Last spring, my friends and I spent hundreds of dollars at restaurants and take-out on vacation.  We didn’t realize we could save over $30 a day by bringing great-tasting, family-friendly meals from Let’s Dish!  Here’s the story:

Spending a long weekend away was exactly what we needed, but we didn’t want to go broke doing so!  Excitedly, the four of us piled in one car to share the gas expense, got a bargain on our hotel room and spent a few days relaxing while patting ourselves on the back for being so vigilant in planning a “cheap” getaway.  (That’s the four of us above, blissfully waiting to be seated for dinner).    

So, when I got my credit card bill I was flabbergasted!  How did that weekend end up costing that much!?!  Well, dinner on Friday, lunch on Saturday, afternoon snacks, dinner… you get the idea.  (I may be guilty of a bit of shopping as well…but we won’t get into that…) 

That was my LBLD (aka Life Before Let’s Dish!).  Since becoming part of the team here, I’ve been thinking to myself, “I wonder how much I could have saved?”  So, I did a little investigating:

Fiesta Lime Chicken (4 servings) at a popular family restaurant: $52.75 ($13.19 per serving including tip)

Let’s Dish! Chili-Lime Grilled Chicken with Black Bean Salsa (6 servings): $21.00 ($3.50 per serving)* 

That’s an incredible savings of over $9.00 per serving – plus more time to spend at the beach with friends and family instead of fighting for the shower and scattering to go out to dinner.  All I can say is – I’m sold.  And, when I head to my grandparents’ lakehouse in August, I’m bringing a cooler full of Firecracker Chicken, Shrimp Scampi, Orange Teryaki Mahi Mahi…and Decadent Molten Chocolate Cakes, of course! 

We know everyone’s trying to save a little this summer – and we’re making it easy.  Simply order your meals through Dish-n-Dash (hint, hint – enter BEACHDASH to get FREE assembly through July 20, 2009), pick them up on your way out of town, and… relax…free of sticker shock and meal planning woes.  Now, that’s what vacation is all about!

*As part of a 12-meal session