Anyone starting out on their Instagram journey dreams of a day when they can start charging for their posts. While that time is ultimately different for every influencer, many agree that you can start charging for your posts with 1,000 followers (and sometimes even less!).

Paid sponsorships are not only great for some extra cash in your pocket (and can even turn into a full-time job), they’re also a great external validation and motivator to put more work into your Instagram, creating higher-quality content and being able to purchase more tools of the trade to scale your page. At any other time, I would absolutely say, “Know your worth, then add tax.” But as this is being written, times are not normal. And that is why I think it’s really important to be building relationships, not transactions, with brands right now as we rebuild from COVID-19.

A Cautionary Tale

I was recently made aware of a blogger with a not-insignificant number of followers (in the tens of thousands), who posted in an influencer discussion group that they were tired of posting restaurant photos for free, and were seeking advice on how to go about asking restaurants to pay them for posting their food on Instagram. Most US-based restaurants, especially the ones in big cities like New York, are struggling to keep their doors open and are operating on razor thin budgets – or even taking losses – in this new environment. Many don’t even have the overhead to do an in-kind media collaboration, much less pay for something.

While group members quickly explained circumstances to the blogger, it was already too late. In the Internet world, when you post something – even in a closed message group – that message can get out. A restaurant owner found out about the message, shared it with a group of 50 reputable restaurants in the blogger’s area, and the blogger was blacklisted.

So, What Should We Do Instead?

It’s absolutely understandable to want to be compensated for your work, especially when sponsorships are (part of) your livelihood. Here are some thoughts I have about reaching out to brands for partnerships right now:

  • Be willing to invest in the relationship at the beginning. Just like brands remember when someone bad-mouths them or is difficult to work with, they also remember when someone goes above and beyond, especially in a time of need. If you’re at the beginning of the relationship, throw in some extra promotion for free. There is no out-of-pocket cost for posting another photo on Instagram. While you should do it without expecting reciprocity, that extra effort could be the difference in the client choosing you over another influencer when business picks up or it might even mean larger projects in the future.
  • Shoutout brands that you already use and love! A quick way to get accepted into an ambassador or sponsorship position is to already be a loyal user of that company’s product. By showing them some authentic love, un-prompted, you up the chances of them discovering you and turning it into something more.
  • Be willing to take “No” for an answer. Another recent story involved an influencer arguing with a small business, demanding they send free product in exchange for posting. Not only is actively arguing disrespectful, it can also kill opportunities for collaboration later on, because you’ve shown that you don’t respect boundaries. Just like the restaurant example, this type of incident can also make the rounds and kill your prospects. Just do a quick web search of “influencer free wedding photos.” Showing respect and a little patience can go a long way. I’ve politely accepted a “no” on initial contact, only to have the brand reach out later, asking me to work with them because they were now ready to proceed. Don’t burn your bridges.

If You Must Take Paid Partnerships

If you cannot afford to do anything but paid partnerships for the time being, that’s okay, but you definitely need to be careful. Here are some ideas for what to do if you’re still looking for paid partnerships:

  • Check out influencer marketplaces. Brands pay good money to have their influencer campaigns featured on marketplaces, and the benefit of finding companies on influencer marketplaces is that you know they are actively searching for influencers! Some of my favorite influencer marketplaces to get collaborations from are: influence.co, Popular Pays, and Heartbeat.
  • If you must reach out to brands outside of marketplaces, do your research. Make sure that the brands you reach out to aren’t significantly hurting at this time. For example, mom and pop bakeries may not be the best idea right now, but a franchised fast food joint may be more likely to do an influencer partnership with you, simply because they have more earning power. Now is also a great time to look at what kinds of brands are doing well. Tech companies specializing in work-from-home, non-perishable goods, and delivery services are booming right now, meaning the likelihood of them having partnership availability is much higher.

If you’re a blogger or influencer, are you reaching out to brands for paid partnerships right now? Why or why not? I’d love to hear from you.

All of us have lived through economic downturns before (unless you were born in 2010), but none of us have lived through a global pandemic. Some economists have said that not only were we overdue for an economic recession, but with COVID-19 being a “black swan” event, they have no idea exactly how the rest of the year – or the years to come – will unfold.

