Bring on the breakfast!

Generally speaking, breakfast is the cheapest meal to eat in a restaurant.  Eggs and pancakes just don't cost that much to make and are quite satisfying.  When vacationing with your family, try to take advantage of breakfast-time and load up on healthy foods.  If your hotel offers a free continental breakfast, there should be oatmeal, fresh fruit, yogurt, fruit juice, milk and low-sugar cold cereals available.  If you find yourself in a diner or other family restaurant, order your child an omelet loaded with veggies and a cup of fruit.  These foods will help give your child the fuel he needs to have a fun-filled day!

The Snack Trap

When travelling, we often find ourselves stopping at convenience stores.  The rows and rows of brightly colored snacks can be tempting, especially for kids.  Toddlers are fighting so hard to make their own decisions that it's almost mean for us to present them with all the options one of these stores has to offer.  If you can avoid taking your child down the snack aisle, that's the best plan of attack.  Try to pack some snacks from home that you can bring with you.  If you have a small ice chest or an insulated lunch box, pack some small containers of fruit juice and water and some string cheese.  (Hint:  The cooler bag that comes with breast pumps is GREAT for this purpose once you're done using your pump for its intended purpose!)  Bring along some fresh fruits and veggies or crackers to munch on while you're riding in the car or participating in vacation activities.

Of course, one of the biggest temptations while you're on vacation is ice cream!  And your kids SHOULD have ice cream.  It's their vacation, too, after all.  Just keep it down to a cone or a cup each day, then supplement their need for frozen confections with things like frozen juice bars or ice cold watermelon cubes.

Fast Food

Oh, fast food.  It's a weakness for many of us, myself included. On vacation, there may be days when a fast food restaurant is really your only lunch or dinner option.  Fortunately, we live in a day and age where even the greasiest fast food chain provides at least one healthy option.  KFC recently introduced Kentucky Grilled Chicken as an alternative to their usual fried pieces.  A KFC grilled chicken breast has 180 calories and 4 grams of fat, quite a bit better than an Extra-Crispy fried breast, which contains a whopping 490 calories and 31 grams of fat.  (Hint! Tell your child it's a new product.  He'll think that's cool and want to try it!)

McDonald's offers a delightful Fruit and Yogurt Parfait, made with non-fat vanilla yogurt and fruit.  Wendy's has a wide variety of salads and offers low-calorie dressings.  Almost all fast food chains are starting to offer fresh fruit as a side item and many of them will allow you to substitute a fruit cup for french fries.

Cooking on the road

Depending on your arrangements, you may be staying in a place with a kitchen where you can prepare meals yourself.  When we vacation with my husband's side of the family, we have two toddler-aged boys in tow, and this is the option that works best for us.  My mother-in-law does a big Costco run before we leave to buy food to bring along, like pasta and jarred sauce, oatmeal and cereal, bottled juice, dry beans, rice and a few canned goods.  We also bring an ice chest containing a few refrigeratables that will travel well, like cheese and hot dogs.   Once we arrive at our destination, usually a cabin on a lake, we do a quick grocery run to buy meat, produce and dairy. 

Cooking yourself is, obviously, going to be a cheaper option than eating out every single meal.  It will also allow you to feed your toddler foods he's familiar with, which will, hopefully, cut down on picky eater problems.

Splurge a little and have fun!

All this in mind, do allow yourself and your child to splurge a little on vacation.  Nothing will make your toddler cry quicker than seeing another kid with an ice cream cone while you're offering him a carrot.  With a little planning and a little will-power, vacation doesn't have to blow your toddler's healthy diet.

KFC nutritional information courtesy of www.kfc.com/nutrition.

Jen is a self-proclaimed "vacation addict" who enjoys seafood buffets and Mickey Mouse ice cream bars a little too much. Read more about her adventures in toddler-rearing on her personal blog, Hey Y'all, home of Comfort Food Saturday.