Travel menu

Our latest adventure took us to Hollywood, Florida. While our hotel room was equipped with a mini fridge, it did not have a microwave. (Or a coffee maker!)

I arrived armed with my travel kit and dash mini griddle, and I survived on:

Yogurt with fruit and nuts

Scrambled egg with spinach

A burrito bowl that contained pinto beans + rice + canned chicken warmed on the griddle (+ guac from one of the restaurants onsite + spinach)

Tuna salad

...and way too many beachfront cocktails. Cheers!

Travel menu with no microwave

Why do Vegas hotels not have microwaves? You're lucky to get a fridge but finding a microwave is very rare.

No matter. I adapt! With the help of my trusty travel kit and dash mini griddle, I'm all set.

My dad saw me making breakfast one morning and after a couple of bites of a leftover chicken sausage and egg scramble, he insisted that I leave my travel kit and griddle with him for the rest of his trip (they stayed a few extra days). He sent me this:

Here's the 3-day menu:

Breakfasts:
eggs and fruit
yogurt with dried fruit and nuts

Lunches:
turkey lunchmeat with avocado (wrapped in a corn tortilla)
tuna salad

Dinners:
canned chicken on salad greens
chicken sausage with spinach and rice
pinto bean quesadilla

Most of this I can actually pack in my checked bag (did you know you can't bring canned chicken or tuna in your carryon?), so I only had to stop and get perishables at the grocery store.

Shopping List:
eggs
fruit
avocado
salad greens/spinach
dried fruit and nut packets

can of chicken (check to make sure it's gf, some brands are not)

packet of tuna

corn tortillas

minute rice (the rice can be heated up on the griddle with a splash of water)

lunchmeat

chicken and apple sausage

This week's menu

For future inspiration, this week's menu:

 

Monday- Steak, broccoli, and potato
Tuesday- Black bean nachos that morphed into a layered bean dip.
Wednesday- Meatloaf + green beans
Thursday- Pizza
Friday- Stir fry with chicken

this week's menu

Hi, I don't have to travel this week. My cat is thrilled!

My own bed, a full kitchen, a full fridge, and time to cook in the evenings... I am thrilled!

Here's the menu.

Breakfast- Pretty veggie-ful omelets.

I have the veggies all prepped and ready to toss in the pan to streamline these early mornings. Very grateful that my coffeemaker has a setting so that it starts brewing exactly when I push the snooze button for the first time.

Lunches- Leftovers or pretty salads

Dinners-

Monday: Chicken pot pie
Tuesday- Crock pot beef (with venison)
Wednesday- Salmon and veggies
Thursday- Veggie stir fry
Friday- Grilled steaks

Snacks- GF pretzels and larabars

travel meals without a fridge or microwave

I think it's really annoying that our hotel room in Vegas didn't have a mini fridge or microwave. Sure, I could request that they clean out the mini bar for a fee, but I think that's ridiculous.

So, I adapted! I bought a cooler and filled it with ice from the ice machine. I can live like that for a couple of days.

Here's how I survived:

Breakfast: boiled eggs, fruit, chopped veggies, and room service coffee (I won't pay the fee to use the minibar, but I will spend an absurd amount of money to have coffee delivered to my room so I can enjoy it in my bathrobe)

Lunch:
-Meat roll ups (lunchmeat, salad greens, avocado, mustard, mayo rolled up into little burritos), plus veggies and crackers

Dinner:
-Tuna salad
-Meat roll ups with hummus and veggies
-The Good Kitchen frozen dinner (I was at my brother's apartment and was able to use a microwave.)

Snacks: GF pretzels + peanut butter, nuts, larabars, cuties, apples. Basically anything I could stuff into my purse.

As always, I brought my travel kit, tucked into my checked bag.

For reference, the grocery list:
boiled eggs
cuties
apples
salad greens
avocado
baby carrots
cucumber
individual hummus
mayo
mustard
mixed nuts
lunchmeat
pretzels
crackers
tuna salad kit
individual peanut butters
wine
water bottles
sandwich bags
cooler

Travel meals, this week.