Studies have shown that brands (and thereby influencers) who continue advertising during tough times end up faring significantly better than companies who withdraw and cut their marketing budget. For example, during the Great Depression, there were two main cereal brands: Kellogg’s and Post. They each had very different strategies: Post cut their advertising budget significantly and Kellogg’s doubled their ad budget. By the late 30’s, Kellogg’s profits had grown 30% and they became the industry leader they are today.

This is why remaining relevant as a brand is more important than ever – and if you’re an influencer, consider yourself a brand as well. Many social media accounts, whether they are businesses or creators, are taking hiatuses from their Instagram accounts at this time. This can be for a lot of different reasons – lack of content, the need to detox from social media, needing to prioritize other things, or simply lacking the motivation to post at all. All of these reasons are valid, but they come at a cost – you potentially lose your social media market share.

I recently took a week-long break from Instagram to focus on myself and other professional pursuits, as well as to see if people would still follow me and engage if I wasn’t posting new content. I went from gaining an average of 40 followers a day to actually losing followers. And that was after just 48 hours of not posting and engaging with other accounts. After the week was up, I went back to engaging and posting as before, but my engagement took a significant hit – my impressions were significantly lower, mostly due to a decrease in hashtag views.

It all comes back to staying relevant in tough economic times. With more people on social media for longer periods of time, NOW is the time to amp up your digital advertising strategy! How can you provide value to your followers during this time? Can you keep them informed about what your brand is doing to help out during the crisis? Can you distract them with funny or entertaining content? Can you inspire them to try a new recipe or hobby? Consumers and businesses will remember how you responded during the COVID-19 crisis. What do you want them to think of when they hear or read your name?

Are you going to be a brand that brings your community together and engages, or are you going to stay silent, potentially facing the consequences of not posting during this hour of need?

If you’re interested in upping your Instagram game, feel free to shoot me an email and we can set up a time to chat!

A plate of peanut butter cookies with a jar of vanilla protein powder behind it

Quarantine baking. We’ve all been doing it. Whether you’re experimenting with sourdough starter from scratch or whipping up some Tollhouse cookies, baked goods are one of the things that seem to be keeping people sane these days.

Well, I had a cookie craving the other day, and I whipped these up with pantry items that you most likely already have in your house! They were ready in about 20 minutes and were so good that the whole batch was gone by the end of the day!

The best part? These cookies aren’t just tasty, they’re good for you, too. The secret ingredient in these cookies is vanilla protein powder! I use Preferred Keto’s KEYTO Collagen, not only because of the quality of ingredients, but also because of the unparalleled taste. While this particular recipe is not ketogenic, you could easily keto-fy it with a few easy substitutions.

Things you will need:
1. 1 cup of creamy peanut butter
2. 1/2 cup Preferred Keto KEYTO Vanilla Collagen Powder
3. 1 egg
4. 1/4 cup of sugar
5. 1 tsp cinnamon
6. ~1/4 cup flour of your choice

To Bake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix wet ingredients (peanut butter, egg, sugar) in a bowl until well combined.
3. Add cinnamon and protein powder, incorporating thoroughly. Slowly incorporate flour bit by bit until it reaches a play-dough texture.
4. Roll into small balls, place on a greased baking sheet, and flatten with a fork.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes, then let cool for 10 minutes.

How easy is that? Let me know what you’ve been baking recently! I’ve been itching to try some new things! If you’re interested in Preferred Keto’s collagen, use code KITTYKATHEALTH for 10% off your order!

I’ve written before about how important it is to support local restaurants at this time. Some restaurants have experienced as much as a 75% reduction in sales simply because they cannot serve dining room customers, and that has had a drastic impact on our economy. I’ve been ordering delivery at least once a week, and so far, here are my top places for each cuisine:

Mexican: Taqueria Gloria

Taqueria Gloria is my absolute #1 go-to for any kind of Mexican food cravings. After living in Los Angles for 5 years, I’ve become extremely picky about Hispanic food and have tried all of the Jersey City recommendations that the East Coast natives swear by. Nothing comes close to Taqueria Gloria for price, authenticity, and taste. I’ve never had a dish there that I disliked, but my go-to is always their nachos, whether they’re with carne asada or carnitas. To drink, I always get a jamaica, which is a beloved hibiscus drink that very few east coast restaurants get right. If I could pick only one restaurant from which to order for the duration of quarantine, it would be this Taqueria Gloria.

