Microwave only food on holiday

[Platypusdiver]

We are on holiday with a microwave and a fridge. We don't want to eat evening meals out every night. Also we don't want to eat ultraprocessed microwave meals from the local supermarket.

Can anyone suggest ideas. Thanks!

Could you have your main meal out at lunch time and prepare easy meals in the evening? Does your accommodation have a kitchenette and utensils or is it a microwave and fridge in a hotel room?

COOK do some lovely meals that can be microwaved, we like the lamb tagine and have that with rice

Hotdogs, OK so not exactly gourmet.

Do you have a kettle? You can just add pasta to boiling water, put a lid or a plate and leave for 10 mins. Drain and add some butter, a bit of lemon juice and if you have any basil leaves.

Similar for cous cous (OK I know it is just another pasta but it tastes different). Add chopped spring onion, tomato, maybe some olives.

Can you get anything delivered?

If you have ramakins or tea cups you can 'poach' eggs in the microwave. Rub some butter around the inside of the ramakin, you can microwave to heat the butter but you don't have to.

Put an egg in each ramakin, this bit is IMPORTANT, piece the yolk with a knife. Cook on a low heat for 30secconds and then see if they need longer. If you don't piece the yolk the egg can explode.

I've just seen someone else has recommended eggs this way.

You can also add things to the eggs, cream, grated cheese, ham. You could use lardons but I would cook them in the ramekin for a min first.

If you buy ready prepared veg you can add a bit of water - 2 to 3 teaspoons and cook in the bag.

I've even done a pork roast in the microwave. Marinate the pork as it cooks quickly, and salt the skin. Perfect crackling, and you get leftovers for salads, sandwiches etc.

Do you own a slow cooker if so you could take that with you.

Why would someone buy an oven when on holiday for a week or two. Or an air fryer. OP can buy salad, cheese, cold meat, bread etc and eat that surely?

Peppers, I forgot peppers, slice in half, take out the seeds and fill with left over rice / cous cous / vegetables and microwave for 5-10 mins depending on how many you are cooking and the power of the microwave.

Baked potatoes are an obvious one but you can cook sweet potato and swede in a microwave.

For sweet potato punch a couple of holes in and microwave for 5 mins, then turn over for another 5 mins, cut in half and the sweet potato can be squeezed out.

How many people and what ages?

Great ideas. Thanks! We are in spain. And there are 3 of us. (Yes, i did book it knowing there was only a microwave...wally!).

I am not too hung up on the UPFs. Just didn't want the old-fashioned microwave meals in the plastic tubs. I never liked the taste and they never filled me up.

I like the idea of cous cous for simplicity and I had no idea that rice and pasta could be cooked relatively easily in the microwave. Only simple kitchen implements though.

Definitely will be doing scrambled eggs.

Ah, it would have been useful to know you weren't in the UK from the beginning

In Spain, Mercadona have a good range of ready prepared food so worth looking at if there's one near by.

Ready-to-Eat, we cook for you - Mercadona

There's often also Pollo Asados, little takeaways that sell only rotisserie chicken, sometimes with chips available too.

Traditional microwave meals are nowhere near as widespread as in the UK and what is available is a lot better quality.

When we camp we do the M&S tinned meals for some their Currys and chilli are nice you could do those with rice sachets and naan/popdoms

Have you an outside area. Could you buy a couple of disposable barbecues? Take a look at the freezer section see if they have things like prawns in garlic butter in microwave packs. You could serve them with rice or on a jacket potato.

I was going to ask about bbq, or are there any public bbq spaces that you can use, would seem
more holiday than cooking in a microwave for a week. Or, I’d pack up a beach picnic.

If your abroad i would pick up a cheapass family Rice cooker (£20-30). So much can one pot cook in a Rice cooker.

Rice, then put in the veg and the protein (chicken fish chorizo whatever) goes in the top and kinda steams

I'm moderately certain the suggestion to buy an oven was a joke.

I'm just back from a few days in an Air Bnb. Even in the UK it's been so hot I didn't want to do any cooking, even if I'd been up for using a strange hob and oven, finding too late there was no decent knife, not having some of the ingredients I always have in at home, etc etc. I managed perfectly well with some decent bread, various deli and salad items, fruit. Tasty, easy, quick, not that expensive, reasonably nutritious.

can you buy pizzas and have pizza and salad and a baguette, same with quiche for example serve with salads and baguette .cheese and crackers served with salad. Deli chicken salads and a baguette Buffet food with salad and baguette..