What to bring food in?

[pnjsmom]

I are getting reading for my first trip to Aruba! I am making my food list and am thinking about bring meat and frozen veggies for the kids. Has anyone used an Omaha steak cooler to transport their food? I was thinking that it may be easier and I could dispose of it in Aruba.
Thanks,
Ali

[Andrea J.]

i do not know what an "omaha" cooler is.
dh and i pack frozen things in a soft sided cooler, pack it in our checked luggage and when we arrive in aruba (about 6 hrs approx from time we pack it til the time we are ready to put it in the fridge or freezer) it is still frozen.
typically we bring: frozen beef stew, chicken and brocolli casserole, marinated t bone steak and chicken cacciatore AND not frozen but packed with frozen is half gallon of milk and fat free half and half.

......previously we flew from boston 4 3/4 hrs and now from tampa or orlando about 3.5 hrs.

[AndyM]

We don't bring food with us aside from a little coffee and creamer for Monday morning before we go shopping.

Our good friends from Chicago regularly bring frozen steaks and a whole tenderloin. They pack it all in a thin insulated bag (the kind with the metallic coating to reflect heat). It arrives frozen solid every time.

[Eagle Beach Boy]

If the kids are real fussy eaters..... no need to bring food. The grocery stores, especially Lings, are like most American stores. They have everything.

[Arubalisa]

The airlines have damaged our hard sided luggage on two separate occasions.

I would imagine an Omaha cooler would be totally shredded if it made it at all.

Also check with your airline regarding coolers as checked luggage.

[Andrea J.]

i did lots of cooking this past week and have a few casseroles and sauce already frozen for our august trip..........in Lock and Lock containers

[cindyo]

Originally Posted by pnjsmom

I are getting reading for my first trip to Aruba! I am making my food list and am thinking about bring meat and frozen veggies for the kids. Has anyone used an Omaha steak cooler to transport their food? I was thinking that it may be easier and I could dispose of it in Aruba.
Thanks,
Ali

I have relatives that pack a rolling cooler, those large ones, with a handle.
They pack frozen sandwhich meats, hard cheeses, yogurt, boxed cereal, and beer, check in on as a piece of luggage, and roll it off the conveyor belt in aruba.

Me, i just take my LLBean lunch box, throw a school size frozen thing in it, and take about 4-6 of the cracker barrel blocks of cheese and a bag of peperoni...yes, all for happy hour pool side. I buy the rest of the stuff at Lings.

[Angela Munzenhofer]

I fly back and forth so much that if I don't bring a luggage of food my husband and friends would choke me. I shop at my fruit market and fill a cart full of fresh vegies, lunch meat, steaks, Rinaldi Italian sausage and of course 4 lbs of prosciutto di Parma. Then I shop at Sams club and get all my fruits, beef jerky, asparagus,cheese, dates, things in season and of course two huge containers each of lettuce and spinach. My money does go to the good things that I want to feed my family which are high priced in Aruba. Two weeks ago I brought corn dogs at Sams and brought them in my luggage. Everything came as frozen as I had packed them. The frozen foods kept everything cold. I just packed in a regular luggage and put some stuff in plastic containers and the rest in the original package. kids love artichokes and in Aruba I get 2 for $7.00 where as Michigan I get them at 75 cents each and those babies come with me. I shop at Kong Hing and love there reasonable prices and vegetable selection.
I have two refrigerators and they are always filled, heck I even bring orchids because I love my garden. This year I grew my own garden with my husband and grew eggplant, melons, lettuce, tomatoes, swiss chard and corn. They all came up fantastic and the kids were in heaven picking the vegies..

[gretch]

I plan on packing cold cuts, cheese and butter with me on our upcoming trip, I thought about milk too but that makes me nervous for some reason. I plan on freezing the butter beforehand. Should I freeze my cold cuts too? Can you even do that? Or should I just throw in an ice pack?

[Arubalisa]

Anyone Bring Food in their suitcases?