Pizza: Prince of Pizza

If you’re looking for the best NY slice on this side of the Hudson, Prince of Pizza has to be it. I fell in love with them for their vodka margherita pizza, but stayed for their supreme slice, which tastes even better reheated the day after. With a perfect chewy crust, and an extremely flavorful sauce, Prince of Pizza is always in our delivery rotation.

Chinese: King Szechuan Palace

King Szechuan Palace is a recent addition to my list, but they quickly climbed the ranks with every delicious bite. Both the Americanized Chinese classics, as well as the authentic dishes, are big hits. Pictured here is their General Tso’s chicken, which was perfectly crisp, saucy, with just the right amount of heat from the chili peppers.

Healthy Eats: Shaka Bowl

While technically not in Jersey City, Shaka Bowl holds a special place in my heart for their delicious breakfast and lunch options. Their build-your-own poke bowls are to die for, and their customer service is excellent. I highly recommend their Pineapple-A-Day bowl, with delicious ahi tuna, fresh pineapple, avocado, crispy onions, and much, much more.

Weekly Meal Plans: Whealth Kitchen

I’ve already written about how amazing Whealth’s cafe is, but because of COVID-19, Whealth has pivoted to affordable, delicious, farm-to-table meal delivery service. Not only are the portions in their delivery meals generous enough to last a week, but they’re incredibly versatile and can be either eaten by themselves or with other pantry staples from your home. Whealth also donates two meals to families in need for every meal plan purchased, meaning you’re giving back to the community, supporting local farms and supporting small business.

If you’re local to Jersey City and Hoboken, where are you ordering delivery from right now? Let me know in the comments!

Being an NYC millennial has many benefits and drawbacks. If you are one, you probably live in one of the outer boroughs, work grueling hours at a highly demanding job, and barely make enough to pay your exorbitant rent. But one of the biggest – and least talked-about – expenses is how quickly one can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars a month on restaurants.

Speaking as someone who has lived here for less than a year, one thing I’ve noticed is that restaurant eating is the crux of just about everything – a bodega breakfast sandwich and coffee on the way to the train, a Sweetgreen bowl for lunch at my desk, and by the time I get home, delivery pizza or Chinese because I’m too exhausted to cook. Like it or not, this lifestyle will devour your budget. I was spending over $1k a month on just restaurants – and not always good ones. Sometimes, it was a random midnight McDonald’s run or a mediocre deli chosen out of convenience, not for how tasty or affordable it was.

If you’re like me, though, COVID-19 has thrown a giant wrench into the gears of your life. I’m on Week 6 of staying home from work, and with almost all grocery delivery services woefully unavailable, the question becomes, “What do we do?”

The social vs moral obligation to eat out

Before COVID-19, New York life included a serious collective social obligation to eat out – what restaurants you ate at were a sign of status. You may live in a crappy apartment with five roommates, but publicly, you’re eating at Momofuku like it’s no big deal. Now, with bans on socializing, there isn’t the same expectation to maintain a facade of status and success based on where you’re eating.

Instead, there is now a moral obligation to support the restaurants in need. Many restaurants across the country are being forced to shutter because of sizable payrolls (with many entry-level positions), steep delivery app fees (as much as 30%!), and expensive locations sitting empty. Restaurants are having to quickly think on their feet and adapt to this drastically changing climate, and frankly, many are not going to make it out alive. As a food blogger, I feel it’s important to recognize that eating out is critical to the livelihoods of many small businesses and their employees.

What I’m Noticing

Especially with job security being precarious for so many people, finding ways to save money is incredibly important, but keeping what money you do spend in the community is just as important. I’m grateful because I’m saving money by not eating out for convenience, so now I’m making the choice to eat out to help out small businesses. What works for me is setting Friday night as our delivery night, and we choose a local restaurant that could use our support.

