If you are traveling for a long period then completely relying on the food served in cafes, hotels or restaurants can be pretty heavy on your pocket. What would be better than making quick and easy meals in your hotel room that don’t require a lot of chopping and cooking and can get ready in 15 to 20 minutes? It has more benefits than one can imagine:
- Saves “A Lot” of money.
- Healthy and easy on your stomach.
- No worries about getting Vegetarian or Vegan Food outside.
- Less mental pressure of searching for a place to eat.
- More time for exploration.
- Less cravings for home-cooked meals.
Below are some of the vegetarian (or vegan) food items that can be easily made in a Hotel room or in your Airbnb:
1. Salads
You can either go for a ready-made salad bowl that is available in the supermarkets or you can make it more delicious and filling with my tricks. All you need is a pack of ready-made salad that has greens, some veggies, nuts and dressing. Along with that you need canned chickpeas, kidney beans or any other beans available. I would suggest to buy some more veggies and fruits for the salad like cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, grapes, and berries. Assemble everything and your meal is ready. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
Note 1: You can buy any other sauce or dressing of your choice. To increase the quantity of the dressing that comes with the ready-made salad, mix curd along with some salt, pepper or any other seasoning you have.
2. Mix Veg Pulao with Salad
This seems really comforting like a home-cooked meal. Right? To make this you will need a pack of Ready-to-Eat Seasoned Rice. When the rice is already seasoned, you don’t need to buy separate spices to add flavours. You will also need a pack of frozen veggies because they get cooked even in microwave. These days it is easy to get a pack of mixed veggies that includes brocolli, celery, corns, bell peppers, etc. Apart from that you may need salt and some cooking oil too.
How to make Mix-Veg Pulao in a microwave?
In a large bowl, add some oil and chopped onion. Heat till onions are translucent. It takes just a couple of minutes. Then add frozen veggies along with some salt. Mix and heat for a couple of minutes. Make rice as instructed on the packet. Mix cooked rice and veggies and heat together for a couple of minutes so that all the flavors are well combined. Serve with some salad on the side to add more veggies and freshness.
Note: Do not buy rice that needs regular cooking. It becomes difficult to make it in a hotel microwave.
3. Mix Veg Pasta Arrabiata
Hell Yeah! You can make this using a kettle or a microwave. For this, you will need a pack of Pasta, frozen veggies, and Arrabiata Sauce (ready made). To make this, mix boiled pasta, arrabiata sauce and frozen veggies. If you have cheeze, add that too. Heat in the microwave for a couple of minutes so that all the flavors are well combined. Serve with some toasted bread.
How to boil Pasta using a kettle?
Place pasta in a large bowl. Boil water in a kettle. Pour boiling water on pasta and season with salt. Mix and cover. Keep stirring in between. Keep it covered till pasta is well cooked. It takes a little extra time than usual but does the job perfectly.
4. Avocado-Feta Sandwich
This is something that you can enjoy for a quick breakfast or even for a meal on-the-go. You can follow the recipe of my Avocado-Feta Sandwich. You can even skip avocado and feta and simply use ready-made guacamole. These days it is easier to get guacamole on the fridge section of a supermarket.
5. Burrito Bowl or Wrap
I am extremely proud to create this recipe in 5-10 minutes. All you need is Instant Mexican Rice (or any other seasoned rice), ready-made guacamole, salsa, curd or sour cream, some salad greens, mixed bell pepper, and nachos. Assemble everything and your restaurant-like meal is ready in minutes. We loved it so much that we made it multiple times on our trip to Florida. For detailed recipe, check out my blog of Burrito Bowl.
Note 1: If you can not find guacamole, use avocados or make it yourself. It is pretty simple. Also, follow the packet instructions to cook rice. You should be able to cook it in a microwave or kettle.
Note 2: You can even buy instant chapatti or tortillas that needs to be just re-heated and make a wrap from this filling. Check out my recipe of Burrito Wrap for more details.
6. Granola loaded with Fruits & Berries
This is one of our favorites and go-to meal for our trips. It is very simple and easy to prepare. For this, you will need a pack of fruit yogurt, granola or crunchy musli, some fresh fruits and berries of choice. Assemble everything together and your meal is ready.
Note: If you want to pack it for the road, do not add granola. They become soft. Add them while eating.
