Need some no-fridge, no-microwave food ideas. UPDATE

[Le Taz Hot]

Last edited Sat Aug 31, 2013, 09:05 AM - Edit history (1)

I'm going to be in Southern California next week for training and I'll be staying at a hotel in which there is no refrigerator and no microwave. The only thing there is a coffee maker. There are two restaurants on premise but eating out every day for every meal would be way too cost prohibitive. I'm looking for ideas for food that I can take with me that doesn't require refrigeration or serious cooking.

The only thing I can come up with is "Luncheables" (I've never tried these but I can't imagine they'd be very good) and the tuna-in-a-pouch and crackers thingie. Can't bring much in the way of fruits as it just doesn't travel well (I'll be traveling Amtrak/Bus). I also don't care for Ramen.

You guys ALWAYS have good ideas. Anyone have any suggestions for this situation?

Thanks,
LTH

--------
So, I'm back from my trip. I ended up bringing WAY too much food but everything I packed (thanks to you guys for the ideas) was PERFECT! I brought some wax-encased ghouda cheese, really good crackers, apples, peanut butter, bagels, tuna salad and chicken salad with crackers, yogurt-covered pretzels, and a couple of packs of those Quaker snack bars. That provided meals for breakfast and dinner and I ate out for lunch. I did splurge on Wednesday evening as the hotel I was staying in had Food Truck Night and I treated myself to some Fettuccini Alfredo which was yummy. Also, the place they sent us to for training had all kinds of choices for lunch. One day I hit a place serving Armenian Food and another day I went to a Syrian food restaurant with THE BEST chicken I've ever tasted. I spent total of $74.00 all week and probably $20.00 of that was spent tipping the shuttle driver for 5 days.

Thank you ALL for you suggestions as I know I would NOT have come up with as many ideas without you.

LTH

[Sedona]

1. Instant oatmeal and paper cups

heat the water for it in the coffee pot

more here

http://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Food-in-a-Hotel-Room

http://www.instructables.com/id/Hotel-Cooking-or-how-to-NOT-empty-your-wallet-eat/

[Le Taz Hot]

3. Interesting sight.

I didn't think of Instant Oatmeal but that would be perfect. Thanks for the link.

[hlthe2b]

2. I believe that lunchables require refrigeration...at least if left out for a day or more.

I eat low carb and so always take a few Atkins bars with me, but any nutritional meal replacement bar would do. You could bring some peanut butter in a leak proof container, some crackers, an apple, cheez whiz (if you eat it fairly quickly as it does require refrigeration once opened), meal replacement shake mix.

Take a small insulated bag and some gallon sized ziplocks so that you can ice down anything that requires it in the hotel.

You can also get one of those immersion heater "sticks' that would allow you to boil water and thus be able to take some of the camping freeze dried meals that you can find at REI and elsewhere. Some of those don't even require heating.

[Le Taz Hot]

4. Great ideas!

Especially the idea about the ice in the Ziplock. I was going to bring some breakfast bars but I think the peanut butter and apples idea will work well. Thanks! (And thanks for letting me know about the Luncheables.)

[Freddie]

5. Apples and peanut butter

As already mentioned
Apples travel well and do not need to be refrigerated. I lived in this for 3 days during Hurricane Sandy.

[pinto]

6. Frequent train passenger here. Some things I carry -

Avos, limes or lime juice, jar of salsa, baguette, block cheese, peanut butter, bananas, small cans of V8, juices, etc., tuna packets, beef jerky, dried fruit, individual mayo packets, tea bags, salt & pepper, etc., at least one knife, fork and spoon. Ice is available at the hotel if needed.

If I think of others I'll add on an edit.

[Aerows]

13. V8 low sodium rocks

It is my go-to beverage for juice when I can't get fresh or am not getting enough vegetables.

I freaking love it.

[MiddleFingerMom]

31. Usually, I don't feel the need for salt in foods, but I've tried low-sodium...

.
.
.
... V-8 -- and found it unbearably bland. And I love and miss V-8 juice SO much!!!
.
.
.
(Same with low-sodium ketchup -- yucko!!!)
.
.
.

[Aerows]

32. Indeed

I find it unbearably awesome, and go out of my way to stock it in my fridge no matter where I am, due to it's nice potassium content.

We diverge on this topic .