How about you? Before coronavirus, did you feel a social obligation to dine out? How are you handling your food budget during this time? Are you supporting local restaurants? Comment your thoughts. I want to hear them!

An image of a phone with the instagram app open over a notepad with a pen.

In the past 3.5 years that I’ve been on Instagram, and the 2.5 that I’ve spent aggressively growing it, Instagram has drastically changed. Many of the strategies used in the past, like follow/unfollow, have become increasingly difficult to do, with the platform cracking down on bots, as well as the number of actions you can do every hour. Nobody has completely cracked the Instagram algorithm, and it seems to be changing all the time.

So how do people grow their account and get more likes and follows right now? It seems pretty elusive, but here are some quick and easy tricks to get your account seen by more people!

  1. Want more people to engage on your post? Engage on theirs! This seems like a really simple idea in theory, but many people look at Instagram as something that you can just set and forget. Accounts, especially larger ones, remember people who consistently like and comment on their posts, especially when it’s more than just a “Nice pic!” I’ve noticed that when I write 4+ words on their post, especially a question, people are more likely to check out my recent posts as well.
  2. In that same vein, don’t forget to reply to comments on your posts! An easy way to double your comment count? Respond to every single comment that you have on your posts. Even better? Respond to all the comments after you have a new post up. The people who commented will then see that you have a new post up, and they’ll be more likely to engage!
  3. Check out relevant hashtags to your blog and click “recent.” Then, from the recents page, give a like and a thoughtful comment to the most recent photos. This is the most effective with hashtags that have at least 1 million hits (which means you have a large variety of accounts to choose from). For example, my go-to hashtag for this is #foodblogger.
  4. Check out blogs with similar follower counts to you, and see who follows them. Easiest way to figure out the types of people who would be interested in following you? Find lookalike blogs (hint: check out blogs that are famous in the hashtags you use) and then click their “followers” list. From there, engage on those accounts – a like, a comment, or a follow could result in the same (or even more) for you. A trick for this also is to go to repost pages like @bestfoodfeed and find followers with similar locations to you and engage on those pages.

And one thing to NOT to do: Don’t make following and engaging feel like a transaction. I cannot tell you the amount of times I get messages in my inbox saying “follow for follow?” or comments that say “You should check out my account!” Writing these types of things automatically sends the message of “I am desperate and I am only in this to build my following.” The only way to really build an authentic following is to engage authentically. That means no caveats, no favor asking (unless you know the account well), and no shameless self-promotion on other people’s accounts.

Have any of you had peri peri before? Before last night, I couldn’t say that I had. Peri peri is a type of Portuguese cuisine based on the African bird’s eye chili pepper. Typically, peri peri cuisine consists largely of chicken. However, when I recently visited Tribos‘ brand new Jersey City location, I learned it’s so much more!

Tribos’ peri set go method makes it quick and easy to get some delish peri peri!

My first thought when I came to Tribos was how streamlined and clean the place looked. Tribos’ new location was described to me as a fast-casual joint, with options to either dine in or take out. Unique to this location, however, is their Peri, Set, Go method of preparing their peri peri. Unlike most peri peri locations, takeout orders are made right in front of you, meaning you don’t have to wait to have your food served. If you have more time and want to dine in, they will bring it out to your table.

Now, to the best part: the food. Because I was trying an unfamiliar cuisine to me, I had no idea what to expect. With some cursory searches online, I thought that everything on the menu was going to be spicy, and while everything was well-spiced, the heat level was completely customizable, from mild to tongue-tingling spicy.

look at all the amazing sides!

We started off with appetizers, which included their peri fries, Tribos rice, coleslaw, their Perimayo corn, a house salad, hummus, and some toasted pita. All of their food items (appetizers included) are spiced with their peri peri spice, and that helps unify the foods without taking away from their distinct natural flavors. Their peri fries were freakin’ bomb, with the unique spices really elevating it above typical french fries. At the table was also some garlic yogurt sauce and peri peri sauce for dipping, and I loved both, but definitely thought the garlic sauce was the star of the show. My other favorite appetizer was the perimayo corn, which reminded me of a twist on esquite, or Mexican street corn in a cup.

