5 Simple Tips for Sticking to a Travel Dining Budget

Staying on a dining budget while traveling is easy with my 5 Simple Tips for Sticking to a Travel Dining Budget...

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Visa Clear Prepaid program and 

the Green Dot® Reloadable Prepaid Visa® Card.

If you happen to travel at all- whether it be once a year for a family vacation or you take multiple road trips throughout the year- you probably already know that dining out while traveling can really eat up (pun intended ;) ) most of your travel budget pretty quickly. 

Being a foodie and food blogger, experiencing the local food scene in a new city ranks right up there in my top priorities when traveling. And because of that, the dining out expenses can really start adding up. Mainly because I want to try it all. 

Since my family and I love traveling, we have had to find ways to keep our dining budget in check because going over it one too many times means less trips throughout the year as our annual travel budget is depleted. Savvy savings and sticking to a budget with our travel dining = more trips as a family for the year! :)

So what are my best tips for staying on a travel dining budget? I am sharing my top five with you all below...

Travel Budgeting Made Easy With Visa® Clear Prepaid

Staying on budget while traveling can be challenging. I am partnering with Green Dot® Reloadable Prepaid Visa® Card to stay on budget this travel season. While I was compensated for this post, all opinions below are 100% my own.

My family and I love to travel (I think you all have noticed this by now), but what we have learned from our recent travels is that it is not always cheap. In fact, traveling with a family of four can get downright expensive at times. But we have had to find ways to save money, cut corners, and budget better to get more bang from our buck, and in turn to be able to afford to squeeze in more family trips throughout the year. Our hardest challenge though when traveling is sticking to our budget. I can find all the deals on the internet, but we always seem to go over our allotted travel budget by just a smidgen almost every single time. That smidgen may not seem like a big deal by itself at the time, but those little budget overages can really add up throughout the year. When you are on vacation and away from the reality of home, work, and bills, it is easy to get caught up in the moment and splurge a little too much and a little too often. 

Our biggest travel budgeting weakness? Dining out for sure! 

Latin Veracruz Chicken & Black Bean Burrito Bowls

I am partnering with Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauces today to bring you all this super simple recipe for Latin Veracruz Chicken & Black Bean Burrito Bowls that you can make at home in around 30 minutes...

I just discovered something new this past week, folks...

I love burrito bowls!

I know, I know. I am a little late to this bandwagon. 

Many of you have probably been die hard fans of burrito bowls for a while now and may be scratching your heads at my newly professed love for them. ;)

And I cannot really tell you why I have not tried one until recently. 

But what I can tell you is that I now love them.

Now I know all about the beloved take-out version of these, but we all know how long it can take to get through that line. 

With the help of the Latin Veracruz Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauce, I was able to get delicious burrito bowls on the table for the entire family in around 30 minutes!

And the best part? Everyone can make their burrito bowls exactly the way that they like them. ;)  I just set out our usual burrito toppings and let the family have at it. Less work for this mama! 

Portobello Red Wine Mini Meatballs

I am partnering with Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauces today to bring you all this super simple recipe for Portobello Red Wine Mini Meatballs perfect for a busy weeknight...

I have to be real with you all for a moment- I love having a few easy to throw together, quick dinner ideas at my disposal.  Even with the best of intentions and a well planned out meal plan for the week, there are nights when cooking from scratch just goes out the window.

I know you all know what I am talking about... ;)

Those evenings when a day at home with the little ones has been just a little too long.

Those evenings when you come home and the office has managed to wipe out every last bit of self motivation you may have left.

Those evenings when the kids' practice, that work meeting, the traffic has taken just a little longer than you had planned for.

Those types of evenings happen at least a few times a month in this home.

I defrost chicken or ground beef that morning only to come home and realize that I just do not have it in me to make the recipe I had originally planned to use them in.

In fact, this very such thing happened to me when I came home one evening and had ground beef thawed in the fridge. My original plan was to make a pot of chili with it, but I was wiped out. All the chopping, and browning, and simmering just didn't appeal to me at all.  I was just about to cave into the fast food drive-thru when I remembered that I had a pouch of the Portobello Red Wine Imagine® Organic Culinary Simmer Sauce sitting in my pantry! :)

That pack of ground beef quickly became tender mini meatballs smothered in a rich and creamy Portobello Red Wine sauce...

Black, Bleu, & Bacon Rice Casserole

I am partnering with Success® Rice today to bring you all this delicious family-pleasing Black, Bleu, & Bacon Casserole perfect for a busy weeknight...

If your family's weeknights are anything like the ones that we have in this house, then you are probably always on the lookout for weeknight friendly dinner ideas that go beyond the usual pizza, take-out, and quick frozen meals.  And let's face it- we are always searching for just about anything that can actually be claimed as homemade and can be on the dinner table in less than an hour.

And that is where Success® Rice can become your new weeknight dinner best friend. Their no-mess boil-in-bag rices can be ready in just 10 minutes- perfect for any quick weeknight dinner idea that you may have!  You can make their rices on the stove top or in your microwave. Plus, it is totally cool if they hang out up to 30 minutes in hot water while you prep the rest of your dinner.

And forget the standard chicken and rice casseroles! Not when you can have your favorite burger in a rice casserole form, like this simple yet flavorful Black, Bleu, & Bacon Rice Casserole... 

Loving Our Tugaboos {& A Vera Bradley Designer Diaper Bag Giveaway!}

**This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Rite Aid Tugaboos diapers.  The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

We are always willing to try new affordable, quality diapers in this household with a very active 16 month old baby girl running around, so I was more than happy to give the Rite Aid Tugaboos Diapers a go.  We have been using the Tugaboos with baby girl for the past few days and have loved them.  They are comfortable for her, the leakage protection has been outstanding (absolutely no leakage the past 2 nights we have used them!), and the hypoallergenic inner liner is gentle on baby girl's delicate skin. 

The Tugaboos Diapers are also super cute!  The Size 4 diapers have a picture of a tiger on them.  Baby girl loves pointing down at the tiger and doing a little rawr.  (Also excellent for keeping her entertained, aka not wriggly, during a diaper change- I hand her the new clean diaper to "rawr" at while I am busy taking the dirty one off and cleaning her up. ;) )

Baby girl is definitely a mover and a shaker.  If I didn't have the sports setting turned on with my camera, I probably couldn't have even captured any decent photos of her in her new Rite Aid Tugaboos Diapers. ;) She is constantly on the go and the soft stretchable waist and side panels on her Tugaboos have kept up with her and her busy, busy schedule.  

You know... playing, running, squatting, climbing, dancing,  playing with the "doggie"...  

Give the Rite Aid Tugaboos Diapers a go of your own during the month of June and you could win your very own Vera Bradley Designer Diaper Bag filled with some of your favorite Tugaboos products.  Who doesn't love a functional and fashionable bag?? ;)  See the full sweepstakes details below...

For the month of June, all Tugaboos purchases will earn an entry into the Tugaboos and Vera Bradley Sweepstakes!

With every in-store purchase of qualifying Tugaboos products using your wellness+ card at any Rite Aid store between June 1-30, 2013, you will receive an entry for a chance to win one of (25) Vera Bradley Designer Diaper Bags filled with select Tugaboos products.

To enter without making a purchase, complete this entry form now: https://riteaidtugaboos.dja.com/.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Rite Aid.