It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but when you’re traveling as a family, it can also be one of the most stressful. The need to “get up and go” to get ready for the day while everyone is hungry and cranky from being off routine and now demanding food can be taxing on the entire family. There’s nothing like starting your vacation with a meltdown from the kids who are having a hard time getting out of bed, need food in their stomachs so they can kick the “hangry monster” to the curb, and also don’t want to start their morning sitting down at a table.

Our solution for this?

Make it easy like Sunday morning, baby and eat breakfast we scrounge up in our room!

The difference in attitudes and moods is amazing when we can enjoy that hour of breakfast time in our hotel room, while everyone is eating at their own pace and getting ready just the same. No one is rushing, trying to figure out where or what to eat, or having to wait for a table, to then wait even longer for food.

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One thing that we’ve always done when traveling is bring or buy our own groceries to be able to make breakfast or pack snacks for whatever we are doing for the day. And coordinating grocery shopping on vacation is a lot easier (and a lot less chore sounding) than you may think. Before I jump into hotel room breakfast ideas, I want to list out a few reasons why we always do this just in case you’re not convinced it’s worth the time and effort.

  • It saves us a ton of money! Breakfast is not always a guarantee to be included in your stay this day in age, so you have to plan on purchasing food. If you figure the average family of 4 is going to pay $60 for breakfast at a restaurant, just know you’ll be spending at least half that (but probably more) when you buy your own food to keep in your hotel room or AirBNB. Just for pure example, let’s say you’re on a week-long trip. That’s $60/day x 7/days = $420 on breakfast alone! There’s better use of that money for sure.

  • It accommodates to food allergies and food intolerances. Eating out for us can be a challenge between Laura having an intolerance to gluten and dairy, and Leo having all his food allergies. Not having to review a menu to see what’s safe and what’s not is a HUGE stress relief.

  • It tends to be healthier! Depending on what you buy, you can be starting your day with more nutrients and less grease, sugar, etc., which will in turn make everyone happier and more pleasant to be around (kids included).

  • You don’t have to debate over where everyone wants to go for breakfast. If your family is anything like ours, sometimes we can’t agree on what sounds best to eat. We’d rather save those arguments for later in the day (ha!) and just have on hand what all of us want to start our day with.

  • The kids feel empowered! Our kids love going on vacation and picking our their own breakfast and snacks. It gives them the ability to be in control of their eating and makes them feel spoiled. We feel that since we are saving money, energy and time, we don’t mind spoiling them in this way!

While we are sure there are several other reasons as to why it’s beneficial to eat breakfast in a hotel room, these are our top ones.

Easy Hotel Breakfast Ideas

We are going to assume with this list that you have a mini-fridge in your hotel room. We cannot remember the last time we stayed anywhere that didn’t have one.

Fruit Platter

Fruit quickly comes to mind when the word breakfast is said, and what’s easier (and sometimes more refreshing) than fruit? We personally always snag bananas and mandarins because they don’t require cleaning or cutting. Other fruit options that are often forgotten include grapefruit, raisins, prunes, dates and figs. You can also grab applesauce, canned pineapple or dried, unsweetened mango.

There is the obvious option of purchasing pre-cut fruit in the produce section as well, but that can get pricey quick. Look for pre-cut fruit that’s in-season, as it tends to be less expensive than others.

Such a big variety of fruit options for your hotel stay makes morning meals (and life) so much easier.

Local Pastries & Danishes

While we grew up on Little Debbies, we don’t recommend those pastries for breakfast (or ever anymore!). We recommend wherever you are, look up the local bakeries and snag some of their goodies for breakfast. The beautiful thing about this is pastries are usually very large and easily sharable. The ingredients should be better than store bought, and the quality in flavor and value is higher.

In Hawaii, the popular pastry is a malasada. Popular unique flavors of other pastries are ube and taro. We say that to say this: wherever you are, the local culture will influence the options and flavors of whatever pastries you’re looking at. This is a great way to not only save money on breakfast, but to learn about local cuisines as well!

Classic Cereal or Granola

Who says your kids can’t still have the easiest breakfast ever invented while on vacation? Not us! In fact, we always snag some of our favorite cereal, non-dairy milk and paper bowls with plastic spoons when at a hotel – and here’s why.

The last time we took our kids to eat breakfast, we paid $14 for ONE waffle! We can’t bring ourselves to do that repeatedly, so again, we buy food to keep in our room.

If you want to get a little fancier, you can even go as far as making a parfait every morning. All you need is yogurt of your choice, granola, fruit, and maybe some local honey and you’ve got yourself a gourmet breakfast that would cost you 3x what it takes to make it yourslef!

Side note: if you’re worried about purchasing too much food and having it go to waste, just know you’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll go through a large tub of greek yogurt when multiple people are eating on it every day.

Oatmeal and Fixings

This one may seem a little far fetched, but we’ve got good news as to how feasible this breakfast option truly is while traveling!

Bob’s Red Mill is a favorite brand of ours, as they provide quality ingredients and gluten free options for Laura. Some of their products include individually portioned quick oats, where all you have to do is add hot water. If you have a coffee maker (they’re usually Keurigs now), all you have to do is add the hot water to the oatmeal cup and you’re good to go!

We don’t know about you, but we’d rather have that oatmeal than continental breakfast oatmeal, or pay premium for oatmeal that costs next to nothing to make.

Protein Shake

Even Gabriel loves taking a powerhouse, meal replacement shake on the go with us! The ones we drink are tasty, and full of nutrients. It’s truly a great way to start our morning. Simply pair with some fruit or a half a pastry, and you should be fueled up and full for a while!

Plus, if you purchase individual packet servings, they’re easy to travel wtih.

Lastly, we will say, we do not do dishes in any hotel room. Shaker cups included. So how do we shake up meal replacement shakes? By using a water bottle and piece of paper of course! Lightly roll the paper to create a funnel, stick it in the top of the water bottle and use that to pour the shake into the bottle mess-free. It’s as simple as that!

Nuts, Local Honey, & Nut Butters

Add variety to your cereals, fruit platters, oatmeal, or whatever you’re eating with nuts, nut butters or local honey. The beauty of these food items is if you don’t finish them before your trip ends, you can easily pack them in your checked baggage so they never go to waste!

Be sure to look for individual serving sizes of nut butters as well, as you won’t have to buy a whole jar if you only want them for a specific day or two. You can find individual serving sizes at most grocery stores now. This may also be a food item you purchase before your trip and bring with you in case the local, downtown grocery store doesn’t have any.

Obviously, nuts make for great snack options too when you’re out and about exploring. Just be aware of food allergies that anyone around you may have!