cold meat and cheese or an omelette or pizza.

In the UK we'll rely on Waitrose or M&S. Spending more than you would normally on ready meals is still hugely less expensive that eating out.

We eat out, none of us cook, we're on holiday!

For lunch and dinner?

Yes we tend towards ready to cook type stuff. Or other easy bits like a jar of pasta sauce.

I’ve just been on a short self-catering UK break with a friend and we had lunches out as we were out and about by day. Whilst out we picked up Waitrose deli stuff to graze on in the evening. Was lovely.

On SC families holiday abroad we’d often do it in reverse, so baguette, cheeses, cold meats etc. for lunch and then dinner out in the evening. If we were out all day then we’d either take some of the lunch stuff out with us in a cool bag, or buy a cheap/light lunch out.

We either have our main meal out, at lunchtime, then just have bread and cheese or something in the evening, or we just get a sandwich at lunch and have a (nice) ready meal in the evening. Usually a nice pizza, Indian, something like that. Nothing that involves too much washing up, and no preparation!

We generally eat out for lunch and have a dinner then but keep the holiday home stocked with picky tea bits and graze when we're back.

I go self catering in the UK every year and I always get basically the same shop delivered from Iceland on the first morning.

Nice breakfast things like lime marmalade, Greek yoghurt, malt bread. At least 1 full English, so 10 eggs. 2 pints of milk, hot chocolate sachets, French press coffee.
3 sandwich loaves and sliced ham, chicken, a huge block of cheese. Butter for bread and cooking.
Fruit and veg suitable for picnics or home.

As it’s Iceland they have loads of frozen choices and meat deals. I usually get a ready basted turkey breast, Findus chicken and fish steaks, lasagne, pizza, veg like broccoli and Brussels sprouts, oven chips and their amazing £1 strawberry cheesecake.

We go out for Fish and Chips one night and another to a fancy restaurant. This year we also did an Afternoon Tea which gave us leftovers for the following packed lunch.

With that delivery we might do one more shop in the week for fruit and veg.

I know there’s Ocado and other supermarket deliveries but Iceland takes PayPal whereas the others are difficult with non UK credit cards. They also give you £1 for every 20 you put in the App. It’s simple and there’s not a lot of choice. Toothpaste? Two types👍

I’ll see if I can get a screenshot.

Out for lunch and dinner or if we’re too full or tired from a day of swimming in the sun or whatever then will get some bread and cheese type snack stuff from a shop and those that want anything can have what they want.
This is the same for U.K. or abroad really.
We don’t buy things like pasta sauces or shop bought pizzas at home so wouldn’t buy them on holiday either, but we can definitely make life easier by going out or having an easy dinner. Dh likes cooking too and doesn’t mind firing up a bbq if we can find nice local produce, or when we are in Cornwall he will do seafood/lobster Thermidor. Nicer than one you can eat in a lot of restaurants and I can lay on a sofa drinking while he cooks 😂 or out in the garden if it’s nice!

Nah, a few too many chocolate digestives, Ambrosia rice pudding and Rolos on my shopping history… all things we can’t get in Italy!