Raise your hand if you love last-minute travel plans.

*looks around*

Actually, they're not so bad. I've gotten pretty good at adapting and packing. The hardest part of last-minute travel is planning what I'm going to eat.

(And also since I recently had Lasik, having to pull over every hour to apply eye drops.)

This week I am in a small town, in a hotel room with a mini fridge and a microwave. I decided not to bring the crock pot.

Meals have to be simple when you're in a town with a tiny Walmart grocery section and you do not have a kitchen.

Here's what I came up with:

     

Breakfast: The standard microwaved scrambled eggs bit. It's getting a little routine, and this week I looked for already-boiled eggs at the grocery store, but they didn't have any. I also picked up an apple... and a cucumber as big as my forearm. Really.

Lunch:
Tuesday- Travel day. Packed a kale + cranberry salad with some avocado and leftover chicken on top.
Wednesday- Frozen Amy's meal, heated up in the break room microwave
Thursday- A can of soup, heated up in the break room microwave
Friday- Chopped salad with ham and crackers

Dinner:
Tuesday- Frozen Amy's meal because it was a beautiful day for a drive, but it was too long to cook.
Wednesday- Tuna salad. Because it's so easy.
Thursday- Chopped salad with ham
Friday- Travel day. Chili and cornbread from the freezer.

Snacks: Orchard Valley Harvest Antioxidant mix, plus a cutie :)

Brought from home:
Travel kit

The grocery list:
eggs
kale
salad greens
ham
cuties and apples
2 amy's frozen meals
soup
tuna salad kit
gf crackers
jug of water
wine

This weekend I'm going to Vegas and there is no mini fridge or microwave in the hotel room. Should be interesting.

Travel meals, this week

Do you remember when I said that I might be done traveling for the year?
I was wrong. One more week, and THEN I get some time in my own bed, with my cat, with my man, with my family, with friends.

This week has been lonely, probably because it's so close to the holidays and everyone is having fun back at home without me. Such is life, sometimes.

I booked a hotel room with a kitchen this time, which makes life so much easier.

Here's what I'm eating:

Breakfast: Eggs and kale, with avocado. Plus fruit and cucumber slices.

Lunch: I am forcing myself to eat veggies, since I've been happily grazing on cookies and potato chips for the last few weeks. So I'll have salads on salads on salads.

Monday- Travel day. Packed a salad with any veggies and a leftover burger patty on top, to clean out the fridge. Didn't get to eat it until 4pm.
Tuesday- Salad with no meat because my feet hurt at the grocery store the night before.
Wednesday- Salad greens with leftover chicken and veggies on top
Thursday- Same thing as the day before.
Friday- Travel day. Snacky lunch of pretzels and an apple.

Dinner:
Monday- Long day. I originally planned to have an Amy's frozen dinner but since I had lunch so late, I snacked on pretzels and and apple.
Tuesday- Chicken and veggies
Wednesday- Pasta with meat sauce
Thursday- Leftovers
Friday- Back at home! Dinner at my nephew's birthday party, so I'll probably pick up an Amy's frozen dinner.

Snacks: GF Pretzels + peanut butter from the hotel breakfast, apples, larabars

For reference, the grocery list:
Amy's frozen dinner
Eggs
Kale
Salad greens
Avocado
Fruit
Pretzels
Chicken thighs
Frozen broccoli
Frozen peas
GF Pasta
Spaghetti sauce
Larabars
Prunes
Wine
Water

Bring from home:
Travel kit
Seasonings for chicken
Garlic
Frozen chopped green pepper

travel meals, this week

Ok folks. This might be my last week traveling this year! I packed my crock pot and had time to plan a menu beforehand, so here's what I'm eating:

(Making gluten free travel meals look good)

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with ham and kale. Plus oranges and carrots

Lunches: There was no microwave onsite, so I had to make cold lunches.