[Little Star]

7. Take a look at this website. The....

Heater Meals EX look pretty good and the comments say they are. They heat themselves. The site has some other stuff that might interest you. But you may have to pay overnight shipping in order to get anything in time for your trip

http://www.thereadystore.com/mre/mre-entrees?p=1

[The empressof all]

8. Chef Boyardee Ravioli

In my younger days when I dallied with substances it was one of my favorites. And it's much better cold IMO than heated up. The other option is to scout out a local grocery store for salad bars which are cheaper than eating out. Even a local 7-11 will sell yogurt or cottage cheese. Just pick it up when you need it. There is also the peanut butter option. It's great on apples or raisin bread or add little tub of applesauce for a peanut butter applesauce sandwich.

[noamnety]

9. Is there a reason you can't go to a grocery store once you get there?

That seems more practical than trying to take a week's groceries with you, and it would mean you can have fresh fruit, make salads, get real bread, and so on. You'd end up eating a lot healthier that way.

[GoCubsGo]

10. I was wondering that, too.

There are often grocery stores nearby hotels. They also sell cheap styrofoam coolers, which would allow one to buy provisions for a couple of days at a time. It would also allow one to have pizza delivered, and make multiple meals from it. Cold pizza--the breakfast of champions. That's what I did on the last trip I took. I packed a sandwich to eat on the airplane, and I used the plastic container to store the pizza I bought later on the trip. (My room had a refrigerator.) I even had a couple of slices left to eat on the way home.

[Le Taz Hot]

16. I'm traveling by train and

have no way to get around once I get to my destination. I've checked and there are no grocery stores near the hotel. And I wasn't suggesting a week's worth of food, just enough to supplement some meals.

[Aerows]

18. You need traveler's type food

Like cheese, nuts and a slice or two of bread, then . Good luck on getting there. The cheese I suggested tastes great, and can probably withstand no refrigeration for 2 years. And it's awesome.

[Aerows]

19. And don't forget canned chicken

that's another thing that lasts forever, and is small in size. Have you considered some freeze dried vegetables that you can douse with hot water from a sink and have some decent vegetable content? And let's remember v8 low sodium. If you pour that into a anything, it livens up the flavor and makes a healthy soup, even lukewarm.

I'll have to post my hiking with v8 low sodium recipes sometime. It makes "french onion soup in a can" an incredibly nourishing, vitamin packed meal.

Or "freeze dried vegetables soaked in hot water" a very delicious hearty soup.

http://www.northbaytrading.com/freeze-and-air-dried-hot-vegetable-blend

http://www.northbaytrading.com/freeze-and-air-dried-organic-five-vegetable-blend

6.99 gets you about 12 days worth of soup if you get thrifty.

[pinto]

29. One thing I've found worked well at conferences - have breakfast in the restaurant.

I got a better bang for my limited budget with a big breakfast. The rest of the time I would wing it as much as possible.

Oh, and on AMTRAK the cafe car has a lot of those single use condiment packets.

Have a great training / SoCal stay .

[PADemD]

11. Granola bars for snacks

[Aerows]

12. Pasta salad with assorted cold cuts and vegetables?

With enough oils and vinegar that won't go bad and will actually taste better at room temperature.

ETA: Or with just olives and maybe carrots, minus the meat. A few chunks of parmesan will hold up well, since cheese is the original food of no refrigeration required.

Wax covered mini-cheeses like "Baby-bel" cheese, which is some yummy cheese in wax doesn't need refrigeration, and can satisfy a more epicurean taste



Delicious cheese.

http://www.preparednesspro.com/cheese-wax-will-save-us-all-2/

This explains why. It's a raving lunatic site, but has sound science behind it.

[Aerows]

14. Oh, and of course, the other ways of no refrigeration, no cooking required foods

of travelers, nuts, pickled vegetables, canned meats like tuna, and obviously bread.

[Aerows]

15. Actually, this whole article will be enlightening

http://www.salon.com/2010/07/15/how_long_can_food_be_out_of_the_fridge/

[Le Taz Hot]

17. Great suggestions, everyone!

I've made some notes and should be able to supplement several meals while I'm there. Thank you SO much. And feel free to keep them coming, I don't leave until Monday morning.

[cbayer]

20. Strange. I took a very long road trip this summer and something

I noticed was that even the cheapest of motels had microwaves and refrigerators. They no longer had shampoo or other little amenities, but they had those two things.

