DIY hotel room food.

[AelinAshriver]

This summer we are spending 3 days (2 nights) away with a hotel room.

Myself, DH and DS (5)

Budget it pretty tight so am going to try to do as much food in the room as possible. Only kettle available. No microwave or fridge.

Breakfast I was thinking of instant porridge pots. Croissants with choc spread / jam. Fruit.

Lunches. Meal deal from Tesco express that's 10 mins down the road?

Loaf of bread and do peanut butter sarnies?

Snacks for DS: crisps, biscuits, fruit, crackers.

Dinners: pot noodle?

Can you think of any other suggestions. DS is a pretty fussy eater. It's a hotel on motorway service station so there is a burger king but that's super expensive but happy to get chicken nuggets for DS for dinner one of the nights.

Can be anything that needs refrigeration. We are going in the summer.

too good to go app

Cous cous, tinned tuna, tinned sweetcorn
If there's a supermarket with a rotisserie chicken nearby that is an option.

brilliant idea

Tinned tuna and tinned sweetcorn!!!! Sneak a load of mayo pouches from burger king. Whack it in a roll. Boom. Genius. Thank you iced latte.

Also rotisserie chicken is a shout. That with some crusty baguette and butter. Yum!

Genius. Tuna mayo sweetcorn is one of my faves!!

Also 'too good to go' is brilliant. They often do a lot at service stations too!!

Here's an old (2021) thread that may be helpful - not specific to children, but loads of ideas about cooking in a hotel without a fridge and with only a kettle:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/food_and_recipes/4239645-Meals-with-no-cooking-facilities-except-a-kettle?latest=0

Take a sandwich toaster with you

Instant ramen with fresh veggies

You could ask if anyone has an electric coolbox you could borrow too.

you can boil eggs in the kettle.

Or only slightly pricier than a microwave meal but still cheaper than a restaurant meal, these boil-in-the-bag pouches can also be reheated just using the hot water from your room kettle. www.thebushcraftstore.co.uk/adventure-menu-meals---boil-in-the-bag-main-course-13758-p.asp

Don’t forget your can opener (if they haven’t got ring pulls) 😜

I want tuna Mayo now 😋

I would avoid things like crusty baguette and croissants - you will have food flaking everywhere.
Something like the pain au chocolates you can get won't flake as much as a croissant. I know in Aldi you can get them individually wrapped in a pack of 8 - I presume other supermarkets do similar. I would get a pack of rolls or even a loaf of sliced bread if money is that tight rather than buying a crusty loaf. Or a pack of wraps. Remember you are going to have to take all utensils.

I stayed in a hotel in the summer (so room was reasonably warm), I bought a carton of Oatly oat milk and once opened it was perfectly fine to use in tea/ coffee and cereal for the full 5 days despite not having a fridge to keep it in and just putting it in the wardrobe out of direct sunlight so that might be an option if you want cereal or similar.

In a similar situation we took a slow cooker with us.

Frozen spag bol from home one night with instant noodles or cous cous.
Jacket potatoes (left big spuds in slow cooker all day on medium while we were out and about) with grated cheese or tuna mayo.

Breakfasts we just had cereal, and a meal deal picnic for lunch

You can buy a table top ring for cheap, and cook anything on that.

Do you have a cool bag? That will add a bit of variety.
I often do this at hotels etc with my children because of their allergies and we still have a lovely trip.

Please don't do this unless you bring your own kettle. Egg allergies can be very serious

omg please do not boil eggs in the kettle!!

And please don't take fire hazards like toasters and table top rings.

These noodles are wonderful but bring bowls:

www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/301341061

Be aware that many st hotels will make you leave if you use cooking apparatus in the room, so slow cookers and toasters are a no-go.
Mini supermarkets are great for this: baked goods like sausage rolls, pasties and pastries, juice boxes, pot noodles, sundried tomatoes, cheese, cooked meats and olives, cookies snd biscuits, salad pots.

You don't say where you are going. In some places you can survive very happily just on local bread, cheese and tomatoes.

Cereal bars, juice boxes and pepperamis: the non-refrigerated camping breakfast of champions!

Take tinned hot dogs and a flask. Put boiling water in flask and drop the sausages in until heated through.

I made toast with my hair straighteners once. It worked.

For breakfast individual brioche (less mess than croissant), orange juice, fruit, belvita breakfast biscuits, longlife milk. Baguette and primula picnic outside for lunch with some fruit. Dinner can be chip buttys. Not the most healthy diet but it's only a couple of days. Pack of posh biscuits to have with the tea and coffee in your room.