Their paneer peri peri is great for vegetarians!

The real stars of the meal were the protein options! I tried the chicken tenders and the chicken leg quarters. Both were cooked perfectly. The skin was crispy on the outside, but moist and delicious on the inside, and their sauces were great. For people who cannot handle any kind of spice, their lemon herb chicken is for you, but fear not, spice lovers, because they have 4 more types of peri peri sauce, ranging in heat from mild to extra hot. I tried the mild peri peri chicken and it was perfect for people who can handle a little bit of spice, but not too much. In addition to chicken, they also offer peri peri falafel and paneer for vegetarians/vegans.

If you’re looking for some delicious chicken, this is where to go!

Overall, I had an excellent time at Tribos’ new location, right off the Grove St. PATH. It’s currently in its soft opening phase, but opens officially on October 4th. I definitely will be back here again to try all of their foods, including burgers, lamb, and pita!

Since moving to Jersey City, I’m always on the lookout for new restaurants and coffee shops to try, especially since I work from home. After trying out all of the coffee shops Journal Square has to offer, I have to say by far, Whealth takes the cake for the best coffee, food, and atmosphere in the Journal Square neighborhood of Jersey City.

Why Whealth and Co.?

Their bacon and tomato grilled cheese is so yummy!

Whealth markets itself as a “Modern Day Grandma’s Kitchen”, with farm-to-table seasonal offerings every day. Their location is a little harder to find, tucked behind the Journal Squared apartments right by the PATH plaza. Their interior is rustic, with mason jar water glasses and vintage tables and chairs, giving it an eclectic vibe that I really like. Coffee, tea, and water are plentiful, which makes it a great place to sit down for a while and work/study without breaking the bank. Their WiFi is also very fast and the atmosphere is pretty quiet (except for the lunch rush), which is great for deep focus.

Another important aspect of Whealth’s ethos is relationships. Their major slogan is “All we have is each other”, and that is really reflected in how the staff treats their customers. When I walk in, I get a smiling “Hey Kat!” from everyone in the kitchen, and I’ve seen them treat every other customer the exact same way. Everyone on staff makes a huge effort to make sure everyone feels welcome and cared for like it was their own home kitchen. I have yet to find another place in Jersey City that has remembered my and my partner’s name after showing up only 3 times.

What really sets Whealth apart from other coffee shops in the neighborhood is the food. Most lunch dishes are between $9-$15, but they are very filling. So far, I’ve enjoyed their bacon and tomato grilled cheese, which was any cheese-lover’s dream, as well as their “greens bowl” which had one of the best sweet potatoes I’ve ever had. The quality of the ingredients is so apparent, and if you check out their Instagram stories, the owner, David, is always on the farm, picking up ingredients for their rotating seasonal menu.

Their seasonal greens bowl had amazing farm-fresh produce and an AMAZING sweet potato!

Whealth also recently launched a meal delivery service, which I have yet to try but sounds absolutely incredible. For $100 a week, you get enough farm-fresh items for 2 meals a day for 5 days, all for less than the cost of meal delivery for 2 nights. It’s an incredibly great value, especially considering the items already come ready to assemble, which means the cooking required is next to none. If I do get a chance to try it, I’ll be sure to post a review.

If you’re local to the Jersey City area and are looking for a new place to try, Whealth should be at the top of your list! It’s quickly become a favorite of both my partner and myself!

A photo of three lebanese-inspired street tacos, with meat, tomato and cucumber pico de gallo, and garlic crema
The tacos at Loquito absolutely deliver on flavor!

As many of you know, my partner, Paolo, and I recently relocated from Los Angeles to New Jersey. One of the things I have desperately missed since moving here has been tacos. In LA, it seemed like every street corner had a restaurant or food truck where I could get delicious marinated carne asada, carnitas, or al pastor. Latinx cuisine has become a staple for me, so when I was asked to come and check out Loquito, a new Lebanese-Mexican fusion restaurant in Hoboken, I jumped at the opportunity. Loquito’s main items are tacos and bowls, with the ability to customize your meat as well as the type of condiments you get on top of your food. They also offer a small selection of sides and dessert.