7. Tofu Garlic Noodles
When you are on the roads, I would sugges to check out the farmer’s market nearby. There you can get spice mix and pastes in smaller quantity. That is what we did here. We got some spicy garlic paste from a farmer’s market and decided to make noodles from it. To make it, place some chopped onion and your paste (that already has some oil) in a large bowl. Heat until onion is translucent. Add seasoned tofu cubes, and bell peppers, mix and cook for a couple of minutes. Add boiled noodles along with some salt or any other seasoning you have. Mix, cook for a couple of minutes until all the flavours are well combined. Your restaurant-like meal is ready.
How to boil noodles in a kettle?
Please follow the instructions as mentioned for boiling pasta.
Note: You can even add some frozen veggies of your choice. Also, buy seasoned tofu because that also adds some taste in your dish.
8. Pesto Pasta
This is one of the easiest recipes that you can make when you are tired and want something warm and quick. You can enjoy it in your cozy bed with some drink. For this all you need is Instant Pasta (or any other pasta), and a jar of Pesto. That’s it! You can add some more garlic and cheese on top but that is optional.
Note: If you have regular pasta, cook it as mentioned in Arrabiata Pasta section.
9. Instant Noodles like Maggi or Top Ramen
Instead of Cup Noodles, Instant Noodles taste much better. They are very easy to make in a kettle or in a microwave. If you want to include some veggies, add some frozen veggies too while cooking. You can enjoy it hot or even pack it while on the go.
How to make Instant Noodles in a kettle?
Boil water and add noodles and spice mix in it. Let it cook further until well cooked. It takes just a few minutes. Make sure to clean the kettle after use.
How to make Instant Noodles in a microwave?
In a bowl, add water, noodles, and spice mix. Heat for a couple of minutes. Mix and cook again until well cooked. For this, you will need a large bowl or a tiffin box. I would suggest you carry a microwave-safe tiffin box while traveling. You can cook, eat and pack your food in it.
10. Ready to Eat Indian Food
If you are craving some Indian Food and finding an Indian restaurant is difficult, you can completely rely on Ready-to-Eat Indian Food. They taste good, satiate your cravings, and are much cheaper too. Indian Food can be really expensive outside India and when you are traveling with a family of 5 or 6, then it becomes very heavy on your pocket too. So, some days you can eat out in a restaurant, and some days just heat and enjoy it in the comfort of your cozy hotel room.
How to reheat or cook Ready-to-Eat Indian Food in a Hotel Room?
It is very simple. Boil water in a kettle and dip your packet of curry or rice in it. Leave as instructed on the packet and then serve right away. You can even put the packet in a microwave and heat it for a couple of minutes. Follow the instructions as given on the pack.
Note: I would suggest you buy Ready-to-eat packets instead of frozen packets. Frozen packets need a refrigerator for storage which could be a challenge while traveling.
11. Pesto Sandwich
For this, you will need some toasted bread (or un-toasted), pesto, some salad greens, feta cheese, and veggies like onion, cucumber, and tomato. It is extremely simple and tastes amazing. You can have it for breakfast and even for lunch or dinner.
12. Fruits
Never underestimate the power of fresh fruits. They do not just fill you up but make a great companion for your road trips. Carry some bananas because they can last for a couple of days. On your way, you can buy some grapes or fresh berries. You can even buy watermelon, papaya or muskmelon, cut and pack them for your way.
Things that you may pack while you are traveling:
- Cutleries and Knife.
- A Tiffin-Box to cook, pack and carry your food. You can pack a microwave-safe tiffin box.
- Basic Spices like Salt, Pepper, or any other sauce which can be used to make a quick salad dressing.
- Homemade Granola or energy bars.
- Ready-to-eat food items that don’t take up much space in your luggage.
And that is it. We created all these recipes when we were on our road trip to Florida, USA. We were on the roads for around two weeks and making such simple foods have been so relaxing. With these food options, we could include so many veggies and fruits in our diet and we could also save a lot of time in selecting a vegetarian or vegan place to eat. That was a real challenge in Florida! Our trip to Florida was very expensive but we could cut down a lot by making such simplistic things in our hotel room or Airbnb.
I hope you enjoy these recipes in your next trip. Happy Holidays 🙂
Love from us,
Richa
P.S. All these photos have been clicked by our phone while we were on our trip. We wanted them to be candid and real.
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