Eurocamp in France - what food to take with us?

[littletike]

Going to a French Eurocamp site for a weeks holiday with DP and 4 year old DC staying in a static caravan. I wanted to take some basics for meals (pasta, spices, etc) to keep costs down - any recommendations for what to take for quick meals? We'll eat out a few times in the eve and buy fresh stuff there.

Take the same store cupboard ingredients you would take to make quick meals at home.

I always take a frozen bolognese/chilli for first night, it also acts as an ice pack. Also a fajita kit as you can't get those in France then, but veg/meat there. We have BBQs, takeaway pizza an coup, of meals out.

Tea bags, a kettle, long life milk. Cereal.

Also a fajita kit as you can't get those in France of course you can! Go shopping when you get there - presumably you are going by car. A trip to a supermarket is half the fun!

Cereal if you eat it and can resist the bakery every morning.

Store cupboard essentials - oil, salt, pepper, spices, ketchup etc.

I always take my own knives, bottle opener and tin opener.

If you are near a large supermarket I wouldn't bother with anything else - if you are restricted to a camp site shop I'd take things like pasta, stir in sauce, jarred sauce eg bolognese, curry, tinned toms. The camp site shops usually have a lot but are €€€€

Oh and tin foil, cling film, washing liquid (french washing liquid is like water), laundry powder if you are going to use the washing machines.

Cereal - very hard to find non-sugary in France

Agree with the point about chili/bolognese for the first night. Any oils/mayo/ketchup/salt/pepper you need. You’ll find salt and pepper there but that’s it.

Which one are you going to? There are plenty of Aldi/Lidl in France so you can shop there cheaply too.

We don’t tend to eat out - lots of bbqs if the weather is nice!

Surely it will just add to your fuel costs to carry stuff over? Find a supermarket and shop there.

A trip to a supermarket is half the fun! It really isn't - we have spent many hours in French supermarkets in the past when visiting relatives and I hate it!

Cereal - very hard to find non-sugary in France... You’ll find salt and pepper there but that’s it. Have you actually been to France????

Pasta, cheese, diluting juice, butter, ham, ketchup, jam, crisps,

Basically it’s feeding children that gets expensive. So I’d take their favourite things. Drinks are always expensive so take their water bottles. You could also buy Capri suns etc depending on how much you like to treat them when on hols

I can't believe people are suggesting you take cheese to France

Thanks all. It's mainly DCs food and eve meal stuff like spices that we'll take - won't be masses of stuff. I still intend to buy a load of cheese, meat and French bread there for lunches!

When we go on that kind of self catering holiday we take dry pasta and a basic pesto or tomato and basil sauce to have something for the first night if we arrive late, plus salt and pepper and spices not because you can't get them, obviously you can, but because you only need a little bit in a week not a whole pack. I definitely agree to take tea bags if you drink tea, and coffee for the same reason as the spices etc - because you won't need a whole new pack.

I don't think you'll save any money by taking other store cupboard basics over and above buying them in Aldi in France.

I would agree about the water bottles except that you are staying in a static caravan and the water is from a plastic tank, dodgier to drink in quantity than tap water in a house.

The bakery, and the kids shopping there independently (though not a lone 4 year old perhaps) are a big element of the holiday ritual for our kids and forgoing the bakery for cereal from home sounds a bit shit tbh!

I would taking any items your 4-year-old absolutely can't live without (in case you can't find them) otherwise its a good opportunity to try new stuff. A rotisserie chicken with salad is a quick and easy option for an evening meal on a campsite.

Lillian, I have to admit it's a few years since we have been so you possibly can get fajita kits now

You know they sell pasta in France?? A quick and cheap meal is ham served with coquillette pasta coated in butter, salt & pepper. Maybe take something for the first morning or evening depending on what time you arrive and if there is something specific that your DC likes maybe take that but otherwise shop locally and get the whole family to try new things. Except tea. Never try the tea.

Never try the tea. And if you do, always be sure to serve the tea bag on the side to be immersed in the (not quite) boiling water at some point in the future.

Ok, I live in France atm.
SuperU, Intermarche, Carrfore are the Tesco's and Morrisons- There are also lots of Lidl's and Aldis. Our local Lidl is excellent, you will recognise many of the lines.
I use their w-up liquid and washing powder- it's the same as in the Uk.
Some of the French brands in the other supermarkets smell funny (to me anyway).

You really won't need to take all that stuff: mayo, ketchup, pasta, tins of veg, fresh milk, cereals (see Lidl's although hardly any are not sugary or chocolaty.)

What you can't get or only at cast expense in the"foreign" section are baked beans, tinned spaghetti, proper tea, cheddar cheese (vvv pricey), marmite, oxo, gravy, curry sauce/pastes, many jar type sauces. They also don't seem to have pasties, sausage rolls or pork pie types things for lunches.

I find meat expensive compared to the Uk, so buy the bigger packs which are on "promo".

No need to fill the car with basics, imho.

Forgot squash - readily available although it's in metal tins and called syrup. All the normal flavours, and mint, which is a lovely bright green.

@averylongtimeasSpartacus all readily available but significantly more expensive than the uk if you're trying to budget!

We usually take something for the first night if we arrive after 6ish as can't always get to shop/get space at site restaurant. Something like a packet of pasta and sauce - I like the suggestion of taking a frozen sauce. Then decaff teabags, normal teabags as don't drink that much to buy whole box when we get there. Tradition in our family is to take a Kellogg's variety pack on holiday as they don't usually eat them (in addition to boulangerie visits). Can get from the pound shop sometimes so I get in advance of hols. And I always take a pint of frozen milk for the first morning - no-one likes UHT and can't always get fresh on campsites. And I always take a few bin bags, scouring sponge and cloth. And clothes pegs - even if you aren't doing washing - helpful to keep swimming stuff from flying off in winds.

We normally take squash, as syrup is not the same and Chinese style jarred sauces (eg. sweet n sour) as we never seem to find those. We like to have a jar of plum sauce with some of their frozen frying pan meals - they have a lovely duck, potato and veg one but quite dry without a sauce.

Cereal and squash. you can get the little squirty ones to save space. We go every yr and do a big supermarket shop day one then top up as needed. French cheerios aren't the same according to my son and the cordial although really nice is very expensive. Oh and I usually take a couple of tins of beans for emergencies!
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I would only bother taking the things you've suggested and something for the first night/morning as you don't want to have to rely on the campsite shop. Jars of cooking sauce etc are easily come by in the supermarkets as are fajita kits. I take peanut butter as DD2 lives off it and the only ones I could find in France were very expensive. Also maybe baked beans as they are handy for camping and tea bags. The cereal is often sugary but being allowed to have it is part of the holiday fun for our DC. Rice/cous cous etc are useful but you can buy them just as cheaply in France.