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I grew up skiing and have so many great memories going on ski vacations with family and friends, après-ski snacks, and hot chocolate. I wanted my daughters to have these same memories. A winter sport is a great way to get outdoors in the cold weather. Or else the winter can feel like a lot of time indoors. I switched to snowboarding when I started dating Grouchy Husband many many years ago so now we are a snowboarding family. We go on a snow vacation every year. Here are my tips for snowboard and ski vacation meal planning:

Stay somewhere with a kitchen or kitchenette. Our last few rentals have had kitchenettes with only a two-burner stove and microwave to cook and I was able to make a lot of great meals with this setup.

Relax and cook. Eat breakfast at home so you don’t have to get up any earlier and can start the day with a lot of nutrition. Head home after a day on the mountain fo après-ski snacks and a cocktail. Make simple dinners then settle into the evening with a movie and popcorn. Eat lunch on the mountain. Ski mountains have great food. We just came back from Stowe, VT and had some of the best steamed mussels at the top of the mountain.

Bring a cooler in case your refrigerator is too small. It’s winter so you can keep things that need to be refrigerated outside.

These are the essentials you’ll need in the kitchen. Bring these things from home if you aren’t sure the kitchen you’ll be using has them.

• peeler
• good every day knife. I like this Henkel 4″ knife.
• non-stick pan
• 4 qt pot
• potato grater
• ghee or other healthy fat
• salt & pepper
• chopsticks (if you are like me and use them to cook)

Breakfast

• eggs, sautéed kale, hash brown potato
• mashed sweet potato, bacon, sautéed kale
• avocado toast with scrambled eggs
• ham and fried egg on a toasted gluten-free bagel

Après-ski snacks

• Cut fruit and vegetables
• Dips & spreads (Salmon dip, Avocado Cream from nom nom paleo)
• Sliced meats and cheese

Dinner

• Instant pot Kalua pig and cabbage over rice
• Instant pot Kalua pig tacos on Siete grain-free tortillas
• Gluten-free pasta, hot dogs, broccoli
• Vietnamese beef stew

Bring fruit for snacking. After a day on the mountain, you are hungry and fruit is refreshing. Plan a vegetable for dinner and maybe for breakfast. Sautéed kale goes great with eggs and potato. Make a dip for vegetables and crackers. One of my favorites is Avocado Cream from nom nom paleo. Pack pre-cut and cleaned vegetables. Do the work beforehand so cooking is easy.

Eggs are simple and easy for breakfast. Hot dogs are a tasty protein that can be added to anything. Siete makes the best grain-free tortilla. Prosciutto and cheese are great après-ski snacks.

Don’t forget the alcohol if you’re into that. Bagels and bread are great for spreads and sandwiches. Pasta and sauce is an easy meal and delicious with broccoli and hot dogs. Bring a healthy fat like ghee to cook with.

Crunchy snacks. These are great for the car, after a day on the mountain, or watching a movie.

Eggs, sautéed kale, hash brown potatoes. This will get anyone out of bed. The only prep is peeling potatoes and shredding them. Eggs and kale are straight from the carton to the pan.

Mashed sweet potato, sautéed kale, bacon. I brought the mashed sweet potato from home, cooked the bacon in the frying pan then the kale in the bacon grease.

Scrambled eggs on top of avocado toast.

Après-ski snacks and cocktails. Dips, spreads, cut fruits and vegetables, prosciutto and cheese. Simple and nutritious.

Tacos. Cut everything up the night before you leave and eat it the first night of your trip. I made the Instant pot Kalua pig at home so all I needed to do was reheat it for dinner.

Vietnamese beef stew with sautéed Chinese vegetables. I made this Vietnamese beef stew at home and just needed to reheat it for dinner. Chinese vegetables sautéed in ghee.

The key to cooking on vacation is planning and meal-prep.

Chrissy xo