Monday- Travel day. Stopped at a gas station and got an EPIC bar and little packet of almonds. Ate that with an apple I brought from home. I was pretty hungry when it got to dinner time.
Tuesday- Salad with shrimp and edamame
Wednesday- Kale salad with edamame, carrots, and ham
Thursday- Wednesday lunch on repeat
Friday- Travel day. Meat roll ups with the last of the ham and kale, plus a carrot.

Dinners:
Monday- Salad with shrimp and edamame
Tuesday- Crock pot beef + a baked sweet potato
Wednesday- Chili and cornbread, brought frozen from home
Thursday- Leftovers from Tuesday.
Friday- At home, stir fry

Snacks: Apples + nuts

For reference, the grocery list:
eggs
kale
spring salad mix
bell pepper
sweet potato
lime
oranges
carrots
apples
stew beef
frozen cooked shrimp
ham lunchmeat
frozen edamame
nuts

Bring from home:
travel kit
crock pot + liner
seasonings for the beef (bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, garlic)
frozen chili and cornbread
chopped celery

Travel meals, this week.

Boy, I am excited to be traveling again! I lied. I'm not excited at all.
I do not like this particular town, but that's life.

I did not expect to travel this week, so there wasn't much prep time and I opted for simple meals.

Here's what I got:

Breakfast: I gotta say, I'm digging this microwave egg recipe with turkey, eggs, kale, and an apple on the side.

Lunch: I'm keeping it simple with a turkey and avocado sandwich for lunches. I have become a mustard and mayo packet hoarder and bring them with me in my travel kit.

Dinner:
Monday- Soup and crackers
Tuesday- Tuna salad wraps
Wednesday- I left the hospital later than expected, so I just ate another turkey sandwich.
Thursday- I drove home, so I ate the last thing left in the fridge: turkey lunchmeat with hummus and carrots.

For reference, the grocery list:

eggs
kale
turkey lunchmeat
apples
avocado
tomato
bread
crackers
soup
larabars
wine
tuna salad kit

Last week's menu

(last) week's menu:

It's going to be a cold one, yay! I cranked up the fireplace today, but I have yet to turn on the heater. This week may force me to.

I'm glad I'm in town this week because I'll be able to cover some of my favorite plants and save them from the few hours that it will be below freezing.

I am sorry, I had pictures but I accidentally deleted them. But here's the menu.

Monday- Chili
Tuesday- Spaghetti (sauce from the freezer), Barilla GF pasta was on sale so I'm going to try it
Wednesday- Chicken soup with biscuit dumplings.
Thursday- Pizza with lots of veggies
Friday- Pot roast
Saturday/Sunday- I will be painting my bathroom, so it will be mostly snacks and leftovers

P.S. my bathroom looks really good but damn that's a lot of work.

Travel meals, this week

Are you ready for another week on the road? I am.
Five days out of town are so much easier when you plan a menu.

Here's what I planned:

Breakfast: Eggs, microwaved. Plus fruit and carrot slices.

Lunch:
Monday- Travel day. Peanut butter sandwich + apple
Tuesday and Thursday: Salad, with avocado and turkey
Wednesday: Turkey roll ups with carrot slices
Friday- Travel day. Turkey roll ups with carrot slices

Dinner:
Monday- Tuna salad wraps
Tuesday- Bbq chicken sweet potato + broccoli
Wednesday- Leftover bbq chicken sweet potato
Thursday- Cold, rainy day. Soup + crackers
Friday- At home, chili from the freezer

Snacks:
Mixed nuts + apple
Larabar

I reserved a hotel room with a big wet bar and a fridge/microwave, which made meal prep a little easier.

For reference, the grocery list:
eggs
kale
turkey lunchmeat- I like this kind because it comes in a ziplock bag
avocado x 2
apples x 4
salad kit
frozen broccoli
carrot slices
tuna salad kit
sweet potato
mixed nuts
frozen chicken tenders
bbq sauce
larabars
can of soup
crackers
water
wine

Bring from home:
mayo- I found these in a 10-pack at the grocery store.
coffee
vitamins
prunes
travel kit

This week's menu, travel edition

In this week's travel chronicles, I'm in the same city but staying at a different hotel. For some reason, the hotel I stayed in last week (with the full kitchen) is $30 higher this week and therefore out of company policy. Of course.