Their kifta bowl is definitely worth trying!

Walking in, my first impression of the restaurant was that it was largely a takeout joint. There is very little seating and no restroom, which is understandable for the small location size. The customer service at the restaurant is really friendly and the service was surprisingly quick considering it hasn’t been open for long and they make everything fresh. I asked the owner, Stephen, to surprise my partner and me with the pairings he believed complemented one another the most. Our feast included a kifta bowl with brown rice and “the OG” topping, three tacos, one pollo shawarma, one avocado falafel, and one za’atar carnitas. The shawarma and falafel had “the OG” toppings and the carnitas had their “verde” toppings. Stephen also surprised us with an order of za’atar fries (more on those later!).

When I first heard about Loquito, I was skeptical about how they were going to make the fusion of Mexican and Lebanese flavors work, but I have to emphasize: they really delivered. Instead of tortillas, they use a delicious tandoori mountain bread, which is a surprisingly awesome substitute. All of their meats are Lebanese-spiced, but the toppings clearly have more of a Mexican influence with pico, pickled vegetables, garlic crema (garlic toum on their menu), cilantro, salsa roja, and salsa verde as some of the many options that you can get on top of your taco or bowl. The flavors combine in a way that is unique, yet absolutely delightful on your tastebuds.

The za’atar fries are to DIE for!

All of the meat options really delivered on flavor, but I was particularly impressed by the avocado falafel. I had never thought to put falafel in a taco, but it works really, really well with their “OG topping,” which is a garlic toum with lemon pico de arabes. The garlic toum adds the perfect creaminess to your protein choice, while the acidity and crunch of the pico de arabes balances it out in a really delightful way. The pollo shawarma was cooked very well and was still moist, which many taquerias struggle to get right, and the spices were definitely on point.

The carnitas taco with the verde sauce on top needed an extra crunch, as the softness of the “tortilla” and the tenderness of the meat and salsa made for a combination that was very messy to eat. The verde sauce flavor profiles are there, but it wasn’t nearly as spicy as I was expecting.

My partner said that his kifta bowl was well-spiced and that it was a really delightful cross between a typical taco bowl and a Mediterranean bowl. A quick taste of the hummus in his bowl convinced me it was made fresh in-house. He added that it was a really substantial amount of food for the price.

The most pleasant surprise of all was the order of za’atar fries. Their spice blend is phenomenal, and the fries are exactly what you think of when someone says “street food”, but without all the greasiness. Perfectly crispy on the outside, but fluffy on the inside. I wasn’t expecting to get incredible french fries at a Lebanese taqueria, but if you go, I highly recommend you try them.

Last, but not least, I love that Loquito really cares about their customers. Though it has only been open a month, they took feedback about taco prices and adjusted their menu make meals more affordable. When you decide to try Loquito, come in with an open mind. This is not an authentic Mexican experience, nor is it trying to be. It is something completely different, and it fits a niche that I think will pleasantly surprise everyone who comes to visit. Overall, this is a fun, unique dining experience that palates of all kinds will enjoy. I will definitely be back. If you want to continue seeing what’s up with their restaurant, please follow them on Instagram at @eatloquito.

The answer is yes, yes you can. With these budget tips, I managed to head to the happiest place on earth with Paolo and not break the bank. Here’s how I did it:

First off, I had an annual pass.
For the people who don’t go to Disneyland that often, this tip isn’t for you. But for people who are obsessed with the parks (like I am), I used the crap out of my annual pass and discounts. I have the signature pass, which gets me 15% off food as well as free parking. That’s already $25 off our budget every time we visit, which is a HUGE save. If you go to the parks more than 14 times a year, the signature pass is actually a better deal and cheaper than the Deluxe pass because you get free parking as well as a higher discount on merchandise and restaurants. That means my price for entering the parks is $0, and my price for parking is $0.

