Cooking (or a semblance of that action) while on the road?

[carmanelectric]

Recently I have been working all over the place. I have been put up in hotels for 10 day stretches. I am not really into eating at restaurants, I would rather eat home cooked meals. Now in some hotels I have been blessed and had access to a fridge and microwave. Others I have been limited to a coffee maker as my only instrument of heating food items. Shopping at the destination towns can be a might bit inconvenient. So I tend to bring most of my food supplies. I accept my cooler has a 3 day life for frozen prepared meals. I feel like I am sort of in a limbo between having a kitchen and camping. But not being able to completely adopt either methodology of cooking.

-Fruits have been winners in my books as they are healthy, have a good shelf life and require no cooking.
-Oatmeal has also been a winner as I can bring it dry, and have been able to cook it with every small heating appliance yet.
-Alfalfa and beans for sprouting have been ok, but take about 5 days to grow, and are messy, and garner weird looks from my coworkers as I eat them without other items at lunches. They go good in vermicelli noodles with spices at supper (again something I can cook with any small appliance yet). I am thankful for the fresh green food factor. The beans can also been made into an entree meal if their is a microwave (just need to leave them soaking while I work)
- I have brought canned foods, but find that I am not inspired to open any. Canned meat or fish has been something I will eat when I am desperate for protein or if I am being polite cause someone else has made it in a meal. Soups, while ok for places with microwaves, would take too long to heat using a coffee maker and are just kind of errrr wellll unpalatable when cold.
-crackers have been a god send
- peanut butter (mind you I have gone with a non-all-natural type so that it doesn't require refrigeration and I feel like I am eating junk food)
- butter has been good in small amounts as it can be stored at room temp
- I have brought instant mash potatoes ( not a hit for flavour but they are getting eaten)
- powdered milk has been my best milk option as I can make what I need in the moment with no waste
- honey has been good too (dont use it much though)


Curious about other recipes, food ideas and clever food preparation ideas.

[ninna]

Tough call. To be honest, it looks like you've already got a very creative and thoughtful mind. You've certainly exhausted any list I would've made.

We tend to bring along our own food when we travel with the family because it's cheaper and usually much healthier than what you would find in the local McDonald's. Fresh fruit and veggies are the biggies for us. My mind tends to gravitate toward what I call "school snacks"- those personal serving type things that can stay on the shelf for awhile--like applesauce, granola bars, fruit leather, juice boxes, trail mix, cereal, rice chips/cakes, instant oatmeal etc. You can even get milk in a juice box type format! I love rice cakes with peanut butter on them...or rice cakes topped with tuna--both of which can stay on the shelf. (Well, obviously once you open the tuna you're needing to eat it unless you have a fridge!).

If you look hard enough, you can even find those personal size bowls of things--like individual KD or ramen noodles--just add hot water and go. The problem with the individual servings is the price-- usually they cost more than buying, say, a big bag of pasta and a slab of cheese--but at the same time, it IS still cheaper than eating out and there's no pots to scrub.

[blueeyetea]

From what you describe and being able to bring a cooler, it's ok to assume you're traveling by car? What about also bringing with you a hot plate and a pot, or an electric skillet, or even a George Foreman Grill?

Apart from the obvious like sandwiches, the only suggestion I can offer and to look up cookbooks aimed at college or university students that have to stay in a dorm room where cooking facilities are also limited. The Everything College Cookbook looks promising in that regard.

It's too bad shopping at destinations can be so inconvenient because I find that supermarkets do such a good job at offering prepared meals that are ready for consumption. While travelling I often go to the supermarket and get roast chicken with salads that range from the usual coleslaw to really nice fresh garden salads. Fruit trays are often available as well.

[glowworm2k]

Whenever I travel, I try to avoid eating out as it sends my stomach on an unpleasant rollercoaster :/

I have had a lot of the same ideas as you. I love bringing powdered milk with me so I can eat my regular breakfast. I don't know how you're travelling, but it could make sense to pack a few cooking essentials from my list. My picks:
- bring spices! If you've got a range of spices (I like Mrs. Dash and similar salt-free seasonings for convenience), you can make a huge range of blah food taste much more palatable Nutritional yeast is also awesome in this regard.
- a small kettle for boiling water (they come in travel-sized). Yes, you can use the coffeemaker, but it gets really gross when you make oatmeal that tastes like coffee, trust me. The kettle also allows more options for things like couscous, a quick soup (you can pre-cook and freeze the mix-ins to add to some boullion if you're bringing a cooler), or using things like sprouts that you can buy cheaply and some ramen (not a healthy option I know).
- If you want to get really creative, a tiny, single burner camp stove can be used for almost any cooking (we have one small enough to take motorcycle camping: http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/stoves...oking/category ). The big caveat is that you need to bring a small metal pot or two to use with it and it must be used in a well-ventilated area, i.e., outside. Then again, if you stay in places where there are parks nearby or a picnic table outside, it is an option. With the little stove, we've made everything from fried eggs, to roasted salmon, to rice and beans, to soups and stews.
- If you have access to a microwave, you can steam veggies and add things like watered-down tomato paste with the Mrs. Dash and other stuff. I looooove cauliflower made this way, even when I'm at home.
- You can also pick up some things like soups, etc. as takeout that you can add your own veggies to; this makes it a bit of a healthier option. I like doing this with a big bowl of takeout miso and some sprouts and mushrooms.