I booked the next best thing, a king suite at a Hampton. It's got lots of room, but also a wet bar area that has a sink, microwave, mini fridge, and plenty of counter space.

I did a little planning ahead and wrote out a menu so I could plan how I was going to feed myself without a stovetop and avoid eating salads for every meal.

See? Evidence.

I packed my crock pot + a liner in my suitcase and that thing is a game changer. Went to the grocery store and got a few things*, and also I of course packed my travel kit.

So. Here's what I ate this week:

Breakfast: Microwave scrambled egg with veggies, plus fruit.
(don't knock a microwaved egg until you have no other safe options)

Lunch: Turkey and avocado sandwiches (with udi's bread)

Dinner:
Crock pot chicken tacos
5 points
Tuna salad

The crock pot made plenty of leftovers, and I found a 100% gluten free restaurant, with a yoga studio right next to it, how wonderful, woo! This week I've got a happy belly.

*For reference, the grocery list:
Eggs
Fruit
Avocado
Kale
Chicken thighs
Garlic
Taco Seasoning
Rice
Beans
Bread
Lunchmeat
Mayo and Mustard
Wine
Water
Tuna

Travel meals, last week.

This week's menu was all over the place because of travel.

I don't like to have a big meal before flying, so depending on my flight time I usually fast or eat very light. I always carry a snack in my carryon bag because usually after I get off the plane I'm hungry but I'm also trying to pick up a rental car or navigate somewhere.*

So this week's meals:

Monday- Travel day. Rx bar at the airport, then I headed back home after hours of cancelled flights. womp womp. I ate something that was in the freezer and went to bed early.

Tuesday- Travel day Part 2.
Lunch: Cafeteria salad bar with hummus and potato chips
Dinner: Amy's black bean tamale frozen dinner**

Wednesday-
Lunch: Progresso GF soup and Crunchmaster crackers***
Dinner: Hotel restaurant had some GF options, yay!

Thursday- Oops another snowstorm was predicted so rather than get stranded over the weekend, we changed our flights and got the heck out of town. I grabbed an apple and a small thing of peanut butter from the hotel breakfast to snack on while waiting standby.

*Snacks: It's easy to go overboard and fill your bag with snacks. Typically an Rx bar and a baggie full of Snyder's GF pretzels will be enough.

**Dinner while traveling... sometimes I'll join a colleague for dinner and eat a plain salad just for the company, or if I'm lucky I will find a local GF place and convince them to join me.
Sometimes I'm tired and the local GF scene sucks so I hit up the nearest grocery store and grab something. Recently I discovered the Whole Foods hot bar. Game changer!

[Side note: This trip, after several canceled flights because of a snowstorm, I had woken up at 2am, worked all day, and at the end of the day Target was the nearest store.
Perfect, because I don't have a decent winter jacket... because I never needed one! Layers are necessary when you travel from 65-degree tepid Houston to 10-degree snowy Chicago. Turns out, I arrived hilariously under-prepared wearing a light sweater and ankle pants.
So I got food AND clothes. I love Target.]

***In addition to the frozen dinner and warmer clothes, I picked up some things for lunches: Progresso chicken and rice soup with Crunchmaster crackers. I like these in particular while traveling because the soup doesn't need a can opener, and the cracker bag seals with a ziplock.

Sometimes I plan my travel meals ahead and pack a tupperware container to heat up soup. This trip, there was a cafeteria with a microwave and I borrowed a bowl. So my lunch was warm and cheap and absolutely GF.

menu with coffee spots

This morning started with oversleeping and a visit from the plumber. Sure, Monday.

(S: salmon + roasted veggies  M: BIG salad  T: crock pot beef  W: soup  R: leftovers  F: dinner out  S: still up in the air. sloppy joes sounds good)

I think every week's menu gets altered because life changes justlikethat. But it is nice to have a plan in case things don't go haywire.