Double up on your Starbucks rewards if you have them.
If you have a Starbucks gift card, if you aren’t already, PUT IT IN THE APP. Your gift card goes further by earning you points that you can redeem towards free drinks. There are two Starbucks locations in Downtown Disney, one Starbucks in California Adventure, and one Starbucks in Disneyland Park. If you are an annual passholder like I am, skip the lines at the Downtown Disney locations and wait in line at the park. I get that you cannot mobile order within the parks which can be a bummer, but if you’re willing to wait in line, not only can you redeem Starbucks rewards and gift cards there, but you also are eligible for your annual passholder discount. I had a coupon for a free drip coffee, Paolo got a drip coffee for $3.50, and we both bought $5 breakfast sandwiches. Plus the 15% discount brings our total to $11.50 for breakfast.

One of my favorite pictures from a previous Disneyland visit.

Pack snacks/lunch to eat in the parks.
Food is EXPENSIVE in the parks. If you’re not careful, things can add up incredibly quickly. If you can, bring some snacks, a water bottle, and maybe even a full lunch with you if you can. Paolo and I brought water bottles, mixed nuts and seeds, turkey sandwiches, prepackaged cookies, chips, and some apples and bananas. Other ideas could be veggies and ranch, prepackaged snack olives, yogurt in a tube, string cheese, and dry cereal. We didn’t buy any drinks at the parks because we had water, and we had a light lunch in the parks. We ended up sitting on the benches outside Grizzly Peak in California Adventure, and it was a great (and shady) spot to sit and relax while we ate our lunches. That means we spent $0 for lunch and snacks in the parks.

Skip the pricey souvenirs if you plan on coming back.
While merchandise is changing constantly, I find that window shopping is the best way to get my fix of souvenirs without wasting money purchasing them. There are also other ways you can get free mementos, like asking PhotoPass people to use your phone to take pictures of you, getting a free button at City Hall, or even a limited edition map (Hello, Galaxy’s Edge!). The photos I’ve taken have been far more valuable to me than any T-Shirt ever could be. When we last went, we spent $0 on souvenirs, opting for buttons, maps, and, of course, photos.

Wait, there’s free food in California Adventure?
Yes, yes there is. If you, like me sometimes, forget to bring snacks into the park, California Adventure is host to a little-known secret: the Boudin Bakery Bread Tour. It’s a small attraction right by the Ghiradelli Fountain, and when you enter, you get a small slice of DELICIOUS sourdough bread to savor. If you are getting hangry in the midsummer heat, this is a great place to cool down, taste some amazing bread, and see how the addicting loaves of sourdough that Disneyland sells are made.

Where do you eat at Disneyland on a budget?
Now THAT is a great question. There are a ton of places to choose from, but there are some places that are more expensive than others. In Disneyland park, Bengal Barbecue has a bunch of skewers that you can choose from that are reasonably-priced if you don’t go overboard. However, the best meal deal in Disneyland in my opinion is the Margherita pizza that you can get at the Red Rose Taverne in Fantasyland. Pictured above, it is a very large pizza that would definitely be filling for two people to share, and it’s priced at just $10. Combined with my 15% off discount, that turns out to be $8.50 for a meal for two. Flo’s V8 Cafe is also great in California Adventure for simple diner fare, with most meals being about $12.

What about a sit-down restaurant?
In general, quick service restaurants are your best bet if you don’t want to break the bank. However, our favorite sit-down restaurants are the Carnation Cafe as well as Cafe Orleans. Carnation Cafe has typical Americana fare, but what I love about it is if you time your reservation right and get outdoor seating, you get a front row seat to parades. Cafe Orleans is my second choice for a cheap sit down restaurant in the parks because it offers practically the same menu as Blue Bayou, but for half the cost. Granted, you don’t get the ambiance, but they serve a very similar salad, very similar entrees, and of course, you can get a mint julep and a monte cristo sandwich for much cheaper.

So there you have it. Disney doesn’t have to break the bank if you budget carefully and plan. I hope these tips are helpful for the next time you visit the parks! Let me know if you used any of these tips in the comments below!