Snacks to pack in suitcase

[Acunningruse]

We are going on holiday next week to Spain- in a hotel but NOT all inclusive. We are on s tight budget so Im hoping to take some food with me but my mind has gone blank! We will be eating out in the evening and of course will have ice creams etc but Im just trying to minimise spending during the day.

• No chocolate as will obviously melt
• Breakfast provided so no need to worry about this

So far on my list I have:

• pringles
• mini packets of biscuits

🙈

There must be so much more I could take?!

Thanks

Breakfast bar/flapjack type things. Nuts (you can get interesting salted, smoked etc in tins which are useful for resealing). It's also useful to take some sandwich bags or Tupperware so you can store anything you buy there as well. Refillable water bottles as well - wilko used to do an insulated metal bottle that keeps cold water cold and is perfect for hot weather.

Protein bars/flapjacks/fruit winders/raisins. Ideally things that won't squish!

I always make a batch of Nigella's breakfast bars ( the ones with condensed milk in) and take them. You can play around with the add-in ingredients.

Ritz crackers, breadsticks, cheesey twists

Your shire tea bags
Squash
Flavoured crisps
M&S snacks
British cheese
Crackers
Fruit& nut mix packs

Packs of mini cheddars

Dried fruit (we eat quite a lot of dried mango and banana chips)

Nuts

Water bottles and those ultra concentrated squash drops if they aren't keen on plain water. Check google maps for a nearby proper supermarket, not a tourist resort one, and head for fizzy drink, crisps, nuts, etc. if you have a fridge you can buy in more of course. We had a great one about 10 minutes from our hotel that had rotisserie chickens, freshly made salads etc, excellent for lunch coming in at around $10 for 2 people.

Fairly sure you cannot bring products of animal origin (eg cheese) into the EU after Brexit.

OP I’d just go to a supermarket and buy stuff when you get there.

Flap jacks
Fibre one bars
Maltloaf bars
Dried fruit
Cereal bars

However if you are somewhere near a Spanish supermarket these things won't be anymore expensive there than here.

Depending on where you are going Spanish supermarkets are great and should have everything you need, so apart from essentials you don't think you will be able to get (teabags) just take enough for your first evening. It will save the space in your suitcase for other stuff and give you some weight allowance back too.

Browsing the supermarkets is actually something we enjoy doing, and it is nice to try different things. A word of warning - Lays paprika crisps are much spicier than we get here! They had those nice biscuits sandwiched with delicious chocolate cream way before we got them over here, and of course lots and lots of yummy fruit. A lunch of fresh bread and cold meat is easy to get from the supermarket too, if you dont want to pay to eat in a cafe or restaurant. And the cake shops are epic.

Can you not buy things when you’re out there? We’ve just come back from Europe and the supermarkets were much cheaper than in the UK.

I’d take a few snacks for day 1, and then sort out some interesting local stuff and top up on fresh fruit and drinks etc.

This. Just head for your closest Mercadona or Aldi or Hiperdino and stock up on those kinds of snacks when you get there. Makes no sense to take them with you unless there's a particular reason (an allergy or a very fussy eater).

Supernoodles / Pot noodles!

Sandwich bags and a couple of table knives. Buy bread and spread (chocolate/peanut) when you get there.

I totally get wanting to save money and wanting to avoid eating out for lunch but surely just go to a local supermarket once you’re there? It’ll probably be cheaper than the UK, doesn’t max out your baggage allowance, won’t get crushed in transit, means you can do fresh stuff and IMO is actually a fun holiday experience because bloody love a foreign supermarket!! The only reason to stuff a suitcase full of mini cheddars and belvita bars is if you have an extremely fussy eater and/or allergies in the family.

@Acunningruse
Hopefully there will be a Lidl or Aldi near your hotel so you can stock up on snacks when you arrive.

If you are flying just check restrictions taking food in to Spain.
If on the ferry, then you can take various tinned foods, as you won't have the weight restrictions.

How old are you DC? We love trying the snacky bits from the local shops on holiday so didn’t take too much, mainly things DS (17 months) would eat incase of emergency! When we went abroad in June I took;

Rice crispy bars (marshmallow ones)
Kiddilicious smoothie melts and wafer biscuits
ALDIs own animal biscuits
Apple rice cakes
Packet of the mini boxes of raisins

I also accidentally took some Ella’s fruit pouches which I put in DHs hand luggage for the plane. He was taking absolutely ages going through security whilst I was waiting with DC getting bored on the other side and when I said what took so long?! The pouches had got him stopped and searched 😂 oops 🤭

We went to the supermarket on first day and stocked up on various different crisps, biscuits, chocolate, fruit and yoghurts. (Even though we were AI! Have to sample the local treats!)

Have a fab time.

Just buy when you get there? Unless you’re dealing with allergies

You can't take cheese into Europe.

Op just go to the supermarket and buy snacks there. Will be no more expensive than buying them here.

Tortilla wraps- we always take for ski trips with one of the DDs having food allergies.
Crisps are too bulky!
Cereal bars
biscuits and crackers

I would only take teabags

But everything else locally in supermarket. You can buy fruit and other fresh stuff also then

Go to the supermarket when you are!

Use google maps to locate the nearest supermarket to your hotel. Providing your kids aren't mega fussy, avoid British brands and look for the local equivalent as they tend to be cheaper.

Maybe take flapjacks, rice cakes, nuts, dried fruit, biscuits, ritz crackers, Pringles etc if you have luggage space. Otherwise, buy stuff when you’re out there.
Will your hotel room have a fridge? If so take a couple of knives, sandwich bags with you so you can make sandwiches etc. and buy stuff at the local supermarket.
Tbh if you eat really well at breakfast it’ll be unlikely that you’ll want lunch anyway - we usually have a couple of pieces of fruit from the local supermarket.