Do you have to stay in that particular place?

[Aerows]

21. It isn't necessarily a trip across the US.

I don't know. I offered my suggestions. It could be in the desert, in Antarctica, in a swamp.

Just doing my best to help a DUer.

[Le Taz Hot]

23. The arrangements were made by my employer

so there really wasn't a choice. No biggie. I think I have enough ideas to be able to do what I need to do.

[cbayer]

24. One last thing. If you have one of those sticks you plug in

that will heat water to boiling, those asian noodle bowls might be great.

Have a great time. Weather is great down here right now and the nights have been outstandingly beautiful.

[japple]

34. The motels that have microwaves & refrigerators are usually near major highways/interstates.

In my experience, the pricier hotels in major urban areas generally don't have them, but maybe the REALLY pricey ones do. I have never stayed at any of the $300.00-$400.00+ per night kind.

[cbayer]

35. Actually, we saw them in really remote places and in mom and pop's.

We did 8600 miles, almost all of it off the interstate.

We took a similar trip two years ago and it was different - very few microwaves or refrigerators. I think they are marketing to people like us who carry some groceries and almost always have fabulous leftovers!

We didn't stay in anything over about $60, except for some wonderful cabins that had full kitchens.

But definitely bring your own soap and shampoo. We also carry our own espresso machine, saving about $15/day on that alone.

[japple]

36. We do the same, though we use a Melitta coffee maker. It's nice to know that there are places off

the beaten path with "micro/fridges."

[Warpy]

22. I always bought a loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter

and that was my breakfast along with an apple I'd pick up later. It worked.

Once in a while I just wouldn't be up for a dinner out, and it would be an evening snack.

The pouches of tuna salad would also work. They just didn't have those the last time I did any traveling. If the coffee maker has a "warm" setting, you can try heating those tins of prepared food with ring top openers on that. You won't know that until you get there.

[Sedona]

25. beef jerky!

[Aerows]

33. Oh yes.

What's your favorite? I used to like Matador, but it seems to have gotten tough lately. Jack links are too salty.

[A HERETIC I AM]

26. Heater Meals.

http://heatermeals.com/

You can find them in truck stops. A TA, Petro, Flying J or Pilot should have them, as well as other retailers.

They come with a chemical heating element you just add water to.

No refrigeration required.


Damn, I saw your post hours ago and these just dawned on me. I used to carry 3 or 4 of them with me when I was driving out west, particularly in the winter. Driving a tractor trailer in places where the weather might shut the freeway down for days at a time and you might be stuck miles from an exit......you need food that keeps!!


Heater Meals. They aren't bad at all and might just be what you're looking for.

[grasswire]

27. go european

a loaf of really good bread
a chub of dry salami
some cheese
some cured olives
cucumbers
chocolate

Not only does it work, but it feels very elegant. A family member who travels to eastern europe regularly favors this kind of travel food.

Don't forget to pack a paring knife, a plastic spoon and fork in your checked baggage.

[Lex]

30. add apples and pears

and some almonds too

Nice!

[Jenoch]

28. You can soft cook eggs in the drip coffee maker.

A carton of eggs can be without refrigeration for a few days if the room isn't too hot.

Just put the eggs into the coffeepot, then remove the eggs (so you don't put too much water in), poor the water into the machine, put the eggs back in and turn it on. Leave the eggs in the hot water for a few minutes, I forget how long, it depends on how hot the water is, and they get cooked. If you leave them in long enough they will be hard cooked.

You can heat up hotdogs using a coffee maker as well.

[rdharma]

37. Don't forget the Bruschetta and Zweiback

Aged gouda and dry salami.

And a couple bottles of good red wine!

[dem in texas]

38. Years ago when I lived in Europe (1961-63)

I used to have to go to New York often. Eating out there is super expensive. In the evenings I would stop at a grocery to get something for my breakfast the next morning: yogurt, fresh fruit and some type of roll or bagel. The yogurt will keep for a while without being refrigerated. I know, I used to make it all the time. I would eat one restaurant meal in the evening. If you are afraid to get the yogurt, get the wax covered cheese, no problem there. Good old peanut butter and brown bread is hard to beat. Keep a small box of crackers handy. Trail Mix is good too. Get real honest food, not processed stuff like Lunchables.