Ideas for hotel food

[HomeCookingWannabe]

Hi everyone,
I'm really obsessed with the various posts asking for advice on eating in hotels, but mine is a bit nuanced so seeking hive mind again to help with logistics and ideas

I leave on a Monday morning at about 6am, and at that point have access to my full kitchen.

Then travel for 3 hours, at which point I :

• Have access to a fridge and microwave at work
• Have access to neither for dinner, just a kettle

Repeat for 3 nights every week.

I desperately need to lose weight hence can't keep eating takeout every night i'm away.

I have a feeling that taking homemade food in a chiller, then microwave at lunch and put in a thermos for dinner, might be the answer, but i'm open for both logistic and food suggestions. I've also considered offering to pay someone locally to make dinner, not sure if that's weird.

Money less of issue, healthy/reasonable options most important. I'm also a veggie.

Thanks in advance

Are work paying for the hotel and for how long will this arrangement continue?
If longer than 2 weeks I'd suggest that you arrange a rolling air bnb booking for a studio. It's out of season, it will still be available for weekends so you should get a great deal for a repeat booking, plus you will have fridge/hob etc.
I did this for a couple of years (one midweek a month) and it was great: became a home from home with a small supermarket delivery on the first night plus the owner was happy to hide my coffee and tea away between visits so I could always have a hot drink on arrival.
Could that simplify everything for you?

If you can pick up takeaway, there won’t be a minimum charge. You could pick up a hot side or a starter to eat with salad eg veggie samosas or halloumi fries or a slice of pizza or daal. There must be some healthy, low calorie options eg a veggie burger in lettuce instead of bread with salad.

Is there a supermarket where you could buy things fresh on the day eg preprepared salad bowls, veggie sushi, quiche, Spanish omelette, hummus?

You could batch cook things that freeze and microwave well eg curry, mac n cheese, lasagne, chilli, soup, bean casseroles. They will stay frozen on the journey and then you can let them gently defrost in the office fridge for day 2 and 3. Use them as chiller blocks for something fresh for day 1. Either eat them at lunch time or cook just before you leave the office and put in a Thermos pot. Serve with microwave rice or pasta that can just be cooked in minutes with water from the kettle (the thin ramen noodles like you get in pot noodles or angel hair). You can also get microwave rice, pasta and omelette/egg cookers.

Get a mini chopping board, knife and grater to make salad. Most veggies and fruit are fine out of the fridge if you can’t leave them in the office fridge eg tomatoes, carrots, peppers, cucumber, mange tout, spring onions, cauliflower, broccoli. Little gem lettuce will stay fresh (and grow!) if you put the stem in a little water in a mug (also good for anything with a stem or roots eg spring onions or broccoli). The Sistema stay fresh boxes will help, even out of the fridge. Things that go limp or dry out quickly can be kept in Tupperware in ice water (this will also perk up tired veg). Don’t forget tinned or packet things like chickpeas, beans, chestnuts, nuts, seeds, or fruit in a savoury salad (eg watermelon and feta; figs or pears with walnuts and blue cheese, orange and lettuce with white balsamic dressing). You can also add finely chopped veg to “pot” ramen eg spring onion, chilli, bean sprouts, mange tout etc.

I'll make your dinner, lol.
I do have a food hygeine certificate 🤣
Otherwise just buy bagged salad, ham, tinned sweetcorn, tuna, few other veg and some nice bread? Those microwave rice packs? Precooked lentils? I guess you could eat ramen noodles?

Sorry if I've misunderstood, but can you store dinner in the work fridge, and take it to the hotel in a cool bag? If so, salads would travel well and soup in a thermos is a great idea

That sounds like a very tricky situation!

Are there no healthy take out options nearby? I know it's limited so appreciate this might be difficult, especially as a veggie.

Would it be insane to invest in a small air fryer to take to your hotel room 😆 hide it in a suitcase and bring food from the work fridge in a cool bag!

To the tinned chickpeas etc suggestion above, I would add jars of lentils, chickpeas or beans. The jars are often more flavoursome, in my opinion, which makes a real difference for salads.

A small jar of lentils, some chopped spring onions, halved cherry tomatoes, some feta and a drizzle of balsamic would see me very happy! In terms of storage, you’d be fine keeping everything but the feta in your hotel room. Keep the cheese in the work fridge and bring a small chunk back to the hotel each night.

So many people suggesting salads with meat or fish. The OP is veggie. I think it would be helpful to know what is in the hotel's vicinity in terms of supermarkets and restaurants/takeaways, that way op would get much more specific suggestions.

That's a good idea @artant will try that re bit of feta each night, also stops me eating thr whole block LOL.

Thanks all, will try to reply to all questions in one.

No not same hotel every week but often is.

Area is pretty dire, it's densely populated with KFC/Burger King etc. have tried a few meals out and always quite greasy. Sure there will be something but at this point bringing my own feels easier.

I would be terrified of burning down hotel if i took airfryer!

Think big main, light dinner is answer. Will try cans of soup this coming week then explore bringing a chopping board for salads etc next week. Especially think the idea of keeping them in work fridge and bringing to hotel each night could be the answer. Sorry @LIZS I misunderstood your post.