After Wednesday I'll be avoiding one side when I chew so I don't disturb a temporary crown. I can't remember which tooth, but when you're trapped in that dentist chair... does that really matter?

Anyway, the whole thing may be scrapped for mashed potatoes and soup. Hey, I adapt.

Menu and wintry weather

Yesterday I was useless, but today I got it together enough to write down a menu. Small victories, y'all.

(S: pork stir fry.  M: pork carnitas bowl.  T: quick veggie soup.  W: salmon + roasted veggies  T: leftovers or travel?  F: salad  S: dinner out)

There is a chance of "wintry precipitation" on Tuesday, which is never a good thing in Houston because we are always totally unprepared. Of course I am scheduled to travel across town and also I'm trying to get to Louisiana at some point, so it should be an interesting week.

My plan is to go with the flow. At least I don't have to worry about what to cook for dinner!

taco bowls and realism

Let's begin with a dose of realism. Oh, happy gluten free new year!

This is my weekly menu, on the kitchen counter, half-finished, next to some crumpled up Target bags.

(S: Taco Salad / M: Salmon and roasted veggies / T: Chili / W: Chili leftovers... Thursday-Saturday will most likely be something in the crock pot)

Here's how I ate tonight's taco salad, next to miscellaneous items on the kitchen table.

Now, this taco salad, however hastily photographed, was really delicious.

Essentially it's ground beef sauteed with  a chopped garlic clove and taco seasoning, atop mixed greens. Plus some cauliflower mexican rice and avocado slices.

Attempting to cut back on carbs, as part of a mini-detox after consuming nothing but alcohol and cake since Thanksgiving. I have to say there was enough going on in the taco bowl that I did not miss the taco shells... this time.

This week's menu

All right, back to menu planning.

After eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast my entire life, I've inexplicably switched to having a piece of peanut butter toast. Actually, there is a good explanation: I can eat it on the way to work, skipping the rushed shoving of cereal into my mouth before I leave the house, and it keeps me full longer.

I'm feeling uninspired this week, so we're having a bunch of standby meals that are easy to make and use on-hand ingredients. Like beans and canned tuna and the chicken in the back of the freezer.

Second breakfasts: Fruit and yogurt

Sunday- Black bean tacos
Monday- Tuna melts
Tuesday- Baked chicken + glazed carrots
Wednesday- Vegetable soup
Thursday- Pulled chicken sandwiches
Friday- Salmon + sweet potato + broccoli

Have a lovely week.

This week's menu

Second breakfasts: Frittata

Sunday- Chicken pineapple fried rice
Monday- Black bean tacos
Tuesday- Pizza
Wednesday- Tuna Salad
Thursday- Vegetable soup
Friday- Spaghetti + broccoli

I usually do most of the cooking around here. Starting Thursday, I'll be recovering from a procedure and hubs is in charge of meals for a while. He's got some culinary skills, but I tried to pick easy recipes.

He'll most likely wind up taking creative control and I'm sure we'll end up with something gourmet.

Have a lovely week!

This week's menu

 Second breakfasts: Waffles, boiled eggs, fruit + yogurt

Sunday- Black eyed peas with cornbread, roasted cabbage
Monday- Shrimp tacos
Tuesday- Chicken nuggets and roasted potato
Wednesday- Turkey wraps
Thursday- Veggie soup
Friday- Salmon with salads

Happy New Year!

Menu

I've totally been avoiding dinner prep and grocery shopping by cooking various soups for the past week or so. Hey, soup is quick, weather-appropriate, and uses up freezer and pantry staples so there's no hassle.

But having a menu makes things a lot easier, especially when things get busy, so here it is. Plus it's pushing 70 degrees here today, so soups are less easy to pass off. Ugh. I hate this weather.

Second breakfasts:
GF Chex mix, waffles with peanut butter

Sunday- Salmon + roasted cauliflower
Monday- Honey sesame chicken
Tuesday- Spaghetti
Wednesday- Shrimp tacos
Thursday- Chili (Except it turned into girls night)
Friday- Stir Friday

Have a nice, productive week.