What food do you bring?

[AquaGirl]

We bring some things that will fit in our checked bag that don't need refrigeration. Snack food, coffee, tea, cereal, sweetener packs, pre-cooked bacon (no greasy mess at breakfast!), almond butter, spices, nuts, Balance Bars, Kind Bars. I also wrap some good cheddar cheese in clothes in my carry-on. It stays cold enough for the trip.

I really like the idea of bringing good parmesan cheese since we use it a lot at home. I'm going to add it to my list.

When I have taken MD crab meat to Florida for my parents, I pack it with several small ice packs, put it in double ziplocks, and roll it up with clothes. I put it in our checked bag rather than taking a cooler. The food has always stayed plenty cold when I arrive. However, its only a 2.5 hour non-stop flight, so there is less risk for the bag to be lost and the food to spoil.

Happy trip planning!

[Teresa_Rae]

My name is Teresa and I am a cooler person.

We save a ton of money by bringing food, especially on lunches; we used to eat in for dinner about half of the time but some of my favorite meals in the world are available on STJ so we've gotten into the habit of eating out for dinner most nights. One of my favorite beach lunches is chicken salad so I bring chicken and mayo in the cooler and can eat lunch on the beach for several days for very little cost. I have celiac disease so I have to eat gluten free and bringing food makes that much easier...but I was a cooler person years before my diagnosis so that's not the only reason I do it.

We had a cooler go missing once out of 11 trips. The airline brought it to us on the ferry the next day. It had been about 48 hours and all the meat was still frozen solid.

[mahojim]

We've been cooler people on and off, but are looking forward to doing it for the next trip. We bring steak, burgers, dogs, frozen oj, breakfast meats, maybe coldcuts,some lemonade mix, condiments, dressings and a few spices and cheese. I don't really think that we save a ton of money, but we have had it down to where the only things we'd have to really get at the market is bread, ice, beer, lettuce, and drink mixers. We would rather not spend too much time food shopping, don't really think the savings is all that great.
Smiles -
MJ

[Teresa_Rae]

Another aspect of the savings we enjoy is that we buy rum and bring it back in our empty cooler. I save enough on rum that it more than pays for the checked baggage fee both ways.

[Sumerwaters]

I bring my own Gatorade concentrate and peanut butter. Any items that are weighty always cost more on island as everything has to be shipped in

[adlnp]

I usually stay for 10 days and for me feeding a family out would cost me a small fortune. I would rather spend that $ on charters than food sooooo I always cook a double batch of something that freezes well such as chicken piccata, meatballs & sausage, lasagna, baby back ribs, enchiladas, chili. I freeze half in gallon freezer bags. Serve the other half for dinner. I lay the freezer bag flat in the freezer and continue this until four meals are frozen in basically a brick. This goes into one side of my cooler, make sure it measures airline size and weight. On the other side goes frozen juices, lunch meat (not frozen) cheeses, hummus etc. I fly from boston and they check bag, put through X-ray and tape shut. When I get to STJ it is all still frozen. Just get perishables, make big salad first day and put meal you want in fridge night before to start defrosting. Microwave after beach, grab salad and enjoy! No cooking no cleaning really and much savings! Very little effort to make double batch when you are already cooking dinner at home! Enjoy!

[NJsurfsup]

We will be checking a cooler for the first time this trip because we have always arrived on Sundays late afternoon and have found that for some reason the stores by Sunday evenings are deplete of certain items, and starfishe's deli dept was closed twice, just a hassle after long travel day .
I think it will be nice to just be able to pop in St. John market for milk, eggs and beer, soda, rum on way to villa.
We plan on Bringing a frozen lasanga from our fav italian deli, there frozen pork au jus , cold potato salad, hot dogs, filets, bacon , scrapple, concentrated oj and mixers couple ears of corn tomatoes, blueberries and strawberries. We also will spread cereal, coffee sugar among carryons.

[Exit Zero]

If you don't bring a cooler --- small packages of your favorite seasonings are useful - a cereal box if your preference is an uncommon brand - real maple syrup if you care enough - a box of doughnuts from the airport stand - enough sweetener packets for the week - things like that that you would have to buy in sizes you wouldn't use up in a week.
Many villas do have a good supply of these types of items left by previous renters - ask your villa rep if that is their policy.
A shopping stop in STT is often very easy if you are renting a car in STT and good meats and cheeses, fruits veggies drinks and staples are less expensive than on STJ.
For a larger family [or teenage boys ] a cooler may be the only way to cut costs.

[liamsaunt]

I pulled my cooler together for my upcoming trip and here is what I am bringing this time: one package of high end peppered bacon, a couple of chicken breasts that have been marinated in Cruz Bay Grill Rub, butter, raspberry butter, cinnamon-honey butter, shrimp in a coconut marinade, cheddar, gouda, and parmesean cheeses, truffled pate, olive oil, fancy nuts, tea bags, ice tea bags, a spice kit, gloves, and a knife kit.

We are planning on eating most dinners out, so this is stuff for breakfast and beach picnic lunches. It all fits in the 24-pack size polar bear cooler, which is small enough to carry on, but I have to check it because of the knife kit. I still will have to grocery shop for staples and vegetables.

We have reservations for Zozos, Oceans 362, Waterfront Bistro and Asolare. Will probably hit Rhumblines and Fatty Crab too, and definitely Caneel for sushi at lunch.

[KathyMN]

I want to get up and relax on the deck with my coffee and not worry about going somewhere for breakfast. So, I tend to bring a few breakfast items and fill in with some purchases. Our favorites are homemade egg "mcmuffins", pancakes, omelets, and oatmeal. So, I'm packing my little microwave "mcmuffin" pan, pancake mix, oatmeal, raisins, craisins, and toasted nuts. Will buy eggs, muffins, cereal, etc. there.
We always bring a cooler with stuff to make sandwiches for lunch, as we typically pack a picnic lunch most days, and head to the beach in the morning (after coffee) and stay til mid-afternoon. Buying enough deli meats on island to satisfy 4 - 6 people for 2 weeks is a bit much. I went to Costco and bought the vacuum packs of sliced roast beef, roasted turkey, ham, salami, and pre-cooked bacon. Also have two large packages of a variety of sliced cheese. These have been in the freezer for a week. They'll go in the cooler tonight, and then back into the freezer for a final chill. We have so many favorite places now to eat out for dinner, that I only packed one package of steaks to grill one night. Will buy anything else there if we choose to eat in. I'm hoping the new Dolphin in Coral Bay has as good of a selection as the one in town. We always found them to have the best affordable meat options for dinners.
Some other staples I pack, based on how much room I have, and how many people we're traveling with include: big tea bags for iced tea; multiple flavors of Crystal light packets; a few "sides", like packaged risotto mix or jambalaya mix in case we decide to cook in; packets of Alfredo sauce mix, dry meat marinade, dip mixes, etc. to augment a meal; peanut butter, and small containers of mustard and mayo.
The rest we buy once we get there. The availability and options are so much greater now than 20 years ago when we made our first trip. If it were just the two of us, I'd now forego the cooler. But for six, I think it's worth the hassle